Haley Barbour

Union leader Brenda Scott worries some current state workers will be shoved into the unemployment line if Mississippi legislators adopt Gov. Haley Barbour's proposed budget. Barbour, a Republican, said this month that he wants to give state program directors a chance to "right size" their agencies as Mississippi struggles with declining revenues amid a weak economy. He acknowledged that could mean eliminating some jobs. The governor wants to lift state Personnel Board rules for two years, starting July 1. The rules provide job protection for tens of thousands of state workers by setting up procedures for hiring and firing, including an appeals process for ... Read Full Story

In releasing his budget proposal last week, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour might've tapped into his own version of economic stimulus. Call it the Lobbyist Full Employment Act of 2010. Barbour announced a wide range of ideas that immediately made people mad, and it's a safe bet that interest groups will convert their pent-up anger into action once the Legislature convenes in January. He proposed merging the eight current universities into five, reducing the number of school districts from 152 to 100 and closing some mental health centers. He said the Mississippi School for the Arts should close shop in Brookhaven, move 200 miles north ... Read Full Story

Gov. Haley Barbour's plan to merge Mississippi's three historically black universities has created a tense atmosphere in a state saddled with a violent civil rights past and a decades-long legal battle over the historic underfunding of those schools. At Jackson State University, students have turned to Twitter and Facebook to gather signatures on a petition to block the move proposed by the Republican governor. A half-dozen students attended a state College Board meeting Thursday expecting some discussion about the proposal, but there was none. "I personally believe they undermined the uniqueness of the black colleges and how far we've come with the little resources ... Read Full Story

Republican Gov. Haley Barbour and key legislators say they won't try to offset Mississippi's sluggish revenue with a tax increase in 2010, but fees are open for discussion. Mississippi's economic situation mirrors the rest of the nation. State revenue is down by $111.6 million for the first four months of the current fiscal year. Barbour cut nearly $172 million from the $6-billion budget in September and warned future spending reductions would be unavoidable. The governor said last week as much as $200 million more could be trimmed before the fiscal year ends June 30. Barbour said a tax increase won't be an option to ... Read Full Story

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour told lawmakers Thursday he wants more power to reduce state spending when times are tough. Meeting with members of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the Republican said he wants the authority to cut the budget by 10 percent when the House and Senate are not in session. Under current state law, the governor can cut up to 5 percent. For larger cuts, the governor has to call the House and Senate back to the Capitol. Barbour said the change would give him — and future governors — more flexibility for financial management. However, he's unlikely to get what he wants ... Read Full Story