Lawmakers are scrambling today to pass bills out of committeebefore Tuesday’s deadline.

Several bills are receiving a lot of public attention, arealawmakers said. One bill involves the creation of an Office ofFleet Management to control state vehicle purchases, and anotherbill would prohibit computer-assisted hunting.

A bill being debated in the Senate Fees, Salaries andAdministration Committee proposes the creation of the fleetmanagement office, under the Department of Finance andAdministration, to determine when state agencies would be permittedto purchase vehicles. It would also track their usage.

District 39 Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, D-Brookhaven, said shesupports the proposal with some reservations. She believes the billwould stop some of the possible abuse and perceived abuse by somestate executives driving SUVs and other vehicles that may be morelavish than necessary.

“I don’t think you’ll see that anymore if this bill passes,” shesaid.

However, Hyde-Smith said the committee is examining an amendmentto the bill that would exempt law enforcement agencies from thebill.

“I think law enforcement needs to be exempted, and that willhave to be addressed in the bill that was introduced,” shesaid.

The needs of K-9 officers and Mississippi Bureau of Narcoticsofficers seem to indicate they need an exemption, Hyde-Smith said.MBN agents carry a lot of raid and hazardous material investigationequipment, used at suspected methamphetamine laboratories, and needthe space to keep it, she said.

District 53 Rep. Bobby Moak, D-Bogue Chitto, said he has notseen the bill, but added it would be “hard not to support inconcept.”

“I imagine we’ll wait and see what the Senate puts together onthat,” he said.

District 92 Rep. Dr. Jim Barnett, R-Brookhaven, said he would bein favor of the bill.

“That’s extremely important,” he said. “We have too much abuseof state-owned vehicles.”

Hyde-Smith said she also expects a bill in the Department ofWildlife, Fisheries and Parks Committee to prohibitcomputer-assisted hunting to emerge by the Tuesday deadline.

The legislation would ban the practice of hunters establishing aremote site, in Mississippi or another state, and using a rifle ina stand that could be operated by a computer in their home. Severalstates have passed similar legislation.

“Technology is changing the way we do business even at the statelegislature,” Hyde-Smith said. “It would be a cyber crime. I thinkeveryone is in agreement on that.”

The legislation would not prohibit other electronic huntingaids, such as Global Positioning Systems to help hunters preventgetting lost.

In the House, Moak said “everything is so overlapped, you justdon’t know what will still be alive tomorrow.”

Legislators are striving to get bills out of committee and ontothe chamber floors before the 8 p.m. deadline Tuesday.

“It’s going to be an extremely busy week,” Barnett said.

Legislators will have a more accurate picture of the sessionafter the deadline, Moak said.

“You really don’t see what’s going to be on the calendar untilthe end of the week,” he said.