Allan F. Ramsaur, TBA Executive Director
(800) 899-6993 or (615) 277-3200
aramsaur@tnbar.org
March 27, 2003
Insurance bill clears major House hurdle
Legislation that could bring discounts on auto and homeowner insurance to TBA members cleared a major hurdle this week when it won passage from the House Commerce Committee on Tuesday.
The bill, which will lift a statutory ban that prevents property and casualty carriers from offering discounts to members of professional associations, will now go before the full House for a vote on Monday. The Senate Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee is expected to take up the bill Tuesday.
Some Tennessee insurance groups had opposed the bill, but TBA Executive Director Allan Ramsaur urged passage of the legislation by the committee, saying that it would lead to less expensive insurance for consumers by increasing competition. Ramsaur said he's been told by GEICO, which provided the TBA's endorsed auto insurance program, that TBA members will receive a 15 percent discount on auto insurance if the bill is passed.
TBA Legislative Counsel Steve Cobb worked closely with the bill's sponsors to win support from officials in the state's Department of Commerce and Insurance and to keep the measure from having any fiscal impact to the state. In the House, the bill (HB0758, SB0411) is sponsored by Rep. Jere Hargrove, D-Cookeville. Sen. Jerry Cooper, D-Morrison, is the Senate sponsor.
The bill approved by the committee will apply to associations with more than 5,000 members who live or practice their professions in at least 80 counties. (An article in Tuesday's Tennessean looked at the debate surrounding the bill. You can read it on-line by clicking here.)
There was also progress on a number of other TBA-backed bills this week: Here's a rundown:
Service of process clean up — The full House is scheduled to vote Monday on this bill (SB0352, HB0751) that cleans up portions of legislation passed last year that reforms the service of process in General Sessions Court. The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to hear the bill on Tuesday.
Electronic treatment of notary seals — Committees in both the Senate and House are scheduled to tackle this bill early next week. In the Senate, the Judiciary Committee will hear the bill on Tuesday and in the House, the Civil Procedure and Practice Subcommittee will look at it on Wednesday. The measure (SB0353, HB0820) is an effort to address issues created by electronic scanning of documents on which there are embossed seals. To encourage the use of rubber stamps, the bill requires that when a notary’s term ends he or she will have to renew with a rubber stamp instead of impression seal.
UETA clean up — This bill (SB0383, HB0575), which will clean up portions of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) passed in 2001, is scheduled to go before the House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Utilities and Banking on Tuesday. It has already passed the Senate.
TRPC clean up — The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to take on this bill (SB0735, HB0570) Tuesday. It has already passed the House. The bill will change the references from the old Code of Professional Responsibility to the newly updated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct. In addition, this bill will delete the current statutory provisions dealing with solicitation by lawyers. Those provisions have been held unconstitutional. The Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct do contain solicitation provisions that have withstood constitutional challenge.
TBA bill tracking service
The TBA bill tracking service lets you read abstracts of bills, check their status in both houses, find out who is sponsoring them and link to full versions of the legislation.
TBA Big List
Monitor close to 300 bills and resolutions of interest to the Tennessee legal community.
TBA Watch List
Monitor legislation in which the TBA has an interest of record — bills the TBA initiated, bills on which the TBA has taken a position or bills on which the TBA has policy.
Questions, comments? Contact TBA Legislative Counsel Steve Cobb at SAC@wallerlaw.com or TBA Executive Director Allan F. Ramsaur at aramsaur@tnbar.org
