Legislative Report February 8, 2013

About 1200 pieces of legislation have now been filed for consideration during the 108th General Assembly, and the final filing deadline is Feb. 14. There is a new 15 bill limit for the 99 House members, with an exclusion for administration bills, so I’m assuming we will have just under 1600 bills to review by then. Two top priority subjects appear below, but we will also be tracking bills related to custody and child support and low income, vulnerable women and children, as we have in the past.

Human trafficking legislation will be a top priority for WPC this year, and there are 14 bills related to that subject. Several good bills were passed in the last few years, thanks in large part to Rep. Jim Coley and former Sen. Beverly Marrero, both of Memphis. Coley chairs the Civil Justice Subcommittee in the House and will continue to be a leader in the effort to stop human trafficking. His staff assistant, Stephanie Peterson, has also become an expert in the subject and has been kind enough to help educate me so that WPC members can take a larger role in any grassroots efforts that are needed.

Here is a list of the 14 human trafficking bills filed thus far, including the House and Senate sponsors and a one sentence summary of each bill. After the filing deadline, I will provide a more complete description of each bill. I am not yet sure which bills will be the more difficult to pass.

Mandatory Ultrasounds for Abortion Patients

Well, this one should be interesting. SB682/HB984 was filed by Sen. Jim Tracy, who recently announced he is running for Congress in 2014, and Rep. Rick Womick, of Murfreesboro. Tracy represents Marshall, Bedford, Lincoln, and part of Rutherford Counties.

Here is what the bill says:

• Requires all women prior to abortion to have a “trans-abdominal” (as opposed to vaginal) ultrasound, which must occur between 72 and 24 hours prior to an abortion;
• Mandates that the clinician “provide a simultaneous verbal explanation of the ultrasound, including ….. the dimensions of the embryo or fetus, the presence of cardiac activity, the presence of arms and legs, if any, external members, internal organs, and provide a copy of the ultrasound image….” ; and
• Mandates that the woman be required to listen to the heartbeat, if any.

Here is what the bill does:

• Results in additional expense and inconvenience for the patient, who will have to make two separate visits on two separate days to the clinic, physician’s office, or hospital;
• Ignores the fact that ultrasounds are routinely utilized already prior to an abortion to determine or confirm the length of the pregnancy; and
• Ignores the fact that vaginal ultrasounds are more typically utilized early in pregnancy when trans-abdominal ultrasounds will provide little information.

Just by way of general information, there are also about 15 gun bills filed thus far, including one that says the state will arrest any federal or state agent who tries to enforce any federal law related to guns. More information next week!