Mississippi House Votes to Override Governor

Lawmakers have taken the first step towards overriding a veto by Governor Haley Barbour. MPB’s Stephen Koranda reports.

Lawmakers this session passed a bill that would bar the state from using eminent domain to take property for use in private projects or for economic development. This week Governor Barbour vetoed the bill saying it would hurt Mississippi’s chances of attracting large economic development projects like Toyota in north Mississippi or Nissan in Canton. During a more than hour-long debate on the house floor, Steve Holland of Plantersville spoke in favor of overriding the veto.

“I can tell you one thing, you’re choice is pretty simple and pretty straightforward today. You can side with big business in this case, or you cans side with ms values. The choice is yours, and I can tell you mathematical exactness, you’re going to go home and answer for this one.”

Under the legislation land could still be taken for public projects like roads. During the debate Republicans and Democrats argued both sides of the issue. Greg Snowden of Meridian originally voted for the bill, because he believed exceptions could be made during negotiations for large economic projects. He said now he thinks the law would keep negotiations from ever happening.

“You’re never going to have a willing buyer and a willing seller, because you’re not going to have an offer made. The problem with these types of projects is they’re not going to comer to the table, because they’re not going to announce their intentions until they have some idea they can get a deal.”

The override passed the house 101 votes to 19. To complete the override, the Senate would have to vote for it by a 2/3rds majority.