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Cigarette-Grocery Bill Still in Limbo Governor Barbour vetoed the legislature's second attempted tax bill today just before the clock ran out on his opportunity to do it. SB 3084 would cut sales tax on groceries from 7 percent to 3.5 percent while raising taxes on cigarettes from 18 cents a pack up to 80 cents. These changes would take place on July 1 of this year if the veto is overridden. This bill comes after a similar one was vetoed by Governor Haley Barbour several weeks ago due to his opposition to new taxes. That bill has not been brought up for a veto override in the Senate because Lt. Gov. Tuck can’t muster the 2/3 majority she needs to successfully override. The current bill is her attempt to sway a few votes her way. The Senate vote on SB 2084 was 29-19, the exact margin necessary to get the bill passed. Several Republicans who voted for the bill said that if it is vetoed, they will switch their votes in order to stay on the side of the Governor. Opponents fear the tax increase on cigarettes will create a black market in which Mississippians would cross state lines to buy several months worth of cigarettes at a discounted price. This type of underground market is common in areas with high tobacco taxes, and if it were to take place, the tax increase could in fact be counter-productive. Others point to the irresponsibility of passing a major tax cut while asking Congress for major federal assistance for rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Since it passed by such a narrow margin in the Senate, it stands little chance of getting the 2/3 majority vote needed for an override. It is rumored that legislative leaders are already considering crafting a third tax bill that is acceptable to Barbour or would garner enough votes in the legislature to override a veto.
Mississippi Mourns the Loss of Senator Billy Harvey
Senator Harvey has been a long time champion of the forestry industry, playing a large role in Mississippi becoming the first state in the United States to pass a reforestation tax credit. Harvey is survived by his wife, Patsy Courtney Harvey, and children Tammy, Kimberly, Mitchell, and DeDee.
Click Here to test your knowledge of Mississippi politics for a chance to win a Magnolia Report baseball cap. The winner will be drawn at random from those correctly answering all 8 questions. Please be sure to fill out the form so we know how to contact you if you are the lucky winner. Ryan Tracy of Clinton is the winner of a Magnolia Report baseball cap for this round of questions. If you have any suggestions for trivia questions e-mail them to scoop@magnoliareport.com.
Sessions Brown May Have Received HELP From Father Sun Herald capitol correspondent Geoff Pender recently broke a story about a potential scandal involving Butch Brown, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation and his son, Sessions Brown, an investment banker working out of Memphis, Tennessee. The scandal centers around both father and son’s involvement in the HELP, or Highway Enhancement through Local Partnership program, a creative scheme developed by Butch Brown to fund highways by circumventing the legislature and state bond commission. Through the program, local governments can borrow large amounts of money for highway projects and have MDOT assume the debt. The program has been used three times. Each time from one of Session Brown’s companies benefited. To date, Session Brown’s employers have received a total of $155, 991 in commission through the deals. The most suspicious aspect of this entire scandal is the fact that the preference given by MDOT was not to a specific company, but rather to Sessions Brown himself. Funds were borrowed from Coastal Securities while Sessions was an employee there, but when he switched to Hattier, Sanford and Reynoir, the business moved to them. On December 3, 2004, the the Mississippi Ethics Commission was asked to rule on Session Brown’s invovlement. The section of the Mississippi Code of 1972 in question is Section 25-4-105 (1) which reads, “(1) No public servant shall use his official position to obtain pecuniary benefit for himself other than that compensation provided by law or to obtain pecuniary benefit for any relative or any business with which he is associated.” Although to the untrained eye, it seems as if this section of the Mississippi code describes exactly what was taking place between Butch and Sessions Brown, the Mississippi Ethics Commission stated, in official advisory opinion No. 04-111-E that, “…there is no reason to believe the executive director would even have an opportunity to violate that law in this situation.” Butch Brown, as well as other MDOT executives, maintains that they had no knowledge of Sessions’ involvement in the deals since the bids are given to companies by consultants. However, Harrison County Supervisor, Bobby Eleuterius, says he remembers hearing Sessions’ name mentioned at a workshop meeting for the Board of Supervisors while discussion was taking place about the $102 million dollar loan they were about to receive. Central District Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall is also skeptical. He says that even if what is happening is not illegal, the fact that Butch Brown’s son is involved in a program for which Butch is pushing so strongly is certainly “improper.” Senator Billy Hewes III, chairman of Senate Transportation says, “[The situation] appears to be highly coincidental…” Perhaps the only thing this father-son pair has going for them is the backing of the Mississippi Ethics Commission, but even that seemingly solid support is shaky since Walter Brown, Chairman of the Commission, is a close friend to both Butch and Sessions Brown from their hometown of Natchez where Walter represented Butch personally as his attorney. The Attorney General’s office, as the body with jurisdiction to investigate this matter will have final say with regards to the legality of this potential debacle. In yet another family twist, AG Jim Hood’s brother, Tom Hood, is the director of the Ethics Commission. Regardless of MDOT’s innocence or guilt, this situation has at least one MDOT Commissioner on his heels. (See Northern District Commissioner, Bill Minor in “Quotable Quotes”)
Democrats File Lawsuit Against the State
The Democrats want to force voters to remain loyal to their party in the state primary elections. If the court rules in their favor, only registered Democrats will be able to vote in the party’s primary. Currently, Mississippi voters are not registered by party. The Democrats have asked the court to make a ruling before the primaries for the 2007 state-wide elections. Democratic Party Chair Wayne Dowdy explained the reasoning behind the lawsuit when he said, "we don't want the Republican organization with all their money and all their resources being able to get into Democratic primaries and have a part in choosing a nominee." Democrats have feared for years that conservative voters who normally support Republicans dilute Democratic primaries. Many voters in rural Mississippi counties vote in the Democratic primaries because all their local officials – sheriff, supervisors and clerks – run as Democrats. After voting in the Democratic primaries, they switch over to vote for GOP statewide nominees in the fall. These voters’ presence in Democratic primaries often make the results more conservative. Naturally, this lawsuit has elicited a great deal of criticism from the Republican Party. GOP chairman Jim Herring said, "[i]f the Democrats want to restrict primaries to a very narrow groups and sign some kind of loyalty oath, more power to them but we will fight to the last ditch to make the Republican party primaries remain open for all to vote in our primary." State Representative Terry Burton echoed Herring’s sentiments when he said, "I can't believe this lawsuit, that a lawsuit like this has been filed I can't believe the language in this lawsuit. I can't believe some of the allegations in this lawsuit, and I can't believe that any political party in this state would want to exclude anyone and prevent them from voting." In response, Burton plans to ask the legislature to consider a bill allowing party registration. It would be up to each political party whether they allowed only voters registered with their respective party to participate in their primary. Apparently, the Mississippi Democratic Party would require registration. Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Jim Herring says the Republican primary would be open to all voters, whether Republican, Democrat or independent. The Democratic Party’s lawsuit is under review at the Mississippi Attorney General’s office where Attorney General Jim Hood was named defendant. Many say that this lawsuit is really about protecting Rep. Bennie Thompson’s House seat from Chuck Espy, who announced that he was going to try to unseat Thompson in 2007 by challenging him in the Democratic primary. Sid Salter calls the race between Espy and Thompson “the most hotly contested black-on-black political race in state history.” Thompson is afraid that thousands of Republicans will vote in the Democratic primary to try to unseat Thompson. If the law passes, Republicans in these areas would have to register as Democrats to vote in the Democratic primary, which would be very unlikely. The state Democratic party leadership appeared unaware of the lawsuit’s existence at the time it was filed. According to his comments on Supertalk’s Paul Gallo Show, Chairman Wayne Dowdy had not even read the lawsuit several weeks after it was filed. Media sources say Democratic Party communication director Sam Hall didn’t know the suit had been filed at all when he was initially contacted about it. Republicans appeared delighted by the lawsuit while Democratic Chairman Wayne Dowdy’s defense of it seemed tepid at best. Regardless of the court’s decision, this lawsuit will prove to be a political misstep for the Democratic Party. Shutting thousands of Mississippians out of their party will alienate voters and pull the party to the left over time.
