February 11, 2005

LegisFlash delayed
We regret that problems with our Internet server delayed the publication of LegisFlash this week.

Committees organizing, gearing up in legislature
This past week, many committees met only for organizational purposes and had no bills on notice. The House Judiciary Committee dealt with only two measures, one continuing a study committee and the other passing the codification bill, which reenacts all public chapters passed last year but are now in their appropriate places in the Tennessee Code Annotated. The Senate Judiciary Committee had a small calendar this week, but the chair announced that there would be a full calendar of 27 bills next week.

Legislation of interest
One bill of interest is SB 783/HB 325, which purports to establish a licensure system for private process servers. The TBA has been involved in this issue for several years and strongly believes that the provision of the Rules of Civil Procedure and recent legislation regarding the courts of general sessions appropriately deal with this issue. The bar will continue to monitor this legislation very closely to prevent undue imposition on attorneys in the state as they serve process under current rules and legislation.

Once again, there are a large number of bills that deal with child custody. In a continuation of an effort going back a number of years, groups are encouraging legislators to sponsor legislation that would establish a rebuttable presumption that "joint parenting" or some other similar term should be ordered in every case even where the parents cannot agree.

TBA has worked with legislators in the past to craft what its domestic relations practitioners generally believe to be a sensible compromise. Current law supported by the TBA provides that where parents agree that "joint custody," "shared parenting" or other relatively equal division of parenting responsibility should be tried that the court, absent proof to the contrary, should order such joint parenting. However, where the parents cannot agree to such joint parenting, the court should make a decision based on the facts and circumstances of the case without any presumption for or against joint parenting or any other custodial arrangement.

The usual bills attempting to require appellate court judges to run for office in presumably partisan, contested elections have been introduced. The TBA, which supported the current law -- the Tennessee Plan -- will monitor these bills very carefully. The Tennessee Plan establishes a system for the selection of judges that focuses on their credentials and not on partisanship or fund-raising ability.

Provisions in bankruptcy reform bill asks more of lawyers than other professions
The American Bar Association faxed letters to all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday urging them to oppose the bankruptcy attorney liability provisions contained in Senate Bill 256, the bankruptcy bill introduced on Feb. 1 by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA).

TBA President Charles Swanson also wrote letters to Senators Frist and Alexander, urging them to remove the provisions before it leaves committee. "The provisions in question," Swanson wrote, "effectively require a lawyer who represents one of the parties to certify and guarantee the accuracy of financial statements provided by their client. This is an unworkable and burdensome provision which belies a misunderstanding of the role which counsel plays in representing a client. I am aware of no other professional in any context who is required to guarantee the honesty of a client."

SB 256 was to be set for a hearing Thursday and could be marked up as early as next week. You can check on what happens on the ABA's legislative and governmental advocacy page at http://www.abanet.org/poladv/home.html.

President's budget cuts legal services, eliminates key civics programs
The fiscal year 2006 budget submitted this week by President Bush cuts the funding to the Legal Services Corporation by about 5 percent and eliminates altogether two civics education programs under which Tennessee lawyers receive grants to do law-related education. The LSC cut would reduce funding to some $318 million for the program of civil legal services to the poor. Tennessee legal aid programs receive more funding from LSC that any other single source. The two civics education programs slated for elimination are We the People and the Safe and Drug Free Schools Act. We the People is a participatory civics education program in which students study constitutional principles and then conduct mock congressional hearings to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. The Tennessee Legal Community Foundation administers that program as well as the Peaceable Schools program, which conducts teacher training and follow-up consultation. The TBA will be following developments on both of these fronts closely.

Big Shrimp just days away
It is important what bar representatives say to legislators on the hill, but it's even more important what constituents from their home districts say. You will have that opportunity next Tuesday at the TBA's annual reception for members of the General Assembly. The popular Big Shrimp event is at Tennessee Bar Center in Nashville, from 5 to 7 p.m. TBA members at these events do make a difference!

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 scobb@tnbar.org or TBA Executive Director Allan F. Ramsaur at aramsaur@tnbar.org