By SHELIA BYRD, Associated Press Writer
May 06, 2008 09:53 am
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Budget battles are not unusual at Mississippi’s state Capitol, but many taxpayers expect lawmakers to resolve their differences within the timeframe of a regular session.
In recent years, that hasn’t always happened. Funding wars over Medicaid or K-12 public education have spilled over into special sessions, meaning the partisan feuding of lawmakers is occurring on the taxpayer’s dime.
Gov. Haley Barbour will call another special session in coming weeks to address the budget for the Division of Medicaid. The health care program serves about a fourth of the state’s population. Most of those on Medicaid’s roll are children, the elderly and the disabled.
Lawmakers left the Capitol last month without figuring out how to fully pay for Medicaid during the next fiscal year that begins July 1. The program needs about $90 million.
Mississippi has had 11 special sessions since the Republican Barbour took office in 2004. During Democrat Gov. Ronnie Musgrove’s administration from 2000 to 2004, the state had eight special sessions.
Compared to some states, the number of special sessions in Mississippi is on the low side. Illinois has had 19 special sessions since last year, said Natalie O’Donnell, a senior policy specialist at the National Conference of State Legislatures. She said in 18 states the governor can call a special session. In the rest of the states, the governor or the Legislature can call a special session.
Not all of Barbour’s calls were an extension of some funding or policy disagreement.
In 2005, Barbour called lawmakers back in session to approve legislation to aid the Gulf Coast after it had been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Last year, Barbour called a special session for lawmakers to approve a $48 million incentive package for PACCAR Inc. to build a $400 million engine manufacturing plant in Columbus.
Few would argue those calls weren’t justified. The circumstances of the upcoming Medicaid special session are different, though. Lawmakers knew as early as last fall that the program’s budget was buckling.
Barbour wanted lawmakers to find a long-term fix for Medicaid. The health care program is paid for with federal and state dollars, but mostly federal. There’s a long list of coverage provided by Medicaid, including doctor visits, nursing home stays, institutional long-term care and prescription drugs. The cost for maintaining the services has outgrown the state’s budget.
The Mississippi House proposed a cigarette tax, an idea rejected by the governor and the Senate. The Senate and Barbour wanted to pass a hospital tax to generate money for Medicaid. The deal fell through when the hospitals withdrew their support.
Much more intrigue is associated with the Medicaid drama, but the outcome was that the House, Senate and Barbour couldn’t reach an accord. So they’re coming back for a special session, where Barbour has the advantage since he sets the agenda.
Barbara Powell, a lobbyist for the open government advocacy group, Common Cause, said special sessions can be an “inefficient” use of taxpayer dollars.
Legislative financial officials say the first day of a special session costs $59,895. The tab for each subsequent day, without travel expenses, is $39,420.
“Part of being accountable is to make good use of money to be efficient in the way it is used. Governing by special session just isn’t an efficient way to use it,” Powell said. “It’s a way of controlling the format to get something done.”
Powell said there are legitimate reasons for special sessions, natural disasters and time-sensitive issues, to name a few. But she warned that if taxpayers become too disgruntled, “it becomes politically unpopular to do it that way.”
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