Governor Phil Bryant is calling a special legislative session in June to settle unfinished business on the budget. MPB's Mark Rigsby reports.
Governor Bryant announced on his Facebook page that he plans to call state legislators back to Jackson June 5th. Republican Senator Buck Clarke, of Hollandale, is Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
"I really think this is a special session that could happen pretty quickly, if we're just dealing with the budget items that we left hanging."
During the 2017 legislative session, the House and Senate came to a stalemate over finding ways to generate hundreds of millions of dollars needed for statewide infrastructure improvements. After all funding ideas from the House were rejected by the Senate, representatives protested by voting down the Department of Transportation budget. Clarke says these are two separate issues.
"It was more on the agreement should there be more revenue coming from somewhere, which to me is outside the spending issue. It's a more funding issue, or additional funding."
Lawmakers must also approve the budget for the state Attorney General's Office.
AG Jim Hood has said he believes state lawmakers have delayed his budget for political reasons.
"You know, I'm going to keep doing my job, and they can keep playing the games that they're playing over there."
A conference committee of senators and representatives had tentatively agree on both budgets. Laura Hipp, spokesperson for Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves, says legislators should quickly pass the budgets previously agreed upon.
