Why I'm Running for Secretary of State
In Mississippi, the Secretary of State is charged with overseeing and implementing policy that impacts many facets of the daily lives of our citizens. It is imperative to all Mississippians that a proven conservative hold this office - a disciplined leader who upholds our values and is committed to securing our elections, decreasing the regulatory burden and restraining government's impulse to limit freedom. My record of public service proves that I have consistently focused my skills, education and experience to serve our state as a champion of liberty. I look forward to bringing my conservative record of consistent success in the legislature to the Secretary of State's office. Read More
News
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) -Just because you’re trained to do a certain job doesn’t mean you can start right away. Several professions require a license in Mississippi.
“When government is standing in the way of people working, we’ve got a problem,” explained Secretary of State Michael Watson.
There’s a total of 29 occupational licensing boards and commissions in Mississippi, and Secretary of State Michael Watson’s office is splitting that list up to put a microscope on the red tape they put between people and a license.
“Let’s just take the average. You got roughly 600 regulations that you as a small business person, if you’re working in one of these areas, one of these boards or commissions, you got to overcome 600 regulations just to operate to open your doors,” added Watson. “That’s time-consuming [and] it takes a lot of money. So we want to do all we can to cut those.”
Watson’s office visited one of those boards last week, and they didn’t have enough people there to do their business.
“This is the second time this board did not make quorum,” explained Watson. “And we had a number of licensees or prospective licensees that have been waiting for months for the license, and that’s bad.”
Sen. Jeremy England says he thinks licensing is an issue the legislature should keep a close watch on each year.
“Everybody talks about how important workforce development is,” noted England. “But what we don’t realize is once we get people through certain programs, they may have trouble getting their license.”
He filed a bill in 2021, and a similar House version was passed that removed the requirement for professional licenses for those who offer low-risk beauty services like eyebrow threading.
“We’re keeping people that want to work from working, and we can’t do that here in Mississippi,” added England.
( Mississippi Business Journal) - If you’re sometimes frustrated with government red tape, you’re not alone.
The Mississippi Secretary of State’s office is working on a solution; it’s called the Tackle the Tape initiative, and it was launched in July 2020.
“It was a priority for me after being elected secretary of state in 2019 to get this initiative off the ground quickly and to begin making a difference for Mississippians and small businesses alike,” said Secretary of State Michael Watson. “At the launch of Tackle the Tape, Mississippi had just been ranked as the most regulated state in the Southeast and among the most regulated states in the nation per capita. Our state’s administrative code consisted of over 9.3 million words and over 118,000 restrictions.”
Watson says that didn’t sit right with him, and he wanted something to be done.
“The regulatory burden is a growing issue federally and in states all across the country. I knew we could set an example for the rest of the nation by taking a serious, proactive approach to getting government out of the way while still upholding and maintaining the public health and safety of our citizens,” he recalled.
The initiative was launched with the goal of cutting anti-competitive government regulations and increasing economic opportunities for Mississippians by encouraging innovation, competition and job growth, essentially getting government out of the way while still upholding public health and safety.
“We can continue building on our state’s recent economic growth and increase prosperity for all Mississippians,” Watson said.
“It's no surprise that most Mississippians view interacting with the government as a burden and hurdle to living their lives or starting a small business,” said Colby Williams, Tackle the Tape program lead. “It’s been rewarding to see how our efforts have directly resulted in more Mississippians being able to start small businesses, create jobs, and generally prosper and thrive. I’m optimistic about our state’s future.”
According to Watson, Tackle the Tape helps Mississippians by reducing the costs and unnecessary hurdles created, whether intentionally or not, by state government — from cutting various licensing fees or making it easier to move to Mississippi with a license from another state to something as simple as allowing online submission of documents for licensees.
“Tackle the Tape focuses on making it easier to live and do business in Mississippi without unnecessary burdens from the government no matter how large or small the issue may be,” he said.
Since launching Tackle the Tape, the Secretary of State’s office says it has received overwhelming support from state legislators, agencies, licensees, small business owners and even other states’ elected officials interested in replicating similar red tape reduction efforts in their state.
Licensing boards in other states have embraced Tackle the Tape and have started bringing their own suggested regulation cuts to the table for review, citing Mississippi’s efforts as their reason for doing so.
“We also recently won the 2023 National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) IDEAS award which showcases the best innovative programs from states across the country,” Watson said. “Tackle the Tape has been receiving national attention since shortly after its launch.”
