Waste of the Day: Miss. Lawmaker Brings Pork Spending Home

Topline: Powerful politicians often earmark taxpayer funds to support local projects in their hometowns, but state lawmaker Trey Lamar might be the first to secure funding for his own front yard.

A Mississippi legislature secures public funding for improving his own home

Lamar, chairman of the Mississippi House Ways and Means Committee, has earmarked $7 million of state money to repave the road to his own house, build a lake at his local golf course and more, according to an investigation by Mississippi Today.

Key facts: Lamar represents Mississippi’s 8th District, which does not include the City of Jackson where he owns a house.

That didn’t stop him from earmarking $400,000 to renovate a small road in a wealthy area of Jackson that leads only to Lamar’s house and 13 others.

Sen. David Blount and Rep. Shanda Yates, the two state lawmakers that actually do represent Jackson, told Mississippi Today they never asked to use taxpayer funds on the road.

Lamar’s personal indulgence did not stop there.

He earmarked $2.4 million for construction at a private country club and golf course near his other house in Tate County, and another $2.5 million to repair the road leading up to the golf course.

Improvements included a new lake at the golf course and a widened road so golf carts can pass more easily.

Lamar said the funding was needed to repair a “very dangerous road” that caused flooding on the course. Tate County Engineer Kevin McLeod told Mississippi Today that while the construction was for “safety and maintenance,” there had never actually been any flooding.

Next, Lamar directed $2 million toward improvements for a small water system in Tate County that services only 200 houses.

Convenient possession of a public asset

Once the improvements were made, the city no longer needed one of the wells in the system — a well that was conveniently located next to Lamar’s backyard. That allowed him to purchase the 4.5-acre property containing the well and expand his own residence, Mississippi Today reported.

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Critical quote: “It is raw politics,” House Minority Leader Robert Johnson III told Mississippi Today of the state’s earmarking process. “It’s a quid pro quo: Will you follow orders? Would you do what we ask, and have you been compliant? … It’s kind of used as punishment-reward, a carrot-stick type thing.”

Background: Mississippi’s earmarks don’t end at the state level. The state’s four Congress members in the House of Representatives requested 57 earmarks worth $195 million in the upcoming fiscal year 2025 budget.

It’s part of a $23 billion earmark request from all House members that could dwarf last year’s spending once it is passed.

Summary: Federal lawmakers are at least required to certify that they have no interest in the projects they earmark money for. Whatever oversight is occurring in Mississippi, it clearly isn’t enough.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.

This article was originally published by RCI and made available via RealClearWire.