23 Senators Say No to Public Accountability Not even Amy Tuck’s legislation to raise cigarette taxes while reducing the tax on groceries has split the Senate this year like HB 1115, the bill the House passed several weeks ago to appropriate $20 million a year to the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi. Want to know how volatile it was? Even though it was an appropriations bill, Senator Terry Burton handled the floor debate. It’s the first time in recent memory that Appropriations Chairman Jack Gordon ducked handling an approps bill. The Partnership is like a Rorschach Test for anyone who pays attention to politics. Partnership advocates say it is a worthwhile cause to prevent teenage smoking. Its opponents believe there’s no accountability for the organization and suspect at least some of its $20 million a year goes to fund the political ambitions of Mike Moore and other Democrats. The debate in the Senate centered around those two beliefs. Vocal opponents, led by Senators Merle Flowers, Mike Chaney, Ralph Doxey, Stacey Pickering, Terry Brown, Charlie Ross and Tommy Robertson, questioned the Partnership’s expenditures. Flowers observed that the Secretary of the Senate’s office was full of PHMS staffers there to listen to the debate, and he leveled charges that Partnership grants had been used to fund choir robes and air conditioners. Robertson challenged the statistics the Partnership cites in arguing it’s effective at cutting smoking rates among students. Pickering and Chaney questioned the thoroughness of the private CPA firm that audits the Partnership. The semantics of the word audit played a central role in the debate. For his part, Senator Burton steadfastly held that the Partnership is audited annually, claiming the “sun is shining” on the PHMS. That is true noted his opponents, but it’s not done by the state auditor but instead by a private firm. (Senator Mike Chaney noted the firm is the former firm partially owned by Rep. Cecil Brown, the House member who wrote HB 1115).
Senators Terry Brown, Mike Chaney and Ralph Doxey offered an amendment to audit the Partnership’s books back to 1999 before any appropriation is made to the group. According to them, the amendment was meant to ensure good government, openness and accountability. According to them, millions of dollars in grants have been given with no accountability for how the money was spent. Its opponents argued that their amendment would just gum up the bill. The amendment passed 25-22. Sandra Shellson, the executive director of the PHMS, grimaced in the Senate balcony where she was watching with a large crowd of Partnership supporters.
When the vote for final passage was finally cast after four hours of debate, the legislation to appropriate $20 million a year to the PHMS passed 25-23. Mettetal and Lee, who voted against the Senate leadership on the Brown amendment, voted with the leadership for the overall bill. Hob Bryan voted for final passage after sitting out the vote on Brown’s amendment to audit the Partnership. Bet a carton of cigarettes, a choir robe or whatever you want that the Brown amendment won’t sit well with the leadership of the House or Senate when the bill goes to conference committee. It has already passed the House without the amendment so that body will pass the conference report if the amendment is stripped in conference. Passing such a conference report in the Senate will be a little trickier because of the closeness of the margin. However, even if the Partnership prevails, it will most likely be a hollow victory because both chambers have more than enough votes to sustain a highly probable veto by Governor Haley Barbour.
After only two years in office, State Treasurer Tate Reeves is on his way to becoming President of the National Association of State Treasurers. Reeves was elected Senior Vice President of NAST at the group’s recent meeting in Washington, DC. As Senior VP, the Mississippi Treasurer will automatically assume the presidency of the group on December 1, 2006. The position will give Reeves and Mississippi a voice in a national organization that influences federal and state financial policy. “This is a great honor for Mississippi and well-deserved recognition for Tate Reeves, who is doing an outstanding job as State Treasurer,” said Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. Governor Barbour added, “Tate played a major role in Mississippi retaining its favorable bond rating in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and I appreciate his many contributions to ensuring that Mississippi remains fiscally strong.” U.S. Senator Thad Cochran, agreed. “Tate Reeves has demonstrated outstanding leadership skills since assuming the position of Mississippi State Treasurer in 2003. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina he has performed admirably in guiding Mississippi through a period of significant financial challenges.” Senator Cochran also stated, “I am confident that Tate will employ the same good qualities he has exhibited in our state as he leads the National Association of State Treasurers.” “Anytime you have one of Mississippi’s statewide elected officials selected for a national leadership role by his or her peers it reflects well on our state,” U.S. Senator Trent Lott said. “All Mississippians should be proud that our State Treasurer, Tate Reeves, has garnered such respect among this bipartisan association of public servants.”
