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Barbour: pass Momentum Mississippi now; governor believes that package is critical for business, industry and economic development.

Article Excerpt
JACKSON -- On June 28, the Mississippi Legislature will once again convene for a special session called by Gov. Haley Barbour, this time to pass a bill for economic development incentives in his Momentum Mississippi plan.

The legislation failed during this year's regular and first special sessions, but Barbour is adamant about signing a bill soon that would help Mississippi recruit and expand industry and jobs in the state.

Last week, the Mississippi Business Journal talked to the first-term Republican about why this legislation is so pressing.

Mississippi Business Journal: Refresh our readers about the connection between Blueprint Mississippi and Momentum Mississippi.

Haley Barbour: Blueprint Mississippi, which began before I was governor, was a project of our business community and our universities about how to improve the business climate in Mississippi, to maximize the chances of better and higher paying jobs for Mississippians. The first recommendation was to fully utilize the 1987 act, which I did within the week of Blueprint's announcement, and we created the board that supervises our effort to use the 1987 act to improve the economic climate in our state, and that is the Momentum Mississippi board. Momentum Mississippi is actually the first piece of legislation put forward by the organization.

MBJ: Why is passage of the bill so critical right now?

HB: The first reason we need to pass Momentum Mississippi now, not in six or nine months, is because it realigns our economic incentives...

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