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Mississippi Economic Council MEC Snapshot
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MEC Blueprint Mississippi Pathway to Progress Tour
Participants See Bright Future for Mississippi
Attendees Pinpoint Focus Areas to Stimulate Future Growth
Leaders from across the state are showing great confidence in the direction Mississippi is moving and in the ability to improve its economic competitiveness.
Surveyed during the Mississippi Economic Council's Blueprint Mississippi Pathway to Progress Tour, business and community leaders rate Mississippi as a newly emerging growth state, higher than any other category.
Over the past four months MEC traveled to 19 cities in all regions of Mississippi to get input on ways the state can continue along its pathway to progress. Through an electronic response process, the approximately 2,000 attendees were able to provide instant feedback on various issues. In addition to the more than 37 percent that view Mississippi as an emerging growth state, another 8 percent believe Mississippi has already become a hot economic development location.
Encouragingly, those participating in the voting were extremely optimistic about where Mississippi will be 10 years from now. Almost 38 percent see Mississippi becoming a hot economic development location, while another 34 percent say it will be an emerging growth state.
"The optimism really speaks to the opportunities that exist in Mississippi," MEC President Blake Wilson said. "There is no doubt Mississippi has made great strides in the past 10 years, but when you look at where our leaders believe we will be 10 years from now it tells you a bright future is ahead."
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More Than 80 Attend MEC Legislative Scrambler Focusing on Energy
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Attending the Legislative Scrambler on Energy were Rep. Gary Staples, Sen. Terry Burton, Joe Sims of Cornerstone Government Affairs and Patrick Sullivan, President, Mississippi Energy Institute.
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The Mississippi Economic Council held the Legislative Scrambler focusing on Energy on Wednesday, March 12 at the Mississippi Museum of Art. Attendees heard from Senator Terry Burton, Chair, Senate Energy Committee, Representative Gary Staples, Vice-Chair, House Energy Committee and Patrick Sullivan, President, Mississippi Energy Institute.
MEC's Legislative Scrambler focusing on Energy was sponsored by Cornerstone Government Affairs.
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Legislative Session in Final Weeks,
Tax, Education Issues Continue to Move Forward
MEC's push for important tax reforms continues on HB799 and SB2487. When passed, this important legislation will provide solutions that protect the rights of taxpayers, yet preserve the state's ability to address abusive and unique situations.
 House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jeff Smith has worked diligently to see that HB799 was sent to conference where MEC will continue to work diligently with law-makers to sort out the final details of the bill. Sister bill SB2487 has cleared the house and heads back to the Senate this week. Both Chairman Smith and Senate Finance Committee Chair, Joey Fillingane have done much to support this legislation that levels the playing field between taxpayers and DOR and maintains Mississippi's business-friendly reputation. Their hard work is appreciated.
Specifically, this important legislation standardizes the Department of Revenue's (DOR) apportionment procedures, removing uncertainty by providing reliable guidelines for all taxpayers. The party requesting deviation from these guidelines would bear the burden of proof to justify the change.
The legislation also increases taxpayer's access to an independent on-the-record appeal by removing the current "pay-to-play" restriction. This burden has affected all taxpayers - businesses and individuals alike - when dealing with tax audit appeals. These changes remove the current "guilty-until-proven-innocent" approach that impedes Mississippi's economic development efforts.
The bills also:
- Set clear best-business practices for the DOR's notification process.
- Aligns Mississippi tax interest rates with today's market rates
- Clarify penalties and provide uniform language among statutes
Clear Commitment to Common Core
An amendment to the education appropriation bill cutting all funding for Common Core teacher training was introduced in the Senate last week, but failed in a 39 to 11 vote. MEC applauds the legislature for continuing to support strong college & career readiness standards for Mississippi students. These standards align Mississippi with other states and ensure academic requirements will meet expectations of higher education institutions and the needs of employers competing in the global economy. MEC strongly supports the Department of Education's decision to adopt these standards and remains committed to their ongoing implementation.
Religious Freedom Restoration Act
While an amended form of The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, SB2681, aligned with MEC's long-standing policy of non-discrimination, the house voted to form a Religious Freedoms Study Committee and look at this legislation very closely before proceeding.
The bill now returns to the Senate for Concurrence or the Senate could call for conference to continue working on the bill. If the Senate concurs, the study is to be completed before the end of the 2014 calendar year. MEC opposes any legislation that would intentionally or unintentionally prevent Mississippi businesses from implementing and enforcing non discrimination policies impacting their customers and employees.
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Ingalls Shipbuilding Awarded $602 Million Destroyer Contract
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USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110), the last guided-missile destroyer delivered by Ingalls Shipbuilding, completed a deployment to the U.S. 5th, 6th and 7th Fleet areas of responsibility in November 2013.
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Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding division has received a $602 million contract modification to fund construction of the Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) guided missile destroyer DDG 119 for the U.S. Navy. The yet-to-be-named ship is the second of five DDG 51 destroyers the company was awarded in June 2013. The modification also includes an additional $79.4 million in advance procurement for future destroyers.
"The timely execution of this contract modification will enable us to maintain a stable work flow on the DDG 51 class program," said DDG 51 Program Manager George Nungesser. "It also allows us to achieve our learning curve targets and keep our highly skilled workforce focused on building affordable ships."
