Daily Dose for May 16, 2006

Daily Dose

Bryson Adds Medical Liability Reform to CoverTN -- Republican Gubernatorial candidate Jim Bryson has filed a bill that would add medical laibility reform to Governor Bredesen's CoverTN plan, which focuses on health care access. Bryson said, "Any successful health care plan must reform lawsuit abuse in Tennessee. There is no point in trying to provide access if we are going to allow doctors and specialists to be driven out of business by frivolous legal action." Bryson also amended the bill to shift liability to insurerers, a move Bredesen Finance Commissioner Dave Goetz says effectively kills the bill. Democrats hope to regain political footing on the bill by leverage their control of the State House in conference committee. "We're not done yet," Goetz said.

Congressmen React to President Bush's Immigration Speech -- The Tennessean rounds up reaction from Tennessee's Congressional delegation. The Chattanooga Times Free Press also has reaction.

Under Ethics Pressure, State of Metro Now Free -- The public and lawmakers may attend Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell's State of Metro speech for free this year. The change came in the wake of realizations that state ethics laws prohibited Metro Councilmen from accepting a free invitation to an event that the public was required to pay $25 to attend. Under the new ethics code governing the Council, members cannot accept food or drink from someone with business before the Council. The event is sponsored by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Sen. Miller Staffer 'Girlfriend' Rehired -- The Nashville City Paper reports that Jessa Fahey, a staffer accused of having an affair with State Senator Jeff Miller has been rehired in Miller's office. Fahey quit just prior to Miller’s divorce from his wife, Brigitte, but has now been rehired as Miller's executive secretary. Fahey was also rumored to have testified before a grand jury in Operation Tennessee Waltz, about Miller's involvement and why he accepted $1,000 in campaign contributions from Waltz bagman Charles Love. Miller resigned as caucus chairman in January and announced that he would not seek re-election this year.

Rats and Extra Votes Show Up in Chattanooga Elections -- A rat is being blamed for about a 30-minute delay in reporting the returns of the May 2 Hamilton County primary election. According to an election official, a rat infultrated the election equipment and rat urine was the cause of the destruction of several election commission modems. The election commission is in the process of moving to a new building. Election officials are also looking into why two extra votes showed up in the May elections. The extra votes were cast in a new downtown precinct. The Election Commission could be barred for investigating because of privacy concerns unless someone files for a recount, however.

Posted by Adam Groves | Email This |