Big change at MS Dept of Marine Resources would give director, governor more control
The executive director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and the governor would have more power over the agency under a bill the Mississippi Legislature is considering, language in the bill shows.
The bill would transform the DMR’s governing board, the five-member Commission on Marine Resources, from a group that sets policy and regulation on Coast fisheries to an advisory board only. Executive Director Joe Spraggins would set policy and answer directly to Gov. Tate Reeves.
The bill is currently pending before the Senate’s Accountability Committee. An amendment to make CMR an advisory board was added to a DMR bill in the Senate Ports and Marine Resources Committee.
Coast Sen. Scott Delano, R-Biloxi, said the major change has the support of Mississippi’s Coast legislative delegation.
Delano said DMR has outgrown its current structure, going from a small agency with a limited budget to one that handles millions of dollars in federal funding, including compensation the state is receiving from the 2010 BP oil catastrophe.
“The agency has matured over the years and is now handling project management for different federal funds and projects the Legislature wants DMR to handle in the future,” Delano said. “We can have a better relationship and more direct line of communication with the agency and its partners.”
Once the bill is finalized in the Senate Committee, it heads back to the House, where representatives could approve the changes or send it to a conference committee of House and Senate members.
