MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2023 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Harkins, Michel, Branning, Kirby, Barnett, Blount, Butler (38th), Caughman, Chassaniol, DeBar, England, Hill, Hopson, Horhn, Jackson, McCaughn, McMahan, Norwood, Parker, Seymour, Sparks, Thomas, Thompson, Simmons (13th)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION MOURNING THE LOSS AND COMMENDING THE LIFE AND PUBLIC CAREER AND LEGACY OF FORMER CENTRAL DISTRICT TRANSPORTATION COMMISSIONER, FORMER MISSISSIPPI SENATOR AND FORMER MISSISSIPPI REPRESENTATIVE RICHARD "DICK" HALL WHO DIED AT AGE 84 ON NOVEMBER 2, 2022, AND EXTENDING THE SYMPATHY OF THE LEGISLATURE TO HIS SURVIVING FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
WHEREAS, Mississippi lost one of its longest tenured public servants and a great friend and mentor with the passing of former Mississippi Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall at age 84 on November 2, 2022; and
WHEREAS, MDOT Executive Director and former Hall staffer Brad White stated "Commissioner Hall led by example and Mississippi is much better because of the major role he played in it"; and
WHEREAS, Dick was born in Vicksburg on May 12, 1938, and grew up in the Fondren area of Jackson. After graduating from Central High School in 1956, he attended Mississippi State University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1960. He belonged to the Sigma Chi fraternity, was a member of the Army ROTC, Vice President of the School of Business, and was on the Presidential Scholar list for several semesters; and
WHEREAS, after college, he served his country as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Field Artillery. After active military duty, he was employed at U.S. Pipe and Foundry in Birmingham, Alabama. He moved to Jackson and was employed by Price Brother's Pipe Company as a sales representative and became General Manager of the Southern District extending from Tennessee to Central America from 1964 to the early 1980s. He was involved with real estate and investment with his company Hall and Associates; and
WHEREAS, Hall was appointed Central District Transportation Commissioner by Governor Kirk Fordice on April 12, 1999, to fill an unexpired term. The Central District covers 22 counties with a population of roughly one million. He served as Central Transportation Commissioner until his retirement in December of 2019. Hall was the longest-serving member of the Mississippi Transportation Commission with over 20 years of service. He also served as Chairman for 11 years during that time; and
WHEREAS, Dick's experience in the Mississippi Legislature was extremely broad-based, serving three terms as a Representative and three terms as a Senator. He was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1975 and took office in 1976 as a Democrat. He switched to the Republican Party in 1983 and served three terms. As a newly elected Republican, he was invited to Washington, D.C., to attend a reception at the White House where he met Vice President Gerald Ford and President Ronald Reagan; and
WHEREAS, in 1983, he was one of the three Republicans in the House out of 122 members. He chaired the Conservation Water Resources Committee and served on the Ways and Means Committee. He was instrumental in writing and getting laws passed that addressed environmental issues in Mississippi. In 1988, he was elected to the Mississippi Senate and served three consecutive terms. He chaired the Environmental Committee, the Public Health Committee, and was the first Republican to chair the Appropriations Committee in over 100 years. He chaired the Energy Committee and the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) which facilitated his international travel to observe other forms of energy. He also chaired the Committee of Radioactive Waste for NCSL; and
WHEREAS, during Hall's time in the Legislature, he authored and co-authored many pieces of legislation. Some of his greatest accomplishments were passing the Education Reform Act of 1982, the 1987 Four-Lane Highway Program, the Budget Reform Act of 1992, and the Mental Health Reform Act of 1997; and
WHEREAS, during Hall's 21 years as Commissioner, he supervised many accomplishments across the Central District. Commissioner Hall was known for saying, "We're not just building a transportation system, we're building an economy." In 1987, an election year, business leaders championed a major Four-Lane Highway Program and higher gas taxes to fund the program, passed with support of three-term veteran Representative Dick Hall. He joined other conservative legislators behind the leadership of Representative John Pennebaker to not only pass the program, but also to override a veto from Governor Bill Allain; and
WHEREAS, during his tenure, despite challenges, Dick Hall ensured that Mississippi has the eighth most efficient Department of Transportation among all states, and he supervised a substantial number of highway and bridge projects that are still in process or complete across the Central Transportation District, such as the addition of lanes on Interstate I-55 through portions of Madison and Hinds Counties; and
WHEREAS, Commissioner Hall served as President of the Mississippi Republican Elected Officials Association and as State Chairman of the United Republican Fund. Other honors included being the first recipient of the Hugh L. White Free Enterprise Award and Conservation Legislator of the Year, first recipient of the Friend of Education Award, Alumnus of the Year by the Mid-Mississippi Chapter of the Mississippi State University Alumni Association. He was honored with the Owen Cooper Memorial Award by the Mississippi Transportation Institute (MTI) at the Owen Cooper Award Luncheon during the 2016 MTI Conference held at the Jackson Convention Center and won National Significant Sigma Chi of Gamma Upsilon Chapter in 2013. He was a member of the Multi State I-69 Coalition and was awarded the National Significant Sigma Chi Award. His civic and other memberships include: YMCA; the Mississippi Symphony Foundation; March of Dimes; Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation; Jackson Touchdown Club; American Health Works Association; Mississippi Wildlife Federation; National Association of Republican Legislators and Sigma Chi Fraternity; and
WHEREAS, an Elder and former Deacon in the Presbyterian Church, Dick Hall and his wife, Jennifer, lived in the Brandon area, where they were members of Lakeside Presbyterian Church; and
WHEREAS, "I am saddened by the passing of my friend and colleague Dick Hall. I had the honor of serving with him on the Transportation Commission and developed a deep respect for him and his dedication to our great state," said Commissioner Tom King, Chair of the Mississippi Transportation Commission. "He has left a legacy of service and hard work not only at MDOT, but for the entire State of Mississippi"; and
WHEREAS, Commissioner Hall was preceded in death by his parents, John Evans Hall and Audrey L. Hall, his sister, Barbara Hall Williams, his brother, Dr. Donald LeRoy Hall, his son, Donald Richard Hall, and father-in-law J.D. Wilson. He is survived by his beloved wife, Jennifer Wilson Hall, his sons, Bob Hall (Diane) and Chris Hall (Kathy), stepdaughter, Allison Hanson, stepson, Nathan Hanson (Lorie), mother-in-law, Mildred Wilson, his adoring grandchildren: Christian Hall (Lacy), Shelby Hall, Carter Hanson and Elizabeth Hanson, and several nieces and nephews; and
WHEREAS, Dick Hall's public service was exemplified by fairness and sound judgment, and he set the highest standard as a leader in the Mississippi DOT and the Mississippi Legislature and as a true friend:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby mourn the loss and commend the life and public career and legacy of former Central District Transportation Commissioner, former Mississippi Senator and former Mississippi Representative Richard "Dick" Hall, and extend the sympathy of the Legislature to his surviving family and friends, and thank his family for sharing Dick Hall with us.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Dick Hall, forwarded to the members of the Mississippi Transportation Commission and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.