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Mississippi state budget

Mississippi lawmakers approved a FY 2012 General Fund budget of $5.5 billion,^[1] which is 2.7% larger than the FY2011 appropriated budget.^[2] The increase comes despite the fact that the state will receive $200 million less in federal money.^[3]

Mississippi has a total state debt of approximately $38,278,314,000, when calculated by adding the total of outstanding official debt, pension and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) liabilities, Unemployment Trust Fund loans, and the budget gap. ^[4]

See also: The Mississippi State Budget on State Budget Solutions

[edit] Fiscal Year 2013 State Budget

Lt. Gov. and Gov-elect Phil Bryant said he expects state departments and agencies to ask for $1 billion worth of new spending in FY2013. Gov. Haley Barbour will present his executive budget proposal in November 2011.^[7]

In March 2012, lawmakers added $130 million to the budget due to better-than-expected tax collections, which would mean the FY2013 budget will be 1.3 percent larger than it was in FY2012.^[8]

The Governor has said that he will push for his Smart Budget Act, or performance-based budgeting, in which budget decisions are made based on whether state departments or agencies are accomplishing expected results.^[3]

Legislative Proposed Budget

The legislature passed most pieces of a $5.6 billion budget on April 28, 2012.^[9]

Highlights of the approved budget include:

• spending reductions for most state agencies;
• maintained the funding level for universities so they will receive nearly the same amount they did in FY2012;
• increased spending for K-12 schools and community colleges, although the budget is about $250 million short of full funding for the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, and which has been fully funded only two of the past 14 years;
• approximately $200 million to be set aside in state reserves.

Lawmakers drafting the $5.6 billion proposed budget followed the "98 percent rule," meaning that they used only 98 percent of anticipated revenue in the budget, and of the 2 percent, part of it goes into cash reserves, and remaining part carries forward into the following year's budget. The rule had been waived by lawmakers for the previous four budgets.^[10]

The education funding bill, House Bill 1593, can be found here.

Senate Proposed Budget

Highlights of the Senate budget proposal include:^[11]

• a $23 million increase to K-12 education;
• level funding for higher education;
• level funding for Medicaid.

Sen. Terry Burton, vice-chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said that the state budget is $300 million less than last year due to the loss of federal funds. He said that 60% of the budget will fund education.^[12]

Legislative budget writers want to reduce the state general fund appropriation for the state Department of Health to $20.7 million, although Health Department officials say they need $30 million just to meet basic needs. Only Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota and South Dakota spend less on their public health budgets than Mississippi. All have smaller populations.^[12]

The Mississippi House voted Feb. 13, 2012, to change the state budget so that any lawmaker who wants to add money to a program must cut that same amount from other programs.^[13]

Governor's Proposed Budget

Gov. Bryant proposed a FY2013 state budget that can be found here.

The governor's proposed budget initially cut funding to state agencies by 5.5 percent On March 27, 2012, however, the governor revised his proposed budget in light of increased revenue projections and he called for a 1.9 percent cut to agencies. He also proposed an extra $3 million for the Mississippi Highway Patrol and another $31.5 million for Medicaid.^[14]

It has no new taxes and sets aside two percent of the state's revenue for the "rainy day" fund. It cuts 5.5% to state agencies. The budget recommendations are based on a $5.49 billion state budget for fiscal 2013 and include $4.56 billion in projected General Fund revenue. ^[15]

Highlights of the Governor's proposed budget include:^[15][16]

• fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program at $2.02 billion, but $72.9 million of that amount would have to come from local school district reserves;
• $763 million for Medicaid, the same rate at which it was funded in FY2012, although Center for Medicaid Services projects 36,000 new eligible enrollees which the governor said would work under a fee-for-service system that would save money and be more efficient than the current system.;
• $26.9 million to financial aid for community colleges;
• selling the state jet to generate $2 million

[edit] Fiscal Year 2012 State Budget

• See past state budgets

The Mississippi state budget for FY2012 can be found here.

