Clarksville, TN Online » Tenncare

New Tennessee laws are in effect

News Staff — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:00:34 +0000

Despite tight revenues, state finishes fiscal year on schedule, lawmakers save jobs, education programs. (See complete text below of newly published Public Chapters of the Tennessee Code Annotated.)

NASHVILLE – While several other states struggle to close out the fiscal year ending Wednesday, Tennessee has already published new laws passed during its recently completed legislative session.

“We didn’t have a $24 billion shortfall in revenue like the legislators in California are struggling with, but it was still a tight budget year in Tennessee,” Senator Lowe Finney of Jackson, incoming chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus, said.

Still, we were able to protect our better schools program – pre-K in particular – and we can move ahead with projects that will put Tennesseans back to work.

That’s good for our families, our hometown economies and our state revenue. As more jobs begin to open up – thanks to projects like the West Tennessee industrial megasite – we can build a stable tomorrow for Tennesseans.

Among the laws now in effect:

Increased energy efficiency is now required in state buildings and vehicles.
Sex offenders are prohibited from being within 1,000 feet of certain places where children are likely to gather.
Tennessee driver’s licenses now print birthdates larger to make them easier for retailers to read.
Vending machines installed on state property after July 1 must use energy efficient lighting, and the new lighting must be installed on any that are repaired.

Public Chapters with 7/1/09 Effective Date

Topic	Chapter No	Doc Number	Description
Abuse	337	SB1776	As enacted, revises definitions of “adult” and “imminent danger” in the adult protection statute. – Amends TCA Title 71, Chapter 6.
Alcoholic Beverages	208	SB1947	As enacted, specifies that retailers are prohibited from selling intoxicating liquors to persons who are “visibly intoxicated” or accompanying a “visibly intoxicated” person rather than somone who is “drunk” or accompanying a “drunk” person. – Amends TCA Section 57-3-406 and Section 57-5-301.
Attorneys at Law	7	HB0416	As enacted, clarifies that certain government employees are not prohibited from providing pro bono legal services. – Amends TCA Title 8; Title 16 and Title 23.
Autopsies	276	SB1517	As enacted, creates Class A misdemeanor offense for unauthorized dissemination of autopsy materials. – Amends TCA Title 38 and Title 39.
Beer	314	HB0347	As enacted, authorizes a city or county to seek a criminal history background check or fingerprint check on an applicant for a beer permit and to enter into an agreement with the TBI to conduct a search on such information. – Amends TCA Title 57, Chapter 5, Part 1.
Boards and Commissions	497	SB2149	As introduced, establishes the “Tennessee state museum commission.” – Amends TCA Title 4.
Child Abuse	86	SB0810	As enacted, clarifies that the meaning of near fatality, for purposes of allowing public disclosure of confidential department of children’s services information relating to such, is a child having a serious or critical medical condition resulting from child abuse or child sexual abuse as reported by a physician who has examined the child subsequent to such abuse. – Amends TCA Title 37, Chapter 5.
Child Abuse	88	SB0866	As enacted, describes serious bodily injury in children to include second or third degree burns, bone fractures, concussion, and permanent or protracted disfigurement. – Amends TCA Title 39.
Child Abuse	89	SB0867	As enacted, describes dangerous instrumentality as any item in its manner of use or intended use as applied to a child that is capable of producing serious bodily injury. – Amends TCA Title 39.
Child Abuse	335	SB1530	As enacted, specifies that juvenile courts, general sessions courts, and circuit and criminal courts have concurrent jurisdiction to hear criminal prosecutions of child abuse and neglect. – Amends TCA Title 16, Chapter 15; Title 37, Chapter 1; Title 39, Chapter 15 and Title 40, Chapter 1, Part 1. -
Child Custody and Support	442	HB0804	As introduced, permits parents called to active military service that requires them to be out of state for more than 90 days to petition the court to assign their visitation rights during their absence to another person approved by the court. – Amends TCA Title 36, Chapter 6, Part 3.
Children’s Services, Dept. of	87	SB0853	As enacted, requires the department to consistently apply policies, rules, and regulations across the state; adds an annual legislative review of department policies and attached protocol and procedures; and requires the department to submit new policies for legislative review. – Amends TCA Title 37, Chapter 5, Part 1.
Children’s Services, Dept. of	358	SB0809	As enacted, clarifies that the department and any state or local agency records that contain information that identifies the person who made a report of child abuse or neglect are confidential; specifies limited exceptions. – Amends TCA Title 10, Chapter 7, Part 5; Title 36, Chapter 1, Part 1 and Title 37.
Consumer Protection	469	SB0812	As introduced, enacts the “Uniform Debt Management Services Act.” – Amends TCA Title 47.
Contractors	483	SB1417	As introduced, establishes as an unfair act under the Consumer Protection Act the practice of a general contractor requiring a subcontractor, as a condition of being awarded a job, to waive the subcontractor’s lien rights. – Amends TCA Title 47, Chapter 18; Title 47, Chapter 25; Title 62, Chapter 6 and Title 66, Chapter 34.
Correctional Programs	452	SB0104	As introduced, mandates the department of correction to develop and implement a society plan for every incarcerated prisoner for reentry into society. – Amends TCA Title 41.
Courts	427	SB0683	As introduced, prohibits any person who has, or has had in the past two years, a sexual relationship with a party or a party’s attorney from recording or transcribing for submission to any court or administrative tribunal any hearing in an action involving such party or such party’s attorney. – Amends TCA Title 24, Chapter 9, Part 1.
Courts, Juvenile	411	HB0327	As introduced, requires the juvenile court to work in coordination with any other court having jurisdiction over the child or the child’s family when requiring any parent or legal guardian of a child within the jurisdiction of the court to participate in any counseling or treatment program the court may deem appropriate and in the best interest of the child. – Amends TCA Title 16; Title 17; Title 18; Title 34; Title 36; Title 37; Title 39 and Title 40.
Criminal Offenses	83	SB0437	As enacted, creates Class A misdemeanor offense of possession of device, tool, or other item with the intent to use it, or allow it to be used, to unlawfully render inoperative a security device used or designed to prevent or deter the theft of retail merchandise. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 14, Part 7.
Criminal Offenses	155	SB0294	As enacted, creates a Class A misdemeanor offense for a person to knowingly provide, transfer, or submit to any other person false identification for the purposes of obtaining or maintaining employment. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 14; Title 39, Chapter 17 and Title 50.
Criminal Offenses	241	SB0388	As enacted, provides that escaping from the lawful custody of a law enforcement officer constitutes the offense of escape the same as escaping from a penal institution. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 16, Part 6.
Criminal Offenses	274	SB1168	As enacted, creates offenses regarding improper wearing of military decorations or falsely representing that one has been awarded military decorations; offense is Class B misdemeanor, unless medal involved is a Congressional Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, Air Force Cross, Silver Star, or Purple Heart, in which case it is a Class A misdemeanor. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 14 and Title 58, Chapter 1.
Criminal Offenses	282	HB0218	As enacted, requires certain actions by buyers and dealers of scrap jewelry and metal and makes a violation of such requirements a Class A misdemeanor. – Amends TCA Title 38, Chapter 1, Part 2.
Criminal Offenses	307	SB1665	As enacted, redefines “serious bodily injury” to include a broken bone of a child who is eight years of age or younger. – Amends TCA Section 39-11-106. -
Criminal Offenses	325	HB0516	As enacted, creates offense of making false statement or concealment of material fact for purpose of obtaining accommodation in housing project of a housing authority or for paying less rent than required for such dwelling; offense is Class A misdemeanor punishable by fine only, with fine to be determined in accordance with value of the benefit, in accordance with theft provisions. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 11, Part 1 and Title 39, Chapter 14, Part 1.
Criminal Offenses	342	HB0253	As enacted, adds certain violations of rules of road to present violations resulting in accident that are penalized as Class A misdemeanors when involving death or as Class B misdemeanors when involving serious bodily injury. – Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 8.
Criminal Offenses	347	SB0113	As enacted, revises the Class A misdemeanor harassment to add offense committed by a person who intentionally communicates with another person without legitimate purpose: with the malicious intent to frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress or in a manner the defendant knows or reasonably should know would frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress to a similarly situated person of reasonable sensibilities; and as the result of the communication, the person is frightened, intimidated or emotionally distressed. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 3.
Criminal Offenses	386	HB0590	As enacted, defines “proceeds” for money laundering offenses to include gross profits from commission of any unlawful activity including real or personal property. – Amends TCA Title 39.
Criminal Offenses	408	SB1976	As introduced, modifies certain statutory provisions pertaining to certain types of theft. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 14, Part 1.
Criminal Offenses	412	HB0351	As introduced, creates new Class E and D felony offenses of assault on law enforcement officer, and Class B felony offense of aggravated assault on law enforcement officer. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 13, Part 1.
Criminal Offenses	439	HB0588	As introduced, establishes what crimes may be a lesser included offense generally and states that second degree murder is a lesser included offense of certain first degree murder charges. – Amends TCA Title 40.
Criminal Offenses	440	HB0591	As introduced, deletes offense of interception of cellular or wireless telephone transmissions; redefines “electronic communication” and “wire communication” for certain wiretapping and electronic surveillance offenses. – Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40.
Criminal Procedure	115	SB0284	As enacted, establishes the venue for a violation of community supervision for life of a sexual offender as the county where the offender was being supervised at time of violation and permits probation officer to be affiant for purposes of obtaining affidavit of complaint against person. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 13, Part 5.
Criminal Procedure	194	HB0070	As enacted, revises the prohibition against using deadly force in defense of property to specify that prohibition would not apply if a person is justified in using deadly force as otherwise provided by law for defense of oneself or defense of another person. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 11, Part 6.
Criminal Procedure	379	SB1638	As enacted, requires district attorney general to complete and file uniform judgment document within 30 days after sentencing; requires that the document be signed by all parties, but if not signed by the parties, the clerk must make a copy of the document available to the parties before entry by the court. – Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 35. -
Criminal Procedure	387	HB0815	As enacted, expands the offense of aiming a laser pointer or other device at a law enforcement officer to include aiming at firefighters, emergency medical technicians, or other emergency service personnel. – Amends TCA Section 39-16-515.
Criminal Procedure	390	HB1210	As enacted, prohibits parent from being issued arrest warrant or criminal summons against teacher without written approval of district attorney if the conduct alleged involved the teacher and a child of such parent. – Amends TCA Title 40.
Criminal Procedure	432	HB0583	As introduced, adds property received that is used as instrumentality in or in furtherance of violation of any criminal offense to criminal proceeds subject to forfeiture. – Amends TCA Title 39.
Divorce, Annulment and Alimony	280	HB0066	As enacted, removes a provision that allows a court to dismiss a divorce or legal separation complaint because the complaint lacks required information; allows, as an alternative to the specified information being included in the complaint, that the information be provided by the parties and be contained in the court’s records prior to the entry of the final decree of divorce; revises provisions governing when information does not have to be included. – Amends TCA Title 36, Chapter 4, Part 1.
Domestic Violence	455	SB0314	As introduced, requires person subject to order of protection to surrender all firearms the person owns or possesses to the sheriff of county of residence and creates Class A misdemeanor of person subject to an order of protection possessing a firearm. – Amends TCA Title 36, Chapter 3, Part 6; Title 39, Chapter 13, Part 1 and Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13.
Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation	459	SB0451	As introduced, adds assisting clients with applying for state and federal benefits to the statutory functions of licensed alcohol and drug abuse counselors. – Amends TCA Title 33; Title 68, Chapter 11 and Title 68, Chapter 24.
Economic and Community Development	424	HB1847	As introduced, revises the Neighborhood Preservation Act. – Amends TCA Title 13, Chapter 6.
Education	38	SB0073	As enacted, removes restriction on commercial advertising on school buses that requires such advertising to be composed of black lettering on a white background; prohibits advertisement of individual food items that, pursuant to law, cannot be sold via vending machines to students in pre-K through grade 8. – Amends TCA Section 49-6-2109(e).
Education	127	SB0850	As enacted, places restrictions on universal mental health testing, or psychiatric or socioemotional screening of juveniles; requires certain consent by a juvenile’s parent, guardian, legal custodian, or caregiver before such testing can occur. – Amends TCA Title 9, Chapter 4 and Title 49, Chapter 2, Part 1.
Education	160	SB0680	As enacted, authorizes courts to notify the school of a child who is adjudicated delinquent based on an offense for which school notification is not mandatory under law. – Amends TCA Title 37, Chapter 1 and Title 49, Chapter 6.
Education	262	SB2312	As enacted, removes requirement of passage of the Tennessee comprehensive assessment program tests in order to receive a full diploma; provides for end-of-course assessments; revises lottery scholarship day provisions. – Amends TCA Title 49.
Education	283	HB0324	As enacted, restates provisions governing reporting of suspected child abuse by personnel of educational institutions and release of related records. – Amends TCA Title 10; Title 37 and Title 49.
Education	315	HB0374	As enacted, requires written referrals for student’s behavior to be returned to faculty or staff member issuing the referral; referral to be kept in a student discipline file and not part of student’s permanent record. – Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 6. -
Education, Higher	204	SB1073	As enacted, exempts from the American History course requirement for a baccalaureate degree persons who pursue baccalaureate degrees in areas of study exempted, either by regulation of the board of regents or by regulations or delegated authority of the board of trustees of the University of Tennessee, if they have successfully completed a course in American History in high school. – Amends TCA Section 49-7-110.
Education, Higher	352	SB0681	As enacted, renames or corrects the names of certain community colleges. – Amends TCA Title 49.
Election Laws	218	SB1420	As enacted, makes various revisions to the election laws including allowing a person to email a transfer of voter registration or email a request for an application to vote absentee. – Amends TCA Section 2-7-112(a)(3)(C)(i); Section 2-2-129(a)(1); Section 2-6-103(b)(1); Section 2-6-202(a)(3); Section 2-6-304(f); Section 2-7-133(i); Section 2-7-142; Section 2-8-108 and Section 2-8-113(c).
Evidence	332	SB0523	As enacted, creates privileged communication between critical incident stress management team members and persons participating in crisis intervention. – Amends TCA Title 24, Chapter 1, Part 2.
Evidence	413	HB0619	As introduced, admits into evidence a videotaped statement made by a child under the age of 13 years describing any act of sexual contact or physical abuse if child unavailable and statement reliable. – Amends TCA Title 24. -
Financial Responsibility Law	370	SB2150	As enacted, requires law enforcement officers to request proof of compliance with financial responsibility laws upon charging a person with any motor vehicle violation instead of only moving violations. – Amends TCA Section 55-12-139.
Firearms and Ammunition	102	HB0254	As enacted, deletes requirement that the purchaser of a firearm give a thumbprint as part of background check process and that the TBI furnish thumbprint cards and pads to firearm dealers; clarifies that dealer must request TBI to conduct background check by “means designated by the TBI” instead of “by telephone”. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13.
Firearms and Ammunition	195	HB0411	As enacted, enacts the “Coach Willard Ross Act of 2009,” which creates a Class A misdemeanor offense of attempting to buy firearm when prohibited by law from possessing firearm and attempting or selling firearm to person known to be prohibited by law from possessing firearm. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13.
Foster Care	270	SB0855	As enacted, establishes procedures for reviewing actions of department of children’s services when a foster parent believes that the department has failed to follow the foster parents bill of rights and such failure has harmed or could harm a child. – Amends TCA Section 37-2-415.
Game and Fish Laws	213	SB0235	As enacted, provides that the determination as to whether property, such as vehicles, seized for violations of certain game and fish laws is forfeited to state is determined by court hearing the violation rather than an administrative hearing officer. – Amends TCA Title 70, Chapter 6, Part 2.
Hospitals and Health Care Facilities	312	SB2234	As enacted, extends expiration date of the tax on the gross receipts of ICFMRs from July 15, 2009, to July 15, 2011. – Amends TCA Section 68-11-830.
Hospitals and Health Care Facilities	323	SB0443	As enacted, authorizes the board for licensing health care facilities to delegate to the department of health the authority to issue a new license to a successor owner of a health care facility when there has been a change of control if certain requirements met; increases the amount of major medical equipment, the acquisition of which requires a certificate of need from $1.5 million to $2 million. – Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 68. -
Hospitals and Health Care Facilities	384	HB0093	As enacted, requires criminal background checks to be conducted for nursing direct care employees “prior to employment” instead of “prior to employment or within seven days of employment”. – Amends TCA Section 68-11-256.
Hospitals and Health Care Facilities	405	SB0485	As introduced, increases maximum civil penalty for operating a facility without a valid certificate of need from $500 to $1,000 per day of continued operation. – Amends TCA Title 63 and Title 68.
Hospitals and Health Care Facilities	460	SB0453	As introduced, extends nursing home bed privilege tax for two years until June 30, 2011; revises provisions governing delinquent tax. – Amends TCA Title 68, Chapter 11, Part 2.
Hospitals and Health Care Facilities	461	SB0454	As introduced, extends prohibition on new nursing home bed certificates of need to June 30, 2011, except for 125 Medicare SNF beds. – Amends TCA Title 68, Chapter 11, Part 16.
Human Rights Commission	437	HB0129	As introduced, directs human rights commission to develop a Title VI compliance plan applicable to certain state governmental entities; sets out duties of human rights commission in regards to Title VI provisions. – Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3.
Insurance Companies, Agents, Brokers, Policies	178	HB0981	As enacted, revises provisions governing maximum liability under the Tennessee Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Act in regard to annuity benefits to increase liability amount from $100,000 to $250,000. – Amends TCA Title 56, Chapter 12.
Judges and Chancellors	172	HB0083	As enacted, adds retired general sessions judges to present officials, including general sessions judges and retired judges and chancellors of courts of record, who may administer oaths of office to elected or appointed public official. – Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 18, Part 1.
Law Enforcement	190	SB2161	As enacted, clarifies that the POST commission will issue a certificate to any campus police officer or public safety officer upon the officer’s completing a training program. – Amends TCA Title 38 and Title 49.
Law Enforcement	284	HB0417	As enacted, authorizes independent contractors who provide on-site security and law enforcement capability at certain government property that is an air force base and flight simulation test center to employ persons to act as private special deputies for such purposes. – Amends TCA Title 38, Chapter 8, Part 1.
Limitation of Actions	498	SB2164	As introduced, limits tort liability of agritourism professionals under certain circumstances. – Amends TCA Title 43 and Title 70, Chapter 7.
Litter Control	382	SB2184	As enacted, requires county mayors to administer certain funds for litter control programs. – Amends TCA Section 39-14-510.
Local Education Agency	153	SB0283	As enacted, requires, rather than encourages, school districts to include certain criteria in policies prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or bullying. – Amends TCA Section 49-6-1016.
Local Education Agency	291	SB0251	As enacted, enacts the “Archival Protection Act of 2009″ to urge preservation of historically significant personal property located in public schools that have been closed. – Amends TCA Title 49.
Mental Illness	95	SB1538	As enacted, establishes legislative intent concerning priority of services to behavioral health safety net; establishes 19 years of age as the minimum age at which a person qualifies as an adult for purposes of determining which persons qualify as seriously and persistently mentally ill adults for purposes of this bill. – Amends TCA Title 33, Chapter 6 and Title 71, Chapter 5, Part 1.
Mental Illness	419	HB1348	As introduced, authorizes court to order outpatient evaluation of criminal defendant pending a post-trial proceeding under certain circumstances. – Amends TCA Title 33, Chapter 7, Part 3.
Mental Illness	468	SB0772	As introduced, provides for prescreening agents, physicians, and psychologists to be considered state employees when assessing persons for admission and transportation to involuntary inpatient treatment; establishes a task force to study issues related to transportation of persons to such treatment. – Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 42, Part 1 and Title 33, Chapter 6, Part 9.
Mental Retardation	458	SB0416	As introduced, specifies that new ICF/MR beds must be filled by persons from the developmental centers or from the wait list; requires that the division of mental retardation services approve the persons to fill the new beds. – Amends TCA Title 33; Title 68, Chapter 11 and Section 71-5-105.
Mobile Homes and Manufactured Buildings	132	SB0883	As enacted, revises provisions concerning manufactured homes affixed to real property including cancellation of certificate of title. – Amends TCA Section 55-3-138.
Motor Vehicles	201	SB0393	As enacted, prohibits sending or reading text messages while operating a motor vehicle; provides certain exceptions. – Amends TCA Title 55.
Motor Vehicles	286	HB1187	As enacted, broadens prohibitions on window tinting to any motor vehicle operated on a public highway, rather than only to those registered in Tennessee; and creates exemption for motor vehicles registered in another state that comply with requirements of such state. – Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 9, Part 1. -
Motor Vehicles	324	HB0355	As enacted, requires law enforcement officer to conduct test to determine blood alcohol of driver involved in accident resulting in injury or death if officer has probable cause to believe driver committed DUI, vehicular homicide, or aggravated vehicular homicide; provides that test results may be offered as evidence in court or administrative hearing relating to accident or offense, subject to rules of evidence. – Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 10, Part 4.
Motor Vehicles	441	HB0669	As introduced, requires liability insurance be maintained on all motor vehicles operated in Tennessee; insurance companies shall notify division of financial responsibility when coverage is terminated; owner of motor vehicle has 60 days to obtain insurance coverage again. – Amends TCA Title 55 and Title 56. -
Motor Vehicles, Titling and Registration	265	HB0985	As enacted, specifies that an “antique motor vehicle” additionally includes a motor vehicle at least 25 years old with a non-modified engine and body that is used on the highways for the purpose of selling, testing the operation of, or obtaining repairs to or maintenance on the motor vehicle. – Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 4.
Narcotics	67	SB0408	As enacted, makes concealing that one has received a controlled substance in an effort to obtain more of that substance a Class A misdemeanor and requires certain health care professionals to report suspicion of such to local law enforcement without civil liability. – Amends TCA Title 53, Chapter 11.
Nurses, Nursing	403	SB0009	As introduced, certifies medication technicians who can administer certain medications in nursing homes under the supervision of licensed nurses. – Amends TCA Title 63, Chapter 7, Part 1.
Parks, Natural Areas Preservation	207	SB1793	As enacted, requires the commissioner of the department of environment and conservation to offer discounted rates to veterans who are Tennessee residents for activities at Tennessee state parks during the off season. – Amends TCA Title 11, Chapter 3.
Pensions and Retirement Benefits	438	HB0352	As introduced, authorizes retired members of TCRS to work for a city or county government without their retirement benefits being suspended or lost; provides that retirement benefits are not increased by employment in a local government entity. – Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 36, Part 8. -
Pest Control	363	SB1548	As enacted, provides terms for the engagement of services for certain termite inspection and prevention plans without initial chemical treatment. – Amends TCA Title 62, Chapter 21, Part 1.
Physicians and Surgeons	416	HB0722	As introduced, removes the Class B misdemeanor offense of practicing naturopathy. – Amends TCA Section 63-6-205.
Probation and Parole	313	SB2271	As enacted, requires offenders under the jurisdiction of the board of probation and parole who transfer residence to another state pursuant to the interstate compact for the supervision of adult offenders to pay to the board an application fee for the transfer; requires board to set the amount of the fee by rule. – Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 28, Part 2.
Professions and Occupations	279	SB2310	As enacted, makes various changes concerning pre-need funeral contracts, home inspectors, collection services, and real estate appraisers. – Amends TCA Sections 62-5-403, 62-5-409, 62-6-307, 62-20-102, 62-20-108, 62-39-102, and 62-39-105..
Professions and Occupations	421	HB1495	As introduced, revises various provisions involving the practice of polysomnography. – Amends TCA Title 63, Chapter 31, Part 1.
Public Contracts	251	SB1213	As enacted, requires the department of health to reimburse residential homes for the aged for each resident whose income does not exceed $800 per month and whose income is limited to SSI benefits. – Amends TCA Title 12, Chapter 4, Part 3.
Public Records	176	HB0604	As enacted, extends confidential status to certain identifying information compiled and maintained by the department of correction or board of probation and parole concerning a person who has requested that notification be provided regarding the status of criminal proceedings or of a sentenced felon. – Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3; Title 10, Chapter 7, Part 5; Title 40, Chapter 28; Title 40, Chapter 38 and Title 41, Chapter 21.
Railroads	372	SB2224	As enacted, requires any person commissioned as a railroad police officer to receive POST certification prior to such commission; requires the POST commission to issue a certificate of compliance to any person seeking to be commissioned as a railroad police officer, if the person meets the qualifications for employment as a police officer and satisfactorily completes the approved recruit training program. – Amends TCA Title 38, Chapter 8 and Title 65, Chapter 6.
Real Property	112	HB0380	As enacted, requires seller of real property to disclose if property is located in planned unit developments prior to entering a contract with buyer. – Amends TCA Title 66, Chapter 27 and Title 66, Chapter 5, Part 2.
Real Property	156	SB0429	As enacted, authorizes right of redemption within one year from the date of the order of confirmation of sale, rather than from date property was sold. – Amends TCA Title 67, Chapter 5.
Remedies and Special Proceedings	385	HB0527	As enacted, allows court to deny name change petition if court believes it is to defraud, not made in good faith, will cause injury, or compromises public safety. – Amends TCA Title 29, Chapter 8, Part 1.
School Transportation	436	HB0092	As introduced, allows school buses to be used up to 20 years of service, subject to annual safety inspections, by extending permissible, yearly waiver limit for their service life after initial 12 years of service from current three years to eight years. – Amends TCA Section 49-6-2109.
Sentencing	203	SB0946	As enacted, grants trial judge the option to resentence a defendant whose probation has been revoked to a sentence of community correction, if the probation violation was a technical violation, as well as ordering the original sentence reinstated and the incarceration of the defendant. – Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 35.
Sexual Offenses	414	HB0620	As introduced, redefines “indecent exposure” to include knowingly engaging in the person’s own residence certain conduct in the presence of a child for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification. – Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40. -
Solid Waste Disposal	73	SB2066	As enacted, amends the Landfill Methane Development Act to identify certain circumstances and purposes for which refined, landfill methane shall be deemed to be natural gas. – Amends TCA Title 65, Chapter 28, Part 2.
Taxes, Exemption and Credits	380	SB2090	As enacted, authorizes conveyance of certain property purchased at tax sale by Shelby County, or included municipality, to adjoining property owners upon actual or in-kind payments of property’s fair market value. – Amends TCA Section 67-5-2509(d).
Taxes, Litigation	488	SB1684	As introduced, adds $1 privilege tax on criminal cases to fund grants for a 24-hour a day victim information and notification system to be operated by the Tennessee sheriff’s association. – Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 38 and Title 67, Chapter 4, Part 6.
Taxes, Real Property	478	SB1166	As introduced, specifies procedures for sale of property purchased at a delinquent tax sale for municipal taxes only. – Amends TCA Title 6, Chapter 55, Part 2 and Title 67, Chapter 5. -
Taxes, Severance	138	SB1086	As enacted, increases the tax on coal products severed from the ground in this state and increases the amount of tax revenue collected that is allocated to the county from which the coal products were severed; allows department of revenue to retain certain amounts in two fiscal years to recover expenses. – Amends TCA Section 67-7-104 and Section 67-7-110.
Teachers, Principals and School Personnel	353	SB0718	As enacted, extends provisions regarding dismissal of tenured teacher in Davidson County to also apply in Shelby County. – Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 5.
Telecommunications	275	SB1210	As enacted, creates a 2-1-1 advisory council. – Amends TCA Section 65-4-117(b).
TennCare	471	SB0851	As introduced, requires that home health care services be provided in the recipient’s home and for service delivery purposes follows the recipient into the community. – Amends TCA Title 71, Chapter 5.
Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement	340	HB1676	As enacted, imposes penalty for failure of a tobacco distributor or manufacturer to provide certain information to commissioner of revenue. – Amends TCA Section 67-4-2604.
Tobacco, Tobacco Products	343	HB0530	As enacted, requires that at least 15 days prior to removal of a tobacco product manufacturer or brand family from the tobacco product manufacturer directory, the commissioner of revenue must post notification of such removal in the directory and transmit notice to any person who provides an email address to the commissioner for the purposes of receiving notifications of directory updates via email. – Amends TCA Title 67, Chapter 4, Part 26. -
Tort Liability and Reform	425	HB2233	As introduced, adds the necessity of showing by clear and convincing evidence to the extraordinary good cause needed for a court to excuse noncompliance with certain requirements for medical malpractice filings. – Amends TCA Section 29-26-121.
Traffic Safety	397	HB1605	As enacted, revises requirements governing bicycle use at nighttime to require that a bicycle be equipped with a lamp on the front that emits a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front and either a red reflector or a lamp emitting a red light that is visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful upper beams of head lamps on a motor vehicle. – Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 8. -
Transportation, Dept. of	197	HB1311	As enacted, removes department of finance and administration’s authority to transfer funds from the highway fund. – Amends TCA Section 4-3-1016 and Title 54, Chapter 2, Part 1.
Vending Machines	350	SB0395	As enacted, requires vending machines located on state property to either use energy efficient lights for advertising or have the lights used solely for advertising removed. – Amends TCA Title 12, Chapter 2, Part 1 and Title 53, Chapter 12, Part 1.
Veterans	219	SB1659	As enacted, authorizes veterans to request removal of their social security numbers from war records. – Amends TCA Title 4; Title 10 and Title 58.
Victims’ Rights	50	SB1208	As enacted, confers immunity from civil action upon victim of crime for testimony given at offender’s parole hearing unless testimony is intentionally and maliciously false and defamatory. – Amends TCA Title 40.
Wine, Wineries	348	SB0166	As enacted, creates direct shipper license to be issued through the alcoholic beverage commission that would allow an in-state or out-of-state entity to ship wine directly to consumers age 21 years or older in this state for personal use. – Amends TCA Title 57, Chapter 3.
Workers Compensation	364	SB1567	As enacted, provides that any employee who retains the right to reconsideration of an award of permanent partial disability benefits for a workers’ compensation injury that occurs on or after July 1, 2009, and whose pre-injury employer is sold or acquired after such award is made, may seek reconsideration from the successor employer if either the employee’s employment with the successor employer is involuntarily terminated through no fault of the employee or the employee’s rate of pay is reduced to a level below the rate of pay that the employee had at the time of the injury. – Amends TCA Title 50 and Title 56. -
Workers Compensation	373	SB2299	As enacted, authorizes the commissioner of commerce and insurance to establish by rule requirements for securities posted by self-insured employers; requires that the employer’s losses and adequacy of reserves be certified annually, instead of biennially. – Amends TCA Title 50, Chapter 6, Section 405, and Title 56, Chapter 4. -
Workers Compensation	486	SB1574	As introduced, decreases amount of civil penalty commissioner of commerce and insurance may assess to insurance companies for failure to submit modification factors or rates from $2,000 per incident to $1,000 per incident. – Amends TCA Title 50 and Title 56.

