April 18, 2017

 TO THE MISSISSIPPI HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:

GOVERNOR’S PARTIAL VETO MESSAGE FOR HOUSE BILL 1502

I am returning House Bill 1502, “AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF FUNDING K-12 AND OTHER RELATED EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING CERTAIN AGENCIES AND PROGRAMS, IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2018,” partly approved and partly not approved pursuant to the authority of Article IV, Section 73 of the Mississippi Constitution and assign the following reasons for partial veto of this bill.

I am vetoing the $80,000 appropriation to Glimpse in Section 17 of House Bill 1502. In a year where most “flow-through” dollars to private companies and public universities were cut, one new program was funded.  An item referred to as “Glimpse” received an $80,000 appropriation in the Department of Education budget. 

The legislation does not offer any additional details on Glimpse.  I have been informed that the funding is for Glimpse K12, Inc., a for-profit corporation based in Alabama.   While I trust that this private education vendor may offer a worthwhile product, adding more earmarks in the K-12 budget is not an appropriate use of limited resources.  Belt-tightening does not mean you buy a new belt. 

In the last two years, the Legislature has taken steps in the right direction by reducing the overall amount of “flow-through” dollars to private companies and public universities that are appropriated money in the Department of Education’s budget. Going forward, I hope the Legislature will closely examine existing programs, and ask tough questions.  For instance, does a single child care center housed at the University of Mississippi that charges $6,000 in annual tuition merit $200,000 in annual funding? Could the eye screening services provided by two Alabama companies for over $1.1 million dollars over the last two years be accomplished for less through a competitive bid process?  Should dropout prevention funding continue to be earmarked for a private vendor with a presence in only a few schools, or could that money be redirected to a dropout prevention program serving 52 schools with a success rate of 92 percent?  It is important for the public to have full confidence that spending decisions on these programs are based on the quality of the program, not the quality of the program’s lobbyist.

For these reasons, I am vetoing the $80,000 appropriation to Glimpse in Section 17 of House Bill 1502 pursuant to the authority of Article IV, Section 73 of the Mississippi Constitution, which provides:  “The governor may veto parts of any appropriation bill, and approve parts of the same, and the portions approved shall be law.” 

Respectfully submitted,

PHIL BRYANT

GOVERNOR