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Dear Friends, Senate District 31 Senator Paul Stanley’s Weekly Update
Contact: Darlene Schlicher (615) 741-6336 or email: darlene.schlicher@legislature.state.tn.us (NASHVILLE, TN), March 20, 2008– The Senate State and Local Government Committee approved legislation this week sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville) to expand the board of the State Veterans Nursing Homes. The bill aims to give the panel more health care expertise and provide accountability to the General Assembly. The Board oversees operations at the state’s veteran’s homes in Humboldt, Murfreesboro and Knoxville. The homes received scathing reviews from the U.S. Department of Justice last month. “There are serious problems at our veterans homes,” said Senator Norris, who serves on the Joint Select Committee on Veterans Affairs. “The report described very disturbing abuse and neglect, including bed sores and untreated ulcers, and death due to starvation. We need to build more expertise and accountability into the Board’s structure.” State law provides that the Joint Committee has review authority over the homes. It also provides that all appointments by the governor be confirmed by the legislature, a process that has not been followed in past appointments to the Board. Under present law, the board consists of 10 members: nine honorably discharged veterans, appointed by the governor, from nationally chartered service organizations that have departments in Tennessee and the commissioner of veteran's affairs as an ex officio member. The Norris bill, SB 3919, increases the membership from 10 to 13 by adding citizens with practical clinical and administrative experience in nursing homes. The bill also builds in reporting and accountability requirements to the legislature’s Joint Select Committee on Veterans Affairs. It requires the board to report annually regarding issues and recommendations to improve state veterans nursing homes and to notify lawmakers of potential problems. “This bill would build expertise and accountability into the board,” Norris added. “These are the heroes who carried our flag into battle. They have not failed us and we must not fail them.” Lottery Excess Fund Subcommittee sends recommendations to full Education Committee The Lottery Subcommittee looking at proposals for disbursing excess lottery funds, chaired by Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), met this week and recommended several bills for passage to the full committee. According to Tracy, there is $460 million in the lottery reserve account, of which $50 million must be kept in savings under current law. Tracy’s subcommittee voted to increase the savings to $100 million in order to provide a greater cushion to protect scholarships in cases of a downturn in lottery revenues. “Our veterans have served on the front lines for our country, and the least we can do is provide an affordable way for them to get a college education when they come home if they have not already graduated,” said Tracy. “I am proud to make this a priority of my subcommittee.” The Subcommittee also recommended passage of legislation sponsored by Senator Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) that would set up an energy efficient school program aimed at helping schools save money on their energy bills. The proposal partners the state with TVA, Oak Ridge Laboratory, and other energy experts by setting up a Council that would guide schools in energy-saving options. The Council would also provide a system of grants to help schools purchase any construction or renovations needed for the conservation efforts. “Tennessee has the best energy experts in the world,” said Senator McNally. “This bill will allow our schools to tap this information and put into practice the best energy-saving or conservation methods available.” The Subcommittee recommended use of $200 million of the lottery surplus to create an endowment for the Tennessee Student Assistance Corp. (TSAC), which makes grants to low-income college students. The bill would allow for distribution of about $9 million in grants off the interest of the funds. Last year, the Senate Education Committee under the leadership of Education Chairman Jamie Woodson (R-Knoxville) approved legislation for TSAA grants to allow more non-traditional students to have access to those grants. The grants would provide scholarship opportunities to an additional 13,500 students from interest earnings. “We passed in our version of it a non-recurring appropriation of $10 million to enhance our TSAC program that was reflective of a lock box constituting $200 million, so we could conservatively count on a recurring interest,” said Chairman Woodson. “We are pleased this initiative is moving forward.” The Senate Education Committee approved legislation, sponsored by Senator Tracy, last year that would distribute at least $100 million of the surplus directly to school districts for use in K-12 construction or renovation. That bill will be considered again after it was moved from the Finance Committee to the Education Committee by action on the floor of the Senate this week so that it can be considered in unison with the other proposals. The school building bill is designed to help local governments keep up with student enrollment growth and needed improvements. “I am optimistic that this bill will be approved this year,” said Tracy. “There are too many schools in Tennessee with portables and crumbling buildings that house our K-12 students. Our local governments desperately need these funds to keep up with the escalating costs of construction and renovation. I continue to receive support from school boards, local government officials, and others across the state for this needed proposal.” The state’s constitutional amendment limited the lottery money to college scholarships, expansion of new pre-k and after school programs, and capital improvements for major improvements or building K-12 schools. The only facet of the 2002 Constitutional Amendment creating the Tennessee Education Lottery yet to be enacted by legislation is granting the use of excess lottery reserves for new capital outlay projects for Tennessee’s K-12 educational facilities. “Overall, I think we have made solid recommendations to the full committee,” Tracy added. “I am pleased with the work of this subcommittee.” Legislation streamlines and modernizes local government’s system for collection of property taxes Legislation that would bring Tennessee’s local governments into the 21st century for payment of property taxes was unanimously approved by the full Senate this week. The bill, which is sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville) modernizes the system of payment and gives local governing bodies the authority to accept partial payment of property taxes. Norris first brought the bill, SB 3756, to the Legislature for Dyer County. However, as other senators added their counties into the bill, it was determined that the legislation should be extended statewide. The bill allows the payments to be accepted electronically by using electronic fund transfers, preauthorized bank payments, wire transfers, Automatic Clearing House (ACH) credits, or other methods of electronic payment. It also allows the county trustees to accept partial payment of property taxes for the current tax year, which would be held in a designated revenue account. In order to opt into the proposed law, it must be approved by the local county governing body by two-thirds vote. "The bill gives citizens the ability to make partial payment, which can be a matter of great convenience to many taxpayers. This bill