March 13, 2011, Legislative Update
Brenda Gadd, VP Legislation
Anne Carr, Lobbyist
Governor Haslam presents his first State of the State and budget address on Monday, March 14, at 5:45 p.m. to a joint legislative session of the House and Senate. Of particular interest to WPC members will be whether he proposes continued funding for the Coordinate School Health (CSH) program, which was funded by $15 million in non-recurring funding in the current year’s budget, and the grants provided through the Governor’s Office of Child Care Coordination (GOCCC), which received approximately $10 million in non-recurring funding this year. WPC lobbied heavily for the funding last year. (Note: Last year, although CSH had been slated to be cut, Governor Bredesen decided to move money from the state’s reserve fund to save CSH. GOCCC funds were added late in session by the legislature.)
This past week saw the following action on bills tracked by WPC:
HB871/SB83, by Rep. Harry Brooks and Sen. Mike Faulk, expands the protection of breast-feeding mothers beyond the current limit of up to the child’s age of 12 months. The House bill was approved by the general subcommittee of House Health last week and will be considered by the full House Health Committee on Wed, March 16, at 12:30. The Senate bill has not yet been scheduled in the General Welfare Committee.
HB570/SB509, by Rep. Vance Dennis and Sen. Mike Faulk, on when petitioners for an order of protection may be charged fees and court costs, was deferred in both the Senate and House Judiciary Committees until Tuesday, March 15, at 3:30 and 10:30, respectively.
HB171/SB604, by Rep. Jim Coley and Sen. Beverly Marrero, affects the seizure of assets of those found guilty of human trafficking. It was deferred last week in the general subcommittee of House Judiciary and is on the subcommittee calendar this Wednesday at 3:30.
The following are also up for action this week:
HB1577/SB1679, by Rep. Joe Carr and Sen. Jim Tracy, which sets penalties for authority figures who engage in sexual conduct with minors, is to be heard in the House Judiciary Committee. It passed the subcommittee last week and has not been set for the Senate Judiciary Committee.
HB571/SB803, by Rep. Vance Dennis and Sen. Andy Berke, requires custody arrangements that permit both parents to enjoy the maximum participation in the life of their child. It was approved by the subcommittee of the House Child and Family Affairs Committee last week and faces full committee action on Wednesday at 2:00. There has not been a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on it yet.
HB215/SB1328, by Rep. G.A. Hardaway and Sen. Stacy Campfield, allows a court to order electronic tracking devices for first time violators of orders of protection and requires a court to order such devices for second and subsequent violations. It is also on the calendar for the House Judiciary general subcommittee this Wednesday at 3:30.
HB1903/SB1409, by Rep. Joey Hensley and Sen. Dolores Gresham, allows, on a case-by-case basis, a child who has not reached five years of age by September 30 to enter school, if a parent requests early entrance and the LEA determines early entrance is in the best interest of the child. It is in the general subcommittee of the House Education Committee on Tuesday, March 15, at noon.
On the next WPC legislative report, watch for an analysis of the six bills aimed at abortion and a summary of the budget address by Governor Haslam.
