Editor’s Note: Today The DAILY LEADER continuesa special question-and-answer series with candidates in someimportant upcoming county elections. Featured today is the race forthe Republican nomination for Mississippi House of RepresentativesDistrict 53. Caruther Whitehorn chose not to participate. Thewinner will face Democrat incumbent Bobby Moak, who is unopposed inthe party primary, in the November general election. A new seriesof questions will be issued prior to that election.

During a special legislative session in 2002, lawmakersenacted tort reform measures in an effort to improve the state’slegal climate and its reputation for “jackpot justice.” Do youbelieve the measures went far enough in addressing the situation?If not, what more needs to be done?

Richard Baker: Nobody wants to limit the trulyinjured from being compensated, and sometimes people and companiesshould be sued, but our state’s legal climate has gotten out ofhand.

Last year’s special session did improve our legal climate. Ibelieve though, that more does need to be done in certain areas.During the special session, more reforms were made in the medicalmalpractice area than in any other area. I believe that caps shouldbe placed on non-economic damages for all businesses just as theywere for physicians. I would, however, support a provision thatwould allow punitive damages to be increased if it can be provedthat a party intentionally and maliciously injured another. Ibelieve in a simplified joint and several statute that forcesparties found partially responsible to pay only their proportionateshare of the award. I also would support a system that forces thelosing party in civil litigation to pay the costs of the winningparty.

In recent years, lawmakers have used “one-time money” topatch a number of budget holes. Some political observers believe atax increase of some kind is inevitable next year. To avoid thatunpopular possibility, what would you do to stabilize revenuestreams and control state spending?

Richard Baker: First of all, let me be clear –I oppose any effort to raise taxes.

I would focus efforts initially on controlling state spending. Ihave never met anyone who believes that all of our state agenciesare operating efficiently. I would use my training as a CPA and mybackground as a consultant to business owners to seek out areaswhere waste exists and to then make the appropriate cuts. We shouldforce each state agency to justify their entire budget and hold theleaders of those agencies accountable. We should also spend moretime looking at ways to privatize services and let the privatesector of our economy and the free enterprise system work to reducecosts and increase efficiencies. We should also use conservativeestimates of our revenue instead of hoping that unrealistic amountsare achieved. However, our state is not in a financial crisis dueto low revenue, but due to out of control spending.

Our state revenues need to be increased by an increase ineconomic opportunity and by attracting new taxpayers and creatingnew jobs. The legal climate addressed in question number one canhelp create an environment that will attract business to our stateand we need to make some incentives permanent so all businessowners know that Mississippi wants them in our state.

Monday: Supervisor District Four.