Newsletter, Spring 2007

Dear Friend,

The 2007 legislative session ended on March 30, and public education and the city of Jackson were among the biggest winners. What follows is a report of what we accomplished during the 90 days after we convened on January 2 of this year.

CITY OF JACKSON

The property once used by the Mississippi School for the Blind on I-55 (at Meadowbrook) will be offered for development on a competitive basis with the state retaining ownership of the land and leasing it to a developer for a period of 60-80 years at fair market value. The legislation requires a minimum investment of $100 million of mixed use residential and office space. The bill also stipulates that the development be commensurate with the nature of the surrounding neighborhood and establishes a legislative oversight committee to insure its provisions. This is a great example of taking state-owned land that is not on Jackson’s tax rolls and converting it to property that will generate taxes for our city.

The Legislature also authorized a long term lease for the green space on the east side of Memorial Stadium. This bill requires a minimum capital investment of $50 million for a mixed use hotel/office space/apartment development. This development could provide support services for the University Medical Center and convenient hotel space for football games. The bill requires that the development not interfere with stadium or medical center activities. It goes on to establish a study committee to make recommendations regarding the future of the entire stadium property including its future management. In part as a result of the recent traffic issues at the New Orleans Saints exhibition game, the stadium commission will be abolished after July 1, 2008. Its duties will be assumed by the state’s Department of Finance and Administration. The committee is required to hire an independent consulting firm to make recommendations about Jackson State University’s use of the current stadium. The decision about building a new stadium on JSU’s campus will be made after the study is complete.

At the request of Jackson State University, we authorized the conveyance of state property adjacent to the university to the Jackson Redevelopment Authority which will work with JSU to develop a planned residential community, a privately funded residential development abutting the JSU campus.

We also conveyed most of the old Farmers’ Market property on West Street to the University Medical Center. Their plans include using this property for a medical research park in years to come. A small portion of the property was reserved for construction of new facilities for the Mississippi Industries for the Blind and the state records center.

These actions will place substantial new developments on the city’s tax rolls and provide much needed relief for the city budget and new jobs for many of our citizens.

For those of us in Jackson, the crime issue has been near the forefront. With the considerable help of SafeCity Watch, we passed several bills that should help. We increased the fine on traffic violations by $1 to fund a computerized criminal data base. We increased the penalties for felons in possession of a firearm and crimes committed with a weapon. The penalty for taking advantage of vulnerable adults was increased substantially. We also added an additional assistant district attorney for Hinds County. Finally, we clarified the definition and passed enhanced penalties for the crime of auto theft.

In other actions that benefit the City of Jackson, the legislature

Passed the so-called “boot bill” that allows the city to impound vehicles for unpaid traffic or parking violations;

Authorized the transfer of blighted property that has been seized by the city and determined to be not suitable for public properties to private developers without compensation in order to put it back on the tax rolls;

Gave the City of Jackson all of the authority it needs to reopen Lake Hico for recreational purposes once it settles all of the issues regarding its lease of the property to Entergy, the current lessee of the property.

EDUCATION

Education was a big winner at the State Capitol this year. For only the second time since its enactment, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) was fully funded. Of particular interest, Jackson Public Schools, the largest school system in the state, will receive an additional $11 million. Hinds County Schools will get an additional $3 million; Rankin schools will get $7.7 million and Madison County schools will get an additional $4.5 million.

The passage of the full funding bill came after nearly four years of intense opposition from the Governor’s office and the Senate and is due, in large part, to a statewide grassroots lobbying campaign. Among the real champions in this battle were The Parents’ Campaign, Southern Echo, the Mississippi Association of Educators, the Mississippi PTA, Parents for Public Schools, the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents, Mississippi Professional Educators and community action agencies and organizations too numerous to mention. Over and above MAEP, we were able to pass a 3% raise for every school teacher and more than a 4% raise for teacher assistants.

