Why give all BP funds to Coast? Some area legislators say, ‘Not so fast’
JACKSON – Some Northeast Mississippi legislators are saying not so fast in terms of the three coastal counties receiving all of the funds from the $750 million settlement with BP for the 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico and subsequent massive oil spill.
“I know some people feel some of the money should come to the central and northern parts of the state,” said Rep. William Tracy Arnold, R-Booneville.
The issue of how the money that was part of the settlement reached with BP should be divvied up is expected to be a major topic during the 2017 legislative session. But it has come to the forefront in recent days because of public hearings Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves is having on the Gulf Coast regarding the BP settlement funds.
This past week Reeves reiterated his stance that the $750 million in funds the state is set to receive during the next 17 years for economic damages caused by the 2010 oil spill should be spent on the Coast.
Read more: http://djournal.com/news/give-bp-funds-coast-area-legislators-say-not-fast/