Horhn Speaks on 'Tea Party Governor,' Sales Tax Vote

The 1-percent sales tax is an opportunity, and not a burden.

That was the message state Sen. John Horhn delivered to a packed house at the weekly Friday Forum meeting at Koinonia Coffee House near Jackson State Friday morning.

Horhn is one of the original authors of Senate Bill 3268—the 2009 legislation that grants Jackson the authority to impose the tax if passed by a 60 percent referendum vote. He said today that not only would the tax help fix the city’s streets, sewer and water-distribution system, but it would also change the perception of Jackson in the Legislature.

“There’s certainly a ‘love to hate Jackson’ mentality,’” Horhn said. “Most of my colleagues are from small towns with populations lower than 8,000 people, and they perceive Jackson in a certain way. This tax will show the rest of the state that we are ready to make the tough decisions to help ourselves.”

Horhn also spoke on a number of other issues on which he thinks the Legislature is primed to make a move. He said Democrats in both houses of the Legislature are going to continue trying to convince their Republican colleagues to expand Medicare.

He said he knows it’s an uphill battle, because even if it gets passed in both legislative bodies, it would still have to get the signature of Gov. Phil Bryant.

“Our governor is known around the country as a Tea Party governor,” Horhn said. “He is entrenched with the Tea Party. He has said many times he would not support the expansion, even though the economic impact is obvious. You would create 9,000 jobs—more jobs than Nissan and Toyota combined—and 340,000 Mississippians who do not have access to health care would suddenly have that opportunity.”

Horhn also touted the Legislature’s support of the Mississippi Museum of History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, which are under construction on North Street next to the William Winter Archives, and said he’s going to be a strong proponent for finding some funding for Jackson State University’s proposal to build a state-of-the-art domed stadium.

But time and again, the conversation came back to the 1-percent sales tax. Many of the questions from the audience, who admittedly liked the idea of reasonably paved streets, centered around the commission that the legislation calls for to oversee the disbursement of the estimated $300 million the tax should generate over its 20-year lifespan.

That committee would be made up of 10 members, with the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House each appointing one member; the mayor of Jackson appointing three members; and the Greater Jackson Chamber of Commerce appointing four members. All of the members would have to be city residents except the ones appointed by the chamber of commerce, who have to own a business within the city limits. The Chambers are not required to live in the city.

The idea that people, even businessmen and women who have financial interest in the city, who do not live inside city limits telling Jacksonians what to do with their own money is an idea that stalled action on the proposed tax under former Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.

“The commission was a necessary evil in terms of getting the bill passed in the Legislature,” Horhn said. “I don’t think, in the long term, it has the power or muscle that people think. It’s more of a benign group than anything, because they still have to follow the city’s master plan.”

The referendum vote is set for Jan. 14, 2014. The city and other proponents of the tax have ramped up their campaigning. At Koinonia, a leaflet in support of the tax, paid for by a group called Jacksonians For Better Roads and Clean Water, says the tax makes sense and urges voters to go to the polls.

A call to the number at the bottom of the flier led to the voicemail of the law firm Lumumba, Freelon and Associates, the law office of Mayor Chokwe Lumumba and his partner Harvey Freelon.

“I think it’s time to raise the visibility of the campaign,” Horhn said. “We’re competing with the holiday season, which is always difficult when you are trying to gain momentum. But if the message is clear and consistent, the people will listen.”

Previous Comments

It was my understanding that the Chamber of Commerce had agreed to hand its committee slots over to the city. Is this not the case…?

#5041 | Author: Tom Head | Date: Dec 20 2013

Tom, see Tyler’s earlier stories. The mayor says he made a deal, but the chamber says nothing has changed since Lumumba took office.

#5043 | Author: Donna Ladd | Date: Dec 20 2013

How does expanding Medicare create 9,000 jobs? What studies can he cite to support that number?

#5046 | Author: JLucas | Date: Dec 20 2013

The 9,000 jobs figure comes from a Mississippi Health Advocacy study published in May, JLucus. You can read it [here][1]. Essentially, the jobs come from expanding the direct medical industry (doctors, nurses, phlebotomists, etc.) to support the thousands who would have health insurance under the expansion, plus all of the supporting and peripheral industries (everything from administrators and insurance adjusters and educators to medical supplies and pharmaceuticals), plus building and staffing new clinics and expanding existing facilities. Then, we’d also see new and expanding businesses to support more people working in Mississippi and spending money (such as retail, restaurants, housing, etc.). You could think of it as similar to the way a big chunk of federal money coming into the state to build new roads and maintain existing roadways. All kinds of jobs would be created, from those doing the actual construction expanding outward to support the workers and their families, plus the places where those people could spend their money. It seems that the exact numbers of new jobs created is difficult to estimate and, ultimately, support as being a direct result of an expansion; however, there’s little doubt that a huge influx of new money into the state will create opportunities for a great number of people. Not to mention that a healthier workforce means higher productivity and a more inviting atmosphere for businesses looking to locate or expand in Mississippi. [1]: http://mhap.org/images/road_to_reform/uploads/0513-Mississippi-Small-Business-and-Medicaid.pdf

#5047 | Author: RonniM | Date: Dec 21 2013

In one new report, it suggests that 20,000 new jobs would be created. The report, authored by David Becker and Michael Morrisey, both researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, affirms previous studies showing millions of dollars in additional economic activity would come from adding more people to the state-run insurance program for the poor. #Their analysis shows that Mississippi taxpayers would spend $579 million between 2014 and 2020, but draw more than $1.4 billion in tax revenues as a result, and generate over $14 billion in total new economic activity. It would also create 20,000 new jobs and provide an $848 million increase in net state and local tax revenues. The above is from an article in this newspaper called Medicare Expansion: Something Smart.

#5050 | Author: Turtleread | Date: Dec 21 2013