At the end of May, Mississippi lawmakers returned for a Special Session to finalize the state’s budget after failing to reach an agreement during the regular session. The result? A more conservative budget.
For years, Mississippi’s budgets were decided behind closed doors over a single weekend during the session. Speaker Jason White and the House changed that by demanding an open, public process.
Speaker White’s commitment to transparency paid off. When Governor Tate Reeves called the Special Session, he urged fiscal restraint. This matters because Mississippi’s general fund has grown far faster than inflation since 2020.
Lawmakers listened, passing a $7.1 billion budget -- a modest increase from last year and one of the most fiscally responsible in recent years. The big spend items are $3.3 billion for education, $1.4 billion for Transportation, and $431 million (up from $407 million) to try to improve our dysfunctional prison system.
Speaker Jason White was right all along. When lawmakers decide the budget in public through a proper process, they are more careful with our money. Sunlight truly is the best disinfectant.
One subplot to the budget saga merits attention. Some Senate members made a misguided attempt to cut basic funding for the State Auditor’s department, hindering its ability to function. This echoed attempts by leftist politicians in Washington, D.C., to block DOGE from auditing federal funds.
Every conservative in Mississippi should applaud the House for standing firm and restoring the State Auditor’s funding. The Auditor can continue investigating misuse of public funds. (Why would any politician scheme to block the Auditor from scrutinizing tax dollar spending? Did they really think they could do so and not look ridiculous? If Homer Simpson did political strategy, I doubt he’d make that mistake. It is political positioning 1.0.) Restraining public spending matters in Mississippi for several reasons.
First, all those efforts to pass a law to eliminate the state income tax over the coming year will amount to little unless we continue to maintain a budget surplus. The budget passed will maintain a modest surplus and sets a precedent that puts us on the road to actual income tax elimination.
Second, if Mississippi’s economy keeps growing at a rate of 3-4 percent a year, and the budget only grows by 1-2 percent a year, the size of the private sector will grow relative to the overall economy. This is the only way to lift Mississippi over the next generation from being one of the poorest states in the Union to being one of the richest.
Perhaps the most significant thing about this year’s budget is not just that it is fiscally restrained. It was decided openly and transparently. The days when billion-dollar decisions could be made by a handful of good ole boys at the Capitol in private are coming to an end.
A new generation of leaders is emerging in our state who not only support pro-growth policies, but who aren’t willing to keep doing politics like it's 1960-something.
Douglas Carswell is the President and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
Image: Ken Lund