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Report from the Capitol
Rep. Noah Sanford
The last two weeks have rolled along at the Capitol. Gov. Phil Bryant gave his fifth state of the state address on Tuesday night, January 26, in the House chamber. He laid out a general vision for his 2016 agenda, which included a new item—reform of the foster care system.
Revenue projections for the upcoming year are about $60M short of what had been planned. Gov. Bryant resolved this by pulling $35M from the Rainy Day Fund and forcing some state agencies to cut 1.5 percent from their budgets.
The major news from the past few weeks has been committee appointments, which long have been awaited. In addition, Speaker Phillip Gunn has created new committees—those on Drug Policy, Technology, Performance-Based Budgeting, and General Bills.
Speaker Gunn appointed me to eight committees—Agriculture, Energy, Elections and Apportionment, Judiciary B, Public Utilities, Public Health and Human Services, County Affairs, and State Library.
Appointments to Agriculture and Energy are of special importance to District 90. Our District is one of the top poultry and cattle districts in the state, and the petroleum industry is one of our largest employers. The Public Utilities committee deals with legislation affecting electricity, natural gas, and telephones, while the Public Health committee handles bills relating to all health facilities and healthcare-related policy. County Affairs works directly with county governments, while Judiciary B handles most bills concerning criminal law. Memberships on these committees will give our district a voice in several areas of state government.
The deadline to file bills is coming up in the next few weeks. Bills have already begun to be referred to committees, and those committees will meet soon to consider them.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of assistance. God bless.
Rep. Noah Sanford represents parts of Covington, Simpson and Jefferson Davis Counties in the Mississippi House of Representatives. He can be reached at nsanford@house.ms.gov.
