Amy
04-23-2004, 07:59 PM
JACK ELLIOTT JR.
Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. - Then-Gov. Ronnie Musgrove's partial veto of a prisons appropriation bill in 2002 was unconstitutional, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
The justices sided with a Coahoma County judge who ruled Musgrove could not partially veto a prison spending bill.
The justices also agreed with Chancellor William Willard that the Delta Correctional Facility's contract with the Mississippi Department of Corrections was still in effect because the contract had been canceled on the premise that money wasn't available.
The DCF board claimed Musgrove and MDOC breached the contract with Corrections Corporation of America, which managed the prison.
Current Gov. Haley Barbour, who defeated Musgrove in November, recently reopened the prison, and CCA is operating it.
In April 2002, Musgrove vetoed the part MDOC appropriations bill that said the state could spend no more than the $54.7 million to house inmates in five private facilities.
He said the state was spending too much on private prisons.
However, then-Attorney General Mike Moore said the partial veto was invalid, and legislators never tried to override the partial veto because of Moore's position.
Musgrove maintained his veto was valid and, after legislators adjourned, he re-negotiated contracts at four private prisons and ordered the closing of the Delta prison.
Musgrove appealed Willard's decision to the Supreme Court.
Willard said Mississippi's 1890 Constitution required the approval or disapproval by the governor of an entire bill and did not allow a partial veto.
Justice Chuck Easley, writing in Thursday's 5-2 decision, said the Mississippi Constitution bars lawmakers from engrafting legislation into an appropriation bill. He said the constitution allows conditions to be put on how money is spent.
Easley said the court rejected Musgrove's argument that the chancellor's interpretation of the constitution weakens the checks and balances of the governmental branches and dilutes the chief executive officer's decision making power.
Easley said what was vetoed by Musgrove was a condition for the spending of prison money. He said the court would not allow the governor's use of partial veto to thwart or sabotage legislative intent.
"We find that the governor's veto here cannot inhibit the legislative intent of the bill, nor can his veto create new legislation," Easley wrote.
Presiding Justice Kay Cobb, in a dissent joined by Presiding Justice Bill Waller Jr., said the partial veto was proper. She said the state constitution allows a governor to veto parts of appropriations bills. She said the Legislature was trying to use the appropriation to prohibit any reduction in money to the private prisons.
"This appears to be a classic case of `engrafting' if ever there was one," wrote Cobb, a former state senator.
"If Legislature tries to tell the executive branch exactly how to spend a sum of money through the use of a line item, the governor has the right to veto that item," she said.
Cobb said the Supreme Court's finding that the governor cannot veto spending conditions means the chief executive must veto the whole bill.
Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, had filed a brief asking that the lower court decision be overturned, but for different reasons than Musgrove used. Bryan said the Supreme Court decision is "absolutely disastrous."
"They have taken away the governor's line-item veto power," Bryan said.
Source: Biloxi Sun Herald http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/8495482.htm (http://65.54.184.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=5cf396b9b31d1f1726cd6765ec677b2e&lat=1082768150&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2esunherald%2ecom%2fm ld%2fsunherald%2f8495482%2ehtm)
Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. - Then-Gov. Ronnie Musgrove's partial veto of a prisons appropriation bill in 2002 was unconstitutional, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
The justices sided with a Coahoma County judge who ruled Musgrove could not partially veto a prison spending bill.
The justices also agreed with Chancellor William Willard that the Delta Correctional Facility's contract with the Mississippi Department of Corrections was still in effect because the contract had been canceled on the premise that money wasn't available.
The DCF board claimed Musgrove and MDOC breached the contract with Corrections Corporation of America, which managed the prison.
Current Gov. Haley Barbour, who defeated Musgrove in November, recently reopened the prison, and CCA is operating it.
In April 2002, Musgrove vetoed the part MDOC appropriations bill that said the state could spend no more than the $54.7 million to house inmates in five private facilities.
He said the state was spending too much on private prisons.
However, then-Attorney General Mike Moore said the partial veto was invalid, and legislators never tried to override the partial veto because of Moore's position.
Musgrove maintained his veto was valid and, after legislators adjourned, he re-negotiated contracts at four private prisons and ordered the closing of the Delta prison.
Musgrove appealed Willard's decision to the Supreme Court.
Willard said Mississippi's 1890 Constitution required the approval or disapproval by the governor of an entire bill and did not allow a partial veto.
Justice Chuck Easley, writing in Thursday's 5-2 decision, said the Mississippi Constitution bars lawmakers from engrafting legislation into an appropriation bill. He said the constitution allows conditions to be put on how money is spent.
Easley said the court rejected Musgrove's argument that the chancellor's interpretation of the constitution weakens the checks and balances of the governmental branches and dilutes the chief executive officer's decision making power.
Easley said what was vetoed by Musgrove was a condition for the spending of prison money. He said the court would not allow the governor's use of partial veto to thwart or sabotage legislative intent.
"We find that the governor's veto here cannot inhibit the legislative intent of the bill, nor can his veto create new legislation," Easley wrote.
Presiding Justice Kay Cobb, in a dissent joined by Presiding Justice Bill Waller Jr., said the partial veto was proper. She said the state constitution allows a governor to veto parts of appropriations bills. She said the Legislature was trying to use the appropriation to prohibit any reduction in money to the private prisons.
"This appears to be a classic case of `engrafting' if ever there was one," wrote Cobb, a former state senator.
"If Legislature tries to tell the executive branch exactly how to spend a sum of money through the use of a line item, the governor has the right to veto that item," she said.
Cobb said the Supreme Court's finding that the governor cannot veto spending conditions means the chief executive must veto the whole bill.
Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, had filed a brief asking that the lower court decision be overturned, but for different reasons than Musgrove used. Bryan said the Supreme Court decision is "absolutely disastrous."
"They have taken away the governor's line-item veto power," Bryan said.
Source: Biloxi Sun Herald http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/8495482.htm (http://65.54.184.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=5cf396b9b31d1f1726cd6765ec677b2e&lat=1082768150&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2esunherald%2ecom%2fm ld%2fsunherald%2f8495482%2ehtm)