Bill heading to governor would expand Jackson airport board

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – A bill to expand the board of Mississippi’s largest airport is headed to Gov. Phil Bryant.

The state Senate voted 31-15 Wednesday to pass the final version of Senate Bill 2162. It would replace a five-member board with a nine-member board to oversee Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport.

Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber currently names all five board members; the bill says he and the Jackson City Council would name one each.

The governor would pick two members, and suburban Rankin and Madison counties would name one each. Also getting one appointment each would be the lieutenant governor, the executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority and the adjutant general of the Mississippi National Guard.

Those appointed by the governor and lieutenant governor would have to live in Jackson.

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