Session Worth Time?

By: Stan Torgerson

Updated: Wed 7:03 PM, Nov 27, 2002

Mississippi's long special session was not a waste of time, according to some lawmakers.

State Senator Terry Burton said Wednesday the new tort reform and medical malpractice laws could not have been accomplished in a regular legislative session.

"In a special session there are no deadlines," said Burton. "You work until you get the job done or you go home. In this instance, we spent 83 days on an issue that several states have spent five, six, ten years on. That's a lot of time but we did get the job done and I think it's money well spent."

Burton said the results of the last election, particularly the vote on judgeships, influenced the legislature to, at last, agree on tort reform.

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