Legislative Report March 17, 2012
Legislative Report, March 17, 2012
By Deb Lively and Anne Carr
WPC is tracking many pieces of legislation, but the bills below are high priority and are up for votes next week. As always, www.capitol.tn.gov is an excellent source of additional information on any issue of interest. You can watch hearings live (or after the fact) at the website, look up complete bill summaries, and email legislators directly or obtain additional contact information.
WPC has significant concerns about HB3621/SB3310, by Rep. Jim Gotto and Sen. Jack Johnson, an effort to re-write the state’s family life (sex ed and more) curriculum requirements. The bill is set for a vote in the House Education Subcommittee on Wed., March 21, at 9:00 a.m., and in the Senate Education Committee on the same date at 10:30 a.m. Please contact members of the two Education Committees and ask them to oppose this bill.
The bill revises current provisions governing when and how LEAs (local education agencies) are required to implement “family life education.” Some of the troubling provisions are: (1) a change that will reduce the number of LEAs required to implement a family life program; (2) vague language prohibiting the “promotion of gateway sexual activity,” but no definition of “gateway sexual activity;” and (3) the creation a civil cause of action against instructors who may be brought in to teach the program along with fines to be levied if a parent filing a lawsuit prevails.
Currently, LEAs with a teen pregnancy rate of 19.5 or greater among every 1000 female students who are ages 15-17 must have a family life program. The bill changes the standard to a rate of 19.5 of 1000 female students ages 11-18. This will increase the threshold for the requirement because the pregnancy rate among girls 11-14 is so much lower than among the older girls, and this will likely reduce the number of LEAs required to have a family life curriculum.
The bill also includes a list of how to teach the program with language such as, “Exclusively and emphatically promote sexual risk avoidance through abstinence, regardless of a student’s current or prior sexual experience.” There is also reportedly a move to use this legislation as a vehicle for so-called “don’t say gay” language, which is currently carried by a different piece of legislation also assigned to the Education Committees.
Senate Education Committee:
Committee Officers
- Dolores Gresham, Chair
- Reginald Tate, Vice-Chair
- Brian Kelsey, Secretary
Members
House Education Committee:
Committee Officers
- Richard Montgomery, Chair
- Joey Hensley, Vice-Chair
- Joe Carr, Secretary
Members
- Harry Brooks
- Kevin Brooks
- John DeBerry
- Lois DeBerry
- Bill Dunn
- Craig Fitzhugh
- John Forgety
- Ron Lollar
- Debra Maggart
- Jimmy Naifeh
- Joe Pitts
- Dennis Powers
- John Ragan
- Ryan Williams
- John Mark Windle
HB3466/SB3169, by Rep. Mike McDonald and Sen. Joe Haynes, would update the weight standards for child rear-facing car seats and is set for votes in the House and Senate Transportation Committees on March 20th and 21st, respectively. WPC supports this bill and encourages contacts with the members of both committees. The bill incorporates standards encouraged by the American Pediatric Society, the Children’s Hospital Association of Tennessee, and the national Transportation Safety Board.
WPC also supports HB1087/SB1985, which requires insurance companies that pay for intravenous chemotherapy to also cover oral chemo treatment. The bill is scheduled for votes in the House Commerce Subcommittee at 2:30 on Wednesday, March 21, and for the Senate Commerce Committee at 1:30 on Tuesday, March 20. Please consider contacting Commerce Committee members. This legislation is sponsored by Rep. Glen Casada and Sen. Eric Stewart.
Intravenous chemotherapy drugs are the most traditional treatment option for cancer patients, but oral chemotherapy drugs are quickly becoming a preferred method of treatment. Whether chemotherapy drugs are administered orally or intravenously, they should be covered by health insurance and offered to patients at similar prices. The bill requires coverage “on a basis no less favorable than what the health benefit plan requires for intravenously administered or injected cancer medications that are covered as medical benefits.” 15 states have enacted chemotherapy drug parity bills that require such coverage.
House Commerce Committee:
Committee Officers
- Steve McManus, Chair
- Jon Lundberg, Vice-Chair
- Pat Marsh Secretary
Members
- Charles Curtiss
- Linda Elam
- Joanne Favors
- Brenda Gilmore
- Ryan Haynes
- G. A. Hardaway
- Bill Harmon
- Curtis Johnson
- Phillip Johnson
- Jimmy Matlock
- Don Miller
- Richard Montgomery
- Joe Pitts
- Mark Pody
- Dennis Powers
- John Ragan
- Dennis Roach
- Charles Sargent
- Cameron Sexton
- David Shepard
- Janis Sontany
- Art Swann
- Curry Todd
- Joe Towns
- Kent Williams
- Tim Wirgau
Senate Commerce Committee:
Committee Officers
- Jack Johnson, Chair
- Mike Faulk, Vice-Chair
- Charlotte Burks, Secretary
Members
Other Issues
Attached is a list of other bills of interest which are still active during the 2012 legislative session. One special note regarding an earlier report – the two HJRs and one bill that were aimed at reducing the use of “Plan B” emergency contraception were never put on notice, and the relevant committees have scheduled their last meetings for this year. This means it is extremely unlikely that they could now be considered. You can determine the status, such as whether it is set for committee votes, by looking at the House or Senate status at the end of the description of each bill. Bill summaries and fiscal notes are available at www.capitol.tn.gov, and please don’t hesitate to send us your questions or comments!
