Biloxi, Miss. (Gulf Coast News) –

The Secretary of State’s Office remitted $78,499.97 to Harrison County, and certain cities and schools impacted, today for 2018 ad valorem taxes for 10 Public Trust Tidelands parcels along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Public Trust Tidelands and submerged lands are property lying under waters naturally subject to tidal influence, and also include surface lands created from the artificial fill of State-held water bottoms. Because the lands are public and non-taxable, the State replaces ad valorem taxes which would normally be assessed and collected if the properties were in private hands. Miss. Code § 29-15-9. 

“The State has prioritized holding our Tidelands in trust for all Mississippians, but the Legislature is cognizant these lands also represent lost revenue for our local governments,” said Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, who serves as trustee of the property by law. “The check we are remitting today from Tidelands funds compensates these governmental entities and schools.”

For more information on Public Trust Tidelands, visit http://www.sos.ms.gov/Public-Lands/Pages/Public-Trust-Tidelands.aspx. 

Original Story

Jackson, Miss. (Clarion Ledger)

Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves has accumulated almost $7 million in his bid for governor later this year, far outpacing any other candidate for statewide office, newly filed campaign finance reports show.

The Republican formally announced his run in early January but has raised money for his gubernatorial run for several years. In 2018, he raised about $1.7 million, according to annual reports filed with the state Thursday.

Reeves’ most prominent challenger, Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood, who announced his run in October, raised more than $700,000 last year and now has more than $1 million ready to spend.

Both candidates claimed more than 85 percent of their contributions came from Mississippi.

“People from across Mississippi are supporting this campaign to send a message: Mississippi values matter,” Reeves said in a statement.

Hood said: “I’m proud of the support we have received from a cross-section of Mississippians who want a governor who listens to and cares about their needs.” His statement criticized Reeves for “essentially … running for governor every day for the past seven years.”

Other statewide candidates whose reports were posted Thursday:

• Robert Foster, governor. Foster, a Republican state representative from Hernando, raised about $20,000 last year and had about $12,000 to spend as of the filing deadline. He is far behind in fundraising but did not start until his announcement to run in mid-December. He picked up several contributions of more than $500 at the end of the year, mostly from residents in the DeSoto County area.
• Velesha Williams, governor. The Democrat, a former Jackson State University employee who is new to politics, raised about $6,600, mostly via loans to herself. She has about $1,400 to spend after paying for various mailers, campaign supplies and a fundraiser she organized.
• Delbert Hosemann, lieutenant governor. The current Republican secretary of state raised just shy of $839,000 last year and spent $232,338, leaving him with over $2.6 million cash on hand. That gives him a $2.2 million fundraising lead over his Democratic opponent, Rep. Jay Hughes, D-Oxford. Hosemann enters the campaign season with widespread name recognition.

“We are grateful to have the support of hundreds of Mississippians across the state, and we look forward to getting the message out about our priorities for the future for the next several months,” he said in a statement.

• Jay Hughes, lieutenant governor. The Democrat raised $965,000 — most of it his own money — and spent nearly $527,000, leaving him with $437,461 cash on hand. One loan from himself totaled $450,000. Hughes, who is in his first term as a state lawmaker, has gained a sizable social media following through a campaign focused on public education.
• Mark Baker, attorney general. The longtime Republican state lawmaker raised about $330,000, and spent about $45,000, and now has close to $380,000 in cash to spend on his campaign this year. Baker announced his candidacy in May and is a longtime critic of current AG Hood.
• Lynn Fitch, attorney general. The current state treasurer had raised more than $366,000 and spent more than $103,000, leaving her with more than $280,000 in cash to spend this year. The Republican has served as treasurer since 2012.
• Sam Britton, secretary of state. The current Republican public service commissioner, elected in 2015, announced his run several days ago. He raised about $265,000 last year and spend $12,000, leaving him with $261,000 in cash on hand.
• Michael Watson, secretary of state. The conservative state senator who was elected in 2008 raised $160,000 last year, and spent $5,000, leaving him with $155,000 in the bank. Watson has long been considered a GOP contender for higher office, and was urged to run for Congress in 2010.

 

Original Story

Jackson, Miss. (Northside Sun)

The latest Millsaps College/Chism Strategies State of the State Survey has some interesting insights into the opinions of Mississippi voters.

