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February 6, 2004For more details on bills, visit the legislative website at http://www.legislature.state.tn.us. Court decision renews focus on defense of marriage legislation NASHVILLE-Action Wednesday by activist judges on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court may result in the first-ever legalized same-sex marriages in America, bringing new attention and renewing focus on Senate Joint Resolution 27 by Senator David Fowler (R-Signal Mountain) which urges passage of a federal constitutional amendment to define marriage exclusively as a "union of a man and a woman." On May 21, 2003, the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee deferred action on the measure until 2004, the second year of the two-year-long 103rd General Assembly. It remains viable and the sponsor intends to keep it alive. [ <http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/bills/currentga/BILL/SJR0027.pdf> ] The proposed Federal Marriage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution would read: "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this constitution or the constitution of any state, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups." Under the proposed federal amendment, state legislatures would also retain the power to authorize or prohibit civil unions and domestic partnerships within their respective boundaries. Article V of the U.S. Constitution, Mode of amendment, requires passage by three-fourths of the states, or 38 out of the 50 states, to change that constitution. The Tennessee General Assembly passed Public Chapter 1031 in the Acts of 1996 (1996 SB 2305/HB 2907). That act, once codified into law, became Tennessee Code Annotated 36-3-113 and establishes that the legal union in matrimony of only one man and one woman shall be the only recognized marriage in this Tennessee. TCA 36-3-113 (d) further states: if another state or foreign jurisdiction issues a license for persons to marry which marriages are prohibited in this state, any such marriage shall be void and unenforceable in this state. As Tennessee debated its statute during 1996, 15 states had already explicitly defined that marriage is a contract between a man and a woman. At the time, 10 other states were considering legislation to do likewise. The number of states which have successfully passed marriage defense legislation has gone up since then. On Tuesday, the Ohio House approved a strict Defense of Marriage Act and sent it to their governor for signature, becoming the 38th state to pass such a measure, according to a report by WCPO http://www.wcpo.com/news/2004/local/02/03/marriage_passed.html ]. Senators Fowler and Jeff Miller (R-Cleveland) were among the Senate prime co-sponsors of SB 2305 in 1996 which established what is now the legal definition of marriage in Tennessee. Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville), and Senators Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet), Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville) and Micheal Williams (R-Maynardville), all members of the state House of Representatives at the time, were House co-sponsors of the House companion bill, HB 2907. Senator Miller is now sponsoring Senate Bill 2661 (the companion bill in the House is HB 2627) to prohibit legal recognition of civil unions and domestic partnerships from another state. "This is just plain, good common sense and reflects the will of the vast majority of Tennesseans," stated Senator Miller. * * * Bills, Bills, Bills * * * All things considered: After action this week, the Senate has 3,212 Senate bills filed as of 10:43 a.m., while the House has 3,352 bills. Resolutions: Senate Joint Resolutions now number up to 729; HJRs 844; SRs 119; and HRs 253. Through Thursday (February 5), the Senate has used 57 legislative days with the House having used 52 days. Article II, Section 23 of the state Constitution provides for 90 paid regular legislative session days for every two-year-long General Assembly. The Senate and House return for session at 5 p.m. on Monday. * * * Nine-Bill Cut-Off Filing Deadline: Members of the Senate have until 5 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 5) to file legislation under the 9-bill limit cut-off. The 9-bill limit does not affect local bills and most resolutions. * * * Budget, budget, budget & The State of TennCare. The General Assembly plans to hear the governor's proposed solution for TennCare on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2004, during a Joint Convention of the Senate and the House of Representatives. * * * Senate Floor Actions * * * The full Senate unanimously approved Senate Joint Resolution 699 Wednesday to urge Congress to study the growing scope of federal preemption of the banking industry by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and to enact legislation, if necessary, to prevent such preemption and the unilateral expansion of jurisdiction of financial institutions without specific endorsement of the elected representatives of the U.S. Congress, per its summary [ http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/bills/currentga/Fiscal/SJR0699.pdf ]. Republican Senators Bill Clabough (R-Maryville), Mark Norris (R-Collierville), Jim Bryson (R-Franklin) and Micheal Williams (R-Maynardville) are among co-prime sponsors of the measure. All members were added on the floor as sponsors of the measure. * * * SB 2097 by Senator Burchett passed unanimously through the full Senate Wednesday to state that the name and address of any college in this state at which a sexual offender is employed or attends school is public information and is to be available by October 1, 2004, on the Tennessee Internet home page for convictions occurring on or after July 1, 1997, rather than October 27, 2002. Federal funds are at risk without the change and Tennessee is not federally certified for its Sexual Offender Registry. Senator Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City) co-sponsors the measure. * * * SB 2098 by Senator Burchett passed unanimously through the full Senate Wednesday to clarify a bill passed last year and seeks "to require rather than to authorize" the release by colleges and universities of the final results of student disciplinary proceedings involving crimes of violence, sex offense, alcohol or drug possession unless such disclosure is prohibited by federal