Higher education was also rewarded. The four year colleges received an additional $85 million, and we were able to give the community colleges a $35 million increase. That increased funding will allow the institutions to give raises of at least 3% to every employee. Universities and colleges were also given substantial bond money for capital improvements on their campuses.

Several other important education issues were also adopted. Among them were the much discussed high school redesign program championed by State Superintendent Hank Bounds, a ban on registered sexual offenders being present within 500 feet of a school, a system for providing educational services to children in youth detention centers, a reinstatement of the school nurse program and a move of its governance to the State Department of Education (SDE), the establishment of a task force to make recommendations to the legislature on how to deal with the ever increasing incidence of autism and expanded authority for the SDE to deal with schools under conservatorship.

One of the most highly publicized bills we passed was the Mississippi Healthy Students Act. The brainchild of Rep. John Reeves, the act requires 150 minutes of physical education and 45 minutes of health education per week for kids in grades K – 8. It also requires ½ unit of physical education for high school students. In addition, the legislation establishes a healthy lifestyles advisory council at SDE and authorizes SDE to adopt regulations establishing guidelines for a healthy diet for local school districts. Mississippians are among the least healthy adults and kids in the U S. This bill is a beginning attempt to encourage healthy life styles in our young people and should produce benefits for a lifetime. I was heavily involved in the final negotiations with the Senate and am very proud of the result.

There was one major defeat for our kids in the education debate. The House of Representatives took a strong position early in the session that additional resources should be devoted to education services for “at risk” kids. We had proposed and additional $13 million statewide for kids in grades K – 3, far below the nationally recommended funding level but all we could afford. In Mississippi, more that 100,000 kids fall into that category. This additional funding had been recommended by a joint House Senate task force in 2005 and by a special house education subcommittee I appointed last year. Unfortunately, the Senate and the Governor refused to agree to the additional funding, and the battle was lost for this year. We were able to set up a joint study committee to address future funding needs for at risk kids and an accountability system for at risk funds the schools currently receive.

This issue will not go away. Nearly 40% of Mississippi’s public school students do not finish high school, and a disproportionate share of those kids comes from the ranks of at risk kids. This loss creates terrible social and economic problems for our state, and it is short sighted to simply ignore the problem. We will continue to push this important issue.

In another education matter, we passed authorization for a new statewide program to deal with the issue of dyslexia and other diagnosable learning disabilities. The State Department of Education will begin to develop a dyslexia screening instrument using federal funds. Once the screening instrument is developed and tested, this very important effort will be a priority in budget negotiations, most likely beginning next year.

We did not address home schooling in any way. As the grandfather of kids who have been home schooled, I support home schools and will not do anything to interfere with parents’ rights to home school their children with the curriculum of their choice.

TOYOTA

Perhaps second only to full funding for MAEP, the most exciting news of the session was the announcement that Toyota had selected Northeast Mississippi for the site of its newest assembly plant. That area of the state has suffered serious job losses as a result of the declining furniture manufacturing base, and the 2,000 plus new permanent jobs are terrific news for the folks in the area and for the state as a whole. The $300 million incentive package we passed is a bargain and has ample protections for Mississippi’s taxpayers. All of the financial data show that the plant will more than pay for itself within a few short years. In addition, the spin off jobs from suppliers should create a bit of a “boom” for the whole northeast corner of the state.

BUDGET

Much of my time, as usual, was spent on budget issues. The total state budget is now more than $17 billion, a combination of state and federal funds. Of that amount, $5 billion is the general fund portion, that pot of income, sales, use and other taxes that are not dedicated to specific programs but are allocated annually by legislative action. As mentioned earlier, much of the general fund was allocated to education. We also put an additional $254 million in the state Medicaid program and approved a pay raise for all state employees. Because of increased revenues resulting from an improving national and state economy, we were also able to increase the state’s “rainy day fund” which now approaches $230 million.

Of the $674 million in new state support dollars, 52% went to education and 38% went to Medicaid. The rest of state government shared the remaining 10% of available state dollars.

