Jackson Jambalaya

I've ripped the Senator from Jackson a little for not getting his bill allowing Jackson to raise its sales tax out of committee as he is running for Mayor. Well, time to throw a bouquet out for his perserverance as he was able to get a modified form passed out of the Senate and sent to the House.

"Jackson voters will decide whether to raise taxes to help fix roads and hire more police if legislation that cleared the state Senate on Friday continues advancing.
Senate Bill 3268 cleared the full Senate with 30 lawmakers supporting it and 18 voting against it. Twenty-nine votes were required for the bill to pass. It could come up for more debate before heading to the House.
The bill allows the city to seek voter support to add a 1 percent sales tax on all items except hotels, restaurants, groceries, prescription drugs and purchases of large equipment such as vehicles and farm equipment.
After a similar bill died earlier this week, supporters of the legislation added provisions intended to provide accountability as to how the revenue is spent.
The surviving legislation requires an annual audit of the revenue and establishes a commission to oversee how the money is spent. Major economic development projects also were removed from the list of beneficiaries.
Raising sales taxes would require at least 60 percent of Jackson voters' support, according to the bill. If approved, the tax hike is expected to generate $21 million per year.
Seventy percent of the revenue would be used to fix roads, and 30 percent would be used to hire more police and raise officers' pay, according to the bill.
The measure also stipulates the tax hike would disappear in five years...." Clarion-Ledger Story

Predictably, Senator Redneck, oops I meant Hob Bryan from Amory, voted against it. I call him Senator Redneck because he is a bumpkin from Amory who just happens to wield some power in the Senate and his noted for his anti-Jackson stances. His crowning achievement is when he managed to steal the music museum from Jackson (thanks in no small part to Harvey sitting on his ass) for Meridian. His concern for poor people he states in the article was strangely absent when he voted to kill a bill allowing a new hospital to open in NE Jackson a few years ago that St. Dominics and Baptist opposed. Of course, he didn't mind getting CON's for new hospitals in HIS area. However, Horhn and others were able to overcome such opposition and pass this bill out of the Senate.