March 25, 2010 RESEARCH REVIEW

march 25, 2010

RESEARCH REVIEW

Published by the Research Division of the Tennessee House of Representatives

RESEARCH REVIEW MARCH 25, 2010

HOUSE RESEARCH DIVISION STAFF

AGRICULTURE Jeremy Maxwell

CHILDREN & FAMILY AFFAIRS Amelia Mitchell

COMMERCE Todd A. Staley, Esq.

CONSERVATION & ENVIRONMENT Jeremy Maxwell

CONSUMER & EMPLOYEE AFFAIRS Lucy Wilson

EDUCATION Patrick Boggs

FINANCE, WAYS & MEANS Julie Travis

Traveda Jordan, Assistant

GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS Will Walker

HEALTH & HUMAN RESOURCES Judy Narramore

JUDICIARY Clement Ledbetter Todd A. Staley, Esq.

STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT Daniel Culbreath

TRANSPORTATION Jeremy L. Elrod

PHOTOGRAPHY Jed DeKalb

Andrew McMurtrie Theresa Mongomery

DESIGN & LAYOUT John Newman

PRINTING SERVICES Capitol Print Shop

HOUSE RESEARCH DIVISION Denise Sims, Director

TABLE OF CONTENTS

03 ............................................................................................. AGRICULTURE 04 ................................................................... CHILDREN & FAMILY AFFAIRS 05 ................................................................................................ COMMERCE 08 ........................................................... CONSERVATION & ENVIRONMENT 09 .......................................................... CONSUMER & EMPLOYEE AFFAIRS 11 ................................................................................................. EDUCATION 13 ......................................................................... FINANCE, WAYS & MEANS 17 ..................................................................... GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS 19 ............................................................... HEALTH & HUMAN RESOURCES 21 ................................................................................................... JUDICIARY 25 ................................................................. STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT 29 ...................................................................................... TRANSPORTATION

7th Floor, Rachel Jackson Building Nashville, TN 37243 615-741-3025 capitol.

AGRICULTURE

Jeremy Maxwell

THE FULL COMMITTEE

The Agriculture Committee met Tuesday to consider twelve bills on calendar. HB 3738 (Niceley) was referred to Finance, Ways & Means as amended. This bill prohibits the sale of seeds that have been genetically modified to render plant produced or second generation seeds sterile; enacts the Anti-Terminator Gene Act of 2010. The amended bill does not apply to ornamental shrubbery.

The following bills were deferred one week: HB 3379 (Sontany) HB 3858 (Towns) HB 3136 (Bone) HB 3386 (Sontany) HB 3913 (Lundberg)

The following bills were referred to General Subcommittee of Ag: HB 163 (Weaver) HB 3748 (Sontany) HB 3682 (Cobb, T)

The following bills were taken off notice: HB 1159 (Niceley) HB 1427 (Niceley) HB 3570 (Rowland)

GENERAL SUBCOMMITTEE OF AGRICULTURE

The subcommittee did not meet this week.

Chairman Bone

THE RESEARCH REVIEW

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CHILDREN & FAMILY AFFAIRS

Amelia Mitchell

the adopted child is in DCS custody being found delinquent or unruly.

HB 5 by Rep. Hardaway requires the court to set a presumptive date for terminating the child support obligation except when medical support or other fees may be due to support a disabled child or to comply with a court order requiring support for a child through college.

HB 33 by Hardaway as amended requires notice be given to a parent before the parent is considered to have willfully failed to support or visit a child for purposes of termination of parental rights.

FAMILY JUSTICE SUBCOMMITTEE

THE FULL COMMITTEE

The Children & Family Affairs Committee met on Tuesday March 23rd and considered the following legislation:

Passed to Calendar & Rules: HB 2700 by Rep. Dennis creates a rebuttable presumption of substantial harm to a child if the child is not granted visitation with a grandparent who is the parent of the child's deceased parent.

HB 3426 by Rep. Hackworth clarifies, for purposes of adoption, that any spouse of a relative is also a legal relative or related.

HB 2627 by Chairman DeBerry specifies that a court's placement recommendation regarding a child in the custody of the department shall be based on a preponderance of the evidence.

HB 2628 by Chairman DeBerry requires a court to find that the Department of Children's Services or licensed child placing agency has made reasonable efforts to place a child for adoption and that it is in the best interest of the child before awarding guardianship to a permanent guardian.

