By Ed Anderson @ Times-Picayune

BATON ROUGE — House members Friday began the months-long process of filing the proposals that could become new laws, including one by a New Orleans legislator that would allow individuals on probation or parole to pay their fees with credit or debit cards.

House Clerk Alfred “Butch” Speer said the first seven bills — House Bills 4 through 10 — were filed late Friday. The first three bill numbers are reserved for legislation dealing with the state’s operating and capital construction budgets, but they will not be filed for months.

The session opens at noon March 29 and must end June 21 by 6 p.m. The deadline to file bills in advance of the session is March 19. After that, legislators can file no more than five bills each before April 20 at 6 p.m.

By ED KEMP @ HATTIESBURG AMERICAN

Is academic tenure under attack? A number of university professors across Mississippi believe so.

The state College Board gave initial approval in December to policy changes that would reduce how much warning time is required to fire tenured and tenure-track professors for financial reasons.

There’s even in a bill in the Legislature that would eliminate tenure entirely.

The recent developments have some professors on edge.

A group called the Mississippi State Consortium for the Improvement of Education, which represents faculty, students and staff statewide, recently condemned the board’s actions as “a threat to both academic freedom and shared governance.”

“Tenure is at the core of our profession,” said University of Southern Mississippi professor Mark Klinedinst, a member of the group. “We have to do everything to protect it.”

Higher Education Commissioner Hank Bounds believes the changes are necessary in light of the economy. About 1,000 university employees will be cut statewide if the College Board’s budget projections for the next three years hold true.

BY SEBASTIAN KITCHEN @Montgomery Advertizer

The Alabama Senate will en ter its third week of debate Tuesday on a bill that would bring at least $15 million more in funding for roads and bridges to Autauga, Elmore and Montgomery counties over the next 10 years.

The Legislature is consider ing a bill that would spend $100 million a year over 10 years to build and improve roads and bridges. The money would be taken from the Alabama Trust Fund, which receives royalties from oil and gas production.

Democratic lawmakers who are pushing the bill said it would send money to all 67 counties in the state, creating jobs and improving roads.

Republicans have concerns about raiding the trust fund and believe the money would become discretionary with pow erful lawmakers directing it to pet projects in their district.

“I have been here too long not to know how the system works. People get left out,” said Sen. Larry Dixon, R-Montgom ery.

The Senate sponsor, Demo cratic Sen. Lowell Barron of Fyffe, said counties and the Ala bama Department of Transpor tation will determine how to spend the money.

He said legislators could ear mark every dollar of the budget if they chose to, but have not done so during his 27 years in the Senate.

Several Republicans argued that the legislation says funds would be allocated through the General Fund, which provides the appropriations for public safety, Medicaid and state pris ons, or another appropriations bill. They are concerned the law makers will earmark projects as they craft the budget, giving an advantage to those in leadership and in the majority.

The legislation directs 75 per cent of the money to the Depart ment of Transportation for state highways, roads, bridges and other transportation purposes. At least $5 million each year would go to each of the state’s seven congressional districts.

The remaining 25 percent would be distributed among cit ies and counties for new con struction, repair and mainte nance. Of that amount, 45 percent would be allocated equally among the 67 counties in the state. The remaining 55 per cent would be allocated to the 67 counties based on population.

ELIZABETH CRISP @ Clarion Ledger

Higher education leaders assured a room packed Thursday with supporters of Mississippi’s historically black universities that there is little support for a merger of the three schools.

“Based on private conversations that we’ve had with members of the Legislature as well as many public comments that we’ve seen by members of the Legislature, we have assumed that the merger idea is dead on arrival in this Capitol, and there is no reason for us to discuss it,” state College Board President Scott Ross said during a Senate committee hearing.

“And we haven’t.”

Hundreds of students and alumni from Alcorn, Mississippi Valley State and Jackson State descended on the Capitol for the system’s budget hearing – hoping to find out their institutions’ fate.

Dressed head-to-toe in purple and gold, Alcorn State alum James Stubbs said he was happy to hear higher education leaders say that they do not believe the merger has a shot.