For the sixth consecutive year, infrastructure remained the most pressing issue with 27 percent of voters picking “fixing roads and bridges” as the “top priority for Mississippi’s elected leaders.” Number two was “more funding for public schools” with 19 percent, followed by “making healthcare more accessible and affordable” with 17 percent, “reducing the size of state government” with 12 percent, “giving tax incentives and grants to companies that create jobs” with 10 percent, “protecting traditional family values” with 8 percent, “more funding for universities and community colleges” with 3 percent. “Other” was 5 percent.

Polls can be skewed by how you phrase the questions and options. It would have been interesting if the poll had added “lowering taxes” as one of the priorities instead of “reducing the size of state government.” Nevertheless, the poll does seem to indicate a willingness of voters to spend more money for infrastructure, schools and health care.

The poll reveals 65 percent of Mississippi voters believe public school funding is too low. That’s an increase from 56 percent last year. There was a direct correlation between education level and support for more education funding. Forty-four percent of voters with less than a high school degree wanted more education funding compared to 70 percent with an advanced degree.

Democrats (83 percent), Democratic leaners (84 percent), independents (61 percent) and Republican leaners (54 percent) all want more public school funding compared to strong Republicans (45 percent).

More than 60 percent of Mississippi voters favor expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Mississippi is one of 14 states that has not expanded Medicaid, foregoing a billion dollars a year in federal money. Twenty-nine percent oppose the expansion.

Although there have been reports of some Republican leaders softening their opposition to Medicaid expansion, Republican frontrunner in the governor’s race, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves is not one of them. When asked last week at the Stennis Press Forum why he is opposed to Medicaid expansion, Reeves said, “I’m opposed to Obamacare expansion in Mississippi.” And he said it three times in a row with a defiant tone. End of answer.

Reeves is going to continue his cost-cutting, tax-cutting platform, although he advocated further teacher pay raises. Also, look for Reeves to make Nancy Pelosi his punching bag, even though the governor has little to do with federal policy.

The Millsaps poll does seem to indicate Mississippi voters are growing tired of eight years of Republican belt tightening. Jim Hood will be a formidable opponent for Reeves. This race will be the first real test of the new Republican monopoly.

Another factor is Hood’s more affable, good-ole-boy persona compared to Reeves, who can be a bit stiff and stuffy.

The poll had a lot of other interesting results. Mississippians support early voting by a 70-percent margin. Eighty-three percent support allowing rural electric cooperatives to get into the high speed internet business. The House just passed such a bill.

Hood’s lawsuit against the three biggest opioid manufacturers has 70 percent support, another factor that will help him in the governor’s race. Mississippians don’t like getting sued, as tort reform illustrated, but we love to sue big, rich out-of-state corporations if it brings money into the general fund.

Fifty-five percent of voters prefered to address the $75 million shortfall of the Public Employees Retirement System by funding additional state costs rather than cutting benefits to state workers.

Here’s a jaw dropper: The poll found 67 percent of voters supported a ballot initiative for medical marijuana, which was approved last year in neighboring Arkansas. Only 24 percent oppose.

The state legislature is still not very popular, according to the poll, with 46 percent disapproving of its work compared to 24 percent approving. Ouch! Everybody likes their local representative but they dislike the body as a whole. What’s with that?

After a tough election, the poll found Cindy Hyde-Smith has a minus-12 percent approval rating. She’ll make that up over time. Meanwhile, lieutenant governor candidate Delbert Hosemann has a whopping plus 30 percent rating.

When asked, “Do you believe Mississippi is headed in the right direction or wrong direction?” 36 said “right” and 42 percent said “wrong.” Younger voters were twice as likely to say “wrong direction” than older voters.

Chism Strategies was founded by Brad Chism, a long-time Democrat. As Mark Twain reportedly said, “There are lies, damn lies and statistics.”

But the poll seems very professionally done and the polling group seems to be representative of the state in terms of age, race and party affiliation. For instance, 32 percent were strong Republicans and 20 percent were strong Democrats. The rest were somewhere in between.

If the poll is accurate, the Republican Party dominance in our state may not be ironclad.

Greenwood, Miss. (Delta News)

Mississippi’s Secretary of State, paid a visit to the Delta this morning to meet with supporters, and residents in the community to make a special announcement.

Dozens of supporters filled the room as Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann came to Greenwood announcing his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor.

Hosemann says, “It’s a great day, we’ve been all over Mississippi, and we’ve had a wonderful response. As you can see here we’ve had hundreds of people to show up, and this is just the announcement.”

