/Hosemann still pushing election reform

Hosemann still pushing election reform

Hosemann, whose comprehensive reform bill for election reform was unexpectedly killed during the closing hours of the session’s last hour, has plans to contact Gov. Phil Bryant to convene a special legislative session in order to review the bill. Hosemann stated that the bill was a compromise piece of legislation which would still be effective. It must be passed. We will make it next year if we fail to pass it in special session. It’s worth putting on the special session agenda this calendar year. I will express my gratitude to the governor for that.” Hosemann passed the comprehensive reform within 72 hours, which was a feat of engineering after more than two years. The omnibus reform was crafted by a committee that included 37 members, including Republicans, Democrats, senators, representatives, election commissioners, attorneys, and senators. Hosemann stated that he spent 14 hours with members of the committee in hearings before legislative committees. The original bill was more than 800 pages in length and covered nearly every cornerstone of Mississippi elections. It called for early voting and online enrollment; tightening campaign finance spending regulations; barring voting across political lines after primaries; and better training of poll workers. Hosemann was unable to vote on the online registration and early voting sections of the bill after a tweak by Congress in March. He said that he could live with the watered-down version. It passed unanimously when it reached the respective chambers to be voted on. The first House vote was 120-0 and the first Senate vote was 51-0. It would have represented the most extensive reform of any type in the 2016 legislative session. It would have been Hosemann’s political pin for the 2019 statewide elections. It looked likely to pass up until three days before 2016’s regular session ended. It was then killed by the House, which is the same body that adopted it after it had been considered. Hosemann stated, “I was dismayed. I was disappointed.” It had bipartisan support. It was geographically dispersed. After two years of hard work, we finally brought a significant piece of legislation to the Legislature. “Now we don’t even have a bill.” This was due to campaign finance reform. The issue gained prominence after media reports, including one by The Clarion-Ledger about lawmakers using campaign funds for their personal use. The bill would have allowed political donations to be used for activities that are related to running for office or campaigning. The proposal would prohibit funds from being used to pay rent or mortgages unless they are used for campaign purposes. The money could not be used to purchase vehicles or clothing, except for campaign cars and gear like T-shirts. Proponents of reform believe that laws regarding campaign fund use must be clarified. House Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Jeff Smith (R-Columbus), feared that the proposed campaign finance laws were too restrictive. Smith said that “you know we’re going do something wrong, because we’re not from Mississippi.” He suggested that the House Ethics Committee ensure fellow members are in line and allow the Mississippi Secretary-of-State and Attorney General to have oversight. Smith was unable to comment on Hosemann’s suggestion for a special session regarding election reform. Bryant suggested that a special session be held in June to allow lawmakers to decide how to distribute a $150 million check from BP regarding oil spillage damages. The Legislature included $49 million of this payment in its fiscal year 2017 budget earlier this month. This leaves $109 million for lawmakers. Bryant would be authorized to add the election reform bill and the BP settlement allocation to the June special session – Hosemann stated that he will pursue this. Hosemann stated that Mississippi is ready to support election reform. “Our bipartisan effort was unanimously voted in and it got it there. We shouldn’t give up on our hope for common-sense voter reform, no matter what happened in the final 72 hours of session.”_x000D