Meanwhile, a Senate committee killed two measures the House had previously passed in the Legislature's special session on civil justice reform. That means the banking bill is the only piece of legislation that remains alive in the session, which has been meeting since Sept. 5.

The Senate could take up the bill today, but House leaders were already thinking about ending the session after their chamber recessed Thursday evening.

"I think at some point we have to consider a sine die resolution (which would adjourn the House, effectively ending the special session)," House Speaker Tim Ford, D-Baldwyn, said. "We're out of things to vote on. "

Earlier Thursday, the Senate's Select Committee on Civil Justice Reform killed a bill passed by the House Wednesday which would have capped punitive damages in liability lawsuits against businesses. It also voted down a similar measure approved by the House last week.

The banking protection bill, sponsored by Rep. Ed Blackmon, D-Canton, would limit the punitive damage awards for plaintiffs who prove they were given fraudulent loans by banks or lending companies.

The caps would apply only to "consumer loans," defined in the bill as loans up to $20,000. Damages could not exceed $60,000.

The measure also would establish a one-year statute of limitations for lawsuits against banks for loan fraud.

The bill passed 77-35. Reps. Billy Broomfield, D-Moss Point, and Frances Fredericks, D-Gulfport, were the only members of South Mississippi's delegation to oppose it.

Blackmon, a lawyer and normally a staunch opponent of damage caps, said he proposed the bill because he recognized the economic value of banks to Mississippi.

Banks have complained that lawsuits over loans made many years in the past are threatening to put them out of business.

Opponents of the bill called it unfair, especially because it places restrictions on lawsuits that are likely to be filed by consumers who take out relatively small loans.