Irascible or Asinine? Holland Speaks His Mind Monday, Rep. Steve Holland (D-Plantersville) gave a colorful speech to the Stennis Institute-Capitol Press Corps luncheon in Jackson that sums up much of Holland’s character and disposition. If you haven’t watched the clip on the Magnolia Report, you should. Stay tuned to the end when he refers to Governor Barbour as “the big fat ass rich man.” He’s either a colorful politician in the grandest Southern tradition or he’s Mississippi’s most embarrassing legislator. Decide for yourself. There’s no in between with Steve Holland. Holland began his speech with a bit of background information about himself, stating that he was proud to be a southern undertaker with politics in his family (his wife is mayor of Plantersville). He noted that “I probably get away with more stuff down here (Jackson) than anybody else does.” He added, “I certainly broke the speed limit substantially on the way down here… broke the law, but what the hell, if you break the law and don’t get caught—I don’t guess it’s that bad… because I didn’t get caught.” He didn’t cite other examples of when he might have avoided getting caught, though he did carefully avoid the processed beef selections on the luncheon menu. It turns out that pro-life and pro-choice letter writers alike had it all wrong about Rep. Holland’s stance. “I didn’t like having to vote on that personally myself,” said Holland. He insists that he is “moderate, sometimes [a] pure liberal” with respect to abortion, but grew weary of legislators around the state - and the country for that matter- dancing around the issue. He stated he was upset with the 24 hour waiting and the parental notification provisions and called the sonogram and fetal heartbeat tactic “tacky.” Holland wanted a straight up and down vote on abortion so he “[threw] the snake to the committee” who passed a pure ban on abortion. He noted that “the far right has mastered beautifully the use of this issue and gay rights and several other issues to basically bash the hell out of Democrats every time there’s an election and quite frankly we lose 2 or 3 of them in the process and I was tired of that. So I let the committee decide and they decided on a pure ban.” Rape and incest provisions were added on the floor. Next, Holland moved on to an issue that was close to his heart, but maybe not so close to those of his constituents- the reading of bills on the House floor. Though congressmen have the constitutional right to read a bill on the floor, Holland describes such behavior as “pure, unadulterated punishment” of his colleagues. He then offers a much simpler way to resolve animosity— which will surely come to be known as “the Holland Approach" to politics: Instead of reading a bill to an unfriendly legislator, Holland would simply say, “You no count SOB, meet me out there in the hall and let’s square off.” On the state budget, Holland noted that the legislature has only three weeks to complete it. The fact that only four people will have any say in it “sucks,” according to Holland. Republicans weren’t the only ones to raise Holland’s ire. Rep. Jeff Smith, Sen. Jack Gordon and Democrats who don’t vote the party line were also victims of Holland’s sharp tongue. “I don’t care what the others think, Jeff Smith is a nut if he thinks he’s going to beat Billy McCoy,” said Holland. “It ain’t going to happen. And there ain’t no Republican that can do it. They may as well go out and piss on a light pole somewhere or write a letter to the editor.” According to him, the ten Democrats who Holland categorizes as voting like Republicans should not be certified by the Democratic Party to run for re-election. Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Gordon got an even worse tongue lashing. When asked about a piece of Medicaid of legislation that died in the Senate, Holland said, “It sucks because Gordon killed that bill. He ought to be shot. I cussed him out in the halls of the Capitol and reminded him that my family helped defeat him in Okolona one year and we might just do it again over this one bill…. Some of you investigative reporters need to do a little investigating on that and that’s all I’m going to say about that.” Finally, Rep. Holland took questions from the audience. When asked about the cigarette tax bill on the desk of Gov. Barbour, Holland stated that the governor will veto it and the veto will not get overridden. He said that he hopes this is the last time it will be brought up but commended Lt. Governor Tuck for her tenacity in fighting for the tax. The speech came full circle back to the abortion bill. When asked what will happen to the bill if it gets through the legislative process, Holland stated that he did not think federally when designing the bill as that is “out of [his] jurisdiction.” He noted, “I don’t know anything about the law; I’m an undertaker.” He added, “I wasn’t thinking about that part at all and I probably should have been but I wasn’t. I don’t give a damn what the federal court does about this. That’s not my venue.” In concluding his thoughts on the legislation’s chances of surviving the federal courts, Holland said, “If the Governor signs it into law it’s definitely going to play out in the courts somehow.” He observed that conservatives are probably one vote short of overturning Roe and then mused, “Is someone about to die on the Supreme Court or what? There’s a bunch of old farts up there.”
