Video: Legislature Squabbles Over Balanced Budget Proposal

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JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi voters may not get a chance to vote on a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced state budget.

The Mississippi House voted 75-44 on Tuesday, with a majority in favor of House Constitutional Resolution 22. But the measure failed because it didn’t reach the required two-thirds vote of the House. There’s a chance that House members could vote again on the measure later.

The state’s lawmakers have balanced budgets for decades, but Republican sponsors said they wanted to ensure that practice will continue in the future. They argue that further safeguards are warranted.

Democrats offered a pair of amendments aimed at making the amendment even tighter, but Republicans rejected those as too intrusive. Opposing Democrats decried the proposal as political fodder aimed at appeasing Republican primary voters.