Hours before the Mississippi Legislature was abruptly called into session, local legislators who were being interviewed by The Dispatch said they were pretty sure they would be called back early.
They just didn’t know how early.
They anticipated the Legislature would reconvene Monday as part of a showdown between lawmakers and Gov. Tate Reeves loomed on the horizon.
By noon, the timetable had changed, if not the mission: Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and House Speaker Phillip Gunn called their respective chambers into session at 1 p.m. today in an effort to assert the Legislature’s authority to administer $1.25 billion in federal funds — Mississippi’s share of $340 billion in CARES Act funding earmarked to compensate state’s for expenses related to COVID-19.
A legislative staffer who asked not to be identified said House and Senate attorneys and staff worked well into Thursday evening crafting a bill that clarified any doubt about the Legislature’s sole authority over spending.
“It’s pretty simple,” Rep. Gary Chism (R-Columbus) said. “The governor thinks it’s in his purview to distribute this money. The Legislature believes very strongly that that authority belongs to the Legislature. This won’t take long for us when we’re called back into session.”
A storm over who will ultimately determine how the funds will be spent has been brewing since Reeves announced the formation of a 17-member advisory committee (called Restart Mississippi) — made up exclusively of business owners, many of them Reeves’ donors — to help determine a plan for the state’s economic recovery two weeks ago.
As Gunn and Hosemann were contacting legislators to inform them they would reconvene on Friday, Reeves addressed questions about the pending legislative action during Thursday’s daily COVID-19 briefing, vacillating between accepting the Legislature’s authority over the funds and pushing back against it.
“What I really want you to know is I don’t really give a damn about who is in charge of this money,” Reeves said. “What I care about is the people who need it and need it now. We’ve always planned to work with the Legislature on the expenditure of these funds, but it’s incredibly important in federal and state emergencies that we have the ability to do what a chief executive does, which is execute the laws that have been passed by the Legislature.”
Reeves said the state’s constitution allows the governor to distribute funds the Legislature has not designated to state agencies.
“It’s is very clear the chief executive has the ability, and quite frankly has to have the ability, to expend those funds for the betterment of all Mississippians,” he said. “Should (the Legislature) choose to change that law, that’s certainly their prerogative.”
Rep. Rob Roberson (R-Starkville) said he doesn’t view the Legislature’s position as a power play.
“I think (Reeves) is attempting to do what he feels is the right thing,” Roberson said. “On the flip side, my position is that there is no reason to even have a Legislature if we’re going to let one person make these decisions. We’re in this together. I don’t think what we’re doing is trying to exclude the governor, but I don’t want the reverse, either.”
Asked if he would veto the legislation passed by the Legislature, Reeves didn’t tip his hand.
“I’m not going to commit to anything until I can see the language that might be in it,” he said.
Chism said a veto is likely to be a moot point.
“Oh, yeah, we’ll have the votes to make it veto-proof,” he said. “We would never be called into session if we didn’t.”
There has been speculation the dispute could wind up in court. Reeves said there have been precedents when the governor distributed emergency funding in the past, but stopped short of saying he would press the matter through the courts.
“I will tell you if it means I have to fight to get money to the people of Mississippi as quickly as possible, I’ll do it,” Reeves said.
Although he agrees that the Legislature should administer the funds, Rep. Kabir Karriem (D-Columbus) said he’s still concerned about how those federal funds are ultimately distributed.
“It’s kind of wait and see with me,” Karriem said. “My concern is will the legislative leadership distribute the funds equitably or will these be something that gets pushed through by just Republicans. Everybody needs to have a voice in this.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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