Another revenue proposal that I always work very hard on passed the Senate and House for $20 million for the very popular Local Bridge Replacement Program. Funds from this program have replaced many unsafe bridges in Panola and Tate Counties.

Yet another revenue bill passed the Senate and House and was sent to Governor Barbour for his consideration that provided $2.8 million to Northwest Community College for capital improvements. Northwest is so many things to so many of us and we are so proud of the wonderful school and its’ faculty and administration.

Our local Boys & Girls Clubs do such a fantastic job with so many at risk children. These clubs will receive $5.5 million from the Mississippi Department of Human Services and it appears $1 million from possible settlement funds from pending state litigation. Of course this Senate and House appropriation must be approved by the Governor to complete the process.

We also passed the conference report (the Senate and House compromise) on the K-12 Education funding package. This final action on the education budget contained an increase from fiscal year 2007 of $213.8 million which represented a 9.3% increase. Of course the $2.503 billion is by far the largest general fund appropriation and is the largest education budget ever. In fact, this budget has continued to increase every single year for as long as I can remember during my service to you representing your Mississippi State Senate District 10 even through the multiple years of a flat economy. It is very unfortunate that those desiring some type of personal gain have reported to you falsely otherwise. The Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) is fully funded in this appropriation. A 3% teacher pay increase also passed. Not only have I always supported MAEP, but I was personally a vital force in its creation. It is a wonderful funding formula and is so improved over the old formula. I stood up for MAEP when others challenged it in the legislature.

Dr. Ty Hubbard appeared before a Senate Committee for confirmation of his appointment by Governor Haley Barbour to the Mississippi Optometry Board. He has represented his profession admirably and was confirmed by the full Senate later in the week. We congratulate him for his success. We also enjoyed seeing Billy Williams of Batesville at the Capitol representing the rural water associations.