Gov. Bryant Calls For Special Legislative Session

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Gov. Phil Bryant has issued a call for a special legislative session to deal with a shortfall in Mississippi’s 2016 budget.

The governor’s office said in a news release Monday the special session will start at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

The call contains one item: legislation authorizing the governor to transfer money from the state’s rainy day fund into the general fund to cover the 2016 budget deficit.

Mississippi could be looking at a shortfall of as much as $75 million in the $6 billion-plus budget.

Bryant has ordered two rounds of budget cuts and dipped into the state rainy day fund to try to make up for lagging tax collections, running $206 million short of original estimates through May.