Allan F. Ramsaur, TBA Executive Director
(800) 899-6993 or (615) 277-3200
aramsaur@tnbar.org
April 3, 2003
TBA legislation winning approval in House, Senate
Several pieces of TBA-backed legislation moved closer to final passage this week, winning support from at least one chamber of the General Assembly.
Legislation that could bring discounts on auto and homeowner insurance to TBA members and others won support from the Senate Commerce Committee Tuesday and passed in the House 97-0 on Wednesday. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the measure Monday.
The bill (HB0758, SB0411) is sponsored in the House by Jere Hargrove, D-Cookeville, and Glen Casada, R-Franklin, and in the Senate by Jerry Cooper, D-Morrison, Jim Bryson, R-Franklin. If passed and signed by the governor, it will lift a statutory ban that prevents property and casualty carriers from offering discounts to members of professional associations with more than 5,000 dues-paying members residing or practicing in at least 80 counties in Tennessee.
GEICO, which provides the TBA's endorsed auto insurance program, has said that TBA members will receive a 15 percent discount on auto insurance if the prohibition is lifted.
Service of process clean up — The full House voted 95-0 Monday to pass this bill (SB0352, HB0751) that cleans up portions of legislation passed last year reforming the service of process in General Sessions Court. The Senate Judiciary Committee also gave its support to the bill this week and a full Senate vote is schedule for Monday.
UETA clean up — The House Commerce Committee's Utilities and Banking Subcommittee on Tuesday gave its support for this (SB0383, HB0575), which will clean up portions of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) passed in 2001. It is now on schedule for action by the full Commerce Committee on Tuesday. Earlier it passed the Senate by a 32-0 vote.
Electronic treatment of notary seals — The Senate's Judiciary Committee on Tuesday gave its support to this bill (SB0353, HB0820), which 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. The bill — carrying a new amendment that declares that any subsequent acknowledgement of the notary is not rendered ineffective by passage of this bill — is on the Senate's calendar for consideration on Monday. In the House, the Civil Procedure and Practice Subcommittee was scheduled to look at the bill on Wednesday, but ran out of time. It is back on the subcommittee's schedule for Wednesday.
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.
Other legislation of interest to Tennessee attorneys
Disclosure of fees for consulting services — This bill (HB1249, SB1671) won approval from the House's State and Local Government Committee after an amendment was added that says disclosure is only required when the consulting fee is aimed at affecting legislation. The TBA had been working with sponsors of the legislation to add this type of protection, so that attorneys who are serving as public servants would not have to disclose information about clients whose legal matters have nothing to do with influencing government actions.
Without the amendment, lawyer lawmakers or lawyers who serve on public commissions could have faced a potential conflict between the requirements of the law and their duty of confidentiality to clients.
The bill is sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Larry Trail, D-Murfreesboro, and in the House by Reps. Kim McMillan, D-Clarksville, Bill Harmon, D-Dunlap, Ben West, D-Hermitage, Jim Hackworth, D-Clinton, and Paul Stanley, R-Memphis.
Changes in foreclosure process — Action on this bill (HB1789, SB1791) was deferred for two weeks by the House Judiciary Committee's Civil Procedure and Practice Subcommittee. There is some concern that this bill, which requires posting notice on an Internet site for 20 days before a foreclosure, could add considerable cost without providing much benefit to the public.
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
