The Legislature allocated funds for small business grants, internet access for rural areas, and computers to assist schools in distance learning during the pandemic and to reimburse hospitals and cities for pandemic-related costs. Gov. Tate Reeves didn’t immediately respond to a Thursday request for comment or say whether he would approve of the Legislature’s CARES Act spending. After a heated fight between Reeves, the Legislature, over federal coronavirus relief funding control, the Legislature’s earmarking the funds follows a heated debate. Reeves stated that emergency spending should only be managed by the governor and cited precedent such as federal Hurricane Katrina relief. Legislators said that the Legislature has the constitutional responsibility to control state spending. The lawmakers are winning for now. Reeves will have $50 million in his “discretionary fund”, which he will manage, as part of the spending plan that was passed by the Legislature Wednesday night. $300 million is the largest block of CARES Act spending that lawmakers approved in May. This money was for small businesses. The spending is already underway with $240 million being used to grant grants of up to $25,000 for eligible businesses with fewer than 50 employees. $60 million was used to provide emergency grants of $2,000 each to small businesses. Philip Gunn, House Speaker, stated that the program was designed to help small businesses. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann pointed out that Mississippi was the first state to receive CARES Act money for small businesses. This spending includes $275 million to expand rural broadband and help schools buy tablets, computers, and other hardware for distance education in the midst of the pandemic. Hosemann stated Thursday that the legislation “brings connectivity to the globe for our children, teachers and parents and is an enormous leap forward for our state’s future.” Nearly $182 million from the CARES Act money was directed by lawmakers to the state’s unemployment fund to pay unprecedented unemployment benefits to Mississippians during the shutdown. Gov. Gov. Legislators temporarily amended laws to ensure that businesses are not forced to pay more due to the high unemployment rate caused by the pandemic. Federal guidelines will govern how the CARES Act spending is spent. It must be done by the end of the calendar year. The Legislature added a caveat in that any money not spent by the end of the year will be deposited to the unemployment trust fund. To expedite the spending of money under the CARES Act earmarks by the federal deadline, the state purchasing rules and state contracting were reduced. Some lawmakers wondered if this was a recipe to trouble. Rep. Jerry Turner (R-Baldwyn), who is a champion for purchasing and contracting reform, said, “I understand that it falls under emergency spending. It has to be quickly-tracked.” But I can tell you that misuse is possible when you reduce accountability, transparency, and allow for competitive (bidding) bids. While I appreciate the need to fast-track, I would prefer it not be the case.” Senator John Polk, R.Hattiesburg, another lawmaker, was successful in making sure that CARES spending is covered by emergency purchasing regulations. This is different from being completely exempt from state requirements. Polk stated that he believes claims about the need to follow state purchasing and contracting regulations would be too slow for them to be true. Polk stated that the original wording would have allowed any agency head buy whatever they wanted at any price. The Legislature approved $1.25 billion in CARES Act funding. Lawmakers also approved the majority of a $6.8 billion state budget on Wednesday night. They were unable to pass a budget for Department of Marine Resources because of disagreements over $52 million in federal Gulf Restoration money. They will likely return to session in the coming days to discuss the DMR budget._x000D