Serving for Secretary of State for 12 years, Hosemann says now he’s ready to move on. In his 20 minute speech, he touched on topics such as infrastructure, and an educated workforce.

“We’ve been blessed to raise a billion dollars for public education since we started. We’ve gotten business laws right in Mississippi. We got voter ID through and now everybody thinks it’s a great idea. Now it’s time to move on, and we’re going to start talking about an educational workforce which is critical here in the Delta, that we can bring industries back here people to work here like Milwaukee Tools. We can do that elsewhere.”

Mayor Carolyn McAdams says she’s been awaiting the news of the announcement.

“Delbert Hosemann has been a really good Mississippian. He’s done great things in his role as Secretary of State. He supports Mississippi, he does great things for Mississippi, and more importantly he does great things for Greenwood. So when you do great things for your state it trickles down to all the cities, and municipalities.”

Walton Gresham, Supporter of Hosemann says, “He has done an excellent job of Secretary of State, he’s transformed that office. It’s so easy to do business in the State of Mississippi now if you are a corporation, and I expect the same thing out of him for the next 4 years as Lt. Governor. He will do a great job, he’s a great man, he’s dedicated to the State of Mississippi. I can’t think of anyone I rather have as Lt Governor than Delbert Hosemann.”

Columbus, Miss. (Starkville Daily News)

After announcing his candidacy for lieutenant governor Wednesday morning, Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann made a stop in the Golden Triangle.

In a speech at BankTEL Systems in Columbus, Hosemann laid down the basics of his platform, with a particular focus on education and roads. He also touched on the importance of business to Mississippi.

Hosemann was elected secretary of state in 2007, and before that was an attorney and developer. He is a native of Warren County.

“You see this growth around Mississippi, and this is intellectual growth,” Hosemann said. “It’s smart growth. It’s people that are making significant economic impacts both for themselves and their employees.”

He said none of the growth would have been possible without education, both academic and career-technical. He said 70 percent of the state’s workforce won’t have a bachelor’s degree and commended various vocational programs and cooperation with employers.

“We believe that every single child, now matter what his capabilities, needs to have the maximum potential to succeed, and with that, there are special kids who need special help,” Hosemann said. “We were fortunate to work on the autism bill. There are others who need special help, but all of that educated workforce means that every child gets in the educated workforce.”

Hosemann also emphasized the importance of higher education, referencing Mississippi State University as an economic driver for the region.

“Those university systems will be a key to where we’re going, key leadership to where we’re going, particularly Mississippi State University,” Hosemann said.

He also voiced support for a pay raise for Mississippi teachers, which is a topic expected to be a point of discussion during the regular legislative session that began this week.

He discussed roads and infrastructure needs, including hopes to improve roads in north Mississippi. He said even with money being used for statewide infrastructure improvements, progress was slow.

“There are no new roads, really,” Hosemann said. “We need new roads in north Mississippi. There are parts of the Highway 15 to Highway 25 corridor just begging to be four-laned. In our budget, which is over $1 billion, we find that we can’t even do any new construction.”

He called infrastructure improvements a “key” to getting Mississippi products and people to work.

He said he chose to run for the lieutenant governor’s seat because of its power within both the legislative and executive branches of state government. He said he had kept an office in the state capitol building the past 12 years, giving him the opportunity to get to know legislators and be a part of various pieces of legislation.

“I got everything through the legislature that I wanted, and I think that’s given me a very good view for how to operate,” Hosemann said.

Hosemann also referenced the birth of his seventh grandchild, Howard Delbert, saying it was important for Howard and other young Mississippians to have a bright future ahead and be able to have opportunities available to them in the state.

“We have a great state,” Hosemann said. “We have great people, innovative people. We just need to continue to work to be positive about what we are going to do and aggregate our intellect together. We will prosper in Mississippi.”

Meridian, Miss. (Meridian Star)

Delbert Hosemann, the Secretary of State for Mississippi, made a stop Thursday in Meridian at Structural Steel Services, Inc. as part of a statewide campaign for his run as lieutenant governor.

Tommy Dulaney and Rebecca Combs-Dulaney, the president/CEO and vice presidents for public relations of Structural Steel, respectively, introduced Hosemann to the crowd of two to three dozen supporters.

