The Mississippi Legislature is proposing cutting nearly 2,000 unfilled government positions, and doing away with civil service protections for various state agencies. The move coincides with the Joint Legislative Budget Committee adopting a lean spending proposal for the next fiscal year.
Removing civil service protections could allow agency leaders to cut staff and paid positions. The frugal spending plan could include $13 million in cuts by reorganizing the state's personnel board protection. The wide staff reshuffling could open the door for directors to eliminate funding for unfilled positions.
The committee is made up of Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, House Speaker Philip Gunn and various state representatives and senators. The budget recommendations center on cutting out-of-state travel for state employees, and could place a moratorium on the state from purchasing new vehicles for officials, which could save $19 million. The out-of-state travel reductions could save $12 million, a near 20 percent reduction from last year's budget.
Each year, the Legislature meets to adopt a proposal to guide the state's upcoming budget, which the state must vote in once term begins on January 3.
The total preliminary state budget sits at around $6.1 billion, just over $195 million less than the 2017 budget, following cuts mandated by Gov. Phil Bryant. The proposal recommends the reinstatement of the 2 percent set aside rule, and spend 98 percent of state revenues to refill the state's "rainy day fund." The proposal leaves over $641 million in funding unallocated, according to the proposal.
For state education, the proposal calls for level funding throughout the K-12 public education budget, totaling just over $2.2 billion. The budget recommendations call for an increase of $20.4 million in overall education spending for schools which earn higher ratings. For spending decrease recommendations, the committee offered $4.5 million in cuts for programs for high schoolers needing remedial courses when starting high education courses.
For Institutions of Higher Learning, the committee recommends over 5 percent in budget cuts to $705.17 million. For state universities, the committee offered a 13 percent reduction in subsidy programs of $5.1 million. Of the higher learning budget, universities could see a 6.7 percent overall decrease from the current budget cycle to around $377 million.
Mississippi State University could see cuts totaling 11 percent across the university's Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, the Cooperative Extension Service, the university's Forest and Wildlife Research Center and the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine. Similarly, the committee recommends a 22 percent decrease in funding — nearly $3 million — for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
Health services including mental health and veterans affairs are also included for proposed budget cuts. For mental health spending, the committee suggested a 3.2 percent decrease to around $233 million. The Veterans Affairs Board could see a 19 percent decrease in spending to $4.4 million, from over $5.5 million. Medicaid could be up for a 2.5 percent funding decrease to $909.3 million.
For public safety spending, the committee offered a near-5 percent decrease in funding to around $84 million, from $88.9 million.
To view the complete document, visit lbo.ms.gov.