JACKSON - Dove season came with the Mississippi Legislature in special session.
Deer season arrived Saturday with the Legislature still in session.
"That's too long," Gov. Ronnie Musgrove said Friday after one more week of meetings and disappointments.
A Legislature full of angry, frustrated people would agree.
"I know everybody's frustrated. I'm frustrated," House Speaker Tim Ford, D-Baldwyn, said after sending lawmakers home for the weekend.
"Everybody's anxious to get out of here," he said.
The House and Senate convene at 2 p.m. Monday, the 82nd calendar day of the session.
The special session began Sept. 5. It took lawmakers a month to settle on a bill to protect medical providers from some malpractice claims. The House and Senate have been debating general civil justice reform since Oct. 8.
Ford, Musgrove and Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck have praised conferees for agreeing to the major issues in tort reform - caps on punitive damages for intentional acts of wrongdoing, limits on the division of financial responsibility among two or more defendants in damage lawsuits and restrictions on where lawsuits can be filed.
"When they come back on Monday, they need to pass what they've got, send me a bill for my signature and go home," Musgrove said Friday.
Musgrove and Ford said the remaining issues can be taken up when the annual session convenes Jan. 7. Tuck said she continues to hope for a comprehensive bill that leaves nothing on the table.
Conferees are mired in a debate over how to allow Mississippians to use state courts to pursue damage cases and at the same time protect small businesses from being sued.
They are trying to prevent lawsuits from being filed against retailers who sell products that are faulty through no fault of the local business.
Under current law, the lawsuit can be filed against the business to ensure the lawsuit against the out-of-state manufacturer is in state court instead of federal court. The manufacturer of the faulty product is responsible for paying the cost incurred in the lawsuit by the "innocent" Mississippi retailer.
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