Medicaid bill in Senate committee

Just an FYI- the Medicaid bill (HB1013) that provides the much-needed funding for the poor, elderly, and disabled of our state, is currently in the Senate Public Health & Welfare committee and the Finance committee.

Our ever-so-faithful-to-Barbour Lt. Governor, Phil Bryant, has double-referred this bill, which we know usually means the end for a piece of legislation. However, the Communities for a Clean Bill of Health are asking everyone to call Phil Bryant about this bill, which will fund Medicaid by increasing the cigarette tax by $1.

As Rep. Dirk Dedeaux, author of the bill, said, "This isn't made-up." There is a dire funding crisis for Medicaid this year.

Call your senator (and Phil Bryant) today and tell them to get this bill out of committee and on to the floor!

Click here to see which Senators are on which committee.

Speaker Pro Tem Election

Dirk Dedeaux (D-Perkinston) nominated J.P. Compretta (D-Bay St. Louis).
Billy Broomfield (D-Moss Point) and Hank Zuber (R-Ocean Springs) seconded.

Jack Gadd (D-Hickory Flat) nominated Robert Johnson (D-Natchez). Linda Coleman (D-Mound Bayou) seconded.

Update: Compretta (D-Bay St. Louis) wins 72 to 48.

Update:
Compretta was the Speaker Pro Tem during the last term. Dirk Dedeaux, Billy Broomfield, and Hank Zuber supported J.P. Compretta specifically because he is from the Coast. Folks on the Mississippi Gulf Coast often feel ignored by the legislature especially considering their outsized contribution to the economy. Some Republicans (mostly from the Coast) broke with the Smith block to vote for fellow Coast representative J.P. Compretta.

Johnson was selected by Smith to help him build support for his unsuccessful bid for Speaker of the House. Several Black Caucus members broke with the McCoy block to support him, but most also voted for his deputy.