Democratic lawmakers are being left in the dark on a budget proposal verbally agreed on by members of Mississippi’s Republican supermajority, according to party leaders.
Gov. Tate Reeves announced Friday that he plans to call a special session for the middle of the week after GOP negotiators in the House and Senate reached a deal on Fiscal Year 2026 – one that “does not materially increase state spending, is fiscally conservative, and will help us continue Mississippi’s historic economic momentum,” per the Republican governor.
Sen. Derrick Simmons and Rep. Robert Johnson, who serve as minority leaders in their respective chambers, issued a scathing statement in response to the reported agreement, saying there’s been a lack of transparency throughout the process and the proposed budget has not been released to all parties.
“In a representative democracy, transparency is not optional – it is essential,” a portion of the joint statement reads. “Legislative members from both chambers and all parties must be afforded a meaningful and sufficient opportunity to review legislation in order to effectively question and/or debate measures that will directly impact the lives of Mississippi citizens. Withholding finalized legislation from duly elected lawmakers jeopardizes the integrity of the legislative process and erodes public trust.”
Simmons and Johnson went on to call for the budget proposal to be released to the entire legislature immediately, citing “consequential errors” in major legislation during the regular session. Specifically, they pointed to the enactment of a typo-riddled tax cut bill that soured relations between GOP members and helped lead to a state budget not being passed in a timely manner.
During the regular session earlier this year, House Republicans were adamant on completely phasing out the state’s income tax while their colleagues in the Senate preferred a more measured approach. When the Senate’s proposal was passed in March, errant decimal points unnoticed by those behind the bill paved the way for House Republicans to get mostly what they wanted and ultimately created enough intraparty tension for lawmakers to leave the capitol in April without passing a budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1.
With Republicans having enough members to pass a budget without bipartisan support, GOP negotiators have spent the past two months working behind the scenes without Democrats present, according to Simmons and Johnson.
“This request comes amid known, consequential errors in prior legislation, specifically House Bill 1, which ultimately became law despite containing significant drafting flaws,” the Democratic leaders’ statement continued. “Such incidents highlight the dangers of conducting critical legislative business without full transparency or adequate scrutiny by the broader legislative body.
“This request comes amid a state budget not being passed during the regular legislative session due to internal disagreements between legislative leaders. If those same legislative leaders have reached a ‘handshake agreement on a proposed $7 billion state budget for Fiscal Year 2026,’ legislators, regardless of party affiliation, should have full access to the measures under consideration.”
Whether GOP leaders release the budget proposal to other parties or not before the special session is called, Reeves is hoping lawmakers can make quick on getting it passed. The longer they stay, the more money their return to the capitol will cost taxpayers.
“The single most important thing the legislature is responsible for is appropriating money for our annual operating budget,” the governor said during a press conference earlier this month.
