Allan F. Ramsaur, TBA Executive Director
(800) 899-6993 or (615) 277-3200
aramsaur@tnbar.org
April 1, 2004
TBA bills moving through congested legislature
Legislative logjams are growing more frequent as the General Assembly heads to its final weeks, but a pair of TBA-backed bills appear to be moving nicely toward approval.
The bill to enact a Tennessee Uniform Trust Code (SB0560, HB0743) won Senate approval Monday night by a 29-0 vote and appears headed for passage in the House. The legislation was developed by a joint TBA/bankers committee and Bryan Howard, a TBA member from Nashville who spoke for the joint committee, said that the legislation is intended to preserve Tennessee’s existing trust law, while filling in many of the gaps. (Look for a CLE from the TBA’s TennBarU in May or June on the new act, which will be effective July 1, 2004.)
Also moving forward is the Ominbus Probate bill (SB2599, HB2639), which was recommended by the TBA Estate Planning and Probate Section, and is being sponsored by Sen. David Fowler, R-Signal Mountain, and Rep. Joe Fowlkes, D-Cornersville. The legislation is slated for hearing by the Senate’s Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, while the House Judiciary Committee’s Civil Procedure and Practice Subcommittee is to hear it on Wednesday. So far there has been no objections to the bill, so it could be on the floor for a vote in two weeks.
Like other legislation still awaiting action, the bills could be slowed by the volume of legislation the General Assembly is working with right now. Calendars are becoming extremely long, sometimes with dozens and dozens of bills still waiting to be heard. In the Senate, there appears to be little chance that all of the bills on the Judiciary Committee calendar will be discussed.
And that also means the legislature may not make its goal of adjourning by the end of April. With subcommittees still open, legislation is still flowing to the committees and adding to the pressure to keep the body in session. The one positive indication that an adjournment is on the horizon is that finance committees are beginning to talk about filing budget amendments, a sign that they are getting serious about working on budget bills.
Other legislation of interest
Tennessee Health Care Decisions Act
The Tennessee Health Care Decisions Act, as amended to preserve the living will and durable power of attorney for health care statutes, passed the Tennessee House of Representatives Monday night by a vote of 98-0. In the Senate, the bill was set for the General Welfare Committee this week, but the committee did not reach it on the calendar. The Senate sponsor has indicated an intention to preserve living wills and durable powers of attorney while enacting the new surrogacy provisions.
Rules on expedited appeals in termination of parental rights cases expedited
Amendments to the Rules of Civil Procedure, Juvenile Procedure and Appellate Procedure that would provide for expedited disposition of appeals in termination of parental rights matters moved out of the House Judiciary Committee this week after receiving a favorable nod from Senate Judiciary last week. Connie Clark, director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, told the committee that the rules changes represent "an excellent joint effort by lawyers on both sides, judges, and clerks to benefit the interests of children in Tennessee." The resolutions are sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Curtis Person and House Judiciary Chair Joe Fowlkes.
Procedures for altering child support orders
A bill by Rep. Dewayne Bunch, R-Cleveland, that would affect the procedures for altering child support orders appears to be progressing. Rep. Bunch and others are concerned that the current system grants administrative agencies far too much authority in altering decisions regarding child support and that these alterations were taking place with minimal due process. The TBA is now reviewing a compromise amendment that has been agreed to by Rep. Bunch and federal and state officials.
In general terms, the legislation provides that prior notice must be given of administrative intent to change a child support order and that an aggrieved obligor can contest that by filing a petition with the trial court within 30 days of receipt of the notice. Current regulations do not permit such a filing and largely limit due process to appeals to administrative decisions.
Child custody and visitation issues
We have reached a compromise with proponents of legislation to specify in more detail what constitutes material change in circumstances that would warrant a court revisiting visitation or parenting arrangements. The measure will spell out certain types of changes that are among those that would constitute substantial change of circumstance to allow for greater uniformity among courts in the state. This greater specification is on the model of earlier legislation that spelled out in some detail a non-exclusive list of factors that can be considered in granting alimony.
We still remain at loggerheads with proponents of a bill that would establish a rebuttable presumption that shared parenting is in the best interest of the child. Current law governing parenting plans already mandates shared parenting. The TBA is concerned that this may be another way of trying to establish what other bills expressly seek, which is to divide the child’s time more or less equally between the two parents, regardless of the disruption to the child’s schedule or consequences for child support.
Keep up to date on legislation of interest
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 Watch List Monitor close to 300 bills and resolutions of interest to the Tennessee legal community.
TBA Action 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
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