House, Senate ready to go to work

By By Terry R. Cassreino / assistant managing editor
Jan. 18, 2004
With state House and Senate committees in place and ready to work, lawmakers begin the third week of the 2004 Legislature on Monday prepared to consider hundreds of proposals already filed.
And what happens to those proposals including such major issues as the state budget and bills that could raise state taxes rests in many ways with the committees and their chairmen.
Nothing is certain in the Mississippi Legislature, but one thing is a given: Much of the work during each legislative session takes place in the 35 House and 30 Senate committees.
There, committee members hold formal hearings on key issues. They also debate, amend and shape legislative proposals before they head to the full House or Senate for a vote.
More than anything else, that highlights the importance of committee chairmen legislators who guide committee deliberations and can even kill proposals by not letting members consider them.
Last week, House Speaker Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi, and Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck announced their appointments to key House and Senate committees assignments that in many cases will remain in place for the next four years.
Committee appointments
Among the appointments: chairmen of the House and Senate money committees, lawmakers who will play a major role in crafting the state's annual budget and deciding whether people will see a tax increase.
So, who is chairing those committees? And what do they bring to the job?
In the House, Rep. Johnny Stringer, D-Montrose, takes over as chairman of the budget-writing Appropriations Committee. Stringer, a 24-year veteran lawmaker, served on the committee last term.
Stringer is seen by many House members as level-headed, approachable and easy to work with. Many say McCoy couldn't have found a better person for what likely will be a stressful job in a down economy.
Much of the same could be said for state Rep. Percy Watson, D-Hattiesburg, a 24-year veteran legislator who is the new chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee.
Watson is seen as a hard-working legislator who takes his job seriously. Much has been made about him being the first black to chair a money committee; the truth is he works well anyone and is respected by many.
In the Senate, Jack Gordon, D-Okolona, remained as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee in a move that was a surprise to some senators. Many thought Tuck would make a change.
Senate moves
While Gordon no doubt works hard, some senators said privately they would have preferred someone else because the 28-year veteran legislator has a knack for confusing lawmakers and clouding the budget debate.
In another surprise, Sen. Tommy Robertson, R-Moss Point, a 12-year lawmaker, was picked to chair the Finance Committee the Senate's counterpart to the House Ways and Means Committee.
Robertson has been a strong Tuck ally since she switched to the GOP in 2002. He took a high-profile role pushing tort reform in a 2002 special session; he likely will do the same if the issue is revived this year.
The big problem for some senators: Robertson was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol in 1997 and faces a February trial in Oxford on another DUI charge dating from last fall.
Robertson has pleaded innocent to the latest charge.
For their part, the House speaker and lieutenant governor are often criticized and second-guessed for their committee assignments. McCoy, though, said he just wants to move the state forward.
Said McCoy: "Each assignment has been made with the goal that this body, this House, move in a most progressive manner that will truly make a difference for good affecting all the citizens of Mississippi."