The state has more than $300 million in reserves that can be used to cover some shortfalls^[3]

General Fund appropriations and reappropriations made by the legislature for FY2012 total $5,501,390,060. The legislature also appropriated $14,445,670,447 from special Fund sources and reappropriations including Federal Funds, Budget Contingency Funds, Educational Enhancement Funds, Health Care Expendable Funds and Tobacco Control program Funds for the operation of all agencies and functions during FY2012. The FY 2012 General Fund budget is 2.7% more than the Fiscal Year 2011 appropriated budget.^[17]

Gov. Barbour said that the state was on track to have about $400 million in various reserve funds at the concusion of FY2012, and he opposed a House plan to combine $56.3 million from financial reserves with $122.6 million from an unanticipated Medicaid surplus to help pay for unspecified programs.^[18]

The Mississippi state budget can be found here.

[edit] Governor's proposed FY2012 state budget

Gov. Haley Barbour's FY2012 $5.5 billion budget recommendation^[19] calls for an average 8% budget cut in light of a $634 million structural deficit. ^[20] Barbour explained that the cuts were necessary due to the end of federal stimulus funds in FY 2012, sluggish revenue collections and an increased demand for Medicaid.^[20] The proposed budget reduces Medicaid reimbursement rates.^[19] Cuts include less funding for public television, public libraries and community college sports. Barbour's budget also includes the consolidation of three historically colleges^[19] and reducing the number of school districts by a third.^[21]

The proposed budget raises no taxes or fees.^[19] The proposal includes no annual pay raises for teachers.^[19] Barbour's proposed budget maintains $185 million in reserves.^[20]

[edit] Budget transparency

• See sample transparency legislation at the Sunshine Standard

Mississippi has a statewide, official spending database online. The Mississippi House Bill 101 (2008), Mississippi Accountability and Transparency Act mandated the creation of such a website.^[22] The state has also launched the State of Mississippi Management and Reporting System.

Art. 4, Sec. 59 of the state constitution provides that a bill must be read by title on three different days, dispensable by 2/3 of originating House; Read in full immediately before vote on final passage

[edit] Government tools

The following table is helpful in evaluating the level of transparency provided by a state spending and transparency database:

Criteria for evaluating spending databases

State Database	Searchability	Grants	Contracts	Line Item Expenditures	Dept/Agency Budgets	Public Employee Salary
Mississippi Transparency	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	P

See also: Evaluation of Mississippi state website

• Mississippi Transparency provides salary and benefit totals by agency, but does not provide individual employee salary details.^[23]

[edit] Fiscal Year 2011 State Budget

The FY2011 $4.5 billion state budget was 13% less than the FY2009 budget.^[24][25] Find the state’s FY2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) compiled by the state government here.

In Dec. 2010, the the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review identified four underutilized funds with a total balance of $40 million which the committee said could be transferred to bolster the state's general fund.^[26]

Gov. Barbour said that the stimulus would force the state to rewrite its budget.^[27] Gov. Barbour called a special legislative session to begin on Aug. 27, 2010, to consider an incentive package for a $500 million economic development project that would create 1,000 direct and indirect jobs.^[28]

The federal stimulus passed in August 2010 includes $151 million for the state for medicaid.^[27] The state will also received almost $98 million which the federal Department of Education estimated retained 2,000 education jobs, mostly K-12 teachers.^[27] Lawmakers said they planned to spend that money in FY2011 when there is not as much stimulus money.^[29][24] The governor explained that, to get the federal money, Mississippi would have to spend $50 million to $75 million more than lawmakers had budgeted for FY2011, which will force spending cuts in areas such as law enforcement, human services and mental health.^[30]

Revenues were $6.7 million above predictions for the first month of the 2011. July 2010 was only the second month in nearly two years that tax collections met or exceeded expectations, due to increases in individual income and corporate taxes.^[31]

The budget reduced the state's mental health budget by $20 million.^[31]

Total general fund appropriations in the FY2011 budget totaled $4,386,749,122, which is a net decrease of over $369,000,000.^[32] The state budget can be found here.