H.O.P.E. holds Woman’s Health Conference

Bill Larson — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:51:28 +0000

The Hispanic Organization for Progress and Education sponsored their second annual Women’s Health Conference at the Riverview Inn on Saturday, to close out the National Women’s Health Week.

The primary goal of the conference is to help minority and low income women with self esteem issues, and to instill in women the knowledge that they are not alone, that other people are out there willing to help them.

Denise Thomas giving a presentation on proper dress

While the event was targeted primarily at minority and low income women, it was is open to all. Those who attended the conference were provided access to free health screenings, nutritional information, educational and empowerment classes.

Sponsors included the The Matthew Walker Clinic, Americhoice, Carlos Murgas from Honeycutt Realty, and the City of Clarksville.

Organizational attendees included the Montgomery County Health Department, WIC, TennCare, The Community Health Initiative, AARP, Hope Pregnancy Center, The Legal Aid Society, Centerstone, Montgomery Care and Rehab Safe House, UT Extension Nutrition Education, Victim Advocate for Army Community Services, YWCA, APSU, Angel Wings, and other local vendors.

Miyo Katchi from the Maxwell Clinic provided a free massage to interested attendee.

Clarksville H.O.P.E. looks forward to your attendance next year.

[Show as slideshow]

Matthew Walker Community Health Center seeks to address child obesity

News Staff — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:00:22 +0000

Fighting Childhood Obesity through Its Revival of famed Double Dutch Sport Competition – Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center utilizes age-old childhood activity to combat unhealthy trends in children in socio-economic dis/stressed households.

One treatment for obesity in children is increasing their physical activity. The US Surgeon General recommends that children get at least 60 minutes of physical activity each and every day. Individualized programs like Reviving Double Dutch facilitated by MWCHC, are available for those children that are not able to meet minimum expectations.

Marisa Morgan, age 11, demonstrates her skill at “Double Dutch” rope jumping. (Coriana Close, Plain Press)

Tennessee has the 4th highest rate of overweight youths, ages 10-17 at 20 percent in the nation, according to a report by Trust for America ’s Health (TFAH). Approximately, 60 percent of overweight children ages, 5-10 have at least one physiological risk factor for heart disease and stroke, such as elevated total cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin or high blood pressure. Twenty five percent of overweight children had two or more such risk factors.

Tennessee ’s annual tab for obesity is running a hefty 1.8 billion dollars a year. Children without health insurance or those with public insurance, such as TennCare or CoverKids, have higher obesity rates than children with private insurance.

* Editor’s Note: The Plain Press can be found on the web at http://www.nhlink.net/plainpress/, We appreciate them allowing us to use their double dutch photo above.)

House Republican Caucus Weekly Wrap

Tennessee Republicans — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:39:45 +0000

Each Friday Clarksville Online will publish the House Republican Caucus Weekly Wrap as a service to the community. This week’s topics include:

Tennessee to receive $3.7 billion in federal money
Environment and Conservation Committees hear testimony on TVA coal ash spill
General Assembly website receives makeover, features improved bill tracking

Legislators were updated this week on the estimates from the bailout package passed by Congress and signed by the President earlier this week, learning that Tennessee stands to receive anywhere from $3.7 to $4.3 billion over roughly two years. Most of the money is already allocated by the federal government to specific purposes, with only $171 million left for “general purpose.”

TennCare will receive the largest sum of money, with $1.1 billion allocate specifically for the program. Other health-related programs that will receive money are foster care and adoption assistance services, immunization programs, elderly nutrition programs, and child care, which together total approximately $70 million.

Another area that stands to receive a substantial amount of the money is education. Tennessee’s K-12 education system will receive $224.5 million for school improvement projects and grants. Another $236 million will be targeted toward students with disabilities, in the areas of special education and early intervention. The final three subcategories—education technology, education for the homeless, and school lunch equipment—will receive roughly $13.6 million, bringing the total amount for education to $474.4 million.

Another $171 million will be aimed at a myriad of different programs, including justice assistance, crime victim assistance, workforce investment, employment services, unemployment insurance, and dislocated worker programs. The final numbers will be revealed by the Administration during the Governor’s budget address to the Senate and House Environment and Conservation Committees.

Joint House and Senate Environment and Conservation Committees hear testimony on TVA coal ash spill

A joint meeting of the Senate and House Environment and Conservation Committees heard testimony on Wednesday from Tennessee Valley Authority officials regarding the clean-up efforts of the December 22nd coal ash spill in Kingston, Tennessee. The accident released more than 5.4 million cubic yards of ash into the river from an on-site holding pond at the Kingston Fossil Plant.
Fly ash is a fine, glass-like powder recovered from gases created by coal-fired electric power generation. Power plants within the United States produce millions of tons of fly ash annually, which is disposed of in landfills or retaining ponds.

Tom Kilgore, CEO of TVA, told the Joint Committee that the cause of the massive accident, which covers more than 300 acres of surrounding land and water, is still being investigated. Kilgore has been working with Deputy Conservation and Environment Commissioner Paul Sloan as TVA constructs a plan to remediate and restore the site, as well as prevent such accidents from occurring in other localities where coal fly ash is stored.

Sloan said the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has been on site in Roane County since the spill occurred. They have been sampling public drinking water systems to assess whether the raw water entering and the finished water produced by the Kingston Water Treatment Plant meets public health standards. Sloan said the samples received to date indicate municipal water supplies are safe, even though aquatic life at the site of the spill has been destroyed.

Sloan and Kilgore pledged to continue ongoing water quality monitoring and assessment within the major waterways impacted by the ash slide, which includes the Emory River, Clinch River and Tennessee River. They have also consulted with the Tennessee Department of Health to provide public health guidance and recommended precautions for citizens that come in contact with coal ash.

Moving to the cleanup and safe disposal of recovered coal ash at the site of the spill, Kilgore said TVA is working to get the ash sludge “out of the river as quickly as we can.” The fly coal ash contains a small amount of arsenic, which means it must be treated as a “hazardous substance” as it is moved. This means the ash, which is 85 percent water, must be “dewatered” before either being moved to another site or buried. Engineers are working to prepare the comprehensive plan to remove the sludge, which is expected to cost $525 to $825 million.

The state is looking at the possibility of using the dry coal ash in concrete and other products. Fly ash is an inexpensive replacement for a type of cement used in concrete. It is also used as an ingredient in brick, block, paving, and structural fills. The House Environment and Conservation Committee will likely continue to monitor the progress of the clean up and environmental impact of the spill, as well as preventative measures, during the remainder of this legislative session.

Tennessee General Assembly website receives makeover, features improved bill tracking

The Tennessee General Assembly overhauled their website design this year, and the new website includes many new features in addition to its fresh look. Visitors can now easily find out who their representatives and senators are, see more detailed maps of their districts, and track legislation—even flagging certain bills in which they take an interest.

One of the most useful features on the newly designed website is the new bill tracking mechanism that allows users to make a list of legislation they would like to follow through the committee and floor session process. The site allows for the creation of up to three lists of ten bills each that a user can “flag.” Users can then log in at any time and see the progression of the legislation they chose to follow, even allowing for modification of the lists at any point. The updates will also include a listing of how each member present in the subcommittee, committee, and floor session voted on a particular bill.

In addition to simply getting a fresh new look, the website also has a different
web address: capitol.tn.gov (formerly legislature.state.tn.us). The e-mail addresses for legislators and staff have also been updated to match the new address. House Republicans are very pleased to see the user-friendly changes, having advocated for a more simply formatted website for several years.

The week ahead…

HOUSE SESSION: 5:00p.m. Monday, February 23, 2009 in House Chambers
HOUSE SESSION: 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 25, 2009 in House Chambers
HOUSE SESSION: 9:00 a.m. Thursday, February 26, 2009 in House Chambers

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Committee or Subcommittee Time Room Number
Professional Occupations Subcommittee 8:30 a.m. Legislative Plaza 31
Agriculture Committee 9:15 a.m. Legislative Plaza 29
Family Justice Subcommittee 9:15 a.m. Legislative Plaza 30
Conservation & Environment Committee 10:30 a.m. Legislative Plaza 29
State & Local Government Committee 12:00 p.m. Legislative Plaza 16
Civil Practice & Procedure Subcommittee 12:00 p.m. Legislative Plaza 31
Finance Committee 1:30 p.m. Legislative Plaza 16
Small Business Subcommittee 1:30 p.m. Legislative Plaza 30
Rural Roads Subcommittee 1:30 p.m. Legislative Plaza 31
Transportation Committee 3:00 p.m. Legislative Plaza 16
Public Safety Subcommittee 4:00 p.m. Legislative Plaza 16
Public Health & Family Assistance Subcommittee 4:00 p.m. Legislative Plaza 30

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Committee or Subcommittee Time Room Number Children & Family Affairs Committee 8:30 a.m. Legislative Plaza 16
State Government Subcommittee 8:30 a.m. Legislative Plaza 29
Judiciary Committee 8:30 a.m. Legislative Plaza 31
Local Government Subcommittee 9:15 a.m. Legislative Plaza 29
Government Operations Committee 10:00 a.m. Legislative Plaza 29
Education Committee 11:00 a.m. Legislative Plaza 16
Budget Subcommittee 11:00 a.m. Legislative Plaza 29
Criminal Practice & Procedure Subcommittee 12:00 p.m. Legislative Plaza 31
Parks & Tourism Subcommittee 12:30 p.m. Legislative Plaza 16
Domestic Relations Subcommittee 12:30 p.m. Legislative Plaza 29

Summary provided by Kara Watkins, Press Secretary, TN House Republican Caucus

Clarksville Online Candidate exclusive: The Tim Barnes interview

Turner McCullough Jr. — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:00:25 +0000

Clarksville Online was given an exclusive interview with State Senate District 22 Democratic Party candidate Tim Barnes. Presented here are the candidate’s thoughts and perspectives for your perusal. Barnes, a Clarksville attorney, specializes in adoption and family law, is married and has three children.

With the misleading mailings and advertisements leading up to the primary and controversy surrounding the August 7th primary and its subsequent invalidation, a groundswell of misinformed comments and sentiment permeates the political air of the general election vote. In an interest to allow voters a better understanding of the candidate, the following questions were posed for his response. Barnes’ responses are transcribed here in full.

Women’s Rights:

COL: Since Tennessee is a state which has measures in place to protect to a woman’s right of choice, would you support any efforts to further restrict or loosen present controls on life choice?

Barnes: “I am always very protective of any constitutional rights. I would have to look very carefully at any proposal that would affect any of those constitutional rights. Although, personally, I have problems with abortions. I hate to see them. I’m an adoption attorney and I wish there were more adoptions. But, I also have to recognize that it’s not my body. It’s not me making that choice and it’s a moral decision. It is for the individual woman to make that decision, hopefully after much thought and prayer. I think we need to steer away from limiting any constitutional rights and work to reduce the numbers of abortions based on financial considerations by improving the economic opportunities for single parents. The minimum wage should be increased and all state and local officials need to work together on a comprehensive plan to attract better paying jobs.”

COL: In light of Sarah Palin’s popularity, could you support her stance of not allowing abortions in cases of incest or rape?

Barnes: “Well, I think that should be the woman’s choice. I understand her position. She feels that life begins at conception, which she believes, and I respect her position; that to end a life is murder, and it doesn’t it matter if you are ending a life that resulted from consensual sex or rape. I understand her belief, I just don’t see it that way. My view is, it’s a constitutional right, and not for me to distinguish whether its from consensual sex, or rape or whatever. That’s between that person and that person’s God. It’s for that person and that person’s family to struggle with. I can assure you that right now there’s a Clarksville family that has a fourteen-year old daughter who has come up pregnant, and they’re going to have to struggle with that. And, I would hope that as they, as a family make a decision about that, that they respect that young girl, and I hope that they pray about that with their pastor. But, that’s not for Tim Barnes or any other 49-year old male legislator to get into. That’s for that girl, and that family to make that decision. That’s a tough situation and I’m not going to make that decision for them.”

Women’s Health Care:

COL: Let’s look also at the issue of women’s health in Tennessee. Tennessee does not have a very good track record for health care for women. Recall that 300,000 people were kicked off of TennCare. A lot of those were the working poor, waitresses, cafeteria workers, hospitality workers and such. These women don’t have health insurance. What efforts or legislation would you support to help alleviate the situation they find themselves in?

Barnes: “The first area we have to address is the working poor, because those are people, often times, working mothers, and they’re working two minimum-wage jobs to make ends meet. They don’t have health care because those jobs don’t have benefits. Those, to me, are the first people we need to reach out to because they are trying to do everything they can. They are who we need to try to help first. They are trying and working and find themselves in a position where they can’t afford to get sick. They would not be able to pay for it. We need to address that in two ways. First, we need to, as soon as we can, expand that component of TennCare that encourages employers to contribute a certain amount for health insurance and then the State matches that. That’s a program that needs to be enlarged as soon as we can fiscally afford to do that. The other thing is we need to expand our public health system. We in Montgomery County, for example, have a nice ,relatively new building, but we need to make sure that is staffed and provides the kinds of services that meets the needs of the community. The great thing about providing through the public health system is that we can provide a lot of preventive maintenance, a lot of prenatal care, a lot of the kinds of things that, in the long run, that prevents people from getting sick. To me that is an investment that will, in the long-term, save the state, money.”

The Economy, on the State Level:

COL: What ideas do you bring forward as you go into the Senate, as far as jobs creation for the state, and District 22 in particular, if you have any?

Barnes: “I think that the most important things that a state senator can do, and hasn’t always been done, and certainly, in the last twelve years, hasn’t been done, is beat the drums for economic development. We are uniquely situated in the 22nd district, especially here in Montgomery Country; we have a very qualified workforce. We’ve got retired military people with skills that can transfer easily into the private sector,. We’ve got a great industrial park. We’ve good transportation systems, proximity to the interstate. We really need the state to become a full partner in helping us recruit industry and providing the kinds of jobs that will provide living wages for people. Too much of our economy is based on low-paying service jobs. We need to get more technological development to provide higher paying jobs and tie in with Austin Peay State University and the science departments that are training people in the technology fields. We need a state senator who apprises the Governor’s Office of Community and Economic Development to help us in developing. They need to be with us every step of the way to make sure the state is a full partner in getting this industry here.”

COL: With the likelihood that TEPPCO will go head with the development of their refined petroleum products storage facility here, there has been some discussion in the community about the environmental impact that this poses to the community. Their location is just two nautical miles from the city’s water intake point. Do you or would you favor environmental impact compromises if it came as a part of economic advancement? And if so, what?

Barnes: “I would never favor any compromise on environmental impact, because in the long run, if you compromise that, you will hurt yourself in the long run. When you have a polluted place to live, when your water quality falls because you have dumped toxic waste in your own water supply, you will impact your ability to recruit business in the future. I think that those environmental impact regulations are there for a reason and we need to make sure that we have full accountability. We need to make sure we have transparency. We need to make sure that those environmental regulations are strictly complied with. I would never be for compromising that.”

COL: From 1992 to 2006, Clarksville has received at least three EPA grants to upgrade the waste treatment facility. These grants were supposed to end the problem of offensive odors and eliminate the discharge of raw sewage into the Red River. Sewage rates were increased each time to meet local government’s matching funds requirements for the grants. Those corrections haven’t happened yet. We are still bombarded with the odor and there is still the overflow. What would you do as a state senator, what could you do, to force true compliance and protect citizens from the air pollution from the waste treatment facility, by way of smell and the release of untreated sewage into the waterway?

Barnes: “First of all, I’d have to look and see what’s everything that can be done at the state level. The problem that we’ve got (is) that the federal government has abdicated their responsibility when it comes to things like that. The EPA has been gutted. Back during the Clinton administration, had those things occurred, the EPA would have been down on it. It would have been a situation where we’re fining you X-amount of dollars every day until you get this thing fixed. Now politically, that’s something when people read the paper, they know that it’s their tax dollars. So it gets done. If you don’t hold that over people’s heads, if there’s no recourse, they’re going to continue to do the same thing. So somehow we need to work in concert with the federal EPA people. And I think in the next administration that will certainly be a possibility.”

COL: Continuing on with the economy, Green Energy Development here in the state of Tennessee and in District 22, what are your ideas on it and do you have proposals you might want to enact?

Barnes: “I want to be clear that, I was ‘Green’ before it was cool to be ‘Green.’ I have been interested in our environment and the future of what our climate is going to be for many, many years. WE are going to have to, as a nation, as a state, as a city, we’re going to have to pass legislation, ordinances, to move us towards a greener community. There are ways that we can do it that would actually save us money. Those are the kinds of things that I want to take a look at. I want to take a look at it on a statewide level. I want to make sure that we have the most energy efficient systems that we can. We of course have to do it gradually, because it could be something that fiscally that we can’t absorb in a bad economy. But there are things we can do, such as switching over incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescents to save energy. We need to start saving energy now.

On a personal note, I’m probably the only candidate for the state legislature to have a patent pending on an apparatus for the cooling of ambient air spaces: a portable outdoor air conditioning system powered by solar panels. It’s something that I’ve been interested for a long time.

There is no question that we have global warming. There is no question in my mind that it’s human influenced global warming. We have to do something about it. I’m appalled by these people who say, “these global warming kooks want to hurt our economy.” What I always want to say to those people is, “What if I’m wrong? The worst scenario is that we have cleaned up our environment, we’ve cleaned a lot of the carbon emissions and we have a cleaner environment. Now, what if you’re wrong, and it is human induced global warming, and we do nothing about it. What if you’re wrong? Well, if you’re wrong, that’s global catastrophe. That is something we can not reverse. If we reach that tipping point, and there is nothing we can do; then we have destroyed our environment. Now, to me, you have to err on the side of safety. To me, that means we have to start cleaning up this environment.”

COL: In that vein, the city of Clarksville and Montgomery County, what incentives could you see that would foster the embracing of a ‘Green’ philosophy? For instance, the Clarksville Transit System doesn’t have any electric vehicles. All of their vehicles are either diesel or gasoline. The city police department, the county’s sheriff department, all their vehicles use non-renewable fuels. Whether or not they’ve converted to more energy efficient lighting, we don’t know. But the jail, the courthouse, city hall all have significant rooftop space, the applications of which solar paneling could lower their energy needs and thus reduce the operating costs of city and county governments. Do you have any ideas on how to encourage them to take a look at those options, because as you said, even in a down economy, if you have a system that’s paying for itself and, you’re having to pay less to operate, then with those recouped funds you can then use them to cover other needs.

Barnes: “Let me say that you’re talking about city buildings and county buildings and the decisions as to what to do with those buildings are up the City Council and the County Commission, along with the City and County Mayors. The role that I see the State playing is to make sure there are incentives somehow that encourage those municipalities and counties to convert to green energy production. I subscribe to a publication called “Home Power Magazine.” It’s for people who are interested in hydro-generation power on a small scale, wind power, solar power; all the alternative productions of energy, all with the goal of being somewhat self-sufficient, if not completely, then at least being tied into the grid where you outset your energy cost by producing your energy. That’s very interesting to me and there is no reason why municipalities and counties can’t do it. Now in those magazines, there’s almost every month, a summary of what incentives each states will give an individual for having solar power, or installing a wind mill, or if you have a stream nearby, hydro-electric generation. Tennessee is never in there because we have no incentives for encouraging people to use these technologies. Last time I looked, Tennessee provided no incentives at all. Now, part of this has to do with our revenue structure. Of course, we don’t have a state income tax and I’m certainly not saying that we need a state income tax. My point is, those states that have a state income tax, they can give credits, which is a way to provide incentives for people to utilize these types of technologies. We have to search for ways under our revenue structure to at least make solar panels a little more competitive with other types of energy production. Solar panels have gotten to be less and less expensive but they are still fairly expensive. Now, every year there’s new technologies being developed that bring the cost of the production of those panels down. I think we are going to reach a point where you don’t have to provide that economic incentive to be at parity with the other types of energy production. When we get to that point, I think you’ll see a lot more. It really unfortunately comes down to economics a lot of times and we just have to do whatever we can on the state level to provide the incentives to make it economically feasible for people to switch over to these types of technologies, including the counties and municipalities.”

COL: When you are in Nashville, the legislature itself, at Legislative Plaza, as far I’m aware of, there is nothing green, as in technology, in evidence at Legislative Plaza. It’s a great exposure point. Would you try to ‘green’ Legislative Plaza and if so, how?

Barnes: “You know, I’ve never really thought about that, but now that you mention it, I know what you’re talking about. There is not anything there.”

COL: The Snodgrass Tower, the tallest structure in downtown Nashville, if anything is going to reach the sun, that building is it and yet, nothing.

Barnes: “Right.”

COL: Legislative Plaza, not the open public area, but the rooftops, the State Capital building, all that potential space goes untapped.

Barnes: “Well, I do believe that the state should set an example. We need to explore the technologies that are available, for example, in Oak Ridge, all the technologies they’re doing there. We need to see if we can bring some of that technology out where people can come and observe it working. I think that would the perfect location where people could come and see that. I can tell you that in Bowling Green, Kentucky, there is a soccer complex, where I take my kids for their travel games, there are, say a dozen picnic tables, that have shelter canopies that are covered in solar panels. They all produce electricity and there is a sign at each table that tells how much electricity each shelter is producing and exactly how many average homes it can produce electricity for. That is a great opportunity for people to see, especially young people, to be influenced by the possibilities of solar energy. To see, this real, this is something that happens. This is something we can do. I think that doing that in Legislative Plaza would be a great opportunity. It can be something that you set up for field trips, where school children come and see here’s what’s the latest in technology right here. Here’s how we are producing energy. Here’s a hydrogen cell. Here is a wind mill and here’s how much energy it produces. We wouldn’t necessarily have to do it all at Legislative Plaza, but there does need to be a place where school kids can go and learn about alternative energy.”

Education:

COL: That’s a good segue point to jump into education. Schools have lowered their standards in order to raise test scores, so that everyone thinks everything is fine. However the student product that is being released is proven to be less and less capable of the task of life work. What will you do to improve actual student performance?

Barnes: “Well, I can’t do anything about No Child Left Behind, (NCBH). Because that’s federal system. But I think that the momentum is such now that NCLB has to go. I believe that a lot of people had good intentions when they passed NCLB. The problem is you can not set goals for schools to reach and not fund them in pursuit of those goals. Those tests that are required to be administered oftentimes result in teachers and school systems being entirely geared towards a test. It does not allow the teacher the academic freedom to do what that teacher ought to be doing in that classroom, and that is teaching in way that they are teaching to that student and that student’s unique ability to learn. Most good teachers, I have found when I look back over my life, they got you. They understand how, say, Turner McCullough works, they understand what Turner McCullough’s strong points are. They can teach to Turner McCullough. They can teach to Tim Barnes, they understand what Tim Barnes does well and what Tim Barnes doesn’t do well. They can teach to Tim Barnes. But when you make them teach to the test, you make the teacher have to pigeonhole everybody into a certain place and say you’re going to learn X-Y-Z and that’s it. And there a great learning opportunity that’s missed there. I think we need to get away from those tests and start focusing on learning. Start focusing on what children are interested in, start focusing on an attitude towards learning that makes them lifelong learners. Too often school is looked at by students as just a thing to be got through. Just let me get from this step to that step. And that’s a shame because they’re not seeing the beauty of education and the beauty of learning. I’m convinced that we have good teachers in the classroom. We have passionate teachers in the classroom. Let they share that passion. Let them share that passion in a way that that student can understand and feel it and be influenced by it. Then they will get passionate about it, is my belief.”

