March 26, 2004 

For more details on bills, visit the legislative website at http://www.legislature.state.tn.us.

Norris Files for Senate Re-election 

State Senator Mark Norris began his bid for re-election to the Tennessee State Senate by filing papers with the County Election Commission on Friday.

Norris, 48, is completing his first term. He represents the sprawling 32nd Senatorial District which includes Shelby, Tipton, Lauderdale and Dyer Counties in West Tennessee.

“Jobs, education and healthcare are top priorities,” according to Norris. “Our spending reforms continue to make state government more efficient and more responsive. We must focus on the quality of life issues facing Tennesseans every day.”

The Tennessee School Boards Association recognized Norris as its Senate Legislator of the Year last month.  He was also awarded the Henry Toll Fellowship as one of the nation’s top 40 legislators in 2002.

Norris, a Republican, is a leading proponent of reform. “Workers’ compensation, the system as it relates to frivolous lawsuits, and TennCare must be reformed if we are to succeed,” says Norris. “Our system is too costly. It is not competitive. It is not friendly to those who need work and deserve affordable access to health care,” says Norris.

He is the prime sponsor of legislation to adopt medical liability and insurance reforms, including limits on attorneys’ fees and emotional damages, similar to efforts by President Bush and Senator Bill Frist who appeared with Norris at The Regional Medical Center last month. “I want to finish what we have started and look forward to the opportunity to do so in a second term.”

Norris is a businessman and attorney who farms in Shelby County. He has been married for 26 years to his wife, Chris, with whom he has two sons, Field and Cotter, who help on the farm near Collierville.

“’Working Together for West Tennessee’ will continue to be our theme going forward. I am proud of what we have accomplished, but there is still much work to be done."

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Norris Resolution Allows Senior Citizens Property Tax Break 

SJR 71 by Senator Norris passed out of Senate Judiciary Committee with a favorable recommendation for passage to provide constitutional property tax relief for senior citizens.  The Norris Resolution would render constitutional a 1979 statute struck down in 1980 by Shelby Count Chancery Court.  It would give county and municipal governments authority to adopt an ordinance or resolution freezing the assessed value of a citizen's principal place of residence at the value assessed during the year in which the homeowner turns 65.  Property taxes are still paid, but they are capped for those with incomes below an amount to be established by the General Assembly.

“The objective is to avoid forcing folks on fixed incomes out of their homes or forcing them to choose between paying their taxes and purchasing their prescriptions.  We encourage home ownership, and we hope that everyone makes a good investment in homes which will appreciate in value over time. But for too many of our senior citizens, appreciation in home value is turning the American Dream into a nightmare as many are forced to liquidate in order to survive,” says Senator Norris.

If SJR 71 is adopted by a majority of the House and Senate this year and, again, by two-thirds in the next General Assembly, it would be on the 2006 gubernatorial election ballot.

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Norris Bill Boosts Rural Development 

SB 1161 by Senator Mark Norris (R-Collierville) unanimously passed out of the Senate Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee to enact the Tennessee Processing Cooperative Law which facilitates private investment in rural technology.

The Tennessee Processing Cooperative Act permits the formation of limited liability cooperatives approved by the Commissioner of Agriculture to promote Tennessee products.

“Farmers must be able to attract and participate in outside investment in order to develop the technology needed to add value to their products,” stated Senator Norris.  Current farm cooperative law prohibits non-farm investors.

“Modern processing facilities, the refining of agricultural fuels like soybean diesel, and other opportunities require flexibility to attract qualified investors. This law accommodates that,” continued Senator Norris.

Similar laws have recently been adopted in a number of other states competing for agricultural business.  “Tennessee must not only remain competitive but take the lead in new technology.  Agriculture is our top industry, and it’s time to take it to the next level,” says the West Tennessee Republican who has worked on the initiative for more than a year.

“I am particularly interested in the potential application of agriculture to biotechnology.  Rural Tennessee could be the next frontier for scientific research and development, and this law could make that possible,” concluded Senator Norris.

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 Senate Green-Lights Charitable Raffles

NASHVILLE—This week on Nashville’s Capitol Hill, Senate Bill 3212 first cycled back through the Senate Finance Committee for review of new amendments on Monday afternoon and, when a compromise was finally brokered, a way was found to get the Charitable Raffles Bill out of jeopardy of dying this year.  Thus ended the sound and fury of a week’s worth of ‘sound-byting for demagoguery’ as a Senate Democrat proponent termed a fellow Democrat’s seeming attempts to harm or delay passage of the Charitable Raffles Bill.

