Battlefield: Nashville

The Commercial Appeal
April 3, 2005

Here are some of the Memphis and Shelby County issues being fought out in the state legislature:

City schools: Mayor Willie Herenton and Memphis City Schools lawyer Percy Harvey dueled before the Shelby delegation over funding for the city school system. The mayor wants the city to end its $89 million subsidy of the schools and shift responsibility for their funding to the county. Harvey has state legislation pending that would move authority to set school tax rates from the City Council to the state legislature. Herenton asked lawmakers to block the bill.

County schools: Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, has a bill to give both city and county school systems "special school district" status under state law, protecting their boundaries and giving their boards more taxing authority. (Memphis is already a special school district but under separate provisions of the law.)

Local control of smoking: Germantown is pushing for a bill to restore control over local smoking policies -- particularly in restaurants -- to local city councils. At the urging of the tobacco industry, the state legislature jerked that authority away in the 1990s.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water: Alarmed at the suggestion a couple of years ago that the city consider selling its utility, Sen. Steve Cohen and Rep. Kathryn Bowers, both D-Memphis, have filed bills to require a public referendum before MLGW can be sold.

School funding and tax abatements: Memphis and Shelby County industrial development boards, like the Center City Commission, give businesses more tax abatements than any other place in the state, under arrangements called payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOTs. Rep. Curry Todd, R-Collierville, and Memphis Regional Chamber of Commerce executives are at odds over Todd's bill that would prohibit negotiating away the portion of local taxes that are legally earmarked for schools.

Domestic violence: Although it's a statewide problem, Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Bill Gibbons is taking the lead on asking the legislature to approve tougher penalties for domestic violence. He is also seeking state funding for a local drug court.

Others: There are also several smaller measures on the state legislative wish lists of Memphis officials. Sheriff Mark Luttrell wants lawmakers to allow him to raise fees on serving civil papers. Memphis wants the legislature to give the city authority to force railroads to maintain street crossings, and to clarify the city's authority to collect fees for the demolition and repair of unsafe structures.