May 9, 2003

 Dyersburg Veterans Service Office to Remain Open
BILL HILES

Gov. Phil Bredesen has announced a plan to halt the closing of the state veterans' benefits office in Dyersburg. In early March, the Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs had considered permanently closing the Dyersburg office on July 1, along with three other offices across the state in Cookeville, Dickson and Morristown. State Reps. Bruce Fitzhugh and Phillip Pinion and state Sen. Mark Norris joined other lawmakers to voice concerns about the closures to Bredesen, who agreed the offices should remain open. Fitzhugh, D-Ripley, Pinion, D-Union City, and Norris, R-Collierville, said Bredesen told them and other lawmakers that the state would not close the offices. "The Governor agreed that our veterans' office in Dyersburg is too important to the community to be shut down," Fitzhugh said. "Veterans already have given a lot to this country," Pinion said. "I'm glad we're able to work together to avoid putting any additional hardships on them." "I am pleased that the four offices originally slated for closing are now being put back into the budget and I am particularly grateful that the Dyersburg Veterans' Affairs Office is included in an administration amendment," said Norris. "I have been working with the Governor's office in an effort to keep the Dyersburg office open. "Now I will be working to keep that restored funding in the budget until it is signed by the Governor and sealed by the Secretary of State and becomes law." Norris said he contacted the administration about the proposed closing of the veterans' offices and then followed up by stating his case in writing on March 14. At that time, he wrote the Governor: "As you know, many of our guardsmen and reserves have been called to active duty. The Veterans' Affairs offices are often the only link to needed assistance for the families left behind. During this time of uncertainty, the men and women of the armed services are sacrificing for our country, I would respectfully ask that the office which assists their families remain open while we are at war." The Dyersburg Veterans' Affairs Office spent $57,700 during the last fiscal year and assisted 31,000 people in the 10-county area it serves. Some $12 million in federal funds are received in that service area. Some benefits can be delayed or eventually lost if individuals do not have an office through which to work for making and filing claims, Norris said. If the Dyersburg veterans' office had been shut down, local veterans would have had to travel to state offices located 50 miles southeast in Jackson, or 77 miles southwest in Memphis, in order to apply for federal medical, educational and other benefits reserved for veterans. Bredesen said the state will offset the cost by using revenue that will be gained from the proposed closure of a corporate tax loophole. "Compassion and common sense don't have to be mutually exclusive," Bredesen said. "The bottom line is: Any minor savings the state would have realized from closing these veterans' offices would have been minimal compared to the burden it would have created for veterans. "I'm pleased to work with Reps. Fitzhugh and Pinion and Sen. Norris to protect the Dyersburg office. Their leadership on this matter has been exceptional." State Veterans Affairs Commissioner John Keys said he is pleased to work with Bredesen, Fitzhugh, Pinion, Norris and other officials to keep the veterans' benefits offices open. "We are relieved and gratified by the support for these offices," Keys said. "We'll keep working inside our department to manage resources in a fiscally responsible manner."  

By Richard Locker
May 9, 2003

NASHVILLE - The state Senate approved a bill Thursday to crack down on parents who fraudulently enroll their children in school districts they don't live in.

The bill would give Tennessee school districts the legal authority to take parents to court and recover the public per-pupil expenditures spent educating the child, plus court costs and attorneys fees.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mark Norris and Rep. Curry Todd, both Collierville Republicans, is being sought by Shelby County school officials, who estimate that dozens of students a year are fraudulently enrolled by their out-of-district parents, Norris said. The House version is awaiting a floor vote, possibly next week, but the Senate bill passed 32-1.

It wouldn't apply to cross-enrollees between Memphis City Schools and Shelby County schools, Norris said.

Under current law, school districts can only charge parents who fraudulently enroll their children from out of district with a misdemeanor charge, punishable by a fine of up to $50.

The bill would allow districts to seek restitution equal to the average per-pupil expenditure. If the parents are Tennessee residents, they could be liable for only the local share of per-pupil spending but if the parents reside out of state, they could be liable for both the state and local expenditures per pupil - about $6,000 a year.