law. Senator Crowe co-sponsors the measure. * * * The Senate approved SJR 683 Wednesday by unanimous consent to recognize the 4th Tuesday in February as Spay Day in Tennessee. * * * SB 2249 by Senator Fowler passed the Senate Thursday by unanimous consent of the Senate to allow for the filing of financial disclosure statements by fax. * * * SB 2217 passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Thursday to require state departments to report to the General Assembly information about federal grant funds received, including the amount and duration of the grant, the anticipated termination of the grant program, and the anticipated state appropriations needed to continue the services following termination of the grant or grant program. * * * SB 2315 by Senator Clabough passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Thursday to allow a municipality or county, with the approval of the state director of local finance, to prepare and adopt a biennial budget, allowing them to budget for two years rather than one. * * * SB 2317 by Senator Clabough passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Thursday to add undergrounding of electrical and other utility cables, including streetscape improvements, to the definition of improvement which requires municipalities to follow statutory procedures for making annual improvement assessments. * * * SB 2322 passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Thursday to allow persons who are local government, public housing authority, or non-profit corporation employees who do not have a financial interest in a housing development to serve on the Tennessee Housing Development Agency board. * * * SB 2330 passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Thursday to define the term "employees of local government and quasi-governmental organizations" to include utility district commissioners, for purposes of the local government health insurance plan as a cost-saving move for local government. * * * SB 2337 passed by unanimous consent of the Senate Thursday to raise the maximum employee suggestion award from $6,000 to $10,000 and to allow the board to set a higher award in extraordinary situations. * * * Selected Senate Committee Actions * * * Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee: Senate FW&M members on Tuesday began the lengthy process of reviewing the details of the governor's budget as proposed Monday evening. * * * Senate State and Local Government Committee: SB 348 passed out of the Senate State and Local Government Committee by an 8-1 vote to allow the continuation of certain uses of structures, and on- and off-site signs not in conformance with local government zoning. * * * SB 2252 passed unanimously out of the Senate State and Local Government Committee to prohibit air fare reimbursement in excess of standard coach fare for any official, officer, or employee of the state of Tennessee, or the state board of regents, the UT board of trustees, or their institutions. The bill comes as part of a measured response to an audit last year of a former UT president. * * * SB 2253 passed unanimously out of the Senate State and Local Government Committee to prohibit a candidate for a local office from transferring funds from that candidate's local campaign fund to the candidate's own campaign fund for General Assembly or governor. * * * Senate Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee: SB 2432 by Senator Burchett passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee to permit a state or local correctional officer who has completed the basic correctional training program and who is current on annual refresher courses to be issued an "unarmed security guard/officer" registration card without completion of the required training. * * * SB 2329 passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee to provide that certain individuals, who are deemed by the IRS not to be employees of certain firms for purposes of certain federal statutes, shall not be deemed to be employees of such firms for purposes of the Tennessee employment security law. * * * Senate Judiciary Committee: SB 2224 by Senator Fowler passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee to require a stamp used to imprint a seal of an office to be a color other than black that will appear as black when photocopied. * * * SB 2681 passed out of Senate Judiciary Committee to define the word "grandparent" for purposes of the grandparent visitation statutes. The bill includes four specific definitions though it does not necessarily limit the meaning of the word to just those four uses. According to the bill summary, present law authorizes grandparents to petition for child visitation rights under certain circumstances. This bill would specifically apply the present law authorization for grandparents to petition for visitation to the following types of grandparents: a biological grandparent, the spouse of a biological grandparent, an adoptive parent's parent, and a stepparent's parent. * * * Senate Education Committee: SB 2416 by Senator Ben Atchley (R-Knoxville) passed out of the Senate Education Committee to provide that a charter school is to administer the state value-added testing for its students. * * * SB 2613 by Senator Crowe, Senate Chairman of the Joint Select Committee on Veterans Affairs, passed out of the Senate Education Committee to include additional medals as qualifying service for educational assistance benefits for veterans. * * * SB 2614 by Senator Crowe passed out of the Senate Education Committee to allow the granting of a high school diploma to veterans of the Korean War just as they may be granted to World War I and World War II veterans. * * * SB 2619 by Senator Crowe passed out of the Senate Education Committee to drop the number of semester hours from 150 to 136 that a student may accumulate before losing educational benefits for children of Prisoners of War (POWs) and persons Missing in Action (MIAs) or Killed in Action (KIAs). * * * SB 2620 by Senator Crowe passed out of the Senate Education Committee to make stepchildren, as well as natural and adopted children, eligible for waiver of tuition and fees for children of POWs, MIAs, or KIAs. * * * Senate General Welfare, Health, and Human Resources Committee: SB 2149 by Senator Atchley passed out of the Senate General Welfare Committee to revise registration requirements for reflexology practitioners |
