Special Session Begins Today

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi lawmakers are meeting in special session to consider ways to increase funding for roads and bridges.

The session begins Thursday morning, after Gov. Phil Bryant called lawmakers back to Jackson on Tuesday.

Republican leaders have outlined a package to divert existing tax revenue, create a lottery and borrow money.

Democrats, the minority in both the House and Senate, complain they haven’t gotten enough input.

The plan calls for diverting part of tax collected on internet and catalog sales to cities and counties. The Mississippi Department of Transportation would get proceeds from a tax on sports betting and a state lottery for 10 years, as well as increased registration taxes on electric and hybrid vehicles. Those items are supposed to generate more than $200 million a year.