May 26, 2005

General Assembly moves toward close under cloud
Indictments of four Tennessee lawmakers, a former lawmaker and two others on federal bribery charges today rocked the General Assembly where legislators were attempting to finish budget deliberations and bring the session to a close.

Despite the disruption, House members carried on budget hearings and appear to be coming close to a deal on the TennCare safety net issue. Additional sessions are scheduled for tonight and possibly Friday and Saturday, as members seem committed to ending the session this week.

Tax Section involved in tax bill discussions
Earlier in the week, the TBA became involved in discussions of the Department of Revenue’s tax bill (SB2310/HB2317) because of concerns that portions of it would have been harmful to family limited liability companies. Members of the TBA’s Tax Section worked hard to prepare suggested amendments, and the Department of Revenue was responsive to our concerns. All but one of the issues was resolved satisfactorily.

TBA-backed bills awaiting governor’s signature
The TBA-backed domestic relations bill and its bill to reform Tennessee’s Limited Liability Companies Act are on the governor’s desk awaiting his signature, after which a Public Chapter number will be assigned to each. The refinements to probate law backed by the TBA have been assigned Public Chapter No. 99.

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