Mississippi governor vetoes storm aid bill, falsely claims criminal act by Senate staff

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves on Monday vetoed a bill that would have provided low-interest loans to local governments impacted by this year’s winter storm. Reeves also accused Senate staff of committing unconstitutional and potentially criminal acts related to the legislation, but those claims have been disputed.

The veto message alleged that someone attempted to secretly alter a key term in Senate Bill 2632. Reeves said this act was unconstitutional and possibly criminal. The bill aimed to allow the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to extend 1% interest loans to local governments after federal emergency aid was distributed. Reeves claimed he had negotiated for a 12% annual interest rate instead of the 1% originally written into the bill.

Legislative leaders explained that the word “monthly” was inadvertently included in the bill, and lawmakers unanimously agreed to remove it. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann emphasized that if the word had not been removed, local governments would have faced a 12% annual interest rate. Reeves, however, contended that the process to remove the word was malicious and that he received the bill after the language had already been changed.

Reeves also incorrectly claimed that Sen. Hob Bryan, a Democrat, had moved to remove the word on March 17. In fact, Sen. Tyler McCaughn, a Republican, requested the change on March 13, explicitly citing the bill number and reason. McCaughn said that charging local governments 12% would be harmful during a time of crisis.

Lawmakers can override Reeves’ veto with a two-thirds majority in both chambers. It remains unclear whether affected local governments will receive any relief from the state now that the bill has been vetoed. Hosemann called Reeves’ accusations against Senate staffers malicious and false, adding that such claims are unnecessary and unjustified.

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