JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The Latest on a special session on transportation spending (all times local):
7 p.m.
Mississippi senators have passed a bill to create a state lottery, spending proceeds on state highways for at least 10 years.
The Senate voted 30-20 on Thursday to approve Senate Bill 2001. The measure moves to the House for more debate.
Passage came after hours of debate which largely questioned the freedom that the Legislature would give to the Mississippi Lottery Corp, exempting it from bid laws, open meetings laws and open records laws.
Committee Chairman Willie Simmons, a Cleveland Democrat, says the lottery is projected to provide about $40 million to the state in its first year and about $80 million in later years.
Some senators opposed the lottery on moral or economic grounds. Sen. Hob Bryan says government shouldn’t “operate a numbers racket and swindle its citizens.” Some supporters, though, say their constituents want a lottery, even if the senators personally oppose it.
The lottery corporation would be governed by a five-member board appointed by the governor. The board would hire a president of the corporation, subject to the governor’s veto.
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3:25 p.m.
The Mississippi House is passing a bill that would provide a new stream of money to cities and counties for infrastructure spending.
House Bill 1 passed the House 108-5 Thursday, hours after a special session was convened by Gov. Phil Bryant. It moves to the Senate for more debate.
The bill would divert 35 percent of the state’s current tax on internet and catalog sales to cities and counties, an amount House leaders say will be worth $110 million a year when fully implemented in 2022.
Counties could spend the money only on roads and bridges, while cities could also spend money on water and sewer work.
The House removed $50 million in specific named road projects, instead voting to split that money evenly among 82 counties. However, earmarked projects could be added back to the bill before final passage.
Senators, meanwhile, have begun debating Senate Bill 2001 , which would create a state lottery and earmark the money for 10 years to the state Transportation Department.
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2:45 p.m.
Mississippi senators are advancing a bill that would create a state lottery and earmark money for 10 years to be spent by the state Transportation Department.
The Senate Highways and Transportation Committee approved Senate Bill 2001 Thursday on a split voice vote. The bill moves to the full Senate for more debate.
Committee Chairman Willie Simmons, a Cleveland Democrat, says the lottery is projected to provide about $40 million to the state in its first year and about $80 million in later years.
The bill creates a Mississippi Lottery Corp., which would be governed by a five-member board appointed by the governor. The board would hire a president of the corporation, subject to the governor’s veto.
The committee rejected amendments, including one to make the lottery corporation subject to the state public records act.
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1:30 p.m.
A senator says a lottery bill advancing in the Mississippi Senate would provide about $40 million to the state in its first year and about $80 million in later years.
The Senate Highways and Transportation Committee is considering Senate Bill 2001 , which would create a lottery and then earmark proceeds for the state Department of Transportation for 10 years.
Transportation Committee Chairman Willie Simmons says the bill is about “transparency,” although lawmakers only received copies of the 135-page bill about 90 minutes before the committee began meeting.
The bill creates a Mississippi Lottery Corp., which will be governed by a five-member board appointed by the governor. The board would hire a president of the corporation, subject to the veto of the governor.
The measure exempts the corporation from the state public records act. The corporation could either negotiate or bid contracts above $1 million.
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1 p.m.
Mississippi lawmakers are advancing a plan meant to provide a new stream of money to cities and counties for infrastructure spending.
The House Ways and Means Committee voted Thursday to send House Bill 1 to the full House for more debate.
The bill would divert 35 percent of the state’s current tax on internet and catalog sales to cities and counties, an amount committee Vice Chairman Trey Lamar says is worth $110 million.
Counties and cities would be able to get the money as long as they don’t decrease the amount they’re currently spending.
Counties could spend the money only on roads and bridges, while cities could also spend money on water and sewer work.
Each city would be guaranteed at least $10,000 a year. Mississippi’s largest city, Jackson, would get more than $4 million yearly.
The measure includes $50 million in specific projects named by legislative leaders.
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10 a.m.
Mississippi lawmakers are meeting in special session to consider ways to increase funding for roads and bridges.
The session begins Thursday morning, after Gov. Phil Bryant called lawmakers back to Jackson on Tuesday.
Republican leaders have outlined a package to divert existing tax revenue, create a lottery and borrow money.
Democrats, the minority in both the House and Senate, complain they haven’t gotten enough input.
The plan calls for diverting part of tax collected on internet and catalog sales to cities and counties. The Mississippi Department of Transportation would get proceeds from a tax on sports betting and a state lottery for 10 years, as well as increased registration taxes on electric and hybrid vehicles. Those items are supposed to generate more than $200 million a year.
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