JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – A Senate bill dictates who controls Jackson’s water and sewer infrastructure.

A Senate committee passed Senate Bill 2628 in February. The bill was authored by State Senator David Parker (R-District 2).

Ted Henifin, interim third party manager for JXN Water, said JXN Water supports efforts to establish future governance for the water system and will work with legislators on recommended amendments.

“After reviewing SB 2628, I believe this is a great foundation. It appears that many of the comments I provided during the last session regarding the bill introduced in 2023 were taken to heart and this bill now includes many of the suggestions I made at that time,” said Henifin. “The bill identifies a need for appropriations but I recommend defining a specific dollar figure to fund start-up costs for the authority be included in the FY 2025 state budget.”

However, not everyone agrees.

“We think that this bill continues to hollow out the responsibilities of local elected leadership. And we’re opposed to the bill. We think that the governance should involve local elected officials, who are appointees, that local elected officials are making to this board and not the governor or the lieutenant governor entirely on their own. Now, it’s okay if the governor and lieutenant governor have some appointments on the board, but they should not control each and every one of those appointments,” said State Senator John Horhn (D-District 26).

The Jackson City Council plans to meet on Monday, March 4 to further discuss the bill.