May 5, 2005

TBA-backed bills move to House floor for vote
A pair of TBA-backed bills will go before the full House on Wednesday following their passage today by the Calendar and Rules Committee.

The bill reforming the Limited Liability Companies Act and the bill divorcing the statutory provisions of child support from those of spousal support both had been held a couple of weeks in the committee to ensure all members’ questions had been addressed. Both bills have already passed the Senate, but because they have been amended since that time, they will go back to the Senate for another vote if they pass the House.

The end is in sight
Actions on other legislation is also wrapping up as the General Assembly shows noticeable signs of preparing to close up shop for the year. While the TennCare situation remains up in the air because of court proceedings — including the urgent appeal to the U.S. Sixth Circuit of Judge William Haynes’ decision — other legislative business is coming to a close. Many House subcommittees have finished their work for the year and have not scheduled further meetings. The Senate Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee did not meet this week, and calendars in both judiciary committees — especially that of the Senate committee — are packed with bills, as the committees attempt to deal with all of the issues that have been assigned to them. The finance committees are also still meeting, preparing to make final budget decisions.

The informal target date for adjournment — TennCare to the contrary notwithstanding — is the end of this month.

Class action certification appeals
Legislation (HB2052/SB2151) that would have mandated interlocutory appeal as a right on class action certification issues was significantly amended and passed out of the House Judiciary Committee this week. The appeal would now be discretionary with the Court of Appeals and then would proceed under Rule 9 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. The TBA had expressed the view that this matter should be under the appellate rules.

Estate recovery by TennCare
After the legislation dealing with estate recovery by TennCare was deferred in both House and Senate Committees, it appears that there may be no action this session to change the law or procedure for claims recovery from estates of TennCare nursing home beneficiaries. The TBA had expressed concerns about the original proposal to expand recovery rights to joint tenancies and about the proposed extraordinary procedure for TennCare claims.

Meth contamination bill
A bill that addresses TBA concerns with methamphetamine legislation passed earlier this session won passage in the House Judiciary Committee this week and is scheduled for action in the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee next week. The bill provides a mechanism for recording notices of contamination and certifications of fitness. The TBA and others had been concerned that without the filing of these notices with the register of deeds office in the county where quarantined property is located, attorneys and others would not be able to be sure of a property’s status.

Expert services for indigent defendants
A bill (SB0203/HB0180) that called for a court to hold open hearings to determine if investigative or expert services were necessary for indigent defendants was deferred for a week in the House Judiciary Committee and is on hold in the Senate Judiciary Committee. That committee is awaiting an opinion from the Attorney General on how the U.S. Constitution’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial articulates with the Tennessee Constitutional provision that authorizes victims to be present wherever the defendant makes an appearance.

The TBA is concerned that the requirement for defense attorneys to publicly justify their requests for these services could force them to reveal strategy or other key information to the prosecution, with consequent danger to the defendant’s right to a fair trail.

Unauthorized practice of law
Legislation dealing with insurance adjustors (HB0473/SB0670 and HB0474/SB0671) moved out of subcommittee this week with the understanding that parties would work together to address concerns during its hearing before the Commerce Committee. The TBA is grateful to Rep. Gary Odom, D-Nashville, for dealing with the serious problems in this area of the law and for working with the TBA to address concerns that the measure might inadvertently authorize the unauthorized practice of law by public adjusters of insurance claims.

Judicial selections
A bill (HB0636/SB0446) that would require the Judicial Selection Commission and the Judicial Evaluation Commission to conduct only public meetings and deliberations has been taken off notice in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Judicial Administration Subcommittee.

Service of process
The House on Monday passed a resolution (HJR0246) that would require the Judicial Council to study the issue of private process servers. If the resolution passes the Senate, it would hold off consideration of a number of bills that propose changes to service of process.

Keep up-to-date on legislation of interest
The TBA bill tracking service lets you read abstracts of bills, check their status in both houses, find out who is sponsoring them and link to full versions of the legislation.

TBA Watch List Monitor close to 300 bills and resolutions of interest to the Tennessee legal community.

TBA Action List Monitor legislation in which the TBA has an interest of record — bills the TBA initiated, bills on which the TBA has taken a position or bills on which the TBA has policy.

Questions, comments? Contact TBA Legislative Counsel Steve Cobb at scobb@tnbar.org or TBA Executive Director Allan F. Ramsaur at aramsaur@tnbar.org