Toy bill veto's survival is the news of the day

An attempt by the Mississippi House of Representatives to override Gov. Haley Barbour's veto of a dangerous toys bill failed this morning.

Last week, the Republican governor vetoed House Bill 1240, sponsored by Rep. Steve Holland, D-Plantersville. The bill would allow claims to be filed under the Mississippi Consumer Protection Act, which has different legal standards than Mississippi's product-liability statutes. Those laws give greater protection from lawsuits to companies.

In a news release, Barbour said the bill would "negate Mississippi's fair and just legal system by setting up a separate, poorly defined scheme for alleged defective children's products without indicating what, if any, of the provisions of our state's existing products liability laws would apply."

It takes a three-fifths majority vote of the Legislature to override a veto, and Wednesday morning, Rep. Edward Blackmon Jr., D-Canton, a lawyer who has handled both personal injury cases and defended companies from lawsuits, led a Democratic charge to override the veto. But after some debate, Blackmon got 72 votes, which is eight short of what he needed to override the veto.

Out of the 122-member House, 47 are Republicans. There were 48 votes against overriding the veto.

House Speaker Billy McCoy, and other reps, will hold a press conference at 3 p.m. today to blast the veto.