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Daily Dose for June 26, 2008
UT President Gets Failing Marks on Financial Disclosure
UT President Gets Failing Marks on Financial Disclosure -- The Tennessee Ethics Commission fined UT President John Peterson last week for missing an earlier filing deadline and asked him to explain why he listed no investments, even though he earns more than $400,000 a year. Peterson then added a First Tennessee Brokerage account held in his wife's name, but now the Commission wants to know why he didn't report that as a source of income. Ethics Commission Director Bruce Androphy said filers are required to list under the income category any capital gains or dividends above $1,000 from investment accounts. More here.
Study Finds TN Business Friendly -- Tennessee is the most business-friendly state when it comes to litigation, according to a new study. The American Justice Partnership Foundation listed Tennessee as the state with the lowest risks of lawsuits against business. Sen. Mark Norris who sponsored a bill that limits medical malpractice filings this year says, “We’re moving in the right direction.” The state’s trial lawyers, however, said Tennessee’s favorable ranking in the business litigation climate proves that the state’s existing laws don’t need to change. Daniel L. Clayton, a Nashville attorney who is chairman of the Tennessee Association for Justice: "I think this study supports the fact that Tennessee doesn’t need any other type of reform to its judicial system and should reject efforts to put artificial limits on what citizen juries can decide."
Knox Accountability Still Needs Signatures for Ballot Iniatives -- The MetroPulse outlines the effort in Knox Co. to get two charter amendments on the ballot that would make changes to the structure of Knox Co. government. The "white petition" would make changes to the County Commission, including a nepotism policy, while the "orange petition" would make changes to the County Mayor's office. The group has just 75 days to get those 80,000 signatures - 40,000 for each petition - at an average rate of 1,066.66 per day. According organizer Gary Drinnen, no one has ever accomplished that task since state law was changed to require petitions drives to collect a percentage of registered voters, instead of those actually voting. Meanwhile, some are criticizing the Knoxville News-Sentinel for printing the petitions within their pages for distribution.
