Lincoln County lawmakers this week praised passage of civiljustice reform legislation during a recent special session andoffered a glimpse of bills that are on the horizon for the 2003regular session.

Dist. 39 Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Dist. 92 Rep. Dr. Jim Barnettspoke about legislation Tuesday morning during theBrookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce’s QuarterlyMembership Breakfast. They were joined by Dist. 53 Rep. Bobby MoakMonday during the quarterly Community Elected Officials meeting,which was attended by more than 25 city, county and communityleaders.

“I think we got a better bill than I ever thought we’d get,”Hyde-Smith said in discussing the civil justice reform bill duringthe two meetings.

Hyde-Smith said the tort reform debate produced big dogfightsand strict battle lines during 82-day special session that cost$1.3 million. She and Barnett said the $1.3 million was moneywell-spent given the situation the state was facing with its legalsystem.

“We needed this so badly,” Barnett said. “We were the laughingstock of the United States.”

Barnett, however, did think the bill could have been passed inless time.

“I think it’s embarrassing for us to take three months to dowhat should have been done in less than a week,” Barnett said.

Hyde-Smith credited a “60 Minutes” news report about the state,which aired the Sunday before the bill was passed, as motivationfor lawmakers to act. Barnett added that lawmakers also heard thecall of their constituents.

“We listened to the people back home on this,” Barnett said.

Hyde-Smith offered a recap of the 16 sections of the civiljustice bill. She touted venue restrictions on where lawsuits canbe filed, a procedure for dismissing innocent sellers fromlawsuits, punitive damage caps, and a $1,000 assessment toattorneys and clients for filing frivolous lawsuits.

Moak cautioned that the $1,000 assessment would also apply todefense attorneys who file frivolous motions during lawsuits.

“It works both ways,” Moak said.

Lawmakers expected to see a number of claims filed before thecivil justice bill takes effect in January. They also indicated thepossibility of having to deal with some “tort reform leftovers”during the 2003 regular session.

“There are still a lot of ifs here, but this is a very goodstart,” said Hyde-Smith, who added that a severability clause inthe bill would allow the rest of it to stay intact if the SupremeCourt rules one part unconstitutional.

While the special session was contentious, Hyde-Smith said allattorneys should not be painted with same brush. She praised Sen.Tommy Robertson, a lawyer and lead conferee on the civil justicebill, for his role in the negotiations.

“There were a lot of people who did a lot of hard work that willbe very beneficial to the state,” Hyde-Smith said.

She and Barnett said there is no perfect bill, but they werepleased with the results.

“We did the best we could with what we had to work with,”Hyde-Smith said.

While Hyde-Smith handled most of the tort reform discussion,Barnett offered a dim forecast of the state’s budget picture. Withthe exception of Colorado, he said all other states are also facingsimilar financial problems.

Barnett said the state’s budget has grown from $6 billion whenhe took office to over $12 billion now. Regarding next year’sfunding, he said the Department of Human Services has asked formore money, Medicaid needs another $425 million and $72.5 millionmust be allocated for teacher pay raises.

Barnett remained optimistic about the future, although heacknowledged he may be the only lawmaker to feel that way.

“I feel like some good is going to come out of this shortage ofmoney,” Barnett said.

Barnett said state government has gotten too big and cuts willhave to be made.

“There’s going to be some budget cuts that some people are notgoing to like, but they’re coming,” Barnett said.

One option Barnett plans to introduce is an increase in thecigarette tax from 18 cents a pack to 50 cents a pack. He said thatwould generate about $100 million, which he would like to seedirected toward addressing education funding deficits.

In law enforcement-related matters, Barnett said he plans tointroduce a bill to allow sheriffs’ departments to use radar. Hebelieves that would be beneficial in reducing traffic-relateddeaths on county roadways.

Also, Barnett will once again make an attempt to implement drugcourts statewide. He praised the strict drug rehabilitationprogram, begun by Judge Keith Starrett, that started in the 14thCircuit Court District and has spread to several other areas.

“They’re saving lives, they’re saving families and they’resaving Mississippi millions of dollars by not having to incarcerateindividuals,” Barnett said.