Having made its way back out of Senate Finance, the measure then came again before the full Senate during Monday evening’s session where amendments went on and the bill received 22 green lights and 6 red lights to enact the Tennessee Charitable Gaming Implementation Law.  The bill, needing only 17 green lights to safely make its way through that rough intersection on its way to the House, establishes the procedures for nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations to conduct an annual fundraising raffle event.  All total, some 67 Senate amendments were proposed, discussed, and tacked on or withdrawn.  Additional protective amendments and administration safeguards in the Senate version would now include giving investigatory powers to the Secretary of State and a civil penalty of up to $50,000 for violations.

In its Senate form, the bill expressly authorizes raffles, reverse raffles, cakewalks and cakewheels and expressly prohibits pulltabs, punchboards, bingo, instant bingo, video lottery, instant and on-line lottery games of a type operated by the Education Lottery Corporation, keno and games of chance associated with casinos.

The House took up the Senate Bill version Wednesday and Thursday and negotiated its way through some 51 House amendments, some of which went onto the Senate Bill with substantial changes before the House passed the bill 61-32.  The House-amended Senate Bill is expected back before the full Senate on a Senate Message Calendar for further action next week.  The Senate may either concur or non-concur with each individual House amendment action, setting the stage for a possible show-down conference committee on the measure.

Senator Ben Atchley (R-Knoxville) is a co-sponsor.

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Senate Republicans Help Free Ice Cream

HB 2162/SB 2877, the Free Ice Cream Bill, unanimously passed the Senate Monday to delete unfair sales and trade practice requirements concerning frozen desserts so that free promotional samples of ice cream may be given out.  This ‘important issue’ is bipartisan since it has a Democrat sponsor in the Senate and a Republican sponsor in the House.  The Free Ice Cream Bill removes a 47-year-old prohibition by repealing Part 3 of TCA 53-3 which deals with unfair sales and trade practices and which passed as Public Chapter 110 in 1957 because of alleged predatory pricing of ice cream products.  Democrats controlled both the Senate and the House in 1957 when this restrictive trade measure was originally passed.

“I’m very glad to vote for this important Democrat-sponsored bill which undoes a past bill that limited free trade for over a generation.  This corrective measure shows we can work in a bipartisan spirit of cooperation to move this state forward,” stated Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville) who voted yes along with Senate Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Haynes.

“Now that merchants and others can legally give away ice cream in Tennessee again, I hope we do things to bring more jobs to Tennessee, such as passing a Workers’ Compensation Reform Bill so we can give the governor something to sign before this session ends just as he has requested.  I also hope we get busy and reform TennCare, something Republicans have wanted to do for over a decade and something which this governor has promised to do,” concluded Senator Ramsey.

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 Identity Theft Bill Gets Nod

SB 3364 by Senator Jim Bryson (R-Franklin) unanimously passed out of Senate Judiciary to create a Class C felony offense of identity theft trafficking, to declare that a victim of identity theft is also a crime victim, to establish a method for law enforcement to obtain records from a public or private entity in cases of identity theft, and to establish standards for destruction of records maintained by a private entity that contains personal identifying information concerning a client.

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Senator David Fowler (R-Signal Mountain), sponsor of Senate Joint Resolution 127 to hold a people’s referendum on adding to the state constitution language regarding abortion, had put off a vote on the bill two weeks ago and sent the measure back to Calendar Committee because a hostile amendment was added to the resolution on the Senate floor.

This week Senator Fowler requested the measure to be brought back out of Calendar Committee for further consideration of a possible compromise amendment.  Accordingly, the bill was set on the calendar for Thursday (March 25) and rolled to next Wednesday’s calendar.

Senator Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City) is a prime co-sponsor of the resolution.

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Senate Floor Actions 

HB 2202/SB 2085 passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Monday to provide that a handgun carry permit issued to person in or who enters the U.S. Armed Services remains valid as long as that person's service continues and that person is stationed outside of Tennessee and to give that person eight months from discharge or separation from service or reassignment back into this state to renew the permit without being considered a new applicant.  Senator Micheal Williams (R-Maynardville) co-sponsors the bill.

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HB 2277/SB 2241 passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Monday to permit the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to use the $50 fee collected for expunction of criminal  records for the support and maintenance of the TBI information systems division as well as for the expunged criminal offender and pretrial diversion database.

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SB 3186 passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Monday to prohibit the transmission of unsolicited facsimile advertisements and to require a facsimile transmission to include on the top or bottom of page margins the sender’s identification and the telephone number of the sending machine or sending party.

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SB 3358 passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Monday to extend the reporting deadline for the Special Joint Committee on Predatory Lending from February 28, 2004, to May 1, 2005.

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SB 3396 passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Monday to increase the period of validity for certifications, licenses and registrations for licensing alarm systems contractors from one to two years.

