A controversial bill to regionalize the state’s busiest airport could land on Gov. Phil Bryant’s desk sooner than expected.

The legislation’s sponsor, Sen. Josh Harkins, R-Flowood, said he’s amenable to changes made to Senate Bill 2162 in a House Committee on March 22 and will recommend that the Senate accept the changes and send the bill to Bryant for signature. Senate members frequently defer to the opinion of a bill sponsor when considering a response to amendments made in the House.

Harkins’ original bill replaced the existing five-member Jackson airport authority, whom are now appointed by the mayor of Jackson, with a nine-member commission appointed by the governor. When the bill made it to the House, it was altered so that the new board would still consist of nine members, but most of the picks would come from the city of Jackson.

Harkins told Mississippi Today he plans to concur with the version the House passed on March 24. If his Senate colleagues agree, the bill would not need to go to a conference committee for the two chambers to work out differences; instead, it could go directly to Bryant for his signature.

“I’m fine with the changes if it helps quell this thing about Jackson not having a majority of the picks,” Harkins said.

The airport bill has been a lightning rod since before the legislative session began in January and the subject hours of debate in both chambers. Last week, House Democrats staged a mini-rebellion, asking every bill to be read, over what they said was a broken promise from Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, to kill the airport bill.

In return, Gunn accused Democrats of using delay tactics and costing taxpayers more than $30,000 for every day the House’s work remained unfinished.

Despite the support from Harkins that would speed the bill to Bryant for signature, officials with the city of Jackson have vowed to challenge the law in court, which could be costly for both Jackson and the state and take years to resolve.

“Why would we spend money fixing something that’s not broken,” Rep. Chris Bell, D-Jackson, told Mississippi Today last week.

Shelia Byrd, a spokeswoman for Jackson, did not immediately comment on the House’s passage of the bill.

—

SB2161 at a glance

Members of the Jackson Airport Authority (as amended in the House)

The Adjutant General of the Mississippi National Guard, or his designee

The executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority, or his designee

One commissioner appointed by the mayor of Jackson for an initial term of one year

One commissioner appointed by the Jackson City Council for an initial term of two years

One commissioner appointed by the Madison County Board of Supervisors for an initial term of three years.

One commissioner appointed by the Rankin County Board of Supervisors for an initial term of four years

Two commissioners appointed from Jackson by the governor for a period of five years. One must have a valid pilot’s license from the FAA.

One commissioner appointed from Jackson by the lieutenant governor for a period of five years.

Close window X

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Unless otherwise noted, you can republish most of Mississippi Today’s stories for free under a Creative Commons license. For digital publications:

• Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS).
• Editorial cartoons and photo essays are not included under the Creative Commons license and therefore do not have the "Republish This Story" button option. To learn more about our cartoon syndication services, click here.
• You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
• You can’t sell or syndicate our stories.
• Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.
• If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @MSTODAYnews on Facebook and @MSTODAYnews on Twitter.

For print publications:

• You have to credit Mississippi Today. We prefer “Author Name, Mississippi Today” in the byline. If you’re not able to add the byline, please include a line at the top of the story that reads: “This story was originally published by Mississippi Today” and include our website, mississippitoday.org.
• You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
• You cannot republish our editorial cartoons, photographs, illustrations or graphics without specific permission (contact our managing editor Kayleigh Skinner for more information). To learn more about our cartoon syndication services, click here.
• Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories.
• You can’t sell or syndicate our stories.
• You can only publish select stories individually — not as a collection.
• Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.
• If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @MSTODAYnews on Facebook and @MSTODAYnews on Twitter.

If you have any other questions, contact Audience Development Director Lauchlin Fields.

Harkins OK with airport bill changes, approval could speed bill to Bryant

by R.L. Nave, Mississippi Today
March 28, 2016

<h1>Harkins OK with airport bill changes, approval could speed bill to Bryant</h1> <p class="byline">by R.L. Nave, Mississippi Today <br />March 28, 2016</p> <p>A controversial bill to regionalize the state’s busiest airport could land on Gov. Phil Bryant’s desk sooner than expected.</p> <div id="attachment_248" class="wp-block-image wp-caption"> <figure class="alignright is-resized"><a href="https://i1.wp.com/mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20_harkins_josh.jpg?ssl=1" rel="attachment wp-att-248"><img src="https://i1.wp.com/mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20_harkins_josh.jpg?resize=336%2C448&amp;ssl=1" alt="State Sen. Josh Harkins" class="wp-image-248" height="448" width="336" /></a><figcaption><strong>Sen. Josh Harkins, R-Flowood</strong></figcaption></figure> </div> <p>The legislation’s sponsor, Sen. Josh Harkins, R-Flowood, said he’s amenable to changes made to Senate Bill 2162 in a House Committee on March 22 and will recommend that the Senate accept the changes and send the bill to Bryant for signature.&nbsp;Senate members frequently defer to the opinion of a bill sponsor when considering a response to amendments made in the House.</p> <p>Harkins’ original bill replaced the existing five-member Jackson airport authority, whom are now appointed by the mayor of Jackson, with a nine-member commission appointed by the governor. When the bill made it to the House, it was altered so that the new board would still consist of nine members, but most of the picks would come from the city of Jackson.</p> <p>Harkins told Mississippi Today he plans to concur with the version the House passed on March 24. If his Senate colleagues agree, the bill would not need to go to a conference committee for the two chambers to work out differences; instead, it could go directly to Bryant for his signature.</p> <p>“I’m fine with the changes if it helps quell this thing about Jackson not having a majority of the picks,” Harkins said.</p> <p>The airport bill has been a lightning rod since before the legislative session began in January and the subject hours of debate in both chambers. Last week, House Democrats staged a mini-rebellion, asking every bill to be read, over what they said was a broken promise from Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, to kill the airport bill.</p> <p>In return, Gunn accused Democrats of using delay tactics and costing taxpayers more than $30,000 for every day the House’s work remained unfinished.</p> <p>Despite the support from Harkins that would speed the bill to Bryant for signature, officials with the city of Jackson have vowed to challenge the law in court, which could be costly for both Jackson and the state and take years to resolve.</p> <p>“Why would we spend money fixing something that’s not broken,” Rep. Chris Bell, D-Jackson, told Mississippi Today last week.</p> <p>Shelia Byrd, a spokeswoman for Jackson, did not immediately comment on the House’s passage of the bill.</p> <p>—</p> <p>SB2161 at a glance</p> <p><strong>Members of the Jackson Airport Authority (as amended in the House)</strong></p> <p>The Adjutant General of the Mississippi National Guard, or his designee</p> <p>The executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority, or his designee</p> <p>One commissioner appointed by the mayor of Jackson for an initial term of one year</p> <p>One commissioner appointed by the Jackson City Council for an initial term of two years</p> <p>One commissioner appointed by the Madison County Board of Supervisors for an initial term of three years.</p> <p>One commissioner appointed by the Rankin County Board of Supervisors for an initial term of four years</p> <p>Two commissioners appointed from Jackson by the governor for a period of five years. One must have a valid pilot’s license from the FAA.</p> <p>One commissioner appointed from Jackson by the lieutenant governor for a period of five years.</p> <p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://mississippitoday.org/2016/03/28/harkins-ok-with-airport-bill-changes-approval-could-speed-bill-to-bryant/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://mississippitoday.org">Mississippi Today</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/MT_square-thumb.jpg?fit=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://mississippitoday.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=213&ga=UA-75003810-1" style="width:1px;height:1px;"></p>

1