The restitution would be cumulative for each year the child has been fraudulently enrolled. School districts could file the lawsuits in circuit or chancery court within one year of the date the fraudulent misrepresentation occurred or was discovered, whichever is later, for up to six years after the date the fraudulent enrollment occurred.

If approved, the law would take effect July 1. 

Omnibus Bill Fight Moves to Floor 

NASHVILLE--The Omnibus Bill, as it has been dubbed by some but nicknamed "The Ominous Bill" by others, stalled in Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday, only to move out on Wednesday to the full floor of the Senate where a pitched battle is expected to be waged next week.

          "We had no choice ultimately but for the Finance Committee to let the bill come to the full floor of the Senate," stated Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville).  "Otherwise, we'd be here forever getting nothing done and the people don't want to see that again.  Now that the bill is on the floor, we will continue fighting for fairness.  Fairness includes at a minimum reducing even further the onerous impact of Governor Bredesen's budget cuts on counties and municipalities by the restoration of some, if not all, of state-shared taxes and further reductions in the state mandates on local governments.

          "We applaud the fact that the governor has come halfway around to the right way of thinking on reducing mandates and has given back part of the burden over the 9% level to local governments.  We look forward to working with him to find a Third Way to solving the budget problem without unfairly balancing the state budget on the backs of cities, towns and counties.  As a former mayor of one of the largest cities in the state, the one in which he currently chooses to reside, we would hope that he would see that the first card he played has failed, both with the urban legislators and especially with the rural legislators.

          "The fight is far from over.  Now we will work to improve his proposed plan, as he has currently modified it, so that it can be further refined and become acceptable to a majority of members in the Senate.  Obviously, we expect that the Senate's first draft will not be in full accord with the more rural Democratically controlled House district representatives and we look forward to the opportunity to refine the Senate version with them in a conference committee report here in the next week or so.

          "At this point, I feel safe in saying that at a minimum we must attempt to accomplish two things:  first, we must leave the teacher pay improvements as proposed by Governor Bredesen in the budget and also we must find an agreeable way to give back the state-shared taxes to local governments.  We're partway there already.  We look forward to the opportunities to do what is right by the people of this state -- and that includes local governments which are the collective embodiments of geographically connected people," concluded Senator Ramsey.

          The Omnibus Bill, SB 1991/HB 2073, is innocently summed up as a bill to provide for changes in the structure of state government programs in order to fund the state budget.

          "In fact, the Omnibus Bill potentially represents one of the largest transfers of power from the legislature in the state's history.  Perhaps it could more safely be titled 'The Transfer of Power to the Executive Branch Act of 2003,'" stated Senator Mark Norris (R-Collierville).  "We need to make sure the people of Tennessee are protected in the process."       

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Say, Just What is an Omnibus Anyway? 

One of the most frequently asked questions the past couple of weeks has been "What's an omnibus?"  Simply put, an omnibus is a vehicle for bulk transportation.

          The word "omnibus" is the Latin dative plural form of the word "omnis" which means "all" in English.  A dative can indicate something that is given "to or for" a person, place or thing.  Thus, "omnibus" means "to all" or "for all."  The most common use in English is as the shortened form "bus" which is well-known as a vehicle for the bulk transportation of people.  More rarely, the shortened form "omni" is used for the same purpose.

          In legislative parlance, "omnibus" is typically used as an adjective to describe a comprehensive vehicle bill.  That way it can "provide for many things at once" or "contain or include many items."  In this case, The Omnibus Bill is being used as a vehicle to attempt to transfer power back to the executive branch.  Republicans realize that some of the power will be transferred back; they are just trying to protect the public by making sure that the rural parts of the state realize that they may have the most to lose in the process, especially when it comes to raising local property taxes to make up the difference if the administration succeeds in balancing the state budget on the backs of local government.

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Senate Passes "Choose Life" License Plate Bill 

Senator Jim Bryson (R-Williamson County) fought off a vicious killer amendment to his Senate Bill 618/House Bill 788 that authorizes the issuance of "Choose Life" specialty earmarked license plates.  The "Choose Life" bill then passed the full Senate Wednesday by a 26-4 vote.  Senators Jeff Miller (R-Cleveland), Curtis Person (R-Memphis), Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet), and David Fowler (R-Signal Mountain) co-sponsor the bill.

