Proposal would let lawmakers unable to fulfill duties name temporary fill-ins

Bill sponsor says Ford's absences show the need

By BONNA JOHNSON. Tennessean.com
January 11, 2008

Spurred by the mysterious illness of Democratic state Sen. Ophelia Ford, which has caused long absences, a move is afoot to quickly pass a bill that would set up a system to appoint a temporary replacement.

The bill would permit legislators to name their own replacement for a temporary period of time if they are unable to fulfill their duties. It would also set up a system for the House or Senate to vote to ask the governor to appoint a temporary replacement if the absent members are unable to make the request.

"It's the right thing to do," said Sen. Jim Kyle, the Senate's Democratic leader who introduced the bill on Thursday. He said he had copied Idaho law.

During Ford's absences last year and, again, this year, the constituents in her Memphis district, which includes downtown and Millington, have no one looking after their interests, Kyle said. He conceded that with an evenly divided Senate — 16 Democrats, 16 Republicans and one independent — a long-term absence hurts on some votes.

Illnesses, chemotherapy treatment and military deployments have kept other lawmakers from their legislative duties in the past.

The fast-moving bill drew quick push back from several Republicans.

"Either Sen. Ford needs to resign or come back up here," said Sen. Paul Stanley, a Germantown Republican, adding that he hopes she gets better.

If he were in her shoes, Stanley said, he would consider resigning.

Ford won a special election to fill the seat vacated by her brother, former Sen. John Ford, who was later found guilty in a bribery scandal.

She was later ousted by a vote of the other members of the Senate. She then won a four-year term. She has three years left to serve.

Ford's attorney last week informed the Senate that she is ill and in the hospital "for at least a few more weeks."

Questions raised

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, a Blountville Republican, said he found some irony in Democrats battling against her ouster and now this bill.

"Some fought tooth and nail to keep her in, and now they're figuring out a way to get her out," Ramsey said.

He doesn't like the bill's loose parameters, saying it could allow legislators who don't want to vote on a controversial matter, such as an income tax, to simply tap a temporary substitute.

It would be confusing for constituents to have two senators representing them at the same time, Ramsey said.

He does support the concept of somehow dealing with long-term absences.

Ramsey, as speaker of the Senate, has excused Ford's absences for now but said in a few weeks he'll need to personally talk to her.

Vote gets bill moving

In a procedural vote Thursday morning, the Senate got the bill rolling so that it could be heard in committee as early as next week.

Kyle said he's willing to work out details with concerned members.

It would also need approval in the House. House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, a Covington Democrat, said he didn't know enough about the bill to comment.

House Democratic Leader Gary Odom, a Nashville Democrat, initially stood alongside Kyle when he unveiled the bill at a morning press conference but later said he needed to look at it more closely.