NORTHSIDE lawmakers weren’t sure at presstime when the 2020 session would resume, but they do expect to have their hands full once they return to the capitol.
District 25 Sen. Walter Michel said a major priority will be crafting a budget. However, that likely won’t be done until late June, once lawmakers have a clearer picture of how income tax and sales tax revenues shake out.
District 29 Sen. David Blount said lawmakers will need to review the recent coronavirus stimulus package to see how it affects state law and spending.
Meanwhile, District 70 Rep. Bo Brown said he will push for reviving several healthcare measures that had been killed in committee prior to the session’s recess.
All three said they were ready to get back to work.
“It’s like in athletics. When you have a layoff, it’s kind of like you get out of shape,” said Brown. “I’m ready to get back in the game and get off the sidelines.”
The session was postponed indefinitely last month, amid coronavirus concerns.
It was slated to restart on April 1, but with the virus still raging, the lieutenant governor and speaker of the House put the session on indefinite hiatus.
The earliest the session would likely resume is April 20, the day Gov. Tate Reeves’ shelter-in-place order expires.
Lawmakers are not getting paid for their time away from the capital and will only receive pay once the session is back under way.
Brown said party leaders were keeping he and his colleagues in the loop on various issues, including the coronavirus outbreak and the state’s response.
“Our Democratic caucus leadership is monitoring the situation and filling us in on what’s happening,” he said. “We’re also getting some feedback from the Legislative Black Caucus leadership.”
Brown was hopeful the outbreak would spur lawmakers to take a second look at several healthcare bills this session that had previously died.
“Some of them are able to be revived, especially the ones that are related to the health and well-being of our citizens,” he said. “I certainly think those would deserve some kind of reconsideration.”
The session ended March 17. The deadline for the Senate and House to vote on general bills originating in their own chambers was March 12. The deadline to reconsider motions on those bills was March 16.
The session was initially slated to end in late April or early May, after 118 days.
Once the session resumes, it will not go beyond 125 days, according to Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann.
Once the session is back under way, Michel said bills passed the Senate prior to the recess will be forwarded to the House and assigned to committees, while bills that passed the House will be forwarded to the Senate and assigned to committees there.
“We still have two months available to get things done,” he said. “All of our revenue bills are done later in the session.”
Michel said the budget likely won’t be passed until June, once lawmakers have a better idea of how the corona outbreak has impacted tax revenues.
Prior to the outbreak, the state’s finances were in good shape, with tax revenues coming in higher than expected, he said.
However, with businesses now closed sales taxes are likely to be down.
“When we get revenues for March, we’ll see how bad it’s affected our budget,” Michel said. “March is really the tell-tale month.”
Sales tax numbers, though, are usually reported two months behind. Translated, March’s sales tax numbers likely won’t be available until late April, while April’s numbers won’t be in until the end of May.
Income tax figures, on the other hand, likely won’t be available until early June.
In response to COVID-19, the state extended the deadline to file taxes to May 15.
“Normally, April would be a very good month, because people who owe would be paying,” Michel said. “Now, that’s going to be pushed down the road a bit.
“Probably the earliest we can finish the budget now is the end of June, so we can have the benefit of having April and May’s numbers,” he said.
Michel said the budget had to be completed that month, in order for it to take effect on July 1. He was pretty sure the state would have to dip into its reserve funds to cover shortfalls. However, he was not sure how much.
The state has approximately $500 million set aside in its rainy-day fund.
BUDGET ASIDE, lawmakers also will be reviewing the recent coronavirus stimulus packages passed by Congress.
Those measures include the CARES Act, or the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
CARES does a little bit of everything, from providing emergency loans to businesses to expanding unemployment to include those who are typically not eligible for benefits in their respective states.
Families First requires certain employers to provide employees with certain types of medical leave as it relates to COVID-19.
“We have to thoroughly understand all of the federal legislation that’s recently passed, and all of the funding and programs that are included,” Blount said.
Blount participated in a conference call with Rep. Bennie Thompson and said he and other Senators have had regular conversations with the lieutenant governor to discuss the packages.
State leaders were still determining how those bills would impact state laws, he said.
