Leadership
Throughout Bobby's career, he has been a leader on
a number of major legislative initiatives.
These achievements include:
- Writing the law that reduced the taxes paid for car tags throughout Mississippi
- Working on legislation that established Veterans’ Nursing Homes
- Passing legislation that doubled the punishment for crimes against our senior citizens
- Increasing the homestead exemption for homeowners across our state
- Being recognized as the leader in the House of Representatives when it came to writing and passing legislation to help Mississippi recover from Hurricane Katrina
- Being named the Legislator of the Year by the Mississippi Association of Realtors and the Mississippi Chiefs of Police Association
Excerpt from Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976-2006
by Jere Nash and Andy Taggart
“On September 27, 2005, Governor Barbour called the legislature into a special session to consider a number of initiatives related to reconstruction of the ravaged areas, including legislation sought by the casino owners. The Harrison County Board of Supervisors had recommended permitting land-based casinos within a 1,500-foot limit from the water, which is what Barbour recommended to the legislature. From that point on, the future of the bill rested with chairman of the House Gaming Committee, Lincoln County Representative Bobby Moak, a Democrat, and Governor Barbour, a Republican. While Barbour and Moak had spent 2004 and 2005 on opposite sides of virtually every major public policy issue, they concluded that the move inland was necessary to protect the thousands of jobs generated annually by the Coast’s $2 billion tourism industry. Partisan differences were set aside.”
“With Moak having delivered the bill through the House, Barbour turned to the Senate, where he persuaded a majority of the senators to approve the move inland.”