COL: That’s very good. I agree. Students are not learning to think. They do need to learn how to take a test, but just teach to the test. As was proven in Texas, where they emphasized the NCLB test, the students had great test scores but were failing college badly, often not even surviving their first semester. They had not learned to think. When you have high school seniors graduating with 4.0 GPA and ‘cum laude’, ‘magna cum laude,’ and yet, when they get to Austin Peay, they need remedial English and Math classes, there’s a serious disconnect between those two. A 4.0 C-MCSS graduate should not need remedial English or Math upon entering Austin Peay, much less the University of Tennessee or any other Tennessee higher education institution. And the two systems are not meshing here.

Barnes: “We can not treat schools like factories with production quotas. That’s what we’re doing with No Child Left Behind. We’re saying, ‘you get in here with these thirty students and here’s the test, and you make sure that they pass this test’, and its just like a product coming down the assembly line and that’s just wrong. We need to get back almost to the Socratic Method. We need to get in there with smaller classroom. We need to get in there with interaction relationships built with the student and the teacher. The most important thing about education, it’s not tests, it’s not computers, it’s not plasma-screen projectors. It’s not all the technology; it’s that relationship just like it was in the ancient days of Greece. It’s teacher and student. If that relationship is allowed to build and flourish, then we will have students learning in the ways that they best learn. And you will have teachers teaching that student in ways the student will best respond. So I think part of it is smaller classroom.”

COL: That objective seems to have been abandoned in our financial pinch. We were moving toward a downward sizing of classroom but now all you hear is, ‘Well, maybe next year.’ What would you do, or do you favor an increase in trade school opportunities here in District 22? We pose that question because not every child will be a college competitor. Some people are technically oriented. But here we don’t seem to have the facilities to aid them in excelling in that technical arena. They have to muddle through high school somehow. There are few trade considerations that are offered, and they are not offered at every school. They are scattered around; North West has a cosmetology program, North East has a specific set of trades, but the students live all over the district. You can’t say’,’ Only the kids going to North West can get this, and only the kids going to Kenwood or Rossview can get that.’ You’re denying a reality. So, what could you see happening and do you favor an increase in trade school opportunities?

Barnes: “Let me tell you, one of the greatest disservices to graduating seniors to lead them to believe that they have got to get a baccalaureate degree to be successful. We tell them with billboards and everything else and we tell them that a baccalaureate degree, that graduation cap equals money. That’s the message we send them. We don’t talk about education for the value of education. We don’t talk about becoming a person to help our community, or to provide a valuable service. We have equated a baccalaureate degree with money. And the truth is, we have to tell them, there are many ways that you can do. Many things do require a baccalaureate degree, but many things don’t. In the coming years, we’re going to have a shortage of electricians and plumbers. And the truth is, a lot those people that graduate with that baccalaureate degree, for example, in marketing, are gonna go get a job selling shoes at the mall. It isn’t going to be that fifty-thousand dollars they thought they were going to get when they read that diploma. There will be others who will go down to the Tennessee Technology Center. Now how they find out about it, I don’t know because it’s our best kept secret in town. The Tennessee Technology Center is a Board of Regents school just like Austin Peay or MTSU. And they can learn to become a certified licensed plumber, a certified licensed electrician, and they’ll get out of there and they will have a marketable skill, they can make good money and they can provide a much needed service in the kind of economy that we have. Now, that’s something I really believe in. I really do believe that we to let graduating seniors understand all opportunities that out there for them. If they want to be, for example, an English teacher, well then, yes, let’s get them over to Austin Peay. They have a very fine Languages and fine Literature Department there. But if they’re good with their hands, if they’re good at mathematics, and they like electronics and that kind of thing, then send them on to the Technology Center and let them be trained. Let’s not make them think that there is only a limited path to success. There are many paths to success and we need to make sure sure we encourage them. We don’t need to present the Tennessee Technology Center as being any better or worse than Austin Peay. It’s a different path and we to make sure they know that.”

COL: In that vein, the first time I visited Jackson, and visited Jackson State Community College, which is their technology college. I was absolutely blown away. I mean, the campus is larger than all of Austin Peay and the technology that they present there is awesome. I’ve seen nothing like here. I don’t understand how the fifth largest city in Tennessee has this single story little building and Jackson has an entire campus and they are full with students coming from as far away as Paris, Camden, Huntington, Alamo, Trenton, Milan, Parsons and Humbolt and they have a waiting list of students wanting to enroll. And as you stated, the Tennessee Technology Center here is an unknown sell. What happened?

Barnes: “Well, I can tell you. Because you haven’t a Tim Barnes in the State Senate to beat the drums for a Tennessee Technology Center. We have a period of time where we have been without a Senator Riley Darnell or a Rep. Tommy Head who brought benefits to this area and that’s about to turn around. When I’m there, that’s one of the things I will look at, how can we bring state funds to this area and develop this area in the way it deserves to be developed. And I’ll work with Joe Pitts in this matter.”

COL: That’s very good to hear. Continuing on in this education bent, what would you do to support increasing student performance standards so that students are actually challenged to learn to think? They’ll be able to pass a test. First off, if you can’t think, it doesn’t matter if we teach them a test, They can learn to pass a test: we give you the answers and you recite it back, but then once you get outside in the real world, there is no Clip Study Guide for that. You gotta live.

Barnes: “The problem that we have, and this part of the NCLB, is we’ve been testing schools and not testing students. We have been testing in order to say by some objective criteria, which I don’t think is accurate, this school is doing well, or this school is not doing well. We need to test students in order to develop that student. Not in ways that put pressure on that student but to learn periodically how that student is developing. I agree with you. We don’t need to get to the point where a student graduates with a high GPA and then finds him/herself in a remedial class at Austin Peay. If there is a problem, we need to know what that problem is so we can address that problem. I believe this is a student that has a deficiency in one small area that has the ability to overcome that but we won’t do that if we’re testing schools instead of testing students. We need to ensure our tests are geared towards developing students, not determining how a school is doing.”

COL: In tying green technology with education, we do have to look at a new way of gearing our education system to the needs of students and preparing those students for the world in which they are going to live. What proposals would you suggest could help our education system more truthfully prepare and match students to the needs of current and future society with green technology in mind? We have the development of solar energy, wind power, improved hydro-power. These are new technologies. Not necessarily coming from the academia elite, but more so from the technological expertise of the world. Where and how do we get Tennessee positioned in that?

Barnes: “Well, there’s a lot in that question. I want to break that question down. One of the things you talked about was preparing students for real life. I think that when high school seniors graduate, they might be eighteen, but they are not adults, they’re not remotely adults. They’re not like when I was growing up and had responsibilities on the farm, and again of NCLB, now I don’t want to keep beating up on that, but it hamstrings our schools in what they have to do. They can’t focus on preparing children for life, they have to focus on preparing children for a test. I, in my practice as a lawyer in representing juveniles, learned about this great class. In order to get it, I guess you have to be a juvenile delinquent or fall into some problem that results your being involved with the Department of Children’s Services. The way this program comes about is, maybe you’re seventeen years old, you’re behind in your studies, you’re not going to be able to graduate and you’ve prepared to take the GED. They have this class called, ‘Independent Living.’ What they do in that class is they teach you family budgets, they you about how much money it takes to pay your rent, to pay your utility bills, how much money it takes to take care of a child that you’re having. They teach you all these things that, if you didn’t get taught by your parents or a other caring adult, you’re not going to get taught in school. We’re not knocking schools. I’m just saying that there is no room to do that with No Child Left Behind. Back when I first learned about this class, I thought, ‘My goodness! That is a great class for kids. Somehow we need to broaden that.” That’s something that, when you’re eighteen years old, you really need to have in your head: what it costs to live. You need to know that if you come up with an extra fifty dollars, you don’t go out and buy a new video game; that you’ve got to put that aside for something else. But they have no way of knowing that. They are not prepared. We are a credit card society and we have to teach kids that you’ve got to budget. You have to prepare yourselves so that you can live independently or you’re going to fail at trying to live. So that’s one of the things that I have learned in my practice about this great class that they teach over at the Department of Children’s Services. It is something that needs to be taught to all high school kids.”

COL: It sounds reminiscent of the old Home Ec (Economics) classes.

Barnes: “Exactly! That we don’t have anymore. That we can’t have because we have this other stuff that you have to teach. You ought to do a story on that. You could go out to the Dept. of Children’s Services and tell you heard about the Independent Living classes and how I was praising it and how I think it needs to be applied broader. You could incorporate other things into it. You could incorporate the advantages of a green lifestyle , why we need it. You could incorporate things like community and civic responsibility and the green living concepts there.”

COL: Earlier you spoke of how all our technology development centers are out in East Tennessee, in Oak Ridge, Knoxville and that area. Can you ever a see the day when technology development center migrate or expand over here to Middle and West Tennessee? Why does East Tennessee have a lock on all that technology development? Now, I must say that I’ve been to a business development conference in Oak Ridge and it’s fabulous. But I ask myself why isn’t Clarksville, Memphis or Jackson a technology development center. Why is all technology development vested in the home turf of Senator Alexander’s district, as it were?

Barnes: “Well, a part of that has to do with Oak Ridge [Nuclear Laboratories] being situated there to begin with. And the reason it probably was, I believe, is because they were doing very secret things and that was a remote area. They stuck up there in a remote area, and I don’t think anyone predicted the kinds of spin-off that would come from that development. That technology that they developed in developing the atomic bomb spun off to industry and of course, it was convenient for industry to develop there. It was a kind of symbiotic relationship and they kept feeding off of each other. And that’s one of the things we need. We need some kind of seed, some of a kind of a starter here. Now, it may be that new industry that we’ve got looking to come to Clarksville. We need something that is very much twenty-first century. And if we get that, then we have the possibility of spin-offs. It’s like at the Saturn plant or the Nissan plant, you get the spin-offs from that of other companies that manufacture products for them. So, if you have a technology company and it’s a big one to locate here, then it can develop other technologies. Once you get those type industries here, and have higher paying jobs, and you the possibility of even headquarters here, which you don’t generally have that. We don’t have the kind of management level people here who make the headquarters decisions, like you have in Brentwood, for example. And things like, the more high income people that you have here, it stimulates our economy, because they’re out there spending locally, putting more money into the economy. That’s is something I hope we look to develop. The other idea I have about technology is, I think that if you have technology, you a real efficient to transfer that technology to business. I believe in technology business incubators. I believe that we could set up places, if it’s new technology, and encourage those entrepreneurial people with new technology to do it, to develop that technology here. That was done some in the eighties, with federal grants. It’s something we should look at doing here in Montgomery County.”

