| Child Support Bills
Some legislation remains pending from last year. One child support bill adopted as a top priority proactive issue for 2007 almost completed the legislative process but, unfortunately, stalled after passing both houses due to differing opinions about the appropriate language. HB401/SB1158, by Rep. Sherry Jones and Sen. Diane Black, would have changed the way the Dept. of Human Services imputes income to a non-working, custodial parent in an effort to ensure that a parent is not penalized for staying home with a child under the age of six. It is uncertain whether the differences can be worked out at this point, although it remains alive. The NWPC supports this bill.
Another 2007 priority bill, HB1185/SB1756, brought by Rep. Jones and Sen.Beverly Marrero, was an attempt to address a problem with how children’s expenses for extra-curricular activities, such as dance classes or hockey lessons, are considered by many judges who determine child support when couples divorce. This bill passed the Senate but was defeated in the House Child and Family Affairs Committee.
The NWPC anticipates the introduction of a bill that will eliminate a potential problem related to “spendthrift” trusts, which have recently become available in Tennessee after passage of a bill sought by the Tennessee Bankers Association last year. The trusts allow the protection of personal assets from any creditor after a four-year waiting period. According to the experts at the Tennessee Bar Association, the statute should include an exception for child support orders as is the case in several other states, and the Bar is seeking introduction of legislation that would add one. The NWPC will likely support this bill (pending board approval).
Lottery Scholarships for Non-traditional Students
Another priority issue for 2007, lottery scholarships for non-traditional students, also remains pending in 2008. HB653/SB611, with prime sponsors Rep. Les Winningham and Sen. Jamie Woodson, has also passed both houses with different versions. Although both bills improved the situation for non-traditional students somewhat, there are other contentious differences. Hopefully, 2008 will be an opportunity for additional improvement in the legislation for non-traditional students, which is supported by the NWPC.
Emergency Contraception for Rape Victims
Yet another bill pending after no action on it in 2007 is HB1989/SB2073, by Rep. Janis Sontany and Sen. Beverly Marrero. The bill is pending in the House Public Health Subcommittee and the Senate Judiciary Committee and would require hospital emergency rooms to offer emergency contraception (EC) to rape victims. (Hospitals may opt out by claiming religious affiliation, although rape victims must at least be told about EC.) We will be asking the sponsors how we can help get the legislation moving since the NWPC supports this bill.
SJR 127
This is the resolution calling for a state constitutional amendment that would prohibit the application of a privacy provision in Tennessee’s constitution to any rights pertaining to abortion. The NWPC has long opposed SJR127, which was also considered during the previous General Assembly. The proponents (Sen. Black is the lead Senate sponsor) argue that its passage is necessary to eliminate judicial “interference” in legislative attempts to regulate abortion. Three provisions were indeed struck down several years ago, including a 48-hour waiting period, an informed consent requirement that applied only to physicians, and a requirement that second trimester abortions being performed only in hospitals. However, a parental consent provision remains and informed consent is required by other parts of the code.
SJR 127 will clearly pass the Senate, as it has twice before, but may have a harder time on the House side, at least partly due to the lack of any continued constitutional protection for some of the most vulnerable women who may consider abortion, namely rape and incest victims and those whose lives are in danger. A Senate amendment added last week does not offer any such protection but, rather, simply states the obvious – it will be up to the legislature to consider passing such protections in the future. Unfortunately, some press accounts of the amendment have been completely incorrect.
Mandatory Joint Custody Bills
Although a 2007 bill requiring mandatory joint custody passed the Senate, it failed in a House subcommittee. That has not stopped freshman Rep. G.A. Hardaway from introducing the bill again in 2008, in the form of HB2423, with SB3387 as the companion bill, sponsored by Sen. Reginald Tate. The Senate bill has been referred to Senate Judiciary, where it easily passed last year, and the House bill is likely to go back to the House Child and Family Affairs Committee. The NWPC opposes this bill, as does the Tennessee Bar Association.
Assorted Other Ideas, Both Bad and Good!
Since some 2500 bills or so are filed every year, the NWPC tracks many bills that are too controversial or too expensive to pass or that simply never get heard in committee. We track them, however, so we can react if one of them is scheduled for a committee vote and we need to express a position. In such case, a complete analysis of one of those bills may well appear in future updates to members. In assessing many bills, the NWPC utilizes information from other organizations that follow issues affecting women and children, including the Economic Council on Women, the Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, and the Tennessee Bar Association. |
