Mississippi state budget (2012-2013)

Note: This article was last updated in 2013. Click here for more recent information on state budgets and finances.

In March 2012, lawmakers added $130 million to the budget due to better-than-expected tax collections, which would mean the fiscal year 2013 budget would be 1.3 percent larger than it was in fiscal year 2012.

Education

K-12 education received $2.035 billion in the fiscal year 2013 budget, a $19 million increase over fiscal year 2012, but $251 million less than the state funding formula, called the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, required.

Reserves

The budget deposited $200 million into the state's reserves.

One-time funds

The legislature used $466 million in one-time money to fund recurring expenses – more than $100 million above what was used in the 2007 session.

The Governor pushed for his Smart Budget Act, or performance-based budgeting, in which budget decisions would made based on whether state departments or agencies were accomplishing expected results. He was unsuccessful.

Legislative proposed budget

The legislature passed most pieces of a $5.6 billion budget on April 28, 2012.

Highlights of the approved budget included:

• Spending reductions for most state agencies;
• Maintaining the funding level for universities so they would receive nearly the same amount they did in fiscal year 2012;
• Increased spending for K-12 schools and community colleges, although the budget was about $250 million short of full funding for the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, and which had been fully funded only two of the past 14 years; and
• Approximately $200 million to be set aside in state reserves.

Lawmakers drafting the $5.6 billion proposed budget followed the "98 percent rule," meaning that they used only 98 percent of anticipated revenue in the budget. Of the remaining two percent, part of it went into cash reserves and the remaining part carried forward into the following year's budget. The rule had been waived by lawmakers for the previous four budgets.

The education funding bill, House Bill 1593, can be accessed here.

Senate proposed budget

Highlights of the Senate budget proposal included:

• A $23 million increase to K-12 education;
• Level funding for higher education; and
• Level funding for Medicaid.

Sen. Terry Burton, vice-chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said that the state budget was $300 million less than the previous year due to the loss of federal funds. He said that 60 percent of the budget would fund education.

Legislative budget writers wanted to reduce the state general fund appropriation for the state Department of Health to $20.7 million, although Health Department officials said they needed $30 million just to meet basic needs. Only Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota and South Dakota spent less on their public health budgets than Mississippi. All at the time had smaller populations.

The Mississippi House voted February 13, 2012 to change the state budget so that any lawmaker who wanted to add money to a program must cut that same amount from other programs.

Governor's proposed budget

Gov. Bryant's proposed state budget that can be accessed here (dead link).

The governor's proposed budget initially cut funding to state agencies by 5.5 percent On March 27, 2012, however, the governor revised his proposed budget in light of increased revenue projections and he called for a 1.9 percent cut to agencies. He also proposed an extra $3 million for the Mississippi Highway Patrol and another $31.5 million for Medicaid.

It included no new taxes and set aside two percent of the state's revenue for the "rainy day" fund. It cut 5.5 percent to state agencies. The budget recommendations were based on a $5.49 billion state budget for fiscal year 2013 and included $4.56 billion in projected general fund revenue.

Highlights of the Governor's proposed budget included:

• Fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program at $2.02 billion, but $72.9 million of that amount would have to come from local school district reserves;
• $763 million for Medicaid, the same rate at which it was funded in fiscal year 2012, although Center for Medicaid Services projected 36,000 new eligible enrollees, which the governor said would work under a fee-for-service system that would save money and be more efficient than the current system.;
• $26.9 million to financial aid for community colleges; and
• Selling the state jet to generate $2 million

Lt. Gov. and Gov-elect Phil Bryant said he expected state departments and agencies to ask for $1 billion worth of new spending in fiscal year 2013. Gov. Haley Barbour would present his executive budget proposal in November 2011.