JACKSON — Mississippi voters may not get a chance to vote on a constitutional amendment in November requiring a balanced state budget.
A House majority voted in favor of the proposal Tuesday, but it did not get the two-thirds vote required to get on the ballot.
House members could vote again on the measure later. But the Democratic minority blocking it decried it as unnecessary and aimed at pacifying Republican primary voters.
“We’ve wasted an hour-and-a-half debating something we’ve done since 1920,” said Rep. Bryant Clark, D-Pickens. “We’ve got a resolution in search of a problem. What problem is it going to fix?”
The state’s lawmakers have balanced budgets for decades by law, but Republicans said they wanted to ensure that practice will continue in the future. The measure was co-sponsored by 63 Republicans, who argue that further safeguards are warranted.
“My belief is most of this body thinks we need to balance our budget and this is the strongest measure available,” said Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia.
Democrats tried to change the bill to outlaw deficit appropriations. They said that would stop the practice of appropriating less than lawmakers know is needed to pay for certain programs, such as Medicaid, and making up the deficit later.
“The oldest trick in the world is to underfund your budget and come back the next year and pay for your deficit with one-time money,” said Rep. Johnny Stringer, D-Montrose. He should know — he’s a former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
Democrats also tried to change the bill to outlaw the use of one-time money to fund continuing expenses. Republicans say they’ve stopped that practice, used heavily by both parties to make ends meet during the recession.
“If you want a true balanced budget, if you only want to spend what comes in, then this amendment does that,” said Rep. Omeria Scott, D-Laurel.
Republicans rejected both amendments, saying they didn’t want to impose further strictures on how the state currently spends its money.
“We need the flexibility to work through the budgets as we currently do and have done for many years,” said House Constitution Committee Chairman Scott DeLano, R-Biloxi.
Online: House Concurrent Resolution 22: http://bit.ly/1vhe6dO
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