JACKSON, MISS– Attorney General Jim Hood announced Monday that nearly $34 million recovered by his office was delivered to the state Treasury.
Hood encouraged the Mississippi Legislature to use the money to offset budget shortfalls for vital state services.
“Hopefully, this will undo some of the damage inflicted to agency budgets because of state leaders’ untimely devotion to tax breaks for big businesses,” Attorney General Hood said. “Those misguided corporate tax cuts along with the problems associated with Senate Bill 2362 and the Legislature’s mathematical error have led to a reduction of beds at the State Hospital, layoffs at the Department of Revenue and the Forestry Commission, and closure of National Guard armories. Lawmakers will fall far short of collecting the $188 million that they anticipated collecting in the special funds sweep, and I’m concerned that there are more significant budget cuts ahead.”
During his tenure, Attorney General Hood has recovered more than $3 billion from corporations that have harmed Mississippi consumers. He said legislators should use the money received Monday to make sure those same Mississippi consumers are not harmed further by an inability of state government to meet their day-to-day needs.
The majority of the $33,951,305 delivered to the Treasury is from a judgment against pharmaceutical manufacturer Sandoz Inc., which defrauded the state by manipulating the prices it charged for its drugs to the state Medicaid program.
