Tennessee Legislature Kicks Off Second
Half Of 109th General Assembly
The Second Regular Session of the 109th
General Assembly kicked on January 12th in Nashville.
We will face many issues again this year - so
please email or call me with your concerns.
Last week a very hot topic of concern was the
Liberty Counsel's Natural Marriage Act in the House Civil Justice Committee
sponsored by Rep. Pody.
Please watch the video on the link above -
the debate is gripping. Republican Rep.
Carter explains should a lawsuit be filed to challenge the imposition of gay
marriage in Tennessee, passing the Natural Marriage Act would render the
lawsuit moot - because should the TN law change, the current law would no
longer exist.
A Williamson
County lawsuit that asks the court for a declaratory judgment on whether the
U.S. Supreme Court invalidated all of Tennessee’s marriage licensure law with
the Obergefell decision in June of last year. Rep. Susan Lynn has
fled a resolution to support the citizens.
The
plaintiffs contend that the SCOTUS' decision clearly said that Tennessee’s
marriage licensure law was invalid and also that Tennessee must now marry same
sex couples. However the plaintiffs
contend that a law cannot be both invalid and valid at the same time. The
court cannot decide that Tennessee’s marriage licensure law is invalid because
it mandates that marriage is between a man and a woman – therefore striking
that provision – and then go on to decree that what this now means is that
Tennessee must from hence forth marry same sex couples. Doing so violates
the doctrine of severability (elision in state court).
To violate severability or
elision means that a court cannot strike one part of the law if it would give a
new meaning to the law that the legislature never intended for the law to have.
In such a case, the court must strike the entire law leaving the
legislature free to either reenact the law without the unconstitutional
provision or choose not to act at all.
Tennessean
article on lawsuit.
Please review and comment on the newly
proposed math and English / language arts state education standards. These new standards were created pursuant to Public Chapter 423
which repealed the Common Core standards and directed the state Board of
Education to create new math and ELA standards for grades K-12. A video is also available on the link in this
title.
Two lawsuits are challenging Amendment 1 and another is
challenging our new clinic licensure law, facility inspection, hospital
admitting privileges for abortion providers and informed consent provisions for
women and girls considering abortion.
Further, a Texas lawsuit is challenging Texas abortion regulations. If successful, the Texas lawsuit could impact Tennessee's abortion laws. I have become a part of the defense of the Texas lawsuit by signing my name to an Americans United for Life amicus brief in support of keeping Texas abortion regulations.
Further, a Texas lawsuit is challenging Texas abortion regulations. If successful, the Texas lawsuit could impact Tennessee's abortion laws. I have become a part of the defense of the Texas lawsuit by signing my name to an Americans United for Life amicus brief in support of keeping Texas abortion regulations.
The Retail Accountability Program was created in 2012 and
expanded in 2015. The Act mandates
wholesalers and retailers of beer and tobacco to electronically report all of
their sales and purchase transactions between each other to the Department of
Revenue. The 2015 expansion now includes ALL Tennessee businesses selling other
categories of tangible personal property. This means that the Department
of Revenue can force any wholesaler and any retailer to report their sales and
purchase transactions between each other to the department. An
extraordinary over reach of government equipped with fines if the report is not
submitted!
I was not in the General Assembly in 2012 or else I would have sounded the alarm on this unprecedented bill which virtually allows a revenue agent a seat inside each business on a daily basis. I was one of only 4 House members to vote no last year. Hopefully this will be repealed.
The
American Conservative Union, the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots
conservative organization, announced this week that Rep. Susan Lynn has
been awarded the coveted ACU Award For Conservative Excellence for being among
the top conservatives in the State of Tennessee.
“I’ve
always fought for conservative values, and I have done so since first elected.”
says Lynn. “I’m truly honored to have this award and recognition.”
The
award, which is presented to those members of the Tennessee General Assembly
who scored between 90 and 100 percent on the ACU State Legislative Rating
scorecard, is the organization’s highest and most revered honor available to
lawmakers. Lynn's score for 2015 was
100%. All ratings can be found at acuratings.conservative.org.
Tickets,
Admission
Enacts the "Fans Anti-Counterfeit Ticket (FACT) Act"
|
Motor Vehicles
Enacts the "Charitable
Vehicle Prep Tag.
|
Children
Permits a
parent of a newborn to opt out of a antibiotic ointment at birth.
|
Dept. of Health
Requires a report from the
commissioner of health if the commissioner accessed to Tennessean's medical
records.
|
Students
Requires students to use restrooms and locker rooms that are
assigned sex shown on the students' birth certificate.
|
Refugee Resettlement
Requires the
Tennessee office for refugees to notify the state of any refugee resettled in
this state who has lived in a country that is a state sponsor of terrorism.
|
Workers'
Compensation
Revises various workers' compensation and drug-free workplace
provisions.
|
911
Boards
Requires removal of members for failure to attend at least 50
percent of all regularly scheduled board meetings.
|
Local
Government
Authorizes local governments to prepare biennial budgets.
|
Local
Government
Increases number of members on some boards of zoning appeals.
|
Fire
Prevention
Prohibits certain flame retardants in children's products and
residential upholstered furniture.
|
Textbooks
Revised curriculum in textbooks and instructional materials
regarding founding documents.
|
Abortion
Revises provisions governing fetal tissue obtained as a result
of a medical or surgical abortion.
|
Fluoride
Revises reports due from utility
districts.
|
State Sovereignty
Urges Congress to recognize
Tennessee's sovereignty under the 10th amendment to the Constitution.
|
General Assembly Statement
Expresses disagreement with the U.S.
Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.
|
A total of 42 bills have been filed on behalf of the
administration, but the above pieces of legislation represent the governor’s
priorities;
Fetal
Remains Act - Addressing concerns regarding the selling of fetal remains.
Efficiency
in Handgun Permit Process - Improving the process and lowering the fee.
FOCUS
Act - Organizing, supporting and empowering public colleges.
Higher
Education Authorization Act - Drive to 55 and for-profit higher
education.
Public
Safety Act of 2016 - Governor’s Task Force on Sentencing and
Recidivism.
As always, please call or email
me if I can help you: 615-596-2363.
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