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Ripley or Rutledge?  Ripe for a Decision

We'll Just Leave it to the Tomatadors

HB 987/SB 936 by Senator Micheal Williams (R-Maynardville) passed through unanimous consent of the Senate Monday to designate the tomato as the official state fruit.  There was some light-heartedness to be observed on Capitol Hill at how the bill overturns an 1893 U.S. Supreme Court case law, NIX v. HEDDEN, 149 U.S. 304 (1893) which declared the tomato to be a vegetable for trade tariff law and for the purposes of the imposition of taxes (found at http://laws.findlaw.com/us/149/304.html ).

In fact, HB 987/SB 936 recognizes how significant the tomato actually is to the economy of the state by declaring in law:  The delicious tomato, Lycopersicon lycopersicum, is designated as the official state fruit.

Ripley, Tennessee in Lauderdale County proclaims in its Lauderdale County Tomato Festival (established in 1984) that "Our tomatoes are best."

But if you want a real tomato fight, you need to look no further than the rival Rutledge, Tennessee Grainger County Tomato Festival (established in 1993, exactly 100 years after the Nix v. Hedden decision) which offers up to its 20,000-plus visitors The Famous Tomato Wars that are reminiscent of the World Famous La Tomatina tomato festival in Bunyol, Valencia, Spain. (http://www.graingercountytomatofestival.com/tominfo.html .)

"I'm partial to Rutledge tomatoes myself," stated Senator Williams who represents Senate District 4 which includes Grainger County.

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Norris Bill Protects Taxpayers and Preserves

Integrity of County Schools by Billing for Fraud

SB 396/HB 590 by Senator Norris passed through the Senate Thursday in a 32-1 vote to crack down on outsiders who fraudulently enroll students in school systems where they don't live.

          SB 396/HB 590 makes parents liable to repay the school system for the full cost of the per pupil expenditures if the students are fraudulently enrolled and also includes attorney's fees.  The per pupil expenditures may exceed $6,000 a year in some systems.

          "Because some of our school systems provide such an excellent education for the enrollees, freeloaders are fraudulently enrolling students from other counties.  Because Tennessee has more border states than any other in the nation, we even have people in some states crossing the line in order to enroll students in Tennessee schools.  This enrollment fraud can accelerate overcrowding, strain teacher resources, and run up county debt, exacerbating financial problems for local governments," stated Senator Norris.

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Senate Floor Actions

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HB 63/SB 29 by Senator Bill Clabough (R-Maryville) passed through unanimous consent of the Senate Monday to allow county magistrates to carry weapons.

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SB 434/HB 739 passed through unanimous consent of the Senate Monday to allow retired teachers to accept full-time employment as elected city officials without the loss or suspension of retirement benefits.  However, no additional retirement benefit for employment as a city official would accrue.

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HB 1403/SB 802 by Senator Person passed through unanimous consent of the Senate Monday to create a Class A misdemeanor offense for knowingly installing or reinstalling any object in lieu of an air bag designed in accordance with federal regulations for a specific make, model and year of a vehicle to be used as part of an inflatable restraint system.

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HB 1177/SB 886 by Senator Clabough passed through unanimous consent of the Senate Monday to designate the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame and its affiliated Tennessee Museum of Aviation as the official state repository and archive for Tennessee aviation history.

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SB 1731/HB 1098 passed through unanimous consent of the Senate Monday to prohibit smoking in any building designated as a national historic landmark by the U. S. Department of the Interior owned by the state or which receives state appropriations, which would cover the state Capitol.  However, the House couldn't cough up the votes and the bill was put off in a killer subcommittee of the House until Feb. 2004.

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SB 389/HB 262 passed unanimously through the Senate Monday to require pharmacy benefits managers (PBM) to notify pharmacists who furnish goods or services under any policy or contract for health insurance under TennCare of the failure of any health insurer to provide timely payments for non-disputed insurance claims.  This notice must be given within 14 days of the failure of the insurer to fund a scheduled payment.  Failure by a pharmacy benefits manager to provide such notice would be cause for the Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance to impose a penalty.  Senator Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) co-sponsors the bill.