[edit] Budget Background

Mississipi's fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30. The Governor submits a recommended budget to the Legislature on November 15 of each year with an extended budget submission in January for a new Governor.^[33] The Governor must trim spending as mandated by Mississippi Code §27-104-13, which requires the State Fiscal Officer to balance the budget when state revenue falls below estimates for the fiscal year.^[34]

The budget process in the state of Mississippi is a year long evolution. Officially beginning in May state agencies prepare requests before submitting them to the Governor for consideration in October. But before submitting a recommended budget the Governor first consults a group composed of the state economist, the state fiscal officer, the state treasurer, the chairman of the state tax commission, and the director of the legislative budget office. The group provides an estimated revenue forecast for the upcoming fiscal year based on current economic indicators and the economy's growth.
On December 15 the legislative budget committee submits the balanced budget recommendation to the Legislature.

[edit] Budget figures

The following table provides a history of Mississippi's expenditures and gross domestic product (GDP).

• NOTE: The figures for FY 2009 are not yet finalized.
  • NOTE: Figures are estimated and won't be finalized until the end of the fiscal year 2010.

[edit] FY 2010 budget figures

FY 2010 General Fund Budget:^[37]

39%, $1.9 billion of the FY 2010 General Fund revenue is from sales tax and 31%, $1.5 billion from individual income taxes. Education makes up 62%, $2.9 billion of General Fund expenditures, $2.1 billion for K-12 and $820 million for postsecondary education.^[38]

[edit] General Fund Appropriations

[edit] Accounting Principles

Main article: Mississippi government accounting principles

The Mississippi State Auditor is Stacey E. Pickering, elected November of 2007. The state's audit reports are published online.^[39]

Mississippi also has the Joint Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (a standing committee created in 1973) to provide legislative oversight, which publishes online:^[40]

• Performance evaluations
• Investigations
• Expenditure reviews

The Institute for Truth in Accounting (IFTA) rates Mississippi “Tardy” in filing the state’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) – The annual report of state and local governmental entities. IFTA rated 22 states timely, 22 states tardy, and 6 states as worst. IFTA does not consider Mississippi's CAFRs, and those of the other states, to be accurate representations of the state’s financial condition because the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) basis does not include significant liabilities for the pension plans and for other post employment benefits, such as health care.^[41] Mississippi's CAFRs are published online by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor. The Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration prepares the state CAFRs.

[edit] Stimulus

Mississippi received $2.7 billion in federal funding.^[43]

After Congress approved federal funds for the states on August 10, 2010, Gov. Haley Barbour said Mississippi would be forced to rewrite its budget to qualify for $98 million in education funds, moving at least $50 million into education spending from public safety and health. "There is no justification for the federal government hijacking state budgets," Barbour said.^[44] Mississippi also received between $150 to $130 million for Medicaid from the federal government under H.R. 1586, a $26 billion plan to give states money for Medicaid and education that the President signed into law on August 10, 2010.^[45]

[edit] Public Employees

Main article: Mississippi public employee salaries

Main article: Mississippi public pensions

According to 2008 Census data, the state of Mississippi and local governments in the state employed a total of 218,186 people.^[46] Of those employees, 178,394 were full-time employees receiving a net pay of $536,981,084 per month and 39,792 were part-time employees paid $33,298,846 per month.^[46] More than 55% of those employees, or 121,621 employees, were in education or higher education.^[46]

[edit] See Also

• Mississippi taxpayer-funded lobbying
• Mississippi public pensions

[edit] External links

[edit] Additional reading

• Gov. Haley Barbour,"2010 State of the State Address," January 18, 2010
• Gov. Haley Barbour,"2009 State of the State Address," January 13, 2009

[edit] References

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