BILL WATCH
Bill Watch is a service of the Knoxville Bar Association Legislative Committee. During the legislative session, the KBA will distribute an updated report, through the support of Stephanie D. Coleman of Owings, Wilson & Coleman. The report will indicate progress and recent actions taken on the bills of interest to KBA members.
You can also get information about the General Assembly, including the text of bills and floor and committee calendars, by accessing the legislative web site at www.capitol.tn.gov.
Education/ Human Trafficking - The Senate Education Committee last week passed a bill requiring all school employees to be trained to detect and prevent human trafficking of children. Currently, only teachers are required to take the training. Senate Bill 1670 seeks to expand that requirement to all other personnel that aren’t contractors, including bus drivers, janitors or cafeteria workers, every three years. The training course would be online and last roughly 45 minutes to an hour.
Tax credits – Senate Commerce and Labor Committee passed SB 900. The Commerce and Labor Committee unanimously approved legislation that would create a tax credit program to encourage economic growth in rural and low-income areas. The bill will be reviewed by the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee next. The program created by the “New Markets Development Act” would fund small businesses located in Tennessee through insurance premium tax credits. Through the program, investment groups would receive tax breaks if they offer loans or invest in businesses or developments in low-income or rural areas.
Voting - Legislation banning ranked choice or instant runoff voting in state and local elections was passed by the Senate State and Local Government Committee last week. Ranked choice voting is a voting method in which voters rank candidates by preference. The candidate with a majority of first-preference votes wins. If no candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, then the candidate with the lowest preference is eliminated and their votes are redistributed among the remaining candidates. Senate Bill 1820 will next be considered by the full Senate.
Education – SB 1679, which would make compensation for school board members equal to that of county and municipal legislators, was approved by the Senate Education Committee last week. A majority of school boards members in Tennessee are paid less than the members of the local governing bodies.
Internships — The Senate last week unanimously passed Senate Bill 520, which expands internship opportunities for high school students starting in the 2022-2023 school year. High school students are currently allowed to enroll in college courses at community as well as Tennessee College of Applied Technology colleges, some of which offer or require internships. This bill expands coverage of certain existing accident insurance for those students participating in college-based internships.
Travel Insurance - Passed by the Commerce and Labor Committee last week, Senate Bill 1868 clarifies existing law that regulates travel insurance. Adopted by 18 other states, the bill includes provisions offering savings to the consumer and prohibits the automatic addition of travel insurance to a booking.
Cemetery Trust - Senate Bill 1934 allows cemeteries with small trust funds to share banking and trustee costs with other cemetery trust funds, and also revises the way cemeteries determine the amount allowed for dispersing earnings for maintenance expenses.
Probate/Receiverships - Senate Bill 1680 authorizes the court to appoint a public receiver to make a recommendation on the need for a temporary or permanent receiver over an estate. It also requires that petitions for administration of an estate require the inclusion of information about businesses owned by the decedent to give the court an opportunity to intervene in the running of a business earlier and protect the assets.
Child abuse - Advanced by the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, Senate Bill 1793 would require a court to revoke bail immediately notwithstanding sentencing hearings, motions for a new trial, or related post-guilt determination hearings, for a defendant who is convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a child. “Continuous” is defined roughly as three or more acts of abuse within 90 days.
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