April 11, 2003

 Flag Bill Lets Flags Fly Freely

Senate Amendment Adds Tennessee Flags

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NASHVILLE--Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) moved the Flag Bill, Senate Bill 987/House Bill 997, unanimously through the full Senate Wednesday with all 33 senators voting to prohibit declarations and governing documents of common interest developments from limiting, prohibiting, or being construed to limit or prohibit, the proper display of a United States flag on an owner's separately owned real property or in an exclusive use common area.  Once the bill becomes law, it would also award the prevailing party reasonable attorneys' fees and costs in a lawsuit.

The Flag Bill states that display of the United States flag shall be in accordance with United States Code, Title 4, sections 5 – 10 relating to proper flag etiquette.  That code may be found online in Chapter 1 at http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/4/ch1.html .

The Senate adopted an amendment to the bill that includes flying of the Tennessee state flag.  Proper display of a Tennessee state flag would follow TCA 4-1-301 (c) which reads:

(c) (1) Each Tennessee state flag manufactured or otherwise produced shall have imprinted thereon a legend and/or other markings sufficient to clearly indicate the proper manner in which to fly or otherwise display the Tennessee state flag. 

(2) The purpose of this subsection is to ensure that the public does not fly or otherwise display the Tennessee state flag in any incorrect manner, especially not upside down. 

(3) For the purposes of this subsection, "Tennessee state flag" includes all flags that are manufactured, sold or offered for sale as official state flags.

          Action on the House companion bill was deferred until April 15 at which time it is scheduled for a House hearing in the Constitutional Protections Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee.

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Williams's Cost-saving Measure Advances 

Senate Bill 588/House Bill 900 by Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Micheal Williams (R-Maynardville) passed out of the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee with a recommendation for passage to revise the law regarding utility relocation during construction of transportation projects. The bipartisan measure is a very important administration bill that helps both rural and urban areas on an issue that has not been dealt with in the past, according to the Democrat co-prime sponsor of the bill.  It costs about $12.5 million and then saves about the same amount of money in the first year and is expected to save more money in the future by preventing construction delays.

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Norris Gun Bill Moves Forward

Senator Mark Norris (R-Collierville) fought his way through Senate Judiciary Committee with the Norris Gun Bill, Senate Bill 1531, gaining the bare minimum of five votes from the nine-member committee.

SB 1531 removes the prohibition against possession of a handgun in restaurants serving alcohol if the possessor of the handgun has a Gun Carry permit and is not consuming alcohol.  Restaurants could still post notice prohibiting weapons, but the Norris Bill gives them that choice.

Darren LaSorte, of the NRA, considered passage of the bill to be such a priority that he flew in from Washington, DC, to testify in person before the committee.

"This bill will allow citizens with Gun Carry permits to lawfully carry their weapon where not currently allowed," stated Senator Norris.  "This is a very important piece of legislation to those who believe in the right of free citizens in a free society to exercise their 2nd Amendment right.

"The bill is similar to the laws of 34 other states which allow citizens to bear arms in public.

"Tennessee is in the minority as long as her citizens are deprived of this constitutional, commonsense right.

"I appreciate the support from my fellow Judiciary Committee members, Chairman Person and Senators Fowler, Jackson and Williams, who voted with me to send this bill to the Senate floor," concluded Senator Norris.

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Bills, Bills, Bills

All things considered:  As of 12 noon (CDT) Thursday, April 10, the Senate has 2,017 Senate bills filed, while the House has 2,096 bills filed.  Senate Joint Resolutions now number 260; House Joint Resolutions 308; Senate Resolutions 33; and House Resolutions 103.  The Senate has used 28 days and the House has used 25 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 Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, and plan to convene in regular session on Monday, April 14, at 5 p.m.

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Senate Floor Actions

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HB 65/SB 31 by Senator Bill Clabough (R-Maryville) passed through unanimous consent of the full Senate Monday to add certified public accountants to the list of those who are exempt from certification requirements for municipal clerks and recorders.

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HB 230/SB 124 passed through unanimous consent of the full Senate Monday to remove the requirement that a register of deeds include on a certification of record a written reference to where recorded instruments are noted in paper records.  Current law requires the number of the book and page or other reference where it is noted in the notebook which are considered no longer necessary due to technological changes.

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SB 211/HB 607 passed through unanimous consent of the full Senate Monday to allow local government to enforce a fair housing ordinance in the circuit court of the county where a violation is alleged to have occurred.  It was stated for the record in committee that, should the bill become law, it only applied to Knoxville and Memphis and does not impose any more cases on the Davidson County system.

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HB 758/SB 411 passed through unanimous consent of the full Senate Monday to permit insurers to give preferences or distinctions in insurance coverage, rates, premiums, benefits or conditions based on membership in a professional association with more than 5,000 dues-paying members residing or practicing in at least 80 counties.  Senator Jim Bryson (R-Williamson County) is a co-sponsor of the bill.

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SB 613/HB 742 passed through unanimous consent of the full Senate Monday to distinguish differences between demand drafts and other types of checks, to revise the standard for making a claim on lost instruments, and to clarify the statutory definition of "banking day" to mean only days on which the Federal Reserve processes checks.  The bill stems from an extensive rewrite of Uniform Commercial Code Articles 3 and 4.

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HB 472/SB 295 passed through unanimous consent of the full Senate Monday to clarify in the law that an order of expungement entered for any reason and for all classes of offenses must be sent by the court to the TBI for entry into the expunged offender database.

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HB 751/SB 352 passed through unanimous consent of the Senate Monday to provide that a sheriff does not receive commissions for process service of garnishments and executions.

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HB 841/SB 406 by Senator David Fowler (R-Signal Mountain) passed through unanimous consent of the full Senate Monday to permit subpoenaed telephone records to be transmitted to law enforcement officials by telephone or facsimile.

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SB 491/HB 296 passed through unanimous consent of the full Senate Monday to require that a grand jury indictment be presented to the clerk of the court for filing.

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SB 1499/HB 1316 by Senator Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City) passed through unanimous consent of the full Senate Monday to require a prospective kinship foster parent to supply a fingerprint sample and submit to a criminal history records check conducted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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SB 272/HB 1401 by Senator Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville) passed through unanimous consent of the full Senate Monday to permit institutions of higher education to release certain student records and student information if related to criminal activity or drug or alcohol possession or use by a student.

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HB 287/SB 120 passed unanimously through the Senate Monday to create a mechanism for certain voters to vote absentee who will not be in Tennessee during the early voting period nor on election day and who have no specific out-of-county or out-of-state location to which an absentee ballot may be sent.  The bill was brought by the sponsor at the request of a specific over-the-road long-haul truck driver who may be traveling at various locations for periods of over 30 days at a time.  The absentee ballot would be mailed to the voter's home.

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SB 353/HB 820 passed unanimously through the Senate Monday to provide that notaries public must use a stamp which can be copied rather than the traditional impression seal which provides tactile proof of seal.  The bill grandfathers in current impression seals.

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HB 571/SB 395 by Senator Fowler passed unanimously through the Senate Monday to remove the Social Security number from information required to file a petition to appoint a conservator.  Senator Fowler has long championed privacy laws to prevent identity theft.

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HB 529/SB 449 by Senator Crowe passed through the Senate 28-1-1 Monday to authorize counties to pay for a deceased pauper's cremation expenses and to require verification of financial need and no alternative source of funding by affidavit.  Current law only states that counties may pay for burial or funeral expenses.  Cremation expenses typically are less than those of burial and funeral expenses and the change may result in savings to a county that exercises this option.  A number of counties are also beginning to run out of pauper's plots.

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HB 512/SB 490 passed unanimously through the Senate Monday to clarify in the law that only certain fees from the registration of documents that are charged by registers of deeds are to be used to pay for computer expenses.  The bill does not raise the fees.

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SB 603/HB 722 by Senator Norris passed unanimously through the Senate Monday to allow dealers of liquefied petroleum gas to service gas installation or containers only after gaining permission from an owner, dealer, consumer of the container or installation, or from the consumer or property owner where the installation or container is located.  The bill clarifies who may service these tanks and refill them.

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SB 614/HB 597 passed unanimously through the Senate Monday to enact the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act. The bill redefines some the provisions for the determination of whether a person was fraudulently attempting to hide assets from creditors.  According to the bill summary, SB 614 would reflect many provisions of the present fraudulent conveyances law but would clarify the law by providing more comprehensive provisions.  Under SB 614, a debtor who is generally not paying his or her debts as they become due would be presumed to be insolvent.

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SB 1927/HB 2054 passed unanimously through the Senate Wednesday to remove the requirement that a professional boxing match be sponsored by a patriotic organization and to define amateur boxing match, and to make other revisions to boxing provisions in a rewrite of the Toughman and Badman law.

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SB 1978/HB 2012 passed unanimously through the Senate Wednesday to authorize the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development after notice and opportunity for a hearing to assess civil penalties for wage violations.

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SB 1979/HB 2011 passed unanimously through the Senate Wednesday to make an order of the Commissioner of Labor imposing civil penalties of less than $10,000 in the aggregate for violations of child labor laws a final order under the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act.

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SB 1980/HB 2010 passed unanimously through the Senate Wednesday to require the posting of a workplace chemical list and review of such list by employees.  The change is intended to reduce the current paperwork load placed on employers.

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SB 526/HB 573 passed unanimously through the Senate Wednesday to enact the "Power of Attorney for Care of a Minor Child Act" by streamlining procedures in hardship situations.  SB 526 would allow a parent or legal guardian or custodian of a minor child to delegate to any competent adult who is a state resident temporary care-giving authority over the minor child without court approval by executing a written, signed and notarized power of attorney.

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HB 1771/SB 836 passed unanimously through the Senate Wednesday to require HMOs providing utilization review services for mental health and chemical dependency care for their own enrollees to comply with provisions of the law regarding utilization review services for such care.  In its final form, TennCare is specifically exempted.

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HB 1048/SB 1567 by Senator Jeff Miller (R-Cleveland) passed unanimously through the Senate Wednesday to authorize the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission to permit licensed trappers to release small game animals, including in counties contiguous to the counties where the animals were trapped.

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Selected Senate Committee Actions

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SB 629/HB 789 passed out of the Senate State and Local Government Committee to authorize municipalities to dispose of permanent paper records where they have been appropriately preserved by other means such as microfilm or computer storage.

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SB 65/HB 1803 passed out of the Senate State and Local Government Committee to remove a provision which the Registry of Election Finance was not enforcing.  That provision placed a limitation on the amount of personal funds that a candidate could contribute to that candidate's own election.  The Registry would not enforce the provision based on case law and Attorney General interpretations that state limits on a candidate's personal campaign contributions were unconstitutional (AG Opinion 98-016) and that the Registry cannot constitutionally enforce the contribution limits on a candidate's loan to a campaign committee (AG Opinion 01-161).

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SB 840/HB 950 passed out of the Senate Environment, Conservation and Tourism Committee to prohibit the management of golf courses in state parks from giving public officials free golf for life or for other extended periods of time unless authorized by the Parks and Tourism Subcommittee and approved by the House Conservation and Environment Committee and the Senate Environment, Conservation and Tourism Committee.