Health Care:

COL: Okay, now we’re going to look at health care. Earlier I have mentioned TennCare kicking 300,000 people off the rolls. What options would you for to get health care for people in Tennessee and we want to specifically exclude the consideration of infants and children because there are definite provisions in place for that demographic. We want to focus on your working poor, the unemployed, the people who are not covered now. Those 300,000 plus who TennCare told, ’sorry, we can’t carry you.” They’re still out there. They’re still having an impact because the typical medical service for the poor is to go to the emergency room. It’s the expensive method of medical attention but it’s the only option they’ve got, so that’s where they go. How do we turn that around?

Barnes: “Well there again, I would like to look to your public health systems. That’s another I believe a good public health department can, in the long term, saves money. As I’ve said, if you have preventive care options for people, that prevent serious health care issues down the road, and if you can get ahead sometimes of a situation, like diabetes development, look how much money you can save. Rather than later that person even becoming disabled as a result of diabetes. The other thing is you’ve got an option for people to go the health department, rather than the emergency room; you can administer that health care for a lot less than the emergency room. So, it’s not a cure-all, but the public health department and putting money into that, you can’t look at that as each dollar being a dollar of cost. You also have to look at what you can have from saving or reducing TennCare costs and from people not going to emergency rooms to offset that dollar of cost.”

COL: I’ve never been the health department here. I’ve only heard from a few associates who have gone there and I must say, it was not the greatest experience. It seems the health department here is very restrictive in what it provides the general public. One female colleague said that senior lady told to say that she was pregnant or feared she may have been exposed to the HIV virus and the floodgates will open for you.

Barnes: “Well now, that’s because they just have certain criteria. I don’t know specifically because I haven’t looked that closely at it. I just know that they have a lot of volunteers, they’ve got doctors that work at a very reduced rate to staff it. Now, I mean when I talk about there needs to be more done, not acknowledge the many great contributions that doctors have made there because I know that they do. We need to fund it properly to get it properly staffed in order to address a full range of health issues. Until we that, we’re not going to adequately address a lot of the health problems. The Public Health Department should be the stopgap for those unemployed people who end up going to the emergency room because that’s the only choice that they have. As I’ve said, of course, we take care of our children, that’s the ‘Cover Kids’ program, that’s a priority and we do a pretty good job of doing that. But, the working poor, we don’t do a good job . That would be my priority because those are the people that have done what we ask, WORK! Contribute to society. And they are doing it and doing a great job and yet they can’t afford to get sick. So, those are the first people that we need to take care of. The unemployed, for a certain period of time, 180 days, I don’t know what kind of time limit they have or when they run out, if they even ever had health benefits to begin with. But certainly the public health departments can be at least, not the ideal answer, but that they can go to, if they are unemployed and have no other health care resources.”

COL: Kentucky and Tennessee have been documented as having the worst dental health care in the nation. Speaking for Tennessee, how and what do you think you could do to alleviate that deficiency?

Barnes: “Gee, I’m trying think where I should go with that. As an example, here was a utility company that had the choice of fluoridating the water or not fluoridating the water. It was going to cost them ten thousand dollars to fluoridate. A (local dentist) was very outspoken of that. That is the kind of decision, that to me, should be mandated. It should be mandated by the state. It’s proven that it’s not harmful, it’s proven that it prevents tooth decay. We already have a problem with kids not getting proper dental care. At the very least, let’s fluoridate our water. You have got to walk before you can run. We need to do the basic stuff first, then we look to see that what else we can do and what we can afford to do. I would look at any programs that are available, but you know when you’re struggling with these kinds of economic times, we’ve got to do the basic stuff first and then see what else we can do. We have got to provide health care to as many people as we are who already facing potential life threatening diseases and may not even know about it. Let’s fluoridate our water and then let’s see how how we can take care of these dental health care issues.”

Affordable Housing:

COL: Moving out the health care arena, what steps would you take to address the lack of affordable housing in Tennessee, and particularly District 22, for seniors and low-income individuals and families? Over the course of the three to four years, it’s become really evident that Clarksville is seriously trying to eliminate ‘quote, unquote,’ affordable housing and housing assistance. You can’t get Section 8 in the city anymore, according to some of my sources.

Barnes: “Why is this?”

COL: People have told me that all their requests have them referred out in the county or over to Kentucky.

Barnes: “There’s a Section 8 department here, somewhere.”

COL: I understand there is indeed a Section 8 department but they’re not making any referrals for within the city limits. They’re offering people placement out in the county, or over in Hopkinsville or out in Erin, or someplace like that.

Barnes: “One of the most basic things that government can and should do is look to the care, safety and welfare of the people, including housing. We’ve got to make sure that people have the basic necessities, one of those being that people can live there with adequate Section 8 or any other kind of housing that makes it affordable for all people. I’d like to see a summit meeting between the state representatives, the county, the city and make sure we have a handle on that because that’s the kind of problem that, if you don’t get a handle on that problem, then it gets to be a serious problem down the road. So, it’s one you don’t react to, you had better plan for. That would be one of the things I would propose. Number one, it doesn’t have to be an expensive study, but let’s get some idea of what our needs are now, what our needs are going to be ten, fifteen or twenty years from now and let’s address those right now.”

COL: That’s pretty interesting. We’ve had several housing projects within the city that have gone private. The Avondale property out past Gary Mathews was a public housing project, badly managed, that been renovated and turned into a gated community.

Barnes: “I don’t believe in housing projects.”

COL: Supposedly there is a newly developed housing project out Hwy 48 past The Catfish House. It’s off the main road, out of viewing. It’s completely away from the city and it’s outside of the public transportation system gird. If this is housing for people in financial straits, why would you put them where they can’t access public transportation, which would be the most economical means for them to get around town to handle their affairs? That would mean that if they’re out there, they must have a car. It seems like it was conceived of with the notion of, ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ It’s not Summit Heights. It’s not Lincoln Holmes, which everyone wants to do away with. So if you’re out there off Hwy 48 and you don’t have a car, and you can’t utilize the bus system, you’re basically stuck out there.

Barnes: “It all goes to planning. You can’t invest in alleviating a serious problem without serious planning. You just have to do that.”

COL: You made a comment about housing projects and I think it’s important to understand that. Lincoln Homes and Summit Heights and the city’s other public housing projects fit into that mode of places to warehouse people, rather than places that provide a means to step out and up. I just wanted to give you an opportunity to expound on that.

Barnes: “Well I think that rather than place people in a situation where they feel stigmatized it, if you put people ,in a subsidized way, into other communities and let them feel like they too are part of that community, you much more likely to have people to aspire to continue to live there and be a part of that community rather than suffer the indignities that are sometimes suffered in a housing project. When these kids go to school, they’re not always eager to say where they when they live in a housing project. I think that’s sad. I think that they should have the opportunity to live somewhere, that subsidized, in a place doesn’t say to other people, ‘I’m from the projects.’ “

COL: This is my editor’s question. I have to present this question. Given the current status of the economy, would you support a state income tax?

Barnes: “No. I don’t support one because I concur with Governor Bredesen, that if we do that, especially in the current economic climate, we will hurt Tennessee’s ability to recruit the kind of industry we need to come here. States across this country are scratching and clawing to get whatever industry they can into their state and we happen to have a great advantage over many other states, in that we don’t have a state income tax. That is one of the major things that companies look at when deciding where to locate. So, is a sales tax revenue the fairest thing for all people? No, it’s not. In better economic times, I hope can look at relieving the certain necessities, such as groceries, but as far as changing our tax structure and going to a state income tax, at this time I think it would be a huge mistake and it would be a disadvantage to us.”

COL: Last question. If you had to pick your top three issues, what would they be and what is your position on each?

Barnes: “To your editor, that’s a good question. Well , let me first say that when I talk about my main three that I may not necessarily talk about them in order of priority. I will have to say that education is a top issue for me, because it has meant so much for me and it has made such a difference in my life. I want to show you a picture of a little boy that was taken in 1929 in a place called Finger, Tennessee. There are corn cobs on the ground, the yard is worn bare from all the kids playing and there’s a hound dog tied to something and you can see the well off in the distance. That’s picture of my father, who as you can see, grew up literally dirt poor. My mother was only slightly better off. Neither one of them had a high school diploma but they worked very, very hard and they made sure that I understood the value of education. They preached that to me. My father always said the greatest regret of his life was that he did not have education. He was a very smart man. I’ve always said he was one of the smartest people I’ve ever known, but he was not an educated man and it always bothered him. He and my mother both made sure that I got an education. My mother later eventually got a GED as an adult and took secretarial classes at a voc-tech college and got a job as a secretary. I have said that education can make such a difference. I was able to graduate high school. I was able to go to college and even go to law school. It’s made such a difference in my life that I know that education is the great equalizer and opportunity. The brilliant thing about what this country has done and has made this country the greatest country in the world is that we had people like Thomas Jefferson, who understood very early that we have talented people equally sprinkled among our populace, equally between the rich and the poor. That’s what he said. And they have to be cultivated. If we fail to cultivate them, we will fail as a society. And that is why education is my top issue. Education is what I view as an investment in our future. We have to do everything that we can to make sure that we provide the best ‘PUBLIC’ education. The kind of education for everyone, regardless of who they are, where they come from, whether they grow up barefoot, with dirt and corn cobs in the yard, or whether they have a silver spoon in their mouth, it doesn’t matter. We need to make sure we provide the best education for our kids we possibly can. And that is something I am passionate about. That is one of my top issues. That’s why when it comes to the HOPE Lottery scholarships, I look at that as a way of expanding educational opportunities. When you expand educational opportunities, you help people help themselves. That’s why, when I go to the senate, that’s one of the first things I’m going to be looking at. To see how we can expand that and give working families some additional boost, some additional help to send their kids to college. That’s one of my top issues.

Once we get people educated, it’s jobs, jobs, jobs! We are a growing city. We are a city with a small town mentality. We’ve got to get out of that. We’ve got to recognize that we’ve got to look to the future of this city and this district. The only way we do that is start attracting the kind of jobs that build us and move us in the direction that we want to go. We’ve got to have better jobs and more of them, to build our economic base and provide these Austin Peay graduates with a way to leave the doors of Austin Peay, and stay here in the 22nd District, in Montgomery County, Cheatham County and Houston County and get jobs. You know, I’m a little bit selfish when it comes to the economic development issue because I have always said, ‘I want my kids to stay here.’ If my kids leave this area because, that’s their decision to make. Daddy might not like it but that’s their decision. That’s OK. If they leave this area because they have to, that’s unacceptable to me. That’s why I’m going to the State Senate to do, to build the kind of economic base we can have here and should have here to provide the kind of jobs that will encourage our people to stay and not move away. We want our talent to stay here.