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SB 460/HB 1439 by Senator McNally passed unanimously through the Senate Monday to establish a mechanism to regulate the recoupment of health care provider claims by insurance and managed care organizations within a specified time limit.

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SB 694/HB 1135 passed unanimously through the Senate Monday to revise nursing home law to better protect nursing home residents and to seek ways to improve nursing home care.  Senators Ramsey and McNally are among the co-sponsors of the measure.

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HB 1211/SB 988 by Senator Beavers, The Let-Your-Yea-Be-Yea-and-Your-Nay-Be-Nay Bill, passed unanimously through the Senate Monday to require that a question submitted to the people in a referendum election held by local government be worded so that a "yes" vote indicates support and a "no" vote indicates opposition.  Such has not always been the case.

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HB 1069/SB 1517 by Senator Ramsey passed unanimously through the Senate Monday to allow EMT-Ps to become EMTs by terminating their EMT-P license and taking any courses required to be qualified as EMT.

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SB 1959/HB 2032, a Business Incentive Tax-Break Bill, passed unanimously through the Senate Monday to provide a tax break for the location of a $50 million qualified headquarters facility or a $20 million investment accompanied by 200 full-time jobs paying at least twice the local average wages.  A sunset provision automatically repeals the break after four years without legislative action to extend it beyond December 31, 2006.

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SB 1207/HB 614 by Senator Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City) passed unanimously through the Senate Monday to streamline the proper procedures for food service by churches, temples, synagogues and other religious institutions to make it easier for them to comply with state health law when they have potluck suppers and do things like feeding the homeless.  Senators Ramsey and Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) are co-sponsors.

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SB 1854/HB 1758 passed unanimously through the Senate Monday to expand the Consumer Protection Act to cover cases in which unscrupulous scoundrels try to take advantage of elderly people by deliberately using deceptive offerings containing small print.

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HB 564/SB 208 passed unanimously through the Senate Wednesday to prohibit school bus drivers from using hand-held mobile telephones while the bus is in motion and children are on the bus. This prohibition would not apply to mobile telephone or two-way radio communications made to and from a central dispatch, school transportation department, or its equivalent. A violation would be a Class C misdemeanor punishable only by a fine of $50. It would be a defense to prosecution that the driver's use of the mobile telephone was necessitated by an emergency. The defendant would have to prove such defense by a preponderance of the evidence.  Senator Fowler co-sponsors the measure.

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SB 223/HB 543 by Senator Person passed unanimously through the Senate Wednesday to ensure that all nursing homes conduct TBI or FBI criminal background checks on all direct employees.

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SB 718/HB 1228 by Senator Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville), The Better Boating Safety Bill, passed unanimously through the Senate Wednesday to improve boating safety on Tennessee waterways. The Better Boating Safety Bill requires a person born after January 1, 1989, to pass a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency-approved boating education course or equivalent course prior to operating a boat alone on Tennessee waterways.  Children under 16 will be able to operate a boat without having successfully completed a boating safety course, if they are accompanied by an adult who can take control of the vessel immediately should the need arise.  The Boating Safety course would be available by mail or by Internet.  The law would not apply to a boat powered by an engine of 8.5 horsepower or less nor does it apply to sailboats which are operating solely under sail.  The effective date of the bill is January 1, 2005, and would initially apply to those between 12 and 16.  The Better Boating Safety Bill would become part of The Tennessee Boating Safety Act of 1965, as amended, which already prohibits, with limited exceptions, any person less than 12 years of age from operating any vessel propelled by machinery upon the waters of Tennessee unless such person is under the direct supervision of an adult.

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HB 847/SB 550 by Senator Clabough passed through the Senate Thursday by a 30-1 vote to allow merchants to conduct sting operations on themselves to determine whether an employee might be inclined to sell items illegally to underage individuals.  Merchants can lose their licenses for such sales by employees and the bill is seen as a way for them to try to ward off any potential problems in advance.