Special Election Rumor Mill With the passing of Senator Billy Harvey, Governor Haley Barbour has to call a special election to fill the Senate seat. Several candidates are already rumored to be contemplating a run for the office. Two Prentiss natives names have turned up in the rumor mill, former GHB aide-de-camp Joe Cloyd and Prentiss mayor Charlie Dumas. Others politically active possible candidates include Jefferson Davis County Sheriff Henry McCullom and Covington County Democratic Chairman Steve Wade. State Rep. Joey Filingane from Sumrall is rumored to be eying a move to the other side of the rotunda. The names of two candidates who have private sector backgrounds have also surfaced. Seminary banker Kenny Williamson, who is a former MSU football standout, is actively looking at the race as is Louis William King, a businessman from Bassfield. Ann Bullock, a retired chancery clerk, and Ike Ansford, a former superintendent, have both had their names dropped as potential candidates, but most likely will not run for the position due to state retirement issues.
Historic Development in the House After voting to caucus a few weeks ago, House Republicans elected their leaders earlier this week. In years to come, the move to caucus could be viewed as a turning point in Mississippi legislative politics. Detractors are already saying it will create more partisanship in the House, where policy-making should be about what is best for Mississippi, not a political party. Its proponents believe that what is best for Mississippi is a healthy two party system in the legislature in which the good old boy system is replaced by viable party organizations that hold each other accountable and spur good ideas that benefit everyone. Forty-five of the 47 House Republicans met Monday night to elect party leaders. State Rep. Virginia Carton reportedly had a speaking engagement that couldn’t be broken and State Rep. John Reeves said he was away on “state business.” Reeves has been the ultimate GOP maverick lately, supporting the Democratic House leadership on partisan issues like the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi and referring to State Reps who agreed with Governor Barbour’s position on the cigarette-grocery tax bill as “tin soldiers.” The following House members were elected to the leadership of the new House GOP caucus. Leader – Jim Simpson (Gulfport) The conventional wisdom among Republicans is that GOP legislators selected a strong slate of leaders that is reflective of the generational and philosophical spectrum of House Republicans. Caucus Leader Jim Simpson has a history of influential public servants in his family. His father was Chairman of the House Rules Committee and his uncle, Bill Simpson, was a key deputy to Senator Jim Eastland. Though he’s not a part of the most conservative bloc of House Republicans, Simpson is highly regarded for his leadership abilities. Conference Chair Phillip Gunn is a first term legislator who is considered a rising star in among Mississippi Republicans. Gunn is an articulate, solid conservative who will help set policy in his new position. Assistant Leader Greg Snowden is one of two Phi Beta Kappa members in the House of Representatives (Percy Watson is the other). Snowden is a pro-active member who has an excellent grasp of the minutiae of public policy and floor strategy. Floor Leader Bill Denny, Conference Vice Chair Davis and Treasurer Jim Ellington are all veteran House Republicans who acquainted with the institution of the House and its sometimes peculiar ways. Each will bring a valuable perspective to the House leadership team. Like Gunn, Mark Baker and Virginia Carlton are also freshman House members of what is thought of as one of the best classes in House GOP history. Both are on the conservative side of the House GOP caucus and, like Gunn, aren’t afraid to rock the boat when it comes to standing up for their core political values.
And the Winner Is…
The system bases its ratings on three separate categories: economic, social, and foreign policy issues. The contest for this year’s most conservative member of the Mississippi delegation turned out to be a nail-biter between Senator Trent Lott and Representative Roger Wicker. In the end, Lott proved to be more conservative than Wicker by the impossibly small margin of two tenths of a point. Luckily, Wicker did not call for a recount. Below is a breakdown of all the Mississippi legislators and their scores.
