Natchez &8212; State Rep. Sam Mims of McComb generally is opposed to raising taxes, but he has not seen the Senate bill passed Friday calling for increasing taxes on cigarettes and decreasing &8212; and finally eliminating &8212; taxes on groceries.

&8220;I&8217;ve consistently been opposed to raising taxes, and I want to look at the bill before making any comment,&8221; said Mims, a Republican, whose district includes a portion of Natchez.

The Legislature should not try to solve budget problems by raising taxes, Mims said.

&8220;The answer to those problems would be to spend money in the right places and to get in the habit of spending it correctly.&8221;

In the 1990s, Mississippians were told that the casino tax would take care of them, he said. It didn&8217;t. Then &8220;we were told we had this tobacco fund that we would not touch, but we did.&8221;

Sen. Bob M. Dearing of Natchez, a Democrat, voted for the bill on Friday, calling it a &8220;significant bill that eventually will take sales tax off unprepared food and do it on a graduated scale.&8221;

Cigarette tax in Mississippi now is 18 cents per pack. The Senate bill proposes raising the tax to 75 cents July 1 and then to $1 per pack by July 2007.

Groceries now are taxed at the 7 percent state retail rate, higher than in all the states surrounding Mississippi.

&8220;I&8217;ve always said the sales tax is a very regressive tax,&8221; Dearing said. &8220;Half a dozen of us have been trying to do this for years.&8221;

Mims said he will withhold judgment until he sees the bill.

He said Monday he did not vote for the House bill that would provide $14.5 million for Wellspring, a development in Northeast Mississippi.

The economic development project, supported by Pontotoc, Union and Lee counties, seeks money to purchase land that would be developed to lure an automobile manufacturer to the area.

&8220;I think that sets a very bad precedent to give money to buy a site when there is no prospect,&8221; Mims said. Forty members of the House vote against the measure. &8220;And it was not a partisan vote.&8221;

Bonds must be repaid over a 15- to 20-year period, he said. And they should not be issued speculatively.

Mims said he is working closely with Dearing and Rep. Robert Johnson of Natchez to get state assistance for the coal gasification plant, Rentech Inc., interested in locating in Natchez at the old Belwood Country Club site.

&8220;We have a company and know what they&8217;re going to do,&8221; Mims said. &8220;This project needs to stand alone. It&8217;s a good project.&8221;

The bill requesting state aid for the Rentech project has not been filed.

Woody Allen, board chairman of the Natchez Adams County Economic Development Authority, said Monday the EDA is working daily with Rentech officials to get an accurate assessment of what the company needs before finalizing legislation.