Mississippi Senate sends BP bill to House

Today the Mississippi Senate voted for a bill backed by Coast senators that would send a majority of BP economic damages money to the Coast.
Senate Bill 2176 would put nearly $700 million of the $750 million economic damages settlement into the Gulf Coast Restoration Reserve fund to remain separate from the state’s general fund. About $50 million of those dollars have already been spent, primarily on projects in South Mississippi.
Newly-elected District 49 Senator Joel Carter tells News 25 why South Mississippi needs that money most. “It doesn’t make sense that the BP oil spill that affected the Mississippi Gulf Coast, why would we send that money elsewhere? It just doesn’t make sense. We’ve led the state’s economy and after Katrina, you take this recession and this oil spill, I mean, we’ve still got vendors in Chicago that don’t want Gulf shrimp.”
The bill now goes to the House which can approve it as is, reject it, or make amendments that could set up negotiations with the Senate.