February 28, 2003

Sen. Fowler to head Tort Reform Subcommittee

NASHVILLE--Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Curtis Person (R-Memphis) appointed Senator David Fowler (R-Signal Mountain) to chair the subcommittee on Tort Reform Bills.  Senators Mark Norris (R-Collierville) and Mike Williams (R-Maynardville) will also serve on the subcommittee along with Senators Trail and Jackson.

"We will try to move as quickly as we can and be as thorough as we can," stated Senator Fowler in accepting the position.  "The bills are broader than medical malpractice and caps on attorney contingency fees and, accordingly, we will try to group the bills, probably into three groupings of immunity bills, statute of limitations bills, and bills on damage limitations." 

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Bills, Bills, Bills

All things considered:  The final bill filing deadline was reached at the close of business on Monday (Feb. 24).  The 103rd General Assembly may put one in the record books for having the most bills introduced in one year.  As of 10:34 a.m. (CST) Thursday, February 27, the Senate has 1983 Senate bills filed, while the House has 2064 bills filed.  Senate Joint Resolutions now number 127; House Joint Resolutions 113; Senate Resolutions 17; and House Resolutions 37.  The Senate and House have used 12 days of the 90 regular session days allowed every two years under Article II, Section 23 of the Constitution for a regular session. The Senate and the House recessed and plan to convene in regular session on Monday, March 3, at 5 p.m.

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Senate Floor Actions

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Senate Bill 15/House Bill 228 by Senator Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) received unanimous approval from the full Senate on Monday to allow local education agency vocational-technical students to construct on campus and sell one modular building a year.  The change creates an exception to the Modular Building Act which currently prohibits end-product sales of items produced as a regular part of the students' educational training.

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SB 36/HB 231 by Senator McNally received unanimous approval from the full Senate Monday to allow General Sessions judges to administer the oath of office for any elected or appointed official.

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SB 39/HB 511 received approval in a 28-0-1 vote from the full Senate Monday to transfer the authority to regulate unsolicited faxes from the Department of Commerce and Insurance to the Tennessee Regulatory Agency.  Senator McNally co-sponsors the bill.

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SB 87/HB 414 by Senator McNally received unanimous approval from the full Senate Monday to delete an obsolete requirement that copies of certificates of vehicle registration must be signed.  The Little-Known and Mostly Unknown Law is believed to date from the 1950's in a paper-based system in which the registrant of the vehicle signed a form which contained carbon paper with the registrant receiving a copy that contained the signature on a proper vehicle registration.  Today the forms are computer-based and county clerks do not use carbon paper.  The signed original remains with the registering clerk and a copy without a signature is given to the registrant.  Under the obsolete code, the registrant can be fined for failure to sign the copy placed in the vehicle.  Estimates are that 90% of the people are in violation of this obscure technicality in the law.  Some jurisdictions issue tickets, stacking these additional charges on top of traffic citations.  Senator McNally said he believes the statute needs to updated to reflect the current technology and that traffic offenders have enough to worry about without being penalized additionally for missing the tiny print on the back of some registrations that gives notice to registrants that the registration must be signed to be valid or they are in violation of state law.  The bill was brought by the County Clerks Association.

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SB 169/HB 275 by Senator Fowler received unanimous approval of the full Senate Monday to require that van-accessible only parking spaces must be clearly marked and designated as such prior to a citation being issued to an otherwise eligible driver who is authorized to park in a handicapped space.  According to the fiscal note, parking spaces for disabled persons that are exclusively for van access shall bear a sign indicating "Van Accessible Only" or "Vans Only" in addition to the stylized wheelchair symbol.  Further, the bill provides that no person otherwise authorized to park in a space for disabled persons shall be cited for parking in a van accessible space if it is not properly marked.

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Senate Committee Actions

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SB 407 by Senator Fowler passed out of the Senate State and Local Government Committee to change the publication of the proposed county annual operating budget following its presentation to a governing body from one day to five days, if publication is in a daily newspaper, or to the next edition for which notices are accepted, if publication is in a non-daily newspaper.  An amendment would allow posting on the county's Web site instead.

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SB 774 passed out of Senate Commerce Committee to authorize a health maintenance organization to file appropriate notices for providers to obtain payment under prompt payment requirements either electronically or in written form and to revise the procedures for submitting claims for independent review through the Health Commissioner and to describe the manner in which an unpaid claim may create a common substantive question of fact or law.

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SB 652 passed out of Senate Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee to expand the power of the Commerce and Insurance Department to examine and investigate malpractice insurance providers.  According to the summary, it would authorize the Department of Commerce and Insurance to examine and investigate the following in order to determine if insurance companies that provide medical malpractice insurance are operating according to state law:  (1) The affairs of every such person, entity, company, or organization; (2) An affiliate of the parent of such insurance company; or (3) An affiliate of such insurance company.  Any information and documents obtained by the department would be confidential unless the Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance, in the commissioner's sole discretion, decides to disclose such information.

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SB 287 by Senator Bill Clabough (R-Maryville) passed out of Senate Judiciary Committee to clarify in the law that former members of quarterly county courts and county commissions who were members on or before August 1, 1984, are authorized to solemnize the rites of matrimony.

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SB 324 by Senator Clabough passed out of Senate Judiciary Committee to authorize the expungement of a conviction for the underage consumption of intoxicating liquors and beer under certain circumstances. The summary states that, under present law, it is a Class A misdemeanor for a person under the age of 21 to possess intoxicating liquor.  A person who violates this provision may petition a court to expunge the record of the offense six months after the violation.  This bill would revise the above provisions to include possession of beer.  This bill would also add that consumption of intoxicating liquor or beer by a person under the age of 21 is also a Class A misdemeanor, and that the person may petition to expunge the consumption violation record.

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SB 341 passed out of the Senate General Welfare,  Health and Human Resources Committee to authorize a podiatrist to order home health services if the podiatrist has previously provided treatment to a patient and has had an ongoing physician-patient relationship with the patient.

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SB 347 passed out of the Senate General Welfare Committee to extend the period for passing the United States Medical Licensing Examination to seven years after completing Step 1 of the examination.  As amended, the bill would authorize the Board to create exceptions.

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SB 390 passed out of Senate General Welfare Committee to redefine "assisted-care living facility resident" to remove the requirement for the demonstration of self-care of routine administration of oxygen for at least one year for the continued stay of an assisted-care living facility resident.  Currently, persons who demonstrate that they can self-administer oxygen for at least one year can be admitted to an assisted-care facility.  The problem has arisen in cases in which a person already residing in such a facility develops the need for self-administered oxygen after being admitted.  The language of the existing statute does not address whether the person is allowed to remain at the facility.

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SB 461 by Senator McNally passed out of the Senate General Welfare Committee to update as a housekeeping measure the language of a bill passed last year that refers to "home health agencies" so that it reads "home care organizations." The measure pertains to those cases in which the facilities are being considered for a certificate of need and it also adds language to exempt a home care organization from the certificate of need process if it is authorized to provide only professional support services.