Health Care. We have to continue to make sure that as a society, we provide people with basic health care. I think health care is a basic necessity. We have to make sure we provide it in a fiscally responsible way, but we’ve got to make sure that people get the care that they need and deserve. I’ve talked about the public health department and how I think that can be a key to providing a comprehensive health care system for all of our citizens. Not just those who happen to have a good benefits package from their employers, but those who are working minimum wage jobs and expanding health care for the working poor and making sure that if they get sick they can afford to get sick. That they won’t have bills that will just economically devastate them. We got to make sure we provide the kind of health maintenance and preventive health care that will prevent devastating illnesses down the road in people who don’t take care of themselves, or don’t have the opportunity to see doctors because they can’t afford doctors, we need to get people on regular maintenance schedules for in-home health care for seniors, and keep that a strong program, which was just passed. It was recently sponsored by Sen. Lowe Finney. I’m proud that everyone member of the general assembly signed on to that bill and passed unanimously. I was talking about two years when I ran for the state house. No one else was talking about it. It, to me, is a common sense measure that can actually save the state money. I believe we owe it to the seniors to let them stay in their homes as long as they can. In-home health care will let them do that.”

COL: Thank you for giving us this time to question you.

Legal Aid Society helps distressed woman regain Medicaid access

Turner McCullough Jr. — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 11:28:13 +0000

Middle Tennessee family wrongfully terminated

Mrs. Monroe [not her real name], was already having difficulty when she lost her job and was supporting her family on unemployment insurance. Then she was notified the Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) was terminating her family’s Medicaid benefits, the family’s only source of medical care. She called the Legal Aid Society office in Nashville. Attorney Russ Overby researched the situation and found that DHS was relying on a rescinded policy that made it unreasonably difficult for families with unemployment benefits to qualify for Medicaid, even when their income was below the eligibility limit.

Overby wrote DHS and pointed out that its policy violated federal Medicaid law. DHS reviewed the law and their policy and agreed. It restored health benefits to Mrs. Monroe’s family. It also agreed to change its policy. Tennessee now treats unemployment insurance as any other source of income when it determines eligibility for both Medicaid and Families First. As a result, hundreds of low-wage Tennessee workers now have a much fairer chance to critical health and income benefits for their families.

Clarksville Is Fortunate

This story illustrates just one example of the kind of assistance which the Legal Aid Society makes available to qualifying clients. Clarksville is fortunate to have an office conveniently located downtown at 120 Franklin Street. Attorney Pat Mock is the managing attorney of the Clarksville Office. In addition to Medicaid/Medicare access issues, assistance is also available in instances of housing discrimination- including renters rights protection, domestic and/or spousal abuse, elder guardianship, child support and abuse, wage garnishment, school fee waivers, to name a few. In addition to Montgomery County, the Clarksville Legal Aid Society Office also serves the Stewart, Robertson and Chetham County areas.

The Legal Aid Society is a non-profit organization and is not government-funded. The Clarksville Office is part of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands and the Legal Services Corporation. Contact the Clarksville Legal Aid Society at 931-552-6656.

House GOP review for 4/10/2008

Tennessee Republicans — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 02:00:58 +0000

The House GOP Review is a weekly feature that gives Tennesseans an in-depth look at what our Republican state legislators have been working on this week, and a glimpse into what’s planned for the coming week at our state house

Consensus reached on cable bill

Legislative leaders reached a consensus this week on the much-anticipated “Competitive Cable and Video Services Act.” Legislators held a press conference this week to announce that they had come to an agreement, stating that all parties involved were pleased with the progress that was made, and that consumers would be the real winners of the hard work.

Representatives from the competing cable industries have worked on a compromise with legislative leadership for the past 14 weeks. The bill was put on hold a year ago, with the legislature adjourning before a decision was reached. It passed House Commerce Committee this week, and is now headed to Finance, Ways and Means. Leaders said they believe the passage of the bill will expand competition, jobs, choice for consumers, and investment in Tennessee with broadband infrastructure.

Under House Bill 1421 / Senate Bill 1933, new cable competitors could obtain a 10 year franchise certificate from the Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) beginning July 1. Existing providers would continue to pay local franchise fees directly to local government. New competitors operating under a state franchise would also pay for access permits to right of ways for cable lines. In addition, the bill requires service providers to continue allowing access to PEG channels (public, education, and government programming).

With regards to consumer protection, the bill specifically prohibits discrimination based on income or race with strong penalties against violations. Similarly, existing cable companies would be required to continue to serve unprofitable areas. New providers must demonstrate at the end of 3.5 years that 25 percent of the households with access to the service are low income. All providers must meet FCC mandated customer service standards and the TRA can require credits if a provider does not remedy service complaints.

Legislators said the expansion of high speed broadband to un-served and under-served communities was one of the key provisions of the legislation in order to foster access to rural areas of the state. Video providers that deploy broadband in new areas will get a four to one credit against their video build-out requirements in un-served areas, and a two to one credit in under-served areas, under the proposal. Local governments may subsidize broadband deployment to under-served areas if a TRA review determines no private sector interest exists.

Constitutional amendment to elect Lt. Governor granted approval by subcommittee

Senate Joint Resolution 687 cleared the first of many hurdles in the House this week by winning the approval of the State Government Subcommittee, but was amended to delete what proponents argue is a key component of the bill. SJR 687 is a constitutional amendment that would allow voters to elect their Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State. The resolution would also solve a succession problem that was realized in 2006 when the Governor became ill due to a tick bite. It was determined then that there was no one to temporarily succeed the Governor should he become incapacitated.

Currently, if the Governor becomes incapacitated, the next in the line of succession would be the Lieutenant Governor, who also serves as Speaker of the Senate. The Attorney General recently opined that if the Lieutenant Governor were to assume the position of Governor, even if only temporarily, he or she would have to vacate their senate seat. If the Lt. Governor or the Speaker of the House (who follows the Lt. Governor in the line of succession) were to refuse, the unelected Secretary of State would then assume the position of Governor.

How would SJR 687 work?

After the gubernatorial primary, the candidate for each party would select a running mate that would serve as their Lieutenant Governor. The running mate would run on the same ticket as the Governor. The sponsor pointed out that we would not be creating a new position or adding a new salary, because the Lieutenant Governor would essentially replace the position of Deputy to the Governor, which is currently unelected.

The resolution also calls for a statewide elected Secretary of State, which the sponsor pointed to as a critical component to solving the succession problem. This component was stripped from the bill through an amendment that narrowly passed, in a move that the sponsor warned was problematic. Should both the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor be unable to serve, the Secretary of State would assume the position of Governor—and should therefore be elected by the people. The sponsor stated that while it may not seem likely that both the Governor and Lt. Governor would be either permanently or temporarily incapacitated, we must be prepared in this post-9/11 world.

Proponents of the legislation argue that there would be several advantages to restructuring the system via Senate Joint Resolution 687. The constitutional amendment would not only solve the succession problem, but it would also provide an opportunity for more diversity in the Executive Branch. Further, the Secretary of State—being in charge of elections—would be accountable to the voters, not the elected officials.

The resolution has already passed the Senate, and must now work its way through the House. It could be on the ballot, letting voters decide whether or not they want to amend the constitution, as early as 2010. For that to happen, the resolution must pass the 105^th General Assembly (2007-2008) by a simple majority and the 106^th General Assembly (2009-2010) by a supermajority. The referendum would then have to receive 50 percent plus one of those voting for Governor in 2010.

In brief…

House Bill 3339 will transfer jurisdiction of the Off-Highway Vehicle Act from Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to the Department of Environment and Conservation. It also includes a hold-harmless provision, which states that a person cannot sue the landowner if that person is injured on the landowner’s land. The intent of the general assembly is to encourage off-highway vehicle activities by limiting the civil liability of those facilitating or providing access to such activities. The bill is currently in the Conservation and Environment Committee.
A house joint resolution that urges the Department of Education to study and develop lesson plans for parents to utilize in conjunction with the Books from Birth program is on its way to the House floor. The sponsor said he hopes HJR 932 will take the already successful program one step further in fostering a sense of educational responsibility in our children and their parents.
House Republicans are continuing their efforts to crack down on sexual offenders this year. House Bill 957 saw passage out of Judiciary Committee this week; the bill requires resident sexual offenders and violent sexual offenders to obtain and carry a driver license or photo identification card in a manner that allows law enforcement officers to ascertain the person is a sexual offender.
Friday, April 11^th is Tax Freedom Day in Tennessee, with the national Tax Freedom Day on April 23^rd. The Tax Foundation describes the occasion

“Tax Freedom Day is a vivid, calendar-based illustration of government’s cost, and it gives Americans an easy way to gauge the overall tax take. We count every dollar that is officially part of national income according to the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, and every payment to the government that is officially considered a tax is counted. Taxes at all levels of government are included, whether levied by Uncle Sam or state and local governments.”

For more information, visit www.taxfoundation.org.

The week ahead…

House Bill 3715 requires meat for milk from cloned animals and all food for human consumption that has been genetically altered or modified to be labeled as such and that notice is appropriately given to the public. (Agriculture Committee)
House Bill 2883 creates the legal status of a de facto custodian and provides standards and procedures to be used by a court to determine if a person should be awarded permanent custody or joint custody of a child. (Children and Family Affairs Committee)
House Bill 3019 prohibits buildings in which educational activities are conducted from being treated as schools for fire safety and building code inspection purposes when the primary purpose of such facilities is not for educational activities. (Commerce Committee)
House Bill 4029 creates a pilot program to make laptops available to juniors and seniors attending high school who are also enrolled in college courses at eligible post-secondary institutions. (Education Committee)
House Bill 2750 authorizes a governing body to allow electronic communication between members under certain conditions in an effort to expand ways elected officials can effectively communicate with one another. (Finance, Ways and Means Committee)
House Bill 1231 requires the commissioner of finance and administration to seek a new federal waiver or an amendment to the TennCare waiver in order to implement a personal health accounts program. (Health and Human Resources Committee)
House Bill 955 requires the TBI sexual offender and violent sexual offender registration form to disclose the number of different victims involved in the offenders’ convictions. (Judiciary Committee)
House Bill 3661 creates within the TBI a “Repeat DUI Offender” registry of persons who have two or more DUI convictions and whose license is currently suspended or revoked, and also makes this information available on the Internet. (Judiciary Committee)
House Bill 3155 would require the governor to declare a day of mourning and fly the state flag at half-staff over the state capitol whenever a Tennessee member of the armed forces is killed in action or dies from combat-related wounds and stipulates that the flag be delivered to the deceased member’s family. (State and Local Government Committee)