Gunn stated Monday that allowing this type of veto stand is a precedent. However, there is case law going back at least 100 years that states it is not a proper one. “I went to Governor after the vetoes and said that if there was another route, I would pursue it. What we have is an infringement by the executive branch on the duties of legislative branch. “We are only looking for the court that will uphold the law,” Gunn said to the Stennis Institute and Capitol Press Corps during an online forum Monday. The Republican speaker addressed many topics, including the lawsuit that he and Speaker Pro Tem Jason White had filed in August regarding Reeves’ line-items vetoes. Reeves vetoed $8 million in legislative spending to Mississippi hospitals and other providers of health care from federal funds that the state received for COVID-19. Although the governor vetoed a large portion of the annual budget for K-12 education in 2011, lawmakers have since rescinded that veto. Although the state constitution gives the governor partial veto power, courts have ruled that this authority is very limited and often sided with the Legislature. Gunn and others claimed that Reeves’ vetoes over specific spending violates the Constitution’s authority to control state spending. Gunn stated that both sides agreed that the facts are not in dispute and that they would only consider the case on the basis of filed briefs and not oral arguments. The case is currently before Hinds County Chancery Court. However, it is likely that either side will appeal to the state Supreme Court. Reeves, who clashed with lawmakers early and often in his first term of governor, was primarily concerned about federal COVID-19 money spending authority. Gunn also said:
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