MISSISSIPPI HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEEKLY SUMMARY REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 08, 2002

JACKSON, Miss. -- Dozens of bills on subjects ranging from the state's long-term highway needs, expedited tax payments by businesses to help boost future state budgets, smoking in public places, gaming-industry education, and alcohol laws were approved by committees of the House of Representatives during the fifth week of the 2002 legislative session.

House members were facing the session's first major deadline of February 5 to consider bills and proposed constitutional amendments that originated in the chamber.  Many of the bills before the House committees were approved later in the week by the full House and were sent on to the Senate for consideration. Several of the bills approved in committee were killed in voting by the full House. Conversely, bills that passed muster in Senate committees and the full Senate will soon go before House committees.  The full House and Senate now both face a Thursday, February 14 deadline to approve or reject all of the general (non-revenue) bills and proposed constitutional amendments that originated in their own chamber.

The bill to improve planning of the state's highway system was proposed by the State Department of Transportation, dubbing it "Vision 21."  Under the plan, the program would commence after Phases 1, 2 and 3 of the massive 1987 four-laning program have been completed.  Vision 21 would include work already planned for Phase 4 of the 1987 program, plus further development of highways in gaming areas and roads across the state expected to reach unacceptable levels of congestion at intervals after the year 2005. MDOT leaders said the program would be under "continuous analysis" to change road-building plans as warranted.  State transportation leaders said the $3.6 billion program would not require new funding for implementation, but would use existing revenues on a pay-as-you-go basis.  Vision 21 would involve roads all across the state.

The bill affecting future state budgets, HB 1379, would require all Mississippi businesses collecting at least $20,000 a month in various state tax categories to accelerate payments once a year to shore up a lagging state government budget.  It was said the measure would net the state about $120 million each June near the end of each fiscal year.  Governor Ronnie Musgrove had proposed a similar plan to help ease a budget shortfall in the Governor’s Office of Medicaid, but it was deemed unworkable for the current fiscal year. Neither Musgrove’s plan nor the House version would constitute a tax increase on any business.

The Public Health and Welfare Committee approved HB 1536 that would restrict smoking in enclosed public places and provide a smoke-free environment in the workplace. The bill would affect most retail stores, sports arenas, convention centers, health-care facilities and public transportation facilities. Exemptions to the law would include bars, private residences, hotel rooms, restaurants where private functions are being held, and casinos.  Smoking is already banned on all school campuses. The State Board of Health would formulate penalties for the act. The bill's proponents cited a survey showing 77 percent of Mississippians don't smoke and that 96 percent believe second-hand smoke is dangerous.

The House Judiciary “A” Committee approved HB 16 that would make it unlawful to operate a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent for those above the legal age to purchase alcoholic beverages.  The current blood alcohol content threshold for determining a violation of the drinking-and-driving law is .10 percent for adults. The federal government has threatened to withhold funds in the future from states that do not adopt the .08 threshold.

Under HB 241 approved by the Universities and Colleges Committee, state institutions of higher learning and community colleges would be allowed to teach courses specifically related to gaming in areas such as accounting, hospitality, marketing, hotel and motel management, food and beverage, cage and count operations, and slot machine maintenance.  Slot machine maintenance training would be allowed only on equipment approved by the commission for training purposes.  This idea has been proposed for several years since gaming was approved in the state, but has always failed to be approved by the full House.

A proposal to prohibit telemarketing calls to households on a national no-call list was approved by the Public Utilities Committee.  HB 1550 could fine up to $100 per violation any telemarketer who calls a consumer on the national do-not-call list. An exemption would made for telemarketers with an established business relationship with a consumer at the time of the call or within the six-month period preceding the call.  The Public Utilities Committee and the full House also passed HB 944 to create the Mississippi Customer Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) Fund to promote home energy affordability for income-eligible residential electric and natural gas consumers.  The Department of Human Services would administer this voluntary program to be funded from consumers' contributions.  Consumers could opt out of donating to CEAP at any time.  The program could involve such energy-conservation measures as weatherization, electric and natural gas bill assistance, home water conservation, housing repairs necessary to ensure the health and safety of residential customers, and training and technical assistance to local agencies delivering CEAP services.

A key education bill approved in the House was HB 284 to require students turning 17 years old during a school year to remain in school.  Current law says a 17-year-old could drop out whenever he or she reaches that age.  The House approved a similar bill last year but the Senate lowered it to 15 and the bill died.

The Judiciary “A” Committee approved HB 1611 that would create a task force to prosecute drug dealers for money laundering and tax evasion, based on a preliminary investigation that an individual is a "drug kingpin."

The full House approved HB 833 to measure voter intent when ballots have been rejected by certain electronic voting devices.  The bill supposedly is designed to ward off election-voting problems as experienced in Florida during the last presidential election. Mississippi's proposal came from an elections reform task force that included the secretary of state, whose job it is to oversee elections in the state.  A resolutions board would determine a voter's intent under certain circumstances utilizing objective criteria.  Federal funds may be forthcoming to pay for election-day technological advances in all states.

A plan under HB 400 to set up a board governing the State Department of Human Services was approved by the full House.  The new arrangement would start with the next four-year term in 2004.  The governor would choose the agency's director from a list of three candidates supplied by the governing board. The agency has had six directors over the past decade.

An example of a bill that failed to get approval of the full House was one that would have allowed tourists to the Coast to fish on piers and the beachfront without a saltwater fishing license.  Another that would have required sewerage system operators to be certified also died.

Two young men from Lauderdale County served as pages for the House of Representatives during the week ending February 8.  Matt Patterson, a senior at Clarkdale High School , and Preston “Pep” Speed, a sophomore at Lamar High School , were House pages for the week under appointment of Representative Snowden.