HB 2630 by Chairman DeBerry makes changes regarding permanency plans for foster care, including giving parents the right to attend and participate in foster care permanency plan reviews and changing the suggested membership of foster care review boards.

HB 2995 by Chairman DeBerry enacts the "Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act."

Deferred one week: HB 2372 by Rep. Montgomery states that no adoptive parent shall be required to pay child support to DCS if

The Family Justice Subcommittee met on Tuesday March 23rd and considered the following legislation:

To Full Committee: HB 3425 by Rep. Litz, under certain instances, abolishes the requirement to run a publication for an unknown father when there is no legal father at the time the adoption is filed.

HB 2629 by Chairman DeBerry alters the definition of dependent and neglected child to include a child whose parent willfully fails to ensure that the child is enrolled in and attending school.

HB 2916 by Rep. Bell as amended states that the court shall order a custody arrangement which permits both parents to enjoy the maximum participation possible in the child's life which is consistent with the child's best interests. The court shall base these findings on all relevant factors including, but not limited to, the location of the residence of both parents, the child's

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need for stability and those factors outlined in Section 36-6-106.

Deferred one week: HB 3115 by Rep. Sherry Jones

Taken off notice: HB 3116 by Rep. Sherry Jones HB 3568 by Rep. Rowland

DOMESTIC RELATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE

The Domestic Relations Subcommittee met on Tuesday March 23rd and considered the following legislation:

Passed to Full Committee: HB 3423 by Rep. Litz states that a man shall not be a legal parent based solely on scientific testing, but such

testing may be a basis for a court of competent jurisdiction to establish paternity.

HB 3424 by Rep. Litz as amended, states that the Department of Children's Services shall have made a reasonable effort to establish a suitable home for a child if the department's efforts exceeded that of the parent or guardian of that child.

HB 3647 by Rep. Stewart as amended enacts amendments to the "Uniform Interstate Family Support Act."

HB 2992 by Chairman DeBerry requires a child-placing agency to collect medical and social history on a foster child within 30 days of foster care placement.

Deferred one week: HB 3422 by Rep. Litz HB 3114 by Rep. Sherry Jones HB 3427 by Rep. Hackworth HB 3850 by Rep. Richardson HB 1131 by Rep. Hardaway HB 1132 by Rep. Hardaway HB 1133 by Rep. Hardaway HB 2442 by Rep Hardaway

Taken off notice: HB 3081 by Rep. Fraley

COMMERCE

Todd A. Staley, Esq.

FULL COMMITTEE

The Commerce Committee passed out seven bills on Tuesday during its full committee meeting.

HB 3159 (Curtiss) as amended, creates a $300/per day penalty if a party involved in a construction contract withholds retained funds and fails to deposit the funds in an escrow account. Also, failure to deposit the funds within seven days of written notice will be a Class A misdemeanor. [passed to Calendar & Rules]

HB 2794 (Curtiss) would add masonry contractor work to the list of information required to be on the outside of the envelope containing a bid. The amendment limits the requirement to masonry work that exceeds $100,000 in labor and materials per job. [passed to Calendar & Rules]

HB 3046 (Fitzhugh) as amended, declares that the Tennessee Regulatory Authority does not have jurisdictional or regulatory authority over carbon dioxide that is transported via an interstate pipeline. Carbon dioxide transported by pipeline would be regulated under the federal Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act. [passed to Finance, Ways & Means]

HB 148 (Sargent) as amended, would make certain filings by insurers confidential and protected if the Commissioner determines that such information is a trade secret. The burden would be on the insurer to assert to the Commissioner that the information they are filing is a trade secret. [passed to Finance, Ways & Means]

HB 2367 (Stewart) would end the practice of "client billing" for pathology services. In a "client billing" scenario the doctor is billed for the pathology

services he requested by the laboratory or pathologist who provided the services. The doctor then bills either the patient or the patient's insurance. This legislation would prohibit this billing practice and require the pathologist to bill the patient or insurance company directly. [passed to Calendar & Rules]

HB 3824 (Stewart) makes various updates to the Tennessee Securities Act. It adds the new definition for "investment-related" to comply with the recent changes in federal law. The bill deletes the statutory exemption of promissory notes and bankers' and trade acceptances that are now preempted by federal law. It also authorizes the Commissioner to assess civil penalties up to $5,000 per violation under the securities law. [passed to Calendar & Rules]

HB 3773 (McManus) as amended, would allow a local exchange provider

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