After voting last Friday to strip Governor Tate Reeves of his spending power when it comes to the CARES Act federal relief money, the Mississippi Legislature has announced they will be returning to the capitol Thursday afternoon.
Speaker of the House Philip Gunn joined The Gallo Show this morning to talk about the priorities of the legislature come tomorrow.
According to Gunn, funding small businesses and distance learning “are the things we need to get down there and start addressing.”
Right now, over 50 percent of small businesses have closed their doors for good, and another third of them are projected to stay open for only three to six more months without the full reopening of the economy.
“Small businesses just continue to struggle, and we have got to see if we can provide relief and help to them,” Gunn said.
Mississippi public schools, on the other hand, have been closed since March 16 and will not reopen for the remainder of the school year. Thus, schools have been heavily reliant on paper-packets as most areas in the state do not have the broadband to use virtual teaching platforms.
“We are a rural state,” Gunn said. “We have difficulty getting live instructions out to the far-reachers of the state. There’s a lack of internet connectivity. There’s a lack of technology.”
Gunn and the rest of the legislature will gavel in tomorrow at 1 p.m. in order to approach the $1.25 billion granted to the state through the CARES Act.
“We will be there until we get it done,” Gunn said.
To watch the full interview with Gunn, check out the video below.
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