With filing deadline on Monday, bills are being finalized for the 2003 legislative session. House committees and subcommittees have been organizing over the past two weeks in order to prepare for the large volume of legislation that will be considered in the next few months. To date, more than 1,300 bills have been filed in the House.

Legislation will begin to move through committees this week. I expect full calendars in K-12 Education subcommittee and Domestic Relations subcommittee. The workload will double as the 103rd General Assembly shifts from organizing to amending and voting on proposed legislation.

Each of these pieces of legislation needs to be reviewed carefully. From the creation of a state lottery program to sweeping government accountability legislation and important reforms in TennCare, all of these proposals will affect us in Weakley and Carroll counties in some way. I welcome your input. Knowing where you stand is important to me and makes me a better representative.

In addition to the filed legislation, the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee is preparing for the annual budget hearings.

Similar to the hearings now being conducted by Governor Bredesen, the Finance Committee each year invites every state department to testify before a public committee meeting on matters regarding their funding. The hearings are scheduled to begin after the governor presents his budget on March 10.

While Governor Bredesen continues to prepare his annual budget, which may include reductions of up to nine percent in each department, I am committed to working with him to pass a fiscally sound budget.

I am eager to review each item set to come before the House. I hope that you will contact me to let me know how you feel about the issues facing our community. You can call me in Dresden at 731-364-2685 or toll free in Nashville at 1-800-449-8366, ext. 1-7847. Contact me by email at rep.mark.maddox@legislature.state.tn.us or by letter at 17 Legislative Plaza; Nashville, TN 37243.