Mississippi State Government & Agencies
BPF strives to inform citizens and elected officials on its views regarding public policies that benefit or cause hard to Mississippi's economic condition. Bigger Pie believes sound public policy grounded in fiscal responsibility is a cornerstone to successful communities.
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MS Legislative Session
Less Regulations and More Freedoms
The Occupational Licensing Review Commission could soon perform reviews of existing regulations now that a bill is headed to the governor’s desk for signature.
One-Time CARES Act Money for Recurring Expenses
For years, Republican leaders in Mississippi have decried, and rightly so, the use of “one-time money“ to pay recurring expenses in the state budget. Then-candidate Haley Barbour complained about Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and the Democrat-lead Legislature’s use of funds from lawsuit settlements or other single-instance receipts to pay for ongoing expenses of state government, rather than cut the budget to match recurring revenue.
The MDHS Scandal and the Need for Whistleblower Laws
DHS Scandal – The dark specter of crony corruption once again lingers over Mississippi’s Capitol. This very sad story begs many questions. Where is the oversight of elected officials? Where is the stewardship of appointed officials? Where are the whistleblower laws that would encourage, protect and incentivize whistleblowers to provide sunshine from the grassroots level and from inside state agencies?
PERS Management Fees Could Be Capped With Senate Bill 2115
A much-needed bill in the Mississippi Legislature could reduce the amount that the state’s defined benefit pension system pays to outside money managers.
Mississippi’s Legislative Session 2020
Mississippi’s legislative session began Tuesday, January 7th. With the “conservative party” dominance from top to bottom, 2020 is a great opportunity to enact pro-growth policies that would accelerate Mississippi’s economic growth.
Time for Reform of Mississippi’s Defined Benefit Pension System
A cost of living adjustment should be related to the real world inflation rate. Mississippi PERS’ COLA at 3 percent is not. In 2005, the plan’s COLA payout to retirees was $211 million or about 18.9 percent of total benefits paid out. This year, it grew to almost $700 million, an increase of 7.6 percent from 2018 ($650 million). The COLA payouts are now 25.4 percent of all benefits paid to retirees.