The Other Side: Mississippi Today's Political Podcast

Mississippi Today's political team discusses the tension between the state's top three leaders about how much income tax to cut, what annual budget to write, what projects to fund with federal stimulus and how to redraw legislative districts. As the scheduled end to the 2022 legislative session looms, how will lawmakers actually pull this off in time?

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann details his issues with House Speaker Philip Gunn's proposal to eliminate the state's personal income tax. Hosemann said he wants to cut taxes, but "I'm not going to risk the future of Mississippi." Hosemann also says Mississippi is already behind other states in allocating billions in federal pandemic stimulus funds and warns delays could have dire consequences, includin...

State Sen. Angela Hill, a Republican from Picayune, joins Mississippi Today's Adam Ganucheau and Geoff Pender to discuss her bill, a proposal seeking to create "Buddy's Law," to provide mental health resources to minors who abuse animals. She also discussed tension between GOP leaders during the 2022 legislative session.

Mississippi Today's Geoff Pender and Bobby Harrison discuss a "crazy" deadline week for the Mississippi Legislature that included a six-hour debate on critical race theory, a stare-down between House and Senate leaders on teacher pay and the constant undercurrent caused by Speaker Philip Gunn's obsession with eliminating the personal income tax.

Mississippi Today's political team discussing the growing tension over dueling House and Senate income tax proposals. Many fear all legislation is in jeopardy because leaders can't agree on tax cut details. 

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann joined Mississippi Today editor-in-chief Adam Ganucheau to discuss his priorities for spending hundreds of millions in federal stimulus dollars. They also discussed the dueling House and Senate income tax cut proposals. 

Mississippi Today's political team breaks down the House proposal to reinstate a ballot initiative. Mississippi has been without an initiative since May 2021, when the state Supreme Court struck down the process by which voters can place policy changes on a statewide ballot for approval.

Longtime Mississippi Sierra Club Director Louie Miller talks about Mississippi's state parks system, which has suffered from decades of neglected maintenance. The Sierra Club opposes a current push to privatize state parks, and says Mississippi should instead use some of the billions in federal stimulus money flowing to the state to upgrade the state's parks, and keep them affordable and accessibl...

Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender get the lowdown on redistricting from Rep. Jim Beckett, who is handling the task in the Mississippi House. Beckett is putting together a consequential puzzle: redrawing the 122 House districts to match population shifts found in the 2020 Census.

Mississippi Today's political team discusses what happened in the Mississippi Senate on Jan. 21. In an unprecedented move, every Black senator walked out of the chamber as their white colleagues voted on a bill to purportedly ban critical race theory.

Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender talk with Bell, D-Jackson, about the myriad of issues facing the 2022 legislative session, ranging from taxes, to teacher pay to medical marijuana and others. Bell also stressed the need to address issues facing the city of Jackson to help the state as a whole  progress.

Mississippi Today's political team discusses how a Mississippi medical marijuana program may be growing less likely as lawmakers cannot seem to get on the same page. 

Mississippi Today's politics team breaks down the seven biggest issues lawmakers will address in the 2022 session. Reports Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender join Adam Ganucheau to discuss what to expect during the session and to analyze key relationships under the Capitol dome.

Mississippi Today editor at large Marshall Ramsey joins Adam Ganucheau to recount some of his most memorable stories during his 25-year career as a Mississippi editorial cartoonist.

Mississippi Today editors Kayleigh Skinner and Adam Ganucheau discuss potential Mississippi legislation that would aim to ban critical race theory from being taught in Mississippi schools — even though critical race theory isn't currently being taught in Mississippi schools.

State Sen. John Polk of Hattiesburg is chairman of a special committee studying how the state can best spend $1.8 billion in American Rescue Plan Act federal COVID-19 stimulus money. Polk provides an update on the committee's work over the last several weeks and the challenges of coming up with a plan to create "transformational" change in Mississippi with the unprecedented federal windfall of tax...

Mississippi Today journalists Julia James and Will Stribling join editor-in-chief Adam Ganucheau to discuss how Mississippi was at the center of a renewed national debate about abortion access and the U.S. Supreme Court's deliberations about Roe v. Wade.  

Mississippi Department of Transportation Director Brad White joins Mississippi Today's "The Other Side" podcast to discuss the $3.3 billion earmarked for Mississippi highway work in the recently passed federal infrastructure bill. White says the money will help, but will still be tightly controlled by federal highway officials. He notes the state has a more than $4 billion list of needed projects.

Mississippi Today's Adam Ganucheau, Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender discuss the unprecedented influx of federal money and the large state surplus and how those funds might be spent by the state's political leadership, starting in the 2022 legislative session  beginning Jan. 4.

Mississippi Today's Adam Ganucheau and Bobby Harrison preview several factors that will make the 2022 legislative session one of the most contentious and important in recent history.

Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, the House minority leader, tells Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender it is time to focus on spending the $1.8 billion in federal American Rescue Plan funds on pressing state needs such as health care, aid for essential workers, broadband and water and sewer. To do that, he said, a special session is needed to quickly deal with legalizing medical mari...

Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley is urging state, county and city officials to wisely spend billions in federal pandemic stimulus to tackle the state's most pressing needs. These, he said, given the federal rules on spending the money, are clear: water, sewerage and broadband projects. He noted more than 380,000 rural Mississippians do not have community water service.

Mississippi Today political reporters Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender discuss with House Judiciary B Chair Rep. Nick Bain, R-Corinth, the state provision imposing a lifetime voting ban on some people convicted of felonies and whether it could be changed without going through burdensome process of amending the Mississippi Constitution.

Mississippi Today political reporter Geoff Pender talks with Rep. Lee Yancey, who has led the House's efforts to pass a medical marijuana program. Yancey detailed legislative negotiations about the marijuana program, as well as an impasse lawmakers have reached with Gov. Tate Reeves over several details of the proposal.

Mississippi Today journalists Adam Ganucheau and Geoff Pender discuss how Mississippi is behind many other states in determining how to spend billions in federal coronavirus-related stimulus funds.