2005 Congressional Vote Ratings
Poll Results Which MDOT commissioner is doing the best job? (2/6) They’re all bad: 41.49% Dick Hall- Central 38.02% Bill Minor- Northern 11.46% Wayne Brown- Southern 9.03% Should the Legislature Posts its votes on-line? (2/13) Yes. It will make them more responsive 87.75% I don’t care. Nobody will pay attention to the anyway 8.30% No. It will encourage more games and partisanship 3.95% Who is the most effective member of the Legislative Black Caucus? (2/20) George Flaggs 42.01% Percy Watson 41.81% Willie Simmons 9.31% Johnnie Walls 6.86% What kind of voter ID law should Mississippi pass? (2/27) Full voter ID; no compromises 78.92% Voter ID for everyone born after 1940 8.97% No voter ID at all; we don’t need it 8.30% Voter ID with age exceptions and expunging records 3.36% Voter ID if we expunge non-violent felon records 0.45% Do you believe MDOT Director Butch Brown was involved in securing MDOT deals for firms employing his son? (3/6) Yes 61.20% No 29.16% I Don’t Care 9.64%
Supreme Chaos Judge Charles Pickering continues his signing tour across the state for his book "Supreme Chaos: The Politics of Judicial Confirmation & the Culture War." The book details the causes, background, players and politics of the judicial confirmation process - a topic surely to be of national attention again soon with the nomination of Jackson attorney Mike Wallace to fill Pickering's former seat on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Upcoming book signings include Square Books in Oxford on March 21, Reed's in Tupelo on March 22, The Book Mart in Starkville on March 23 and later that night at the Lowndes County Republican Party Reception and Dinner in Columbus, and Turnrow Book Company in Greenwood on March 24. http://supremechaosbook.blogspot.com/
The homepage for the Mississippi Republican Party (www.msgop.org) got a facelift with the central theme of “interaction.” The newest feature of the GOP site is the “Action Center” in which users can do anything from register to vote to sign a petition or contact a State Representative. The theory behind this new addition is that a more involved citizenry will help strengthen the Party as a whole. Along with the addition of the Action Center, the site is going to start utilizing video feed from speeches and press conferences throughout the state which should help make the site more user-friendly.
This new site (www.mshomehelp.gov) tries to help citizens of Mississippi living outside the flood plain receive government aid in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Mississippians can go to the site and learn about what it takes to qualify for aid along with how to avoid contractor fraud. Users also have the option to comment on or critique the program itself as well as ask any questions they may have about the process.
Helping Americans Needing Disaster Assistance (www.hands.ms) was created shortly after Hurricane Katrina to provide a clearing house for supplies for shelters and individuals needing emergency relief. Now they are providing a network between needy families and giving churches to provide Katrina victims with spiritual, emotional, and financial support as they rebuild their homes and lives. Leisha Pickering, wife of Congressman Chip Pickering, is one of the head volunteers for HANDS.
Movers and Shakers Jon Bellish has been hired as the new legislative and state government reporter for the Magnolia Report. The Houston, Texas native is a Sophmore at Millsaps College, where he is majoring in Political Science.
Quotable Quotes "I don't think so. He might have been. I don't think so. I don't know nothing about that. The ones we met with were in New York . Me and Commissioner Hall and Commissioner Brown. They were the ones we met with, in New York . Butch was there. All three commissioners. I don't know who all handled the bonds. We just. This other company. I don't know who did the underwriting. The only ones I met with was in New York . Morgan Stanley, I think. I didn't know his son had anything to do with it. They might have had to bid on it. I don't know how you underwrite it. (Bond consultants) are the ones that set it up. I don't know who's underwriting anything. His son moves companies, moves around. I only met his son once or twice. You'd have to ask some of them. I don't have any idea." “Republicans and diapers have one thing in common. Both must be changed with some regularity.” “There is and old African proverb that says when the elephants fight the ants get hurt. But while today I may be an ant, I have surely enjoyed this elephant fight.” "We're early in the process right now to get our bowels in an uproar at this." "We would give up any pay, any outside food. We would live in the Russell compound. We would have no conjugal visits. And for fifteen minutes a day we would go out into the courtyard, which we would use to confess our sins and flagellate ourselves."
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Senator Billy Harvey died on September 2 at about 4:30am at Baptist Medical Center in Jackson after a long battle with cancer. Lieutenant Governor Amy Tuck described Harvey as a “true gentleman” in a short speech given inside the senate chambers.
Buck Clarke, one of the few CPA’s in the legislature, rose to clarify the argument over what constitutes an audit. Clarke noted that auditors consider “materiality” in private audits. According to him, in a $20 million a year organization, anything under $50,000 a year might be considered immaterial by private auditors. Public audits, Clarke stated, focus on “compliance” with the law and examine every penny of taxpayer money that is spent. The Partnership, said Clarke, has never been the subject of a true public audit. As much as $50,000 could be considered immaterial under the current auditing arrangement. 
Since 1981, the National Journal, a non-partisan Washington D.C. political magazine, has been publishing its now famous Congressional Vote Ratings. The rating system ranks all federal legislators’ ideological tendencies from 0-100 with 100 representing the legislator with the most conservative voting record.
HANDS 
