March 27, 2006

TO THE MISSISSIPPI STATE SENATE

GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE FOR SENATE BILL 3044

I am returning Senate Bill Number 3044: "AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO THE MISSISSIPPI STATE BOARD OF CHIROPRACTIC EXAMINERS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2007." without my approval, and assign the following reasons for my veto.

After full consideration, I am vetoing Senate Bill 3044, the Fiscal Year 2007 appropriations bill for the Mississippi State Board of Chiropractic Examiners. While I fully support the appropriation for the board, I am vetoing the bill because of Section 4, which mandates certain provisions with which the Board must comply when expending funds for advertising through the media.

It is my understanding it was not the intent of the Legislature for this language to remain in Senate Bill 3044. Section 4 is language which the House of Representatives proposed for appropriations bills in Fiscal Year 2007, but during the recent conference committee meetings for the FY 2007 appropriations bills, a compromise on this issue was reached. This compromise language is in every other appropriations bill but Senate Bill 3044.

I do not support the inclusion of provisions in appropriations bills which attempt to micromanage the daily operations of state agencies, as Section 4 in Senate Bill 3044 would do. Approving this legislation would set a bad precedent. Public advertising by state agencies informs the citizenry of public services, notifies our people of emergency situations, and promotes Mississippi to potential tourists and economic development prospects. If the Legislature imposed a one-size-fits-all media strategy on all state agencies, as some propose, the advertising will not be as effective as it could be and taxpayer dollars would be wasted.

I ask the Legislature to approve an appropriations bill for the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners either without Section 4 in its entirety or with the compromise language included in the other appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2007.

I urge the members to sustain the veto and reject Senate Bill 3044.

Respectfully Submitted,

Haley Barbour

Governor