Among the session’s unresolved issues was the proposal to increase the tax on tobacco products and to decrease the sales tax on unprepared foods. For the second year in a row, the House overwhelmingly passed a measure that would raise the cigarette tax by $1 and cut the sales tax on groceries in half. Because Mississippi cities receive a portion of the sales tax, there was a provision that would guarantee that they would lose no revenue under the bill. In spite of a Stennis Institute analysis that showed no loss of revenue to the state or to the cities, the Governor opposed the legislation and it died in a Senate committee. I support the measure, and I am sure it will be considered again next year.

MISCELLANEOUS

After much discussion and publicity, the House and Senate agreed to reorganize the State Department of Health. Beginning July 1 there will be a new board and a new State Health Officer. In addition, the legislature gave the department the responsibility for the programs previously carried out by The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi along with the $20 million annual funding from the tobacco settlement. Of that amount, $5 million is dedicated to the cancer center at the University Medical Center.

Throughout the session, Hurricane Katrina was never far from our minds. The most recent problem has been the scarcity of affordable property insurance for the affected counties. The lack of available insurance has been a stumbling block to the rebuilding effort for home and business owners. The Legislature dealt with the issue by providing enhanced funding for the state’s “wind pool” insurance association, the insurer and reinsurer of last resort for those in the lowest six counties of the state. Hopefully, this legislation will provide a stable, affordable property insurance market in those counties and speed the recovery of coastal counties.

In brief, other legislation that passed included the following:

A new Rural Physicians Scholarship Program to recruit students from rural parts of the state for medical school.

A new markets state tax credit to encourage investment in low income communities.

A state ban on most abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

Mandated alcohol safety training before reinstatement of a driver’s license lost for a DUI offense.

Enhanced penalties for taking property from vulnerable adults.

A state funded higher education program for national guardsmen who are in an officer program and who are recommended by the Adjutant General.

Mid-level funding for community colleges – the per pupil spending mid point between state funding for K-12 students and state funding for university students.

All in all, it was a very good session.

On a more personal note, the last 18 months have been a mixture of trials and triumphs. Nancy and I have had some health issues – she with breast cancer and me with lower back surgery. Fortunately, with the help of some wonderful doctors at the University Medical Center, some private physicians and a lot of terrific and loyal friends and fellow parishioners, we are both well and feeling fine. Nancy’s has recovered from all of her cancer treatments, and all of her reports are good. She is back teaching math at Callaway High School. I am up and around and walking well. We are indeed blessed.

Our children are all grown and doing well. The two older children have moved away from Jackson for job opportunities (and very inconsiderately taken our grandchildren with them). Our younger son is finishing his PhD in mathematics at Stanford, and our younger daughter is practicing law here in Jackson

As you know, 2007 is an election year, and I am running for reelection. I have opponents in both the Democratic primary August 7 and the general election November 6. During the next several months I will be campaigning and would value your support. If you would be willing to make phone calls, send post cards to friends, host a meeting in your neighborhood, know of a good speaking opportunity, put a sign in your yard or make a campaign contribution, please let me know by phone, email or letter. In order to keep you informed during the campaign, I would also appreciate having your email address. You can send it to me at electcecilb@lycos.com or contact me through my website, www.electcecilbrown.com.

My focus in the next term will be the same as it has been for the last 8 years:

Improving the quality of life in Jackson.

Improving our system of education – kindergarten through college.

A conservative balanced budget.

Increased government efficiency and accountability.

Increased funding for law enforcement.

Economic development opportunities.

An increase in the tax on tobacco and a reduction in the sales tax on food.

No increases in sales or income taxes.

I would appreciate your help in the upcoming campaign. If you have questions or suggestions about the issues, please let me know.

As always, thank you for the opportunity to serve as your state representative. It is an honor to serve you. If I can ever do anything to help you, please do not hesitate to call.

Yours,

Cecil