On Thursday, Gov. Tate Reeves (R-MS) held a press briefing to announce the launch of 'Mississippi's Power Play,’ an initiative aimed to provide affordable energy and make the state a leader in American energy.
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00:00Good afternoon, and thank you all for being here, particularly those of you who have participated with us in what has been an exciting day.
00:11As you all know, in January, during my State of the State Address, you heard me say the following, and I quote,
00:19Issue a challenge and make a promise that will result in more winning than Mississippi has ever dared to dream.
00:27That challenge and that promise is to make Mississippi a leader in American energy.
00:35We have dubbed this mission Mississippi's Power Play.
00:41As I mentioned during my State of the State Address, we are marshalling the forces of our government and our private sector to find bold solutions to bring more energy to our state's grid and to our economy.
00:55And one of the reasons that Mississippi has attracted such a historic run of private sector investment is our optimistic and abundant-minded energy policy.
01:07Like I said, and again, I quote,
01:11When private sector companies learn they can trust that we can provide the power to manufacture, to smelt, and to compute, their eyes light up and their wallets open up.
01:24They invest in our state, they invest in our people, and they invest in our land.
01:30Today, we took another major step forward in accomplishing that bold mission.
01:39That's because today, I convened energy industry leaders and government partners to devise new strategies that will bolster America's energy independence and solidify Mississippi's energy dominance.
01:55Before I get into the substance of today's summit, I want to briefly discuss why Mississippi's energy dominance is so important to our state.
02:06I also want to recognize partners here with the Public Service Commission that are here with us today, all three members of our PSC.
02:15I appreciate them being at today's press conference, as well as Mike Kopp from the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C., a special assistant to Secretary Wright.
02:27Now, first, take a look at what is happening here.
02:31We are shattering economic development records.
02:34We are attracting billions in new private sector investment.
02:37And we are creating thousands of good-paying jobs for our fellow Mississippians.
02:43We have delivered these wins primarily on the back of large, energy-intensive projects like massive hyperscale data centers, like schmelters, like manufacturing, and particularly advanced manufacturing.
03:00And while these projects are changing the course of Mississippi's future for the better, we cannot be satisfied.
03:11If we continue our state's economic momentum, we must continue to be bold, and we must continue to dream big.
03:18As I told the group earlier today, we could probably do none of this and still have tremendous success in the two years and eight months that are left in my tenure.
03:31However, the conversations we're having today are going to lay the groundwork for success well beyond my tenure as governor,
03:41and it's going to help us continue the momentum for years into the future.
03:46But keep in mind where we are today.
03:50Mississippi currently ranks 13th in total energy consumption per capita in America, and we consume almost four times more energy than we produce.
04:01Yet in 2023, Mississippi generated a record amount of electricity.
04:07And in that year, we exported about one-fourth of our excess power regionally to other states to benefit.
04:16Now, while I'm proud of the big role Mississippi plays in American energy production, I believe, in fact, I know we can do even more.
04:27It's clear to win in the future, we have to do more.
04:32We have to do even more to provide our businesses with the energy they need to succeed.
04:37And we have to do even more to deliver affordable, abundant American energy to the people of our state.
04:46Mississippi's power play will help us do exactly that.
04:51My goal with this initiative is to tear down red tape, to stimulate investment, and to make Mississippi a model for energy policy and for energy investment.
05:04I want to see faster permitting, reduced financial risk, and strategic investment.
05:11Make no mistake, everything, and I mean everything, is on the table.
05:17And I know with every ounce of my being that Mississippi has what it takes to rise to this challenge.
05:25We certainly have a willing partner in the Trump administration.
05:29And we're going to work closely with them to make sure that if you want to produce energy, that Mississippi is a damn good place to do it.
05:40The goal of today's summit was to better understand the barriers that may hinder the rapid planning and construction of new generation and transmission capacity projects.
05:50It was to learn how Mississippi's utilities can take advantage of opportunities to promote innovation in grid management, energy efficiency,
06:01and the deployment of next generation, AI-powered solutions, and how sources of energy and their deliveries should be integrated, balanced, and, of course, prioritized in and for the state of Mississippi.
06:18Now, the key to Mississippi's power play is effective public-private partnerships.
06:24We're launching this massive initiative shoulder-to-shoulder with the private sector and leveraging our shared expertise to innovate right here at home.
06:35Through Mississippi's power play, we have the opportunity to attract billions in new private sector investment.
06:41We have the opportunity to collaborate with our education institutions to create curriculum focused on energy technology and energy innovation.
06:51We have the opportunity to support startups, and we have the opportunity to engage the community.
06:58And we have the opportunity to research and develop advanced energy technology and to collaborate with industry-leading technology companies to implement advanced energy solutions in Mississippi.
07:10We have an advantage because as a relatively small state with only 3.1 million people with a lot of opportunity and a lot of open green space, Mississippi can work together to change American energy dominance for the future.
07:32Joining us today at today's summit was a diverse group of energy industry experts.
07:39It includes experts in the field of petroleum, experts in the field of nuclear, and experts in the field of natural gas, major and regional utility providers, as well as energy cooperatives, private equity and venture capital, and energy infrastructure, and our state and federal government partners.
08:03I'd like to thank each and every one of them for participating, and for their invaluable and actionable feedback.
08:12During the summit, we discussed issues that will maximize impact, that will drive continued economic growth, and improve the lives of Mississippians.
08:23Remember, we are here because in 2024, Mississippi had the second fastest growing economy in the entire nation.
08:34We are here because Mississippi in 2024 had the fourth fastest growing per capita income growth in the entire nation.
08:43We are here now, today, with this being Mississippi's time, because we want to build on that success.
08:50And to build on that success, we have to have these partnerships.
08:55Today included conversations around strategies for the diversification of security of our energy sources.
09:03It included enhancing our energy infrastructure and our logistics.
09:08It included fostering innovation and technology adoption to focus on developing advanced energy technologies by supporting that innovation,
09:17and addressing regulatory issues to create a more efficient and predictable environment for energy projects in the state of Mississippi.
09:28Again, I'd like to take just a moment to thank all of the energy industry leaders who attended today's summit.
09:36Their feedback was extremely helpful to our efforts, and I look forward to continuing to collaborate on how we can work together to best serve Mississippi.
09:45In the interest of time, I'm not going to cover every single piece of feedback that we received.
10:02However, I did want to spend a few minutes mentioning some of the more common pieces of feedback.
10:08And I'm also going to ask Bill Court to come up and speak just briefly to this as well.
10:12We had a lot of extremely important dialogue, dialogue that's going to help us build our strategy for the future.
10:23And for just a second, I'd like Bill to come up and give us a little bit of that.
10:27Thank you, Governor.
10:32I appreciate your leadership in this important area.
10:35While the governor is often fond of talking about the results that we've had in new economic development projects in the state,
10:41what a lot of people don't realize is that as of this week, we have over $70 billion in capital investment
10:47and over 20,000 jobs and over 150 projects in the Mississippi's pipeline for new opportunities.
10:54So we're working through that pipeline now, and all of these companies have significant energy demands.
11:00And so this is not just about reporting what's happening in the past,
11:03but truly we have an existential risk right now that if we don't get on top of this,
11:09we can foreclose some of these great business opportunities that we see coming forward.
11:12I'd like to take a few minutes to just go through the notes I had from sitting through the meeting today
11:17to talk to you a little bit about some of the specific themes that were discussed
11:20in the over three hours that we spent together today.
11:23The first was sort of an aspirational vision for energy in Mississippi
11:28to include small modular nuclear reactors and the technology that that brings to the state,
11:34how to de-risk those types of projects and accelerate their development here in the state of Mississippi.
11:40And I think you'll find some of that work is actually already going on in places like Yellow Creek Port.
11:46We also talked specifically about how do we, with respect to nuclear,
11:50how do we protect what we have at Grand Gulf,
11:53including making sure that the relicensing of that plan is approved
11:55and that we continue to maintain that great carbon-free advantage here in Mississippi.
12:02We talked more about doubling down on natural gas,
12:05which we're not going to be able to avoid as we address the appetite companies have for power,
12:11and how to advance carbon capture and other related environmental strategies
12:15to reduce the risk of pollution and reduce the carbon threat
12:19that not only we may face as a nation,
12:21but which is demanded by the companies seeking to locate here.
12:24We need to keep doubling down on what we're doing, not losing any speed.
12:31We need timely FERC approvals for regulatory, for both generation and transmission,
12:36and we need to double down our efforts to make sure that the new initiatives happening
12:40in the Trump administration are fulfilled
12:42and that we actually can fulfill the promise of rapid involvement
12:46of both our transmission and distribution and generation options.
12:50We talked about supply chain.
12:52How does Mississippi get in the supply chain for power production,
12:57rare earth and critical minerals,
12:58and other types of supplies that will be needed to pursue this exciting new time?
13:06And finally, there was a lot of discussion about the kind of workforce
13:09we're going to need in Mississippi to make sure we capitalize
13:12on this new energy gold rush that we're facing right now,
13:16including the development of more nuclear engineers,
13:19more electrical engineers,
13:21more craft and trade skills to help build out this infrastructure
13:24and to maintain it over time.
13:26So with that, Governor, I think that pretty much sums up the key elements,
13:29and we'll be coming together here later this year
13:32to formalize those in a report and involve the public in future next steps.
13:36Thank you, sir.
13:38Thank you, Bill.
13:39And just in case there are questions for you, don't go too far.
13:43As you can see, we received a lot of good information today,
13:47information we can use to bolster our energy leadership,
13:51which will lead to unprecedented economic prosperity for our people.
13:56Now, the way I look at today's conversation, and I mentioned this earlier,
14:02it reminds me of the conversations that Bill and I had with various site development consultants
14:08back in 2020.
14:10While much of the world was shut down during that pandemic, Mississippi was open for business.
14:16But part of what Bill and I and other economic development leaders were doing
14:20is we were sitting down with site consultants,
14:22and we were talking about the things that needed to be done
14:25to make us a leader in the future for capital investment.
14:28And those conversations led to what ultimately became our site development grant funding program
14:35in which we've invested $130 million in sites all around Mississippi.
14:42Our goal is to have 30 sites available at all times
14:45so that anybody that wants to get started building a new facility
14:49that will employ Mississippians at above-average wages,
14:53we're going to have those 30 sites ready for them.
14:55And by the way, since that time, 6 or 8 or 10 of those sites that were on our top 30
15:01are no longer on our top 30 because they've already been acquired
15:05and stuff's being built on them, and now we've just added new sites
15:08in every region of our state, in every size, in every scope.
15:13We've seen tremendous investment.
15:16In addition to that, from those site development conversations that we had early on,
15:20we created our Office of Workforce Development and Workforce Training.
15:23That is Accelerate Mississippi, run now by the private sector as a board,
15:30Dr. Courtney Taylor as our leader,
15:32and we are doing innovative things in the world of workforce development and workforce training.
15:37Basically, for a simple-minded man like me,
15:40we're actually training people for the jobs that exist for the next 50 years,
15:45not the jobs that were available for the last 50 years.
15:48And we are now a leader in America when it comes to workforce development and workforce training because of that.
15:55And so when I think about the conversations that we had today,
15:59it's going to do exactly what those meetings in 2020 did for us in the space of site development,
16:08in the space of workforce development, in the terms of becoming a leader in American energy,
16:13and building on the successes that we already have, by the way.
16:16I mean, I think that's the one theme that we heard, a recurring theme that we heard today,
16:21is that doing business in Mississippi is better than doing business in a lot of states.
16:27We'll just put it that way, okay?
16:29It's better than doing business in a lot of states.
16:31And that's the reason, when you look at our total GDP in Mississippi,
16:37that's the reason you look at it and it's a hockey stick, as Bill likes to refer to it.
16:42That's the reason that GDP growth in terms of aggregate billions of dollars
16:47has been greater in the last five years than it was in the 15 years prior.
16:53It's because of where we positioned ourselves, and today is going to help us do that even more.
16:58So, with that, I am going to open the floor to questions.
17:02I do want to just point out to the press, I'm happy to answer any question you have,
17:06but if it's okay, let's maintain conversations, at least initially, on Mississippi's power play,
17:15on the energy summit that we just had, and then we'll move on to any other questions
17:19that y'all may have after that is done.
17:22So, with that, questions?
17:26Yes, sir.
17:26Yeah, just moving forward, and I just kind of want to know what kind of discussions are had
17:31around the mixture, diversification of the grid here in Mississippi.
17:35How important is it for both a mix of traditional and renewable energy sources?
17:40So, that's a great question, and let me begin by saying I am a both-and, not an either-or governor.
17:49I believe that we need to understand what the potential customers demand, and we need to make sure that we can provide it.
17:58Now, obviously, different types of energy production and energy capacity cost have cost structures that are very different.
18:09They have reliability structures that are very different.
18:12But if it's affordable, and it's reliable, I'm for it.
18:17And quite frankly, if the demand calls for it, and by demand, I don't mean the demand from some, with all due respect,
18:26some government official that has a political agenda in Washington or somewhere else.
18:31I mean, if the demand by end users is there, then I'm for it.
18:37And I think most of our utility providers and most of our energy companies and most of our government officials in Mississippi have very similar views on it.
18:45If it's affordable, and if it's reliable, then we're for it.
18:52Go to the end.
18:53Governor, I was going back to look at stories that we had done in the past.
18:56It's been 11 years now since there was a symposium held that specifically focused on carbon capture and enhanced oil recovery.
19:04A lot of talk around that time about things like fracking.
19:06How important is it now as we look ahead that it is a public-private discussion and an organized discussion around what does this increased production look like?
19:18Yeah, so let me say that I think it's incredibly important that those of us that are government officials understand what the demands of the private sector are going to be in the future, first of all.
19:32And what I would tell you about the conversation 11 years ago versus the conversation today, both extremely important, extremely timely, but the difference is 11 years ago, we didn't have the kind of demand that we have today.
19:50And that's because while we were seeing a transition in our economy 11 years ago, that transition was happening very, very slowly.
20:03In the last three to four years, that transition has become much more rapid.
20:08And so even today, if you take an aggregate look at the power that we generate in Mississippi, we still have some additional excesses that we can deploy or that the utility companies can deploy.
20:25Well, we also know that the demands from major employers that we have announced just in the last couple of years, whether it's AWS and their large hyperscale data center, whether it's the major battery manufacturing facility in Marshall County,
20:41the reality is that the reality is that the demands on our grid are going to be much greater five years from now than they are today.
20:51And today they are infinitely larger than they were five years ago.
20:55And so the timeliness of today is a recognition that we are in a great spot today.
21:02I've said before, if if we see repatriation onto American shore of more advanced manufacturing,
21:10Mississippi is going to be a net winner.
21:12I believe that because we have capacity.
21:15But today's meeting really isn't about what are we doing to win the next year or two.
21:21We're going to win the next year or two.
21:23I'm confident of that.
21:25If we weren't going to win the next year or two, we wouldn't have over $70 billion in the pipeline of projects.
21:31And we're not going to win all of those projects, but we're going to win more than our fair share.
21:34The conversation today is about winning in 2030.
21:38It's about winning in 2040.
21:40And I think that's it's hard for politicians to think like that because, as you've heard me say from this podium many times,
21:48most politicians define the long term based upon when the next election day is.
21:53I want to define the long term for what is the best policies today so Mississippi can win 10 years from now, 20 years from now, and 30 years from now.
22:03Yes, sir.
22:04You mentioned small scale nuclear reactors as an energy source.
22:10I know that's a space in energy technology that's seeing a lot of innovation right now.
22:15Can you just talk a bit more about what the conversations look like today, where that's concerned,
22:20and what the benefits could be for the state to have that be a larger chunk of the grid?
22:26Yeah, so the question surrounding small modular nuclear.
22:32Any conversation with small modular nuclear needs to start with this in Mississippi.
22:36Mississippi is a nuclear state.
22:39Mississippi has a nuclear reactor.
22:40Mississippi has nuclear produced power.
22:42And Mississippi has a facility down at Grand Gulf that not only produces power that is used throughout our grid,
22:51it also produces an awful lot of money, revenue for cities, counties, for school districts throughout specifically Commissioner Stamps' district.
23:03And so Mississippi is a nuclear state.
23:04We understand it.
23:05We understand the risk, but we also understand the rewards.
23:08I think the conversations today around nuclear were fascinating to me because there's a large number of technologies that are being discussed.
23:19And we're not, as a government in Mississippi, we're not going to try to pick winners and losers around which one of those technologies are going to be successful.
23:27What we are going to do is we're going to try to cut down roadblocks to getting those investors who are willing to take the risk knock down the roadblocks so they can get something done here.
23:39And that's really where the conversations are focused today.
23:44And I think you're going to see Mississippi have the opportunity to be successful in that realm in the coming years.
23:52Yes, sir.
23:52When you say cutting roadblocks, you also mentioned faster permitting times, which, as you know, is very essential in the project's life cycle.
24:01Are you talking about trying to loosen state government regulations on power generation?
24:06Can you kind of expand on that?
24:08Well, we had long discussions today about the regulatory environment.
24:14And let's recognize that we can knock down the regulations that are currently held at the state level.
24:26But the reality is a lot of these bigger, larger scale projects require federal approval as well.
24:31And so it's about continuing to build that federal-state partnership so that we can work through the challenges that exist,
24:40so that we understand best practices, so that we have conversations with the federal staff, as an example,
24:48early on in the process to make sure that we understand what their hot-button issues are going to be.
24:54It's certainly working with our federal partners at the Department of Energy as well as at the Department of Interior and other places.
25:02We certainly have much more friendly conversations today, maybe, perhaps, than we would have had had we had this conversation a year ago.
25:11And we need to take advantage of that.
25:13Look, the reality is the conversations that we're having today, this press conference,
25:18you wouldn't have this in a lot of other states in America because they don't want energy capacity increased.
25:28They don't necessarily want to talk about the kind of things that we're talking about.
25:32They are talking about decommissioning facilities.
25:35We're talking about extending the commission of facilities.
25:39And so we're in a unique position because while there are 50 states in these United States of America,
25:45there are a lot less than 50 that want to even have this conversation.
25:49And we are one of the ones that want to have it.
25:51And obviously a lot of them are happening in the southeast but not unique to the southeast.
25:56So that's where we find ourselves.
25:58I'm going to get my water.
26:02Any other conversation around energy?
26:14Mike, you want to say anything?
26:15Bill, I know Bill mentioned it, but reducing the pollution side of things, the carbon-captured earth,
26:24do you have liberty to say anything about any projects that might be in the works or moving towards development?
26:31Would that be?
26:31I am not at liberty to talk about any potential projects that exist out there.
26:39Obviously, there are a lot of investors, there are a lot of companies, there are a lot of really smart people
26:51that are out and about in our state looking at possibilities, and we welcome them.
26:57For many of them, we are aware of them.
26:59For some of them, we are under non-disclosure agreements.
27:03For some of them, there are also those who are out there knocking on doors and looking at things that we don't even know about.
27:10And that's the way it's supposed to work.
27:12That's a good thing.
27:13They're just not yet to the process where they've sat down with the state.
27:16But suffice it to say that there are a large number of players that are interested, that understand, that, you know,
27:26the previous, this is the way I described it earlier, when it came to new projects,
27:31when it comes to new capacity and new generation, the previous administration started at no
27:37and then tried to figure out how they were going to justify that stance.
27:44We start at yes, and then we make sure that we're in the right spot after we go through the process
27:50that needs to be gone through, regulatory and otherwise.
27:53And so we want to see it, and we're going to continue to work towards it.
27:57But, no, I can't talk about any specific projects or specific entities at this time.
28:02But my guess is there will be announcements made in the future.
28:09Yes, sir.
28:10Do you expect to add any energy-related issues to the agenda for a special session this summer?
28:16Look, I don't rule anything out, and so I think there's the potential for energy-related possibilities.
28:28There's the potential for economic development-related possibilities.
28:32But the primary focus is we have a deadline coming up.
28:40That deadline is June 30th when the fiscal year ends in Mississippi.
28:46And the challenge is if you are operating a state agency,
28:51it's really not best practices to wait until June 30th to start planning for our fiscal year that begins July 1.
28:58So my primary focus on the special session today is getting to an agreement in our state legislature
29:07with our legislative leaders to what that FY 2026 budget is going to look like.
29:13When you talk about that, I know there's been discussion between the two chambers
29:18about whether or not a projects bill should happen.
29:21But do you have any kind of thoughts on are you opposed to it in any way?
29:27I know it's been kind of the common practice for some time now.
29:31Well, let's start with where we find ourselves financially as a state.
29:36Y'all know I've been around a long time, longer than some of you probably wanted me to be around in government.
29:43But the reality is Mississippi is in the best financial shape we've ever been in.
29:48We're in the best fiscal shape we've ever been in.
29:50We have a rainy day fund that is full, and we have a capital expense fund that does have resources in it
29:56that would allow us to invest.
29:58So let's start with that.
30:00My concern as we sit here today is that the capital expense conversation has derailed the most important issue.
30:16And the most important issue for our legislature is to recognize that there's lots of general bills
30:25that go through the legislative process each year, and they're all important to certain people and all of that.
30:31But the single most important thing that the legislature is responsible for is appropriating money for our annual operating budget.
30:39And my concern as we stand here today, and it is not a secret, I met with the legislative leadership about three weeks ago,
30:49and I strongly encourage them to have an agreement on the operating budget by the end of April.
30:58So that didn't happen, and that's disappointing to me.
31:04And so, again, the conversation around what projects are going to get funded
31:11is not fully appreciating what their number one responsibility is, which is funding an annual operating budget.
31:21It is very important, for example, that the Mississippi Development Authority knows what their budget is going to be in FY26.
31:31It's very important to me, and I made this perfectly clear to the legislative leadership,
31:37that while MDA has taken significant reductions in staffing pens, reductions in overall budget,
31:48while other budgets have risen exponentially, it is important for everyone to understand that that has to stop.
31:57That while we're certainly willing to take our fair share of any budget cuts that occur,
32:02when other agencies are getting 30% and 40% and 50% increases and we're ignoring MDA, that's a problem.
32:09Same is true at MDEQ, because the reality is both of them have significantly more work today
32:15because of the work that all of us, the legislature and me, have done over a number of years to set us up for success.
32:22And so I am disappointed that there's not an agreement by our legislative leaders.
32:29I had hoped that it would come by yesterday, but, again, that has not occurred,
32:34and so we've got to figure out what the next steps are.
32:37Yes, sir.
32:39Just kind of following on that, if the projects bill is indeed, if it is one of the issues at play here,
32:48keeping them from sending you an operating budget, would you be willing to just say,
32:54no projects bill, don't even think about it, let's just get the budget done?
32:58If that's what's standing in the way.
33:00I have, so, I don't think you have to be a genius to get to that point.
33:09That is obviously the next deduction, and I have made that perfectly clear in my conversations with both chambers,
33:20that while I understand that is an important piece to the membership,
33:26the responsibility of appropriating operating dollars to the nearly 100, maybe it's 110, budgets has to be the priority.
33:37And just so everybody knows, that piece, while there may not be 100% agreement,
33:46I would submit to you there's 95% to 99% agreement on what that's going to look like.
33:52And so that's going to have to be the priority as we go forward.
34:01We can have conversations.
34:03We can have discussions.
34:04We can have debate on any expenditures of the capital expense fund,
34:10but the annual operating budget will not be used as leverage going forward by anyone because it can't be,
34:19because it is the legislature's responsibility to fund the budget, and they need to do it.
34:25Last question.
34:26If they, have you given them a new, tried to give them a new timeline to get you a proposal,
34:32and if they don't meet that time, if they don't meet that deadline again,
34:35will you just call the special session anyway, if they don't come to an agreement?
34:39Well, we're working through those issues.
34:42I've had what I would describe as productive conversations with leadership at various levels in both chambers over the last 24 hours.
34:54Again, I think that, you know, there is a, just to be perfectly honest, there is a give and a take,
35:01there is a push and a pull.
35:02If there is a bill without an agreement, then if I call a special session and the legislature doesn't have an agreement,
35:10they're going to come to Jackson and sit and stare at each other for a few days,
35:15and they're going to try to pay themselves to do it.
35:18And so, you know, maybe the way in which to break this gridlock is to initially pass a bill on the first day of the special session
35:26that nobody's going to get paid until the day that a budget actually gets done, okay?
35:31The reality is that the taxpayers of Mississippi are obligated, in my view,
35:40to pay the legislature for 90 days in year two, year three, and year four, and 120 days in year one of a term.
35:52And so I think that there are certainly budget constraints,
35:57but this notion that I think it's a good expenditure for the taxpayers to spend $100,000 a day
36:05for the two chambers to come to Jackson and stare at each other, well, that's just not a very good idea.
36:12I've been through this before.
36:14It's been a long time since the legislature didn't get a budget.
36:17I will just tell you, I was lieutenant governor for eight years.
36:20We managed to get a budget on time every single year.
36:23And we had a lot of disagreements, by the way.
36:25But we managed to get a budget because, again, that is the responsibility of the legislature to do that.
36:33But it was 2009, I remember vividly, when there was a major disagreement
36:41between the then-Democrat-led House and the then-Republican-led Senate
36:45that led to literally a standstill all the way up until June 30th.
36:51And so a lot of us did a lot of research and tried to figure out what could be run and what cannot be run.
36:57I'll just remind you that it is universally agreed that anything that is in the Constitution,
37:02the governor can run without a budget.
37:05Now, once you get beyond those agencies that are constitutional in nature,
37:09there is some debate as to what authority the governor has.
37:13But I'm going to tell you this, I'm not going to let agencies that are incredibly important to the future of Mississippi
37:20not spend money on July 1 just because there's a political infighting at the legislature.
37:27So we've got to figure out and navigate what that looks like.
37:30But, again, I want to reiterate, I have had productive conversations with various leaders
37:35in both the House and the Senate in the last 24 hours,
37:40and I'm sure I will continue after this press conference to have more.
37:44But I do think the people expect the annual operating budget to be funded.
37:50If there is a disagreement on other items,
37:53they need to set those items aside and be willing to fund the annual operating budget.
37:59Yes, ma'am.
38:00President Trump hasn't yet approved your feeble request for Tylertown.
38:03Are you worried that he'll do the same thing that he did to Arkansas and deny your request?
38:07And if so, do we have enough resources here to support our own disaster mitigations?
38:12Obviously, I've been asked that a lot over the last number of days.
38:16I will remind everyone that my beautiful wife and our first lady grew up in Tylertown, Mississippi.
38:25Her dad still lives there.
38:26I've toured the damage of that tornado, which was devastating several times.
38:33She's been to Tylertown since the storm hit.
38:37And so we are very personally involved and engaged, just like we are every time a storm hits.
38:44I will tell you that in talking to Mac, our MEMA director, it is not unusual for these things to take a little bit more time
38:54when it's not a storm, say, of the magnitude of, say, Hurricane Katrina, where there was $100 billion in damage.
39:02These storms take on major damage in smaller confined areas.
39:12But the one thing Mississippi understands is we know how to verify what the losses are.
39:19We know that the Stafford Act governs federal law, which governs emergencies and natural disasters.
39:27And we believe that we've met the threshold.
39:29You go back and look over similarly sized storms over the last, call it 10 years,
39:37and it is not unusual for it to take 30 to 45 days for the federal government to approve a disaster declaration.
39:44We are in regular communication.
39:48I'll just put it that way.
39:48We're in regular communication with the White House.
39:50And I'm hopeful that our declaration gets approved soon.
39:55We certainly believe that we meet the thresholds that is required under the Stafford Act,
40:00and we're hopeful that the president approves it soon.
40:02Any other questions?
40:12Again, I'll just conclude by reiterating how productive today's meeting was,
40:21how productive it was to have state and local and federal partners in this conversation last night and today,
40:28how important it was to have our private sector partners involved.
40:34We anticipate that this is the first meeting of several as we progress forward in making final decisions.
40:42We believe strongly in Mississippi in a whole-of-government approach.
40:48When we do economic development, we bring in and have conversations with our public service commissioners,
40:53with the Mississippi Development Authority, with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality,
40:58and we try to have a point of contact for every single project so that we can get things done.
41:04You know, we are charged with knocking down roadblocks for economic development
41:13that provides good-paying jobs for our people.
41:16We see it as a priority, and we're going to keep working with everyone to make sure that Mississippi keeps winning
41:23so that we can keep our GDP growth rate in the top two in America,
41:28so we can keep our per capita income growth rate in the top five in America,
41:32because that's what our people deserve.
41:34So, again, thanks to everyone for being here.
41:37Thanks to all our partners that participated today.
41:39And may God bless Mississippi.
41:41May God bless these great United States of America.
41:43Thank you all.