Despite the fact that on their face the two bills have absolutely nothing in common in terms of the law, the Mississippi House is in renewed turmoil over House Bills 1240 and 520 and the ongoing political enmity between Gov. Haley Barbour and Attorney General Jim Hood.The two pieces of legislation were introduced in the name of “protecting children” – one by regulating abortion and the other about regulating dangerous materials in their toys.

House Bill 1240 would have required the state attorney general to keep a list of toys with lead paint or other dangerous defects.The bill had originally passed the House 119-3, and the Senate 51-0. Those are slam dunk numbers – or so the bill’s sponsors thought.

But when it got to Barbour’s desk, he vetoed it, saying that it sought to dismantle the state’s existing tort reform laws by creating a separate procedure for filing claims for allegedly defective products.

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