The multi-year procurement allows Ingalls to build ships more efficiently by buying bulk material and moving the skilled workforce from ship to ship. With the five-ship contract, Ingalls will be building DDGs over the next decade.
Ingalls Shipbuilding is an MEC member.
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Horne LLP Named Top 50
Accounting Firm in U.S.
Accounting Today named Horne LLP to the 2014 Top 100 Firms list. Horne ranked as the 49th largest firm in the nation based on 2013 net revenue. This year's announcement is Horne's fourth top 50 ranking in the last five years.
Horne reported annual revenues of $67.37 million in 2013, a 6.06 percent growth rate from the previous year, ranking Horne the fourth largest firm on the Gulf Coast.
According to the Top 100 report issued by Accounting Today, "This year marks the third year of positive overall growth for the Top 100 since the miserable low points of 2009 and 2010, when their revenues actually shrank. That growth has been relatively consistent around the 8 percent mark (this year's is 7.81 percent), and has also been relatively evenly distributed among the three tiers into which we divide the Top 100."
Horne is one of the top 50 accounting and business advisory firms in the country. With offices in Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama and Texas, the firm focuses in health care, construction, financial institutions, franchise, government services, public and middle market, and wealth advisory. For more information on Horne LLP, visit www.hornellp.com.
Horne LLP is an MEC member.
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Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic
Tees Off This Week in Biloxi
The Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic presented by C Spire will take place March 21-23 at Fallen Oak in Biloxi. A field of 81 PGA Champions Tour players will compete for a total purse of $1.6 million and a $240,000 first place share.
Showcasing the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the three-day competition attracts participants and spectators from around the globe and is a major economic driver for the state. According to www.2014mgrc.com, the total economic impact from the tournament since 2010 has been estimated at $55 million while the economic impact from the 2013 Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic was estimated at $15.3 million.
The tournament has distributed more than $750,000 in contributions to local charities since 2010. This year, Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast will benefit from the event.
The Golf Channel will broadcast the event live from Fallen Oak.
Read More
Click Here for More Information
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Positioned for Progress Conference
Set for April 29-30 in Jackson
Strengthening Mississippi's Charitable and Creative Economies
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SAVE THE DATE!
April 29-30, 2014
Jackson Convention Center
Jackson, Mississippi
Positioned for Progress is a statewide conference focused on aligning the work of the volunteer, nonprofit, corporate, and government sectors to maximize the social, health, and economic well-being of all Mississippians. The conference is focused on identifying, promoting, and recognizing collaborative efforts that better the lives of Mississippi citizens.
Through plenary sessions, interactive workshops, exhibits, networking, and more, you will learn about and participate in efforts to leverage Mississippi's POWER FOR GOOD, and strengthen your ability to be part of Mississippi's Charitable and Creative Economies. By attending the Positioned for Progress Conference, you will learn how to leverage multiple resources - financial, personal and intellectual - to build a better, stronger Mississippi TOGETHER!
Click Here for More Information
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Mississippi First to Host "Incentives for Investing in PreK" Friday, March 21
Mississippi First, along with the Committee for Economic Development, will host "Incentives for Investing in PreK" this Friday, March 21, at the University of Southern Mississippi. The event will be held in room 101 of the Trent Lott Center on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
"Incentives for Investing in PreK" will educate the public on the importance of quality preK education in Mississippi, outline the economic benefits of preK, review the Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2013 and explain how you can take advantage of the Mississippi state tax credit.
The program is free and open to the public, but space is limited. Please reserve your spot by registering online. Refreshments will be served.
For questions, please contact Angela Bass by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 601.398.9008. |
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Greenville Native Steve Azar Brings Country Entertainment to 65th Annual Meeting
Greenville native, country music star and three-time BMI Million-Air award-winner Steve Azar will rock the house as the featured entertaiment for the 65th Annual MEC Annual Meeting.
Azar, a native of the Mississippi Delta, is a country, blues and rock music songwriter, artist and producer. His debut album was released in 2001 titled "Waitin' On Joe". The album's title track went to No. 1 on CMT and featured academy award winning actor Morgan Freeman. Steve's song "I Don't Have To Be Me, Til Monday", has received three Million-Air awards from BMI and is one of the top five most played songs of the past decade on country radio.
In 2007, Azar was called personally by Bob Seger to perform 46 shows on what was rated the No. 1 Tour in America by Pollstar Magazine. He is the co-founder of Ride Records and The Mighty Mississippi Music Festival. For the past three years Steve has also been an artist in residence at the Delta Music Institute, part of Delta State University.
Keep the Faith,
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You are receiving this newsletter because of your past involvement with the Mississippi Economic Council. For more information about MEC, please visit our website at www.msmec.com.
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ABOUT US
The Mississippi Economic Council has been the voice of Mississippi business since 1949. MEC deals with broad issues that relate to businesses through advocacy, research, resources and leadership. MEC has 8,600 members from 1,100 member firms in 2,400 locations throughout Mississippi.
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Mississippi Economic Council - The State Chamber of Commerce
248 E. Capitol Street, Suite 940 - Jackson, Mississippi 39201
P.O. Box 23276 - Jackson, Mississippi 39225-3276
Phone: 601-969-0022 - 1-800-748-7626
Fax: 601-353-0247 - 1-888-717-2809
Click Here for MEC Web Site
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