TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

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Adoption Bill Passes House

Posted by: Berkley Schwarz on Apr 6, 2018
The Tennessee: First In Adoption Act, HB1856, passed the House of Representatives unanimously this week. Sponsored by Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, and Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, the legislation makes significant changes to Tennessee adoption laws. The legislation was drafted by members of the TBA Adoption Law Section, and it addresses a number of issues, such as simplifying and adding to the Tennessee Code the parental surrender form, clarifying parental termination grounds, and affording greater protections to biological fathers attempting to assert their parental rights. Earlier in the week, the Senate Judiciary Committee had voted to adopt the House Civil Justice Committee amendment and recommend the Senate version, SB1851, which is now identical to the House bill for passage. The next step will be consideration by the full Senate.

Forfeiture Law Reform Bill Passes Senate

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 6, 2018
A bill providing protections for people to regain property seized by law enforcement is headed to Gov. Bill Haslam’s desk after passing the Senate yesterday, the Times Free Press reports. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, said it was the rare piece of legislation that had backing by both the Beacon Center and the American Civil Liberties Union. The legislation requires authorities to provide notice within five days of a property seizure of a forfeiture-warrant hearing, and says a seizing agency found to be in the wrong must pay attorneys fees. It also provides a more defined process for individuals charged with a crime to recoup their property seized, provided that property was not involved in commission of a crime.

Tennessee’s First Female African-American Senator to Retire

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 4, 2018
Sen. Thelma Harper, Tennessee’s first African-American woman to serve in the State Senate, announced today that she is stepping down after 27 years in the legislature. NewsChannel5 reports Harper, the Nashville Democrat representing the 19th district, was also the first woman to preside over the Senate, and spoke at the Democratic National Convention in 2000.

Bump Stock Ban Fails at Legislature

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 4, 2018
An effort to ban bump stocks in Tennessee has failed, the Associated Press reports. While President Donald Trump has shown support for a ban on bump stocks following their use in a mass shooting in Las Vegas last year, the proposal didn’t generate enough Republican support at the Tennessee legislature to pass. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Lee Harris, D-Memