Legislative leaders and Gov. Tate Reeves ended their impasse over how to distribute $1.25 billion in federal funds related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reeves, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and House Speaker Philip Gunn, along with other legislators, met with the governor at his home on Wednesday for two hours. The Senate will hold over the bill passed last week on a motion to reconsider to give state leaders more time to figure out how to appropriate the funds.
Under the deal, the Legislature will appropriate the funds in conjunction with the governor, who will be administrating the funds.
Gunn said the primary focus for the Legislature is providing relief for small businesses hit hard in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic shutdown. He also said a plan on disbursing the funds will be unveiled next week.
“The one thing we agree on is we want to do what is best for the people of Mississippi,” Reeves said at his daily news conference. “We have made a decision to hit the pause button. There will be some structural moves, some procedural moves to give us more time to discuss this. I am grateful to Lt. Gov. Hosemann, to Speaker Gunn and every member of the Mississippi Legislature to create a path forward so we can get these monies to our people.”
Hosemann said the goal is to allocate the funds to needy Mississippians as soon as humanly possible. He also said the Legislature plans to appropriate $100 million to help “small, struggling businesses” in the state.
The deal ends a week of back-and-forth between legislative leaders and Reeves. The governor has said repeatedly that since the CARES Act funds were issued because of the COVID-19 emergency, he had sole discretion to appropriate them.
Legislative leaders said the pandemic was a different situation than a natural disaster and that the Legislature is entrusted by the state constitution with the appropriation of tax dollars.
The Legislature amended an existing bill, Senate Bill 2772, on May 1 to put them in charge of how to allocate most of the $1.25 billion in federal funds the state has received from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. It passed after a three-hour session.
The CARES Act was passed by Congress in March and provides $2.2 trillion for individuals and businesses to help in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
