Home | Entries [Previous |Next]
0 Comments
Daily Dose for January 08, 2008
Abortion Will Kick Off 2008 Session
Abortion Will Kick Off 2008 Session -- The legislative session opens today and Republicans plan to start it off with a bang. Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Diane Black plans to call a committee vote on a constitutional amendment which would eliminate the state constitutional right to abortion. It is intended to reverse a 2000 state Supreme Court decision that declared a woman has a greater right to abortion under Tennessee's constitution than the U.S. Constitution. If the measure passes committee today, it could be brought to the full Senate for a vote next week or perhaps as early as Thursday. Passage of the amendment will require a simple majority of both the House and Senate this year, then a two-thirds majority in both chambers during the 106th General Assembly that will convene in 2009. If that happens, the measure would go to a statewide referendum in 2010.
Dems Want Lottery as Wedge Issue -- State Sen. Jim Kyle says he plans to make lottery scholarships an election issue unless Republicans back down from their plan to thwart Democrats attempts to lower GPA standards for lottery scholarships. Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey has said he might be willing to lower standards to mantain the scholarships, but wants to keep the GPA standards to intially get the scholarship at 3.0. Sen. Kyle accused some legislative Republicans of trying to "hijack" what he said was the original purpose of the lottery by pushing to use some lottery proceeds for K-12 school construction. Democrats plan to split up their changes to the lottery money among several different bills, fearing a repeat of what Kyle called a "pocket veto" of last year's legislation by GOP State Sen. Jamie Woodson.
Jackson Will Intro Handgun Bill -- State Sen. Doug Jackson, a Democrat, will introduce legislation today to allow people with handgun permits entrance to places that sell alcohol. State law currently prohibits handgun holders from carrying at a place of business that serves alcohol. Jackson's bill would allow that unless the owners of the establishment banned guns and had posted notice to that effect.
Farr Stops Cig Cops -- Tennessee's Revenue Department is ending its surveillance program to catch people trying to avoid higher taxes by bringing in large numbers of cigarettes from out of state. Commissioner Reagan Farr says the program has served its purpose of educating people they can only bring up to 20 packs of smokes across state lines. Revenue agents seized more than 31,000 packs from the end of September through December. Agents seized cigarettes but stopped short of issuing citations over the course of the surveillance program. Future violations will be punished with citations, Farr said. Earlier in the year, several Republicans criticized the plan and said they planned on introducing legislation this month to ban such programs.
Haynes Named Dept. AG -- Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper announced that Associate Chief Deputy Lucy Honey Haynes will be the new chief deputy attorney general. Cooper also announced that Ruth Thompson, who has been serving as senior counsel assisting the associate chief deputy, has been promoted to the position of deputy attorney general in charge of the administrative division.
Kyle Criticizes Ford For Absence -- State Sen. Ophelia Ford will not be at the opening bell today or any session of the legislature for a least a few more weeks according to her attorneys. Ford apparently is seeking more excused absences from the legislature because of health issues. Ford's attorney wrote to Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey: "Senator Ford has been in the hospital for over a month and it appears that she will continue to be in the hospital for at least a few more weeks. She has asked me to ask you to excuse her from her attendance at the opening of the Tennessee Senate session." Senate Dem Leader Jim Kyle criticized Ford's absence because it gives Republicans a statistical advantage in the evenly split 16-16-1 State Senate.
Chatt Council Will Look at Rutherford Reimbursement -- The Chattanooga City Council will look closely at the issue of requesting a reimbursement from former Councilwoman Marti Rutherford for the salary she earned while serving a district on the Council that she didn't live in. Rutherford resigned last year and since then the State Attorney General has said the Council may seek reimbursement of her salary since her initial election.
Sullivan Co. Reluctant on Tax Freeze -- A constitutional amendment passed during the last legislative session in 2006 would allow county commissions to approve measures that would allow senior citizens to freeze their property tax rates. So far, several local governments have adopted the measure, but Sullivan Co. in East TN seems reluctant to do so. There is a plan to adopt the freeze before the County Commission, but some Commissioners have said that senior citizens who have contacted them about the plan are actually opposed to the idea because it would mean passing the tax burden to the younger generation. Accounts and Budgets Director Larry Bailey said preliminary projections printed by a statewide organization for county officials showed adoption of the law could cost Sullivan County roughly $250,000 to $270,000.
Wharton Also Wants Consolidation -- Following the lead of Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton, Shelby Co. Mayor A.C. Wharton says he also backs the idea of consolidated government in Memphis. Consolidation could save $20 million each year, Wharton said. But unlike Herenton, who has long called for the consolidation of Memphis and Shelby County schools, Wharton said his form of consolidation would not include the school systems. In his state of the community address, Wharton backed the plan and also firmed up his support of a proposed flat privilege tax on all county employees. The flat tax could start at about $6 per month, or $72 per year for every employee, according to initial projections, and would affect about 252,875 people who work in Shelby County and earn more than $28,000. It would include commuters.
