White eyes education as part of his 2024 agenda
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State Auditor Shad White is not comfortable resting on his laurels, and as the calendar turns to 2024, he said there is plenty to pay attention to.
In his first five years in office White and his office helped recover more than $70 million through fraud investigations. He also has touted his office's investigation into the Mississippi welfare scandal, the largest public corruption scheme in state history.
He also believes more is needed to improve the state's workforce participation rate, one of the nation's worst. He has proposed investing in programs such as the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, which he said instills the importance of hard work.
To kick off the year, he said plenty of issues will need to be focused on.
"We have a legislative agenda in my office that has several items. I will be working very intently in that," White told the Clarion Ledger this week.
White and his office will recommend four bills. For each, there will be recommended committee assignments and his team will identify authors and are working with drafters to produce the bills.
The bills and a description as given by the auditor's office:
1. The Whistleblower Reward Act
Under the proposed statute, private citizens will be able to come forward with information about corruption or theft of taxpayer funds, and if their information leads to an arrest and recovery, the private citizen will receive a portion of what has been recovered. The law will use recovery amounts similar to the federal False Claims Act provisions on whistleblower rewards. Definitions of key terms will be written in a way similar to SEC regulations for their whistleblower reward program. Certain people, like elected officials, will not be eligible for receiving the whistleblower reward.
2. JROTC scholarship
Data from the Department of Defense shows Jackson Public Schools JROTC military program is achieving impressive results, particularly for students from trouble homes. JPS JROTC had an almost 100% graduation rate, compared to the JPS district graduation rate of 75.1%. JPS JROTC had an average attendance rate of 95% (5% absenteeism), compared to a chronic JPS high school absenteeism rate of 43.93%. The average ACT score for JPS JROTC cadets was 18.2, compared to the JPS average of 15.4 and the state average of 17.86. With that in mind, White proposes providing free community college (as a last-dollar scholarship) for JROTC graduates to encourage more students to participate in the program. Staff are currently working on a cost estimate for this proposal.
3. Funding degrees that fit state's economy
Mississippi currently gives little strategic thought to the majors funded at universities and whether they fit the economy. As a result, some degree programs produce students in fields with limited job openings here, so the graduates leave the state. This proposal would create a study commission of experts from MDE, Accelerate MS, the State Workforce Investment Board, IHL, etc., to recommend changes to university funding appropriations language, so degrees that fit Mississippi’s economy are funded at a higher level by taxpayers than those degree programs that do not.
4. Open Meetings Act reform
If a government body holds a meeting in violation of the Open Meetings Act, the proposed change to the law will state that the decision the body makes in that meeting is null and void. For example, if a city council enters into a garbage contract in a behind-closed-doors meeting in violation of the Act, the contract is void. The vendor would have to obtain approval in a legal, open meeting.
White, a Republican won his second full term in November after being appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant in 2018 and elected for the first time in 2019, is facing no opposition.
White defeated Democrat Larry Bradford, the mayor of Anguilla, a town with a population of fewer than 500.
Another accomplishment White wants to complete is auditing Mississippi's schools.
"We want to finish a bunch of school district audits, and we have one team that can be assigned to that," White said. "When I first got here, we were focusing a lot of county audits. That has switched over to school districts. Once we get through this year, we will have hit every school district in Mississippi."
Once that is complete, White said he expects to move on to small state agencies.
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"We also want to take a strong look at efficiencies in government," he said. "We want to find ways the government can be leaner and more effective for Mississippians. We really have done that a lot in the auditor's office since the 1990s as we have statutory authority to find inefficiencies."
While that is still the case, White said there will be a greater focus on that in 2024 and he and his office will focus more resources toward that goal.
He also said his office will try to wind down any investigations that are already ongoing.
"A perennial priority for us is our investigations," White said. "We will continue to work with prosecutors and continue to take any tips that come in the door and do good, mistake-free work."
As for the Mississippi welfare scandal, White said he and his team will continue to monitor the investigation.
"Really, at this point, the decision is in the hands of federal prosecutors as we relate to the criminal side of it," he said. "We started back in early 2020 to put a stop to the fraud scheme. Six people were indicted. Those six pleaded guilty."
He said he has turned the auditor's office file over to the FBI and that agency will follow through.
"They are going to be making a final decision of the course of this year, I think, of who is going to face criminal charges or if anyone else will face criminal charges," White said. "So, really, we are in a wait-and-see mode and an assist mode. Any time they ring us or need any questions answered that may be in our evidence files, we are here to help. We are working hand in glove with them."
On this civil side, however, White said Mississippi's Department of Human Services is suing many people in regard to the scandal.
"That is going to take a while," he said. "That will probably still be going on once I am no longer state auditor. It could stretch out for years because there are so many defendants and so much happening in that litigation."
As for what White will do when he is no longer auditor, he said he isn't saying no to anything at the moment.
"The governor and lieutenant governor are term limited. So, there is a lot that can happen," White said. "What is out there for me? I don't know. I do know that I love my job here, and I will continue to serve the people of Mississippi with everything that I have for the next four years."
Ross Reily can be reached by email at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter @GreenOkra1.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: MS state auditor Shad White eyes education for 2024 legislative session
