With the economy entering an uncertain period and federal Hurricane Katrina money ebbing, Gov. Haley Barbour (R) called for legislators to show fiscal discipline in his Jan. 21 speech before the politically split Legislature. Lawmakers will have to make tough choices, he said, and some good programs will be unfunded.
Barbour said the biggest funding challenge will be Medicaid, which faces a large shortfall. The governor also wants to shore up the state’s “rainy day” fund.
Barbour said his budget, however, will fully fund education under the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. He also plans to set aside money to give a raise to teachers who have been on the job for 25 years, and to fund a program that tests each first-grader for dyslexia and other learning disorders.
The governor also named two goals: to finish rebuilding the coast still struggling with Katrina damage and to expand the job creation of recent years. He said he opposes authorizing any new debt, unless it relates to creating jobs.
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