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SR 120, SR 121, and SR 122 by Senate Judiciary Chairman Curtis Person (R-Memphis) received Senate approval for amendments to, respectively, the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure, the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure, and the Tennessee Rules of Juvenile Procedure promulgated by the Tennessee Supreme Court.

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SB 3458, handled in committee and on the floor by its co-prime sponsor Senate Transportation Chairman Williams on behalf of the Bredesen Administration, passed the Senate 27-1 on Monday to revise provisions governing when the Transportation Department may settle with a contractor and close a project.

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HB 2846/SB 2321 unanimously passed the Senate Monday to clarify that the requirement for a rear light to illuminate the license plate on every motor vehicle or trailer drawn at the end of a train of vehicles does not apply to a single vehicle but only to the last vehicle in a train.

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SB 2890 unanimously passed the Senate Monday and then passed the House to require county election commissions to conduct supplemental voter registration when a planned and scheduled group naturalization ceremony is conducted in the county and to require either the attendance of commissioners, assistant registrars or other designees to register new citizens.

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SB 2259 unanimously passed the Senate Monday to regulate the use of consumer credit information by an insurer in calculating premiums for certain types of personal insurance and to prohibit use of certain discriminatory factors and to require information to be filed with the Commerce and Insurance Department regarding the use of consumer credit information.  Senator Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville) co-sponsors the bill.

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SB 2392 unanimously passed the Senate Monday to revise the scope of practice of employee assistance professionals.

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SB 2524 by Senator Fowler unanimously passed the Senate Monday to exclude certain actions from being considered a felony in the misapplication of contract payments and to revise prima facie evidence of intent to defraud if loan proceeds or contract payments are misapplied.

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SB 2586 by Senators Fowler, Jeff Miller (R-Cleveland), and Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) unanimously passed the Senate Monday to require a review by the Fiscal Review Committee of state contracts exceeding the originally bid and contracted price by 10 percent or more.

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SB 2712 by Senator Mark Norris (R-Memphis) unanimously passed the Senate Monday to add affidavits of scrivener's error and other affidavits in furtherance of identification and title of land.  The bill would allow these to be entered instead of deeds of correction for clarification.

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SB 2931 by Senator Ramsey unanimously passed the Senate Monday to require abatement of action brought against a contractor, subcontractor, supplier, or design professional related to a construction defect unless the claimant provides notice, giving such parties an opportunity to respond, make a settlement offer, or remedy a defect.

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SB 3187 by Senator Bill Clabough (R-Maryville) unanimously passed the Senate Monday to exempt from all mandated health benefits requirements insurance plans which provide only major medical insurance coverage for a catastrophic illness requiring in-patient hospital care except to the extent that a specified mandated coverage is essential to provide basic health care for that illness.

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HB 2720/SB 2748 unanimously passed the Senate Monday to authorize the director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) and chief local elected officials to declare a state of emergency for the purpose of triggering the emergency relief effort portion of the hours-of-service regulations promulgated by the federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.  Contingencies, such as ice storms, require crews to work very long shifts during which they need to be able to drive their utility trucks.  Senator Williams co-sponsors the bill.

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SB 3139 by Senator Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) unanimously passed the Senate Monday to enact the Mutual Aid and Emergency and Disaster Assistance Agreement Act of 2004.  The measure allows local entities to retain current agreements if they want to, though they would not be necessary.  The bill is brought because of emergency situations in which equipment is needed from outside the surrounding areas.  It will also bring better reimbursements from the state and federal government.  Senators Ketron, Crowe, and Williams co-sponsor the bill.

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SB 3175 by Senator Williams passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Wednesday to revise registration taxes for motor vehicles operated commercially to allow the freight vehicle registration tax discount for vehicles used as part of a nursery business.

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SB 3371 by Senator Burchett passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Wednesday to prohibit any materials around a license plate that cover or conceal any information on the license plate and to prohibit any tinted material from covering a license plate.

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SB 3411 passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Wednesday to require the Environment and Conservation and the Tourist Development Commissioners to serve as ex officio members of the Great Smoky Mountains Park Commission.  Senator Clabough is a co-sponsor.

