MS lawmakers promise necessary funding for tornado relief with days left in session

With just days left in the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers are working to fit natural disaster aid funds into ongoing budget negotiations in order to meet immediate needs from the devastating tornadoes that swept across the state Friday.

Standing alongside federal and local officials Sunday, Gov. Tate Reeves said he is working with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and legislators to reach a number on the state funds needed to match federal disaster funds. The governor said he had specifically spoken with Speaker Philip Gunn and Sen. Briggs Hopson, R-Vicksburg. Hopson chairs the Senate appropriations committee and represents much of the affected area.

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"We have a disaster trust fund in Mississippi," Reeves said. "We made a request sometime yesterday of Sen. Hopson, who is the chairman of appropriations that represents part of this county, maybe all of this county. We made a request to Speaker Gunn, who was up here with Sen. Hopson yesterday, to give us approximately $5 million to get started. We will have the resources though. We are going to have the resources to do whatever is necessary to work with our federal partners."

On Monday, Hopson said they are still working to determine a number for the budget. It could end up being more than $5 million. Despite a limited amount of time in the session and ongoing assessments of damage, Hopson said those impacted should not be concerned that not enough funds will be allocated from the state.

"We're trying to make the best calculation of what's going to be necessary to help those areas that have been damaged. One thing, I suspect that if it's really a bad situation the governor would call us back in for a special session if there are additional funds needed. I don't think anybody would have a problem with that," Hopson said.

Critically, any disaster relief funds coming from the state would be matched by a larger percentage of federal funds, increasing the total. These early relief funds would be used, at first, to assist with ongoing cleanup efforts.

Hopson also said negotiations on the wider state operating budget are ongoing.

"We've got one or two issues that are still hanging out there. We'll see," Hopson said.

The prospect of fully funding the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, under a new formula, as proposed by Senate leaders earlier in session, is one of those sticking points, Hopson said.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi legislature: Money will be coming for tornado victims