“Some of this major work being done is going to Amazon in Bessemer (Alabama) and we’re hoping to get the next few bids from Amazon,” Combs-Dulaney said, gesturing to the steel work within the plant. “If you don’t think companies like Amazon are in Mississippi, you’re wrong. They’re here because of people like (Hosemann).”

Hosemann spoke of the importance of small businesses and workforce development beginning at local high schools and continuing at colleges such as Meridian Community College.

“My background was representing small businesses around me and I intend to assist East Mississippi,” Hosemann said. “So we’re training our children earlier for a meaningful career.”

Hosemann spoke about his newborn grandson, less than a week old, who made him think about the future of Mississippi and the opportunities within the state for future generations.

He made a commitment to raising the state’s labor participation, which sits at 55 percent, at least 1 percent a year by reaching out to unemployed youth, non-violent formerly incarcerated people and elsewhere.

“We want them working and staying out of trouble and paying taxes,” Hosemann said.

Richland, Miss. (Mississippi Today)

Republican Delbert Hosemann, who rode a comical ad of an elderly woman mispronouncing his first name to election as secretary of state in 2007, announced Wednesday he is running for lieutenant governor.

Hosemann said this past spring he would not be a candidate for re-election in 2019, but did not reveal which office he would pursue. Most believed, though, it would be lieutenant governor so Wednesday’s announcement was no surprise.

The three-term secretary of state said the Legislature — led by the lieutenant governor as the presiding officer of the Senate and the speaker of the House — “controls the budget and all the laws” and is “where I can make the most difference.”

Hosemann, thanks in part to the original campaign ad where the woman called him everything from Dilbert to Gilbert, but never Delbert, has some of the highest name identification in the state, according to various polls of politicians. Some had speculated he would run for governor.

It is commonly believed that Hosemann and incumbent Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, the Republican front runner for governor this year, have a frosty relationship.

“I want to be a part of leaving a better educated, healthier, and more prosperous Mississippi to our children and grandchildren,” said Hosemann, whose seventh grandchild was born this past week. “The next lieutenant governor will have a significant impact on your future and our future.”

Hosemann, age 71, made his initial announcement Wednesday morning at the driving academy for KLLM trucking company where Chief Executive Officer James Richards praised his accomplishments. Hosemann said his campaign would focus on the importance of Mississippi developing “an educated work force.”

About 75 supporters attended the announcement. Hosemann planned nine other announcements today and Thursday across the state.

State Rep. Jay Hughes, D-Oxford, announced in May that he is running for lieutenant governor and already has been campaigning vigorously across the state.

No other person has announced intention to run for the office of lieutenant governor. The qualifying deadline is March 1.

Hosemann, a Vicksburg native who now lives in Jackson, is an attorney. Before running and winning the office of secretary of state in 2007, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House.

Hosemann said he was stepping down as secretary of state because he had accomplished his goals, which included enacting a voter identification law, increasing the revenue from 16th Section land for the public schools and streamlining the process for a business to incorporate.

The issue of voter ID was a particularly contentious one for the state when approved by voters in 2011 and first enacted for the 2014 election.

Hosemann was a staunch advocate of requiring people to show a government-issued photo ID to vote. Many believe that the requirement is troublesome in Mississippi with its history of voter suppression.

But voter ID was incorporated into Mississippi elections with no lawsuits filed to try to block it.

Tupelo, Miss. (Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal)

Jackson, Miss (WJTV)

A new survey from the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office indicate businesses want an educated workforce but don’t have people to fill the jobs.

More than 5,600 businesses responded to the survey and found despite record number of jobs available there aren’t enough people to fill them.

“This is real solid data about where Mississippi is going and we need to pay attention,” Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said,

He adds, despite companies wanting skilled workers many companies have failed to reach out or don’t have access to educational institutions.

“You don’t want to get a young man or woman walking across a high school and give them a diploma and ask them what are you going to do now, we’re way late when we do that,” he said.

Hosemann says are beginning to understand the need to go and get employees.

“They are realizing that working pool we’re going to have to compete and the only way to compete is to get in these schools and get the best one out for us,” the Secretary said.

The results of the survey has been shared with state leaders and could be acted on in the new legislative session,

“I would encourage that member of the legislature to listen, this is over 5 percent of Mississippi businesses,” he said. “Every one of these questions was aimed at public policy part and they should be viewed as that.”

Greenwood, Miss. (Greenwood Commonwealth)

Leflore County will gain a little more than $7,000 from the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office after the sale of tax-forfeited property within the county.

Read the full story here