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SB 2485 unanimously passed the Senate Wednesday and the House Thursday to revise the election laws.  Senate Caucus Chairman Ramsey was co-prime sponsor on the bill with Senate Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Haynes because those who sought the bill wanted both caucus chairmen on it.  Senator Ramsey added an amendment to the bill to delete a section which would have closed some election records.  Extracts from the Bill Summary: The bill would allow publication of multiple notices in newspapers when such notices are legally required to be published.  This bill would change notice given to elderly or handicapped voters from 30 days prior to an election to 45 days prior to an election, when required.  This bill would increase the number of signatures required in order to be placed on a ballot as an independent presidential candidate from 25 people eligible to vote in this state to 25 signatures from every one of his or her 11 electors for a total of 275 signatures.  This bill would allow the local county election office to mail a sample ballot to every registered voter five days before early voting.  This bill would clarify that the person who initials and approves the election ballot is the precinct registrar, not the administrator of elections.  This bill would authorize county election commission offices to begin conducting voting at licensed nursing homes 29 days before an election instead of 22 days before the election.  This bill would allow the directors of nursing homes to give the administrator of elections a list of residents at the nursing home for the limited purpose of effectuating voting. This bill would require that the administrator of elections request the list no later than 40 days prior to election day and for the administrator of the facility to provide it promptly.  This bill would delete the two-minute restriction on remaining in a voting machine booth.  Present law dictates that no one who is voting without assistance may remain in the booth for more than two minutes or occupy the voting compartment for more than five minutes if other voters are in line for more than 10 minutes. This bill would clarify that voting more than once on the same election is a Class E felony.  Present law requires that a person or corporation must be identified if the person or corporation makes any expenditure for the purpose of expressing a view about an issue or measure.  This bill would remove this requirement. This bill would require legislative bodies to provide their local county election commission with an updated list of any modifications or changes to house, road, and street names or numbers every six months.

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SB 877 by Senator Ramsey unanimously passed the Senate Wednesday to revise the storm water management law and to clarify that it does not apply to farmland runoff.

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SB 2162 passed the Senate 28-1 Wednesday to enact the Medication Error Reduction Act of 2004 to cut down on prescription errors by creating a uniform standard format for electronic and written prescription orders issued by physicians, osteopathic physicians, optometrists, dentists, and podiatrists and to require the prescription orders to be legible and comprehensible to a pharmacist and to limit the liability of pharmacists for delays incurred when clarifying a prescription that the pharmacist cannot understand.  The bill also applies to nurse practitioners and physician assistants who can write prescriptions.

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SB 2179 by Senator Fowler unanimously passed the Senate Wednesday to allow TDOT to operate in house the program for logo signs on highways and to revise the bid requirements.

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SB 3349 by Senator Bryson unanimously passed the Senate Wednesday to require 50 percent of Basic Education Program growth funds to be distributed to eligible local education agencies by January 1 with the remainder distributed by the subsequent June 30.

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SB 3369 by Senator Burchett passed the Senate 28-1 Wednesday to prohibit motor vehicle windshield wipers from having lights or reflectors because they distract other drivers.

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SB 3376 unanimously passed the Senate Wednesday to clarify that certain laws and regulations are applicable to prepaid limited health service organizations and to authorize the Commerce and Insurance Commissioner to suspend or revoke the certificate of authority of an HMO if the HMO filed a sworn financial statement containing material omissions or errors.

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SB 3421, an administration bill, unanimously passed the Senate Wednesday to authorize the Commerce and Insurance Department to query the TBI’s criminal history records, orders of protection files and other similar databases, including FBI files, when necessary in the performance of its licensure, permit and consumer protection duties.

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SB 3029 by Senator Ketron, a consumer protection bill, passed the Senate 26-2 Wednesday to make it a deceptive trade practice to advertise for a seminar on living trusts or estate taxation unless the minimum amount at which an estate must be valued to be subject to estate tax is expressly stated.

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SB 2379 passed the Senate Thursday 27-0-1 to enact the Commonsense Consumption Act.

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SB 2637 by Senator Bryson passed through the Senate State and Local Government Committee and then unanimously passed the Senate Thursday to require the staff of the Fiscal Review Committee to review any audit of the Comptroller within three months of release and to select specific ones for review by the committee.

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SB 2737 unanimously passed the Senate Thursday to regulate the filing of telecommunications tariffs with the Tennessee Regulatory Authority.

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SB 3391 unanimously passed the Senate Thursday to revise the provisions for contesting unemployment insurance tax collected or administered by Labor and Workforce Development.

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Selected Senate Committee Actions

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Senate Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee:

SB 3252 by Senator Fowler, a tort liability bill, passed out of Senate Commerce to require medical malpractice and professional liability insurers to submit information to the Department of Commerce and Insurance regarding claims and lawsuits.

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Senate Education Committee:

SB 3397 unanimously passed out of Senate Education Committee to address the teacher pay equity issue in the Basic Education Program in response to a Small Schools Lawsuit.

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Senate Transportation Committee:

SB 1717 by Senators Bryson and McNally passed out of Senate Transportation Committee to create a Class B misdemeanor offense of consuming an alcoholic beverage while driving a motor vehicle on a public highway and a Class C misdemeanor offense of possessing an open container of alcoholic beverage within the passenger area of a motor vehicle on a public highway to prevent the loss of about $11 million in federal road funds.