Jackson leaders are hoping a recent victory in U.S. District Court will validate their claims the state is attempting to take over the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport because it is managed by African Americans.
In December, federal Magistrate Keith Ball ruled that lawmakers had to produce some documents that could show the motives behind the creation and passage of SB 2162.
SB 2162 would take the airport away from the capital city and put it under the governance of a regional board.
The measure was passed in 2016.
City and airport officials have maintained the state wants to take over the airport for racial reasons.
“Why this call for reorganization? Why now? You have a working system, financially sound, progress being made, options for development being explored, land being evaluated and declared shovel ready ... What is the real reason why (there is) a call for reorganization?” JMAA board member Rosie Johnson asked previously.
District 20 Sen. Josh Harkins, though, told the Sun previously that the motives behind the measure were strictly economic. He cited the airport’s ticket costs compared to airports elsewhere, as well as the airport’s loss of Southwest Airlines.
Southwest officials, though, said they left Jackson for internal economic reasons, not because of airport management.
The airport is currently owned and managed by the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority (JMAA).
JMAA is governed by a five-member board appointed by the mayor and approved by the city council. Members include Rev. James Henley, LaWanda Davis, Rosie Johnson, Evelyn Reed and Lucius Wright. All five members are black..
Under SB 2162, that board would be dissolved and replaced with a nine-member board with the majority of commissioners being tapped by state officials.
The city is attempting to block the state takeover in U.S. District Court.
Last spring, attorneys for JMAA subpoenaed six lawmakers for “any and all … email communications and text messages and any documents” related to SB 2162 and Jackson-Evers.
Senators subpoenaed included Harkins, District 30 Sen. Dean Kirby, District 46 Sen. Philip Moran, District 3 Sen. Nickey Browning, District 44 Sen. John Polk, District 74 Rep. Mark Baker and former District 54 Rep. Alex Monsour, all white Republicans.
Harkins, Kirby, Moran and Browning signed on as co-authors of the measure.
Senators asked the court to deny the subpoena, saying, in part, the documents sought included private correspondence.
“Privilege applies to any documents or information that contains or involves opinions, motives, recommendations or advice about legislative decisions between legislators or between legislators and their staff,” attorney Michael Wallace wrote.
Ball’s decision was a partial victory for the capital city, saying private correspondence between legislators and staff should remain private, but any communications lawmakers shared with third parties, individuals who were not legislators or staffers, should be released.
“The court finds that to the extent documents or information otherwise protected by the legislative privilege have been shared with third parties, the privilege has been waived.”
Ball also ordered the senators and representatives to put together a “privilege log,” to describe documents requested that are not being disclosed.
That decision is being appealed to the district court.
Christopher Green, associate professor of law and H.L.A. Hart Scholar at the University of Mississippi School of Law, believes Ball’s decision will likely be overturned in lawmakers’ favor.
Green, who was not involved in the case, pointed to three previous federal court rulings cited by the defendants and the fact Ball “openly disagreed” with them in his decision.
“One issue is whether (the communications) are relevant to the legislative process or irrelevant to the legislative process, which means they’re irrelevant to your discovery,” he said.
The cases, which include one dating back to the 1950s, say that non-public information, such as correspondence, relevant to the legislative process are ordinarily considered privileged under federal law.
The decision was handed down months after Judge Carlton Reeves dismissed four of the eight counts brought by the city and JMAA.
Among claims, Jackson and JMAA stated that Mississippi violated Mississippi Code Section 61-3-7, which prohibited the creation of a regional airport “unless a public hearing has been provided to communities affected by the proposed agreement.”
Further, the city argued it would be unable to fulfill requirements of certain federal grants if the airport’s ownership is transferred to the state.
Reeves, though, said 61-3-7 “explains how municipalities may create (or disband) a regional airport,” not the state. The judge also stated that the city would be relieved of contractual obligations of the grants, if the airport’s ownership was transferred.
The law also includes new criteria for members to serve on the board, essentially disqualifying most current appointees. Both of the governor’s appointees, for example, must have a “valid pilot’s license or certification issued by the (FAA),” the law states.
Other commissioners must have experience in specific fields including accounting, financial analysis, executive management in business, aviation, economic development, commercial, construction or aviation law, engineering, or in dealing with public financing transactions.
By contrast, JMAA board members must simply live in the capital city, be named by the mayor and approved by the city council. Current members include a reverend, a former education administrator, a registered nurse, a retired federal probation officer, and Army officer.
The law was slated to take effect on July 1.
However, new rules handed down by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stalled the takeover.
In 2016, the FAA issued a policy statement saying that it would not transfer a certificate unless both parties agreed to terms of the takeover. If no agreement can be reached, the case must be settled through litigation before the transfer would be approved.
A similar airport takeover in North Carolina was halted, thanks to the FAA policy.