simply streamlines and modernizes the process and brings us into the 21st century,” Norris concluded. Senate gives final approval to Child Protection Bill Tennessee may soon require convicted sex offenders to provide email addresses and screen names to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), under legislation sponsored by Senator Jamie Woodson (R-Knoxville) and unanimously approved by the State Senate this week. The legislation would crack down on convicted sex offenders and better protect children online. “These predators know where children are,” said Woodson. “This bill will serve as an effective tool for law enforcement to strengthen Tennessee’s child protection laws.” There are 600,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S. An estimated 150,000 of these offenders have been “lost” in the system. The legislation, SB 2594, would require that convicted sex offenders provide email addresses, chat names, instant message screen names, and any other online electronic communications information to the TBI as part of their routine and annual information collection requirements. The TBI would be authorized to transmit that information electronically to companies that provide pre-screening services. In order to obtain information from the TBI, this bill requires the requesting business or organization to agree to notify them when a comparison indicates that a registered offender's email address, instant message, chat, or other Internet communication name or identity is being used on their system. Finally, the bill would also provide stiff penalties and/or incarceration for the falsification or omission of information provided to the TBI. Woodson said other studies show teens are willing to meet with strangers, with 16 percent of them considering meeting someone they have talked to online. Eight percent have actually met someone they only knew online. Legislation provides rights to those who receive camera-generated traffic tickets Legislation that ensures drivers of cars who receive a ticket from the use of a “red light camera” would be given ample notice, was unanimously approved by the State Senate this week. The bill, which is sponsored by Senator Tim Burchett, is one of two measures that would provide rights to drivers and vehicle owners who receive this new form of camera-generated traffic violations. The measure also provides rental car companies with the right to file an affidavit saying that the driver is responsible for the ticket. “We had cases where rental companies received these tickets and could not locate the driver of the car,” said Senator Burchett. “This bill gives them the right to contest the ticket by filing an affidavit with the court. It also gives additional rights to owners and drivers by making sure that they have ample time to both receive notice and reply.” Currently, the owner of the vehicle is sent a notice by first class mail of the traffic violation accompanied with a picture of the vehicle. The owner must pay the fine within 30 days in most localities or face an additional fee, which can be more than double the cost of the ticket. This legislation, SB 3258, would provide the owners the opportunity to have a second 30-day notice that the fine on the ticket is due before any additional fines could be levied. In separate action this week, Burchett also won approval in the Senate Transportation Committee of legislation that says local governments cannot speed up the timing of the amber light at intersections for the purpose of increasing profits from the tickets. The bill comes after a case in Chattanooga where the timing was set at a quicker pace. After reviewing the timing of the light, a judge there dismissed 176 traffic violations, providing refunds to 150 who paid the fine. The usual rate of the amber light before changing to red is three seconds. “This is an effort to ensure that this system of camera-generated ticketing is done for safety, and not abused for the benefit of local treasuries,” Burchett added. Last year, the General Assembly approved legislation to make traffic violations through the camera lights a non-moving violation. Consequently, these tickets are not reported for insurance purposes. Issues in Brief Guard / AWOL – Legislation strengthening penalties against Tennessee National Guardsmen who do not show up for guard duty was approved by the full Senate this week. The bill prescribes penalties for going “AWOL” for official guard duty to a Class B misdemeanor, which carries a fine of $500 or up to six months in jail. Senator Bo Watson (R-Hixson), sponsor of the bill, told lawmakers that Guard officials work with most guardsmen in trying to satisfy the attendance requirements. Guardsmen receive certain benefits for enlisting, as well as a monthly salary. Guard officials say attendance is necessary to ensure guardsmen are appropriately trained when mobilized. The bill is SB 2797. Water Quality -- The full Senate has approved legislation sponsored by Senator Steve Southerland (R-Morristown) that would provide greater accuracy in reporting water quality on the Pigeon River. Southerland has fought to have the water tested, in order to more accurately measure the amount of industrial pollution that is flowing into Tennessee from the Blue Ridge Paper Mill. The mill, or its predecessor, has been considered to be a primary source of dioxin and particulate matter pollution that has been discharged into the Pigeon River. “This bill will be a big step forward in receiving the information we need to clean up the Pigeon River,” said Senator Southerland. “It will enable us to finally get a clear picture of the pollution level flowing into Tennessee from Haywood County, North Carolina through the Pigeon River before it is diluted by other tributaries where the test is currently taking place.” The bill is SB 2979. Illegal trafficking of music -- The Education Committee considered legislation this week that would bolster the efforts of state universities to reduce the illegal trafficking of music and other copyrighted works on school computer networks. The legislation, SB 3974, sponsored by Senator Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville) would require all private and public universities to adopt a policy prohibiting students from illegal downloading and educating them about copyright infringement. It also requires any university receiving more than 50 legal notices from the copyright owner to report to its governing body what it is doing to correct the problem on its campus. “Nashville is the cradle of the music community and, as such, our schools should be leading the way in any and all efforts to protect the rights of songwriters, artists, and others in the industry,” said Senator Burchett. Parking lots -- Senator Raymond Finney (R-Maryville) gained approval of legislation he presented in the Senate State and Local Government Committee which would give municipalities the authority to set fees for a practice used by private parking lots to “clamp the wheels of vehicles” if they overstay their time. The practice is often accompanied by an excessive fee of $200 to “unclamp” the wheels. The bill, SB 3487, aims to give cities the right to set more reasonable fees. Jail administrators -- Legislation sponsored by Senator Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) has been approved by the Senate State and Local Government Committee that would require county jails to have one certified jail administrator by 2010. The certified jail program will ensure that administrators have all of the necessary skills to provide for the safety and security of the facilities. ### |
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