While there have been numerous successes, including a long list of individuals the team has helped walk through various issues with state government, it highlights how important this initiative has been for not only Mississippians but for citizens across the country who feel the burden over outdated, anti-competitive regulations, Watson said.
“I’d like to add that because of the overwhelming response to Tackle the Tape, we decided to create a strategic road map to increase the efficiency of our regulatory review process called 29 by 29. 29 by 29 serves as a strategic plan to drive Tackle the Tape’s reviews of all 29 of our state’s licensing boards and commissions by the year 2029,” Watson said. “We have brought together nonprofits, academics, relevant industry experts and even college students from each prospective industry to contribute input in our reviews. Far too often the government thinks it knows what is best for the people, and we wanted to ensure our red tape reduction efforts were including experts in the fields actually being regulated.”
The secretary noted that the Tackle the Tape website is a great resource for keeping up with these efforts and for submitting a regulation that you may be having issues with for the team to review.
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Chances are you aren’t trying to read the fine print at the end of political ads. And you may even just assume they’re all from the candidate’s campaigns.
But, a lot of those are from political action committees. Now, there are questions about how to ensure they’re held accountable.
Secretary of State Michael Watson sounded the alarm about campaign finance at Wednesday’s Grip-N-Grin event.
“I want you to understand something,” said Watson. “49 PACs did not file yesterday that have spent money in Mississippi. That’s important to make sure that you understand who’s spending money, and who’s saying what, understanding where that money is coming from, and why that’s playing in Mississippi.”
As of 3:15 p.m. on Thursday, there were still 38 outstanding reports from PACs according to the Secretary of State’s office.
Mississippi College political science professor Dr. Glenn Antizzo notes that donations to political action committees ( read more at WLBT.com).
NESHOBA COUNTY FAIR — Incumbent Republican Secretary of State Michael Watson on Thursday vowed to reform Mississippi’s lax campaign finance and lobbying reporting and nearly nonexistent enforcement of laws if reelected.
He also vowed in his Neshoba County Fair speech to do away with politicians’ “legacy” campaign finance accounts — money still held in accounts under pre-2018 rules that allowed politicians to spend campaign money however they want and pocket the money when they leave office.
Watson’s Democratic opponent, Shuwaski Young, on Thursday at the fair also called for campaign finance reform, as did incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann on Wednesday.
This statewide election cycle has seen several claims of campaign finance law or reporting requirement violations. It has also shown what appears to be a reluctance by ( continue reading on Mississippi Today)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The members of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) have selected the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office as the 2023 IDEAS (Innovation, Dedication, Excellence and Achievement in Service) Award recipient.
Launched in July 2020, Mississippi’s Tackle the Tape initiative seeks to cut complicated government “red tape” rules and regulations, which may prolong business processes, especially for small businesses. By doing so, the program seeks to increase economic opportunities for individuals across Mississippi by encouraging innovation and job growth. The office worked in partnership with the Occupational Licensing Review Commission, other state agencies, small businesses, and industry leaders across Mississippi.
“I’m extremely honored to have been selected as the 2023 NASS IDEAS Award winner. To be chosen among the other outstanding innovative initiatives speaks to the power of Tackle The Tape and the regulatory reform happening in Mississippi. I’m grateful to my colleagues for this recognition and look forward to continuing to use this initiative to promote business development and prosperity for all Mississippians,” said Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson.
“I was proud to present my colleague and friend, Secretary Watson, with this year’s IDEAS Award, which showcases the best programs states have to offer,” said NASS President and Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab.
The award was presented to Watson by Schwab on Tuesday, July 11, during the NASS 2023 Summer Conference in Washington, D.C. Secretary of State Offices in Iowa and Minnesota were also recognized for their finalist submissions.
GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson is touring the state to promote his “voice your vote” initiative.
Watson visited the Gulf Coast on Tuesday at the Knight Nonprofit Center in Gulfport.
The Pascagoula native is making efforts to increase voter registration after describing the overall turnout across the state as “ discouraging ” in 2022.
The two-hour policy and government seminar aimed to give attendees a better understanding of the ins and outs of the voting process and an overview of how state and local elections work.
Watson said the Coast has had some of the highest voter participation in the state in previous years.
“I think you see a very engaged population here,” he said. “So many things are happening on the Coast. There’s always something new going on; I think that kind of helps gain attention. The Coast is strong right now so having their voice heard even more strongly at the polls is really important for the whole Coast to move the state forward.”
Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes and Pass Christian Mayor Jimmy Rafferty were among those in attendance at the seminar. The event was sponsored by Mississippi Power, Hancock Whitney, and Balch & Bingham LLP.
