Attorney General Jim Hood forgot to take his blood pressure medicine Monday before taking to the podium to speak at Starkville Country Club.
To that end, the fourth-term Democrat joked he might need to avoid saying too much about the Republican-led Mississippi Legislature. Nonetheless, he proceeded to deliver to Starkville Rotarians a less-than-flattering review of the Legislature’s 2017 session — specifically its budgeting priorities.
State lawmakers, he said, have approved nearly $800 million in tax cuts over the past five years, including the $418 million rubber-stamped in this year’s session. He tied the stunted revenue stream directly to budget cuts that have affected “necessary services,” a move he said has crippled the state’s economic development capacity.
“We need to do something to deal with some of the budget holes they’ve created,” Hood said. “There’s no will (in the Legislature) to do that.”
Hood pointedly rebuked the Legislature’s failure so far to approve a budget for the Mississippi Department of Transportation, an issue that will likely require a special session. He called raising the sales tax on gasoline an “easy” solution to bringing in MDOT revenue, which could then be spread throughout the state for highway projects.
He also called on the Legislature to better prioritize funding for K-12 public education, viewing it as a short- and long-term investment for business growth.
“I believe highways and education are two fundamental building blocks for economic development,” he said. “No business is going to come in unless you have a four-lane highway and a school system where the manager (of the business) would want to send his kids.”
Despite his noted Baptist roots, Hood said he supports bringing a lottery in Mississippi, estimating it could generate between $80 million and $160 million annually. He recommended that money be invested in early childhood education.
Failing to enact an internet sales tax that could generate tens of millions, he said, was another legislative failure this session.
“There’s easy, low-hanging fruit they haven’t chosen to do or couldn’t agree to do,” he said.
Mental health
Hood also briefly touched on a few issues directly affecting his office, specifically mental health and opioid addiction.
He argued investments in mental health services and increasing bed space, at places like the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield, for treatment would divert some of the prison population and ultimately be cheaper than incarcerating those people.
“Unfortunately, the Legislature hasn’t done that,” he said. “They haven’t tried to adequately fund mental health.”
Often working hand-in-hand with mental health is opioid and heroin addiction, a rampant trend Hood said has even taken the lives of some of his friends.
“When you see somebody died at 43 or 58 in the obituaries for no (apparent) reason, many times it’s because of opioid addiction,” he said. “We’re trying to get prepared to deal with that situation.”
Again, Hood is pushing for more treatment options to combat the problem, and he said his office is working on developing enforcement measures that will cut off the supply.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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