Committees and sub-committees of the House of Representatives worked overtime this week to deal with hundreds of bills whose fate will soon be decided, as the 2008 session nears one-third complete.

Not only did our committees consider dozens of bills, they also had hearings with state agencies and advocacy organizations that have asked for certain pieces of legislation to be approved, or rejected in some instances. In many cases, sub-committees had hearings and voted on bills before they were presented to the full committees.

The House of Representatives was grieved to learn of the death in an accident of Mr. Jody Compretta of Bay St. Louis, 37, the son of our Speaker-Pro Tempore, Rep. J.P. Compretta. Mr. Compretta was a businessman and active in numerous civic and charitable organizations along the Gulf Coast. He also assisted many homeowners after the coast was hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Services for Mr. Compretta were Feb. 6 in his hometown.

The committee work during this fifth week of the session was accomplished as one of the session’s most important deadlines — for House and Senate committees to act on general bills and constitutional amendments originating in their own chamber — approached on Tuesday, Feb. 19. Following that will be the Feb. 28 deadline for original floor action on those same measures.

There was an important meeting of the Medicaid Committee at which the issue of face-to-face recertification for program benefits was discussed. Officials from the governor’s division of Medicaid claim that “face to face” has saved the state millions of dollars through enforcement of the verification rules and requiring supervisory review of cases. Critics claim many Medicaid clients, including thousands of children, have been needlessly dropped from the rolls, and that little or no fraud has been discovered through “face to face.” A pediatrician said the problems arising from the “face to face” process is what ultimately sends many Medicaid clients to the emergency room, a very expensive healthcare option. Medicaid is an almost $4 billion program, with federal funds (more than $3 billion) paying the lion’s share of the bill.

The Ports and Harbors Committee heard from representatives of the Port of Gulfport and the nearby Island View Casino. The port is still struggling to recover from the disastrous effects of Hurricane Katrina, and has not reached its insurance settlement as yet. There was much discussion as to the direction in which the port will expand in the post-Katrina era and how that will affect Island View Casino, which pays the state $7 million annually in lease fees. It was stated that the Panama Canal’s expansion will benefit the state port. There is also indication that the port could become the home to at least one cruise line in the future.

Another Coast-related matter came before the Ways and Means Committee, which heard a report on the homeowner grant program in the wake of Katrina. The panel was told $123 million has been disbursed in phases one and two, which were basically compensation for home losses. The more difficult phase will be for renters and low-income persons, and those funds are more restrictive due to EPA concerns and other related issues.

Hopefully, this will be settled soon. A major worry is the 7,000-plus residents still in FEMA trailers (down from 38,000 originally). Ways and Means was told that the Governor’s Office is handling the diversion of funds from the Coast to the Toyota plant. MDA is “not managing those funds,” the committee was told.

Ways and Means also heard a discussion on having a tax-free holiday before school starts each year. The State Tax Commission leader told the panel that it would be hard to oversee due to having re-program cash registers and computers to handle the changes from a taxed item to a non-taxed item. The proposal has been before the Legislature several times in past sessions.

Call us at the Capitol at 601-359-3770, or follow us on the web at www.ls.state.ms.us.

Angela Cockerham is a Mississippi representative.