Lincoln County lawmakers acknowledge a tight budget picture willget most of the attention during the 2003 session that startsTuesday, but they also mentioned several pieces of legislation thatthey will be watching during the session.

“We’re in quite a financial crunch. That’s the main thing,” saidDist. 92 Rep. Dr. Jim Barnett.

Budget shortfall amount estimates vary, but Dist. 53 Rep. BobbyMoak said the state could be as much as $50 to $150 million in thehole. Ways of addressing that deficit, however, do not include atax increase.

“I just do not see that whatsoever,” said Moak, a member of theHouse Ways and Means Committee.

Barnett predicted one way of dealing with the situation would bebudget cuts.

“There’s too much waste in state government. We’re going to haveto cut, cut, cut,” Barnett said.

Barnett and Moak both mentioned a priority on educationappropriations. Moak also cited continued commitments to healthcare and police protection, but other areas may be subject to “hardlooks” at budget time.

“There may have to be cuts, but they need to be in programs thatare not priority programs,” Moak said. “I think those programs aregoing to have to come to the table and show why the money needs tobe spent there.”

Dist. 39 Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith said Mississippi was feeling the”brutal” effects of a “perfect storm” caused by a stock marketslide, the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks andother economic factors.

“We’re in an extreme economic downturn,” Hyde-Smith said. “Itaffects state government like everything else.”

Moak was optimistic that the state’s situation was not as direas forecasts may indicate.

“We’re not in the hole as much as some other states,” hesaid.

Moak mentioned Tennessee, which has used the funds it receivedfrom a lawsuit against the tobacco industry. Moak said Mississippistill has its revenue and he favored using interest, not theprinciple, on health care issues.

In spending areas, Barnett was confident that the MississippiSchool of the Arts is in good condition. The school, on theWhitworth College campus, is slated to open in August.

“We’re on schedule. We’ve got the money in hand for the firstclass,” said Barnett, while also stressing the importance ofcontinued private fund-raising efforts.

Regarding local lawmaker-sponsored bills, Barnett has pre-filedseveral pieces of legislation for consideration. They include billsto implement drug courts statewide, deal with licensing of medicaleducators and to ban all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) from publicroads.

“We’ve had so many deaths from ATVs on public roads,” Barnettsaid.

The ATV bill would implement a $500 fine for the vehicles onpublic roads. If the rider is under 18, parents would beresponsible for paying the fine.

Two bills also likely to get attentions are ones to allowsheriffs’ departments to use radar and a bill to increase the taxon cigarettes. The cigarette bill would raise the tax from 18 centsa pack to 50 cents a pack and is estimated to bring in anadditional $100 million in revenue.

“Hopefully, it will cut down on people smoking. That’s the mainthing,” said Barnett, adding that he would also support highertaxes on alcoholic beverages.

Regarding radar use, Barnett cited a Lauderdale County surveythat showed 48 percent of drivers traveling 11-20 miles over theposted limits. Also, 17 percent were traveling 21 miles or moreover the limit.

“We’re ruining a lot of young folks’ lives and old folks’lives,” Barnett said about speed-related accidents.

Moak has pre-filed a long list of bills that deal with a varietyof topics.

Moak, however, mentioned a bill being sponsored by anotherlawmaker that will pass through his Oil and Gas subcommittee. Thebill would set up a mechanism, through absentee owner taxes, toallow landowners to recover mineral rights to their property.

“We’re going to look at that pretty hard,” said Moak, adding itwould likely be done early in the session.

Moak was confident the bill would get out of committee and outof the House. However, it was uncertain whether corporate oil andgas interests would stall the measure in the Senate.

Hyde-Smith has not pre-filed any bills. However, she wasplanning a bill to allow retired teachers to return to theclassroom without the new work affecting their retirement.

“I am very conscious of teacher shortages in some criticalareas,” the senator said.

After a regular session and an extended special session on tortreform, lawmakers have been in Jackson a lot lately. Hyde-Smithexpressed concerns about lingering ill feelings following the tortreform session.

“It’s still a semi-volatile atmosphere,” Hyde-Smith said.”Hopefully, wounds will heal quickly. That would be the bestscenario for the state.”

Local lawmakers differed on the effect that election-yearpolitics would have during the session.

Barnett expected some lawmakers would be playing to votersrather than making the right decisions on issues. Moak saidlawmakers had no business in the legislature if they can’t maketough decisions and Hyde-Smith said this year should be nodifferent than others.

“I don’t look at an election year any differently than any otheryear,” she said. “If something needs to be done, it needs to bedone.”