March 10, 2005

Action picking up in General Assembly
Committees were in full swing this week taking on a number of pieces of legislation of interest to Tennessee lawyers. Here’s a recap:

Tennessee Plan
A bill that called for the popular election of Tennessee Supreme Court and appellate judges died for the lack of a second in the House Judicial Administration Subcommittee this week, but several other bills are expected to be heard in the coming weeks that have the same aim — overturning the Tennessee plan for merit selection and retention of appellate judges. The TBA is on record as supporting the Tennessee Plan.

Coming up for consideration are bills sponsored by Rep. Dewayne Bunch, R-Cleveland, and Sen. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, (HB2003/SB0279) and by Sen. David Fowler, R-Signal Mountain, and Rep. Bunch, that would also have the effect of overturning the Tennessee plan.

TBA members who live in the districts of House Judicial Administration Subcommittee members are encouraged to contact them and let them know of their concerns with this legislation. The subcommittee is chaired by Rep. Janis Sontany, D-Nashville, and includes Rep. Frank Buck, D-Dowellton; Rep. Kent Coleman, D-Murfreesboro; Rep. Russell Johnson, R-Loudon; and Rep. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown.

Meth-Free Tennessee Act of 2005
The governor’s legislation for combating the methamphetamine problem in Tennessee (HB2334/SB2318) advanced in the House and Senate this week, but there are still concerns with parts of the bill. The governor’s Meth-Free Tennessee Act of 2005 has provisions for quarantining property that has been contaminated, but has no provisions for ensuring that notice of the quarantine is made in the register of deeds office – a place people normally look for this kind of information. The TBA hopes to have the bill, which was passed this week by Judiciary Committees in both houses, be as clear as possible in defining what people’s duties are for notifying others of the quarantine.

Judicial council
Legislation extending the life of the Judicial Council (SB1109/HB1494) won passage in the Senate this week and is now awaiting House action. Another bill concerning the Judicial Council is slated for committee hearing next week. This bill (HB1644/SB1974) would require both prime sponsors to consent in writing before a committee chair can refer a bill not involving judicial positions to the Judicial Council. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Kathryn Bowers, D-Memphis, and Sen. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, has been placed on next week’s calendar for the Senate State and Local Government Committee.

Professional Services Corporation
The TBA is watching a bill in the Senate Commerce Labor and Agriculture Committee that would delete the current act and replace it with a new act with subtle differences, some of which could be harmful. Committee staff had asked the TBA to review the bill, and as a result the bill has – at least for the moment – been taken off notice and is not likely to go forward.

Rules of civil procedure
The Supreme Court modified its proposal by withdrawing the portion dealing with the sealing of records. The court felt the issue needed further consideration. Absent this portion, the rules moved forward this week

Domestic relations
A bill (SB1948/HB0780) that would have reinstated a number of abolished torts was scheduled for hearing in the House Children and Family Affairs and Senate Judiciary committees this past week. These bills would allow a spouse to seek pain and suffering damages and the like in certain cases of adultery and misconduct. These bills appear to domestic relations practitioners as presenting risks to already difficult litigation, increasing costs and reducing the likelihood that parents would be able to cooperate in rearing their children. Because of those concerns, the bill has been rolled for two weeks in the House and four weeks in the Senate.

TBA-backed legislation
The domestic relations bill backed by the TBA that would divorce the statutory provisions of child support from those of spousal support (SB2091/HB2244) are scheduled for committee hearing next week in both the House and Senate. The other two TBA-backed bills, dealing with probate and limited liability companies, are expected to be heard by committees in the next few weeks.

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