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SB 879/HB 539 by Senator Ramsey passed unanimously through the Senate Thursday to provide that a person found not guilty of a criminal offense by reason of insanity is not entitled to have such records expunged by virtue of such finding.

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SB 1676/HB 1452 by Senators McNally and Person passed unanimously through the Senate Thursday to revise the law regarding specialists in the field of dentistry.

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SB 281/HB 434, the Doug Archer Act by Senator Williams, passed unanimously through the Senate Thursday to require persons or entities acquiring an automated external defibrillator (AED) device to register the existence and location of the defibrillator with the emergency communications district or ambulance dispatch center within a reasonable amount of time after placement.  Current law merely encourages such registration.  AEDs can be used to save lives if used within a critical window of response time, usually about five minutes.  In Davidson County, the EMS average response time is 7 minutes.  An example of why the bill was brought is the incident of Doug Archer for whom the law is now named.  Mr. Archer died of cardiac arrest in the Johnson City Courthouse while waiting on EMS to arrive with an AED.  Only months later did his wife learn that an AED had been located at the very same building at the time of his death.  But no one at the scene knew nor did 9-1-1 or the EMS.  Had anyone known or been able to convey that information in a timely fashion, it might have been possible to use that AED to save his life.  All members co-sponsored the bill.

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SB 1658/HB1624 by Senators Norris and Person passed unanimously through the full Senate Thursday to require sheriffs and chiefs of police to act within 15 business days of the request for the issuance of a weapons permit.  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 Senate Judiciary Committee which unanimously recommended the measure.

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Selected Committee Actions

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SB 83, a conflict of interest bill, passed out of the Senate State and Local Government Committee to prohibit a person from bidding on a public contract if a relative is a member of a board or commission responsible for awarding the contract and to prohibit a state employee from working for a government entity if a relative is a member of a board or commission that makes decisions affecting the operation of that entity.  As amended, the bill clarifies the list of relatives and spells out that the prohibition covers the person bidding as well as a relative of that bidder.  That part now reads:  It is a conflict of interest for any person or any company who employs such person to bid on any public contract for products or services for a governmental entity if such person or a relative of such person is a member of a board or commission having responsibility for letting or approving such contract. Senator Miller signed on as a co-sponsor of the measure.

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SB 1282, a privacy bill, passed out of the Senate State and Local Government Committee to allow the removal of a Social Security Number from public records for veterans who, in safer days, were urged to record their discharge papers in the local courthouse for safekeeping.  Today with rampart identity theft growing by leaps and bounds, these public records are the source of much personal data that can be used to assume someone else's identity in order to commit fraud, economic fraud in particular.  Senator McNally is a co-sponsor of the bill.

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SB 469, a bill dealing with methamphetamine issues, passed unanimously out of the Senate Judiciary Committee to restrict the volume of legal precursors that can be purchased and which can then be used for the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine.  The bill allows local governments to impose additional limitations.  Senator McNally is a co-sponsor of the bill.

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SB 1001 by Senator Norris, the TennCare Pharmacy Cost Containment Act, passed through the Senate General Welfare and Health Committee Wednesday.  SB 1001 effects savings in excess of $150 million annually by facilitating the creation of one prescription drug list and one pharmacy benefits manager for the State's TennCare program.  It also calls for the formation of a pharmacy advisory committee of 17 members appointed by the governor and speakers of the House and Senate to submit recommendations for the drugs to be included.  "The governor said he wants to join arms with the legislature in reforming TennCare. This bill tests whether that will be the case," said Senator Norris.  "The key is to save significant taxpayer money without sacrificing quality health care. The Senate Republican Caucus is serious about reforms which improve access to health care for all Tennesseans. Reforming TennCare, cutting costs, and improving delivery of health care services is essential."  A comparable bill, sponsored by Democrats from middle and east Tennessee, follows the Norris bill.  “I’m hopeful they will join with us in this initiative.  It would be a good sign if we could put partisanship aside and work together for the betterment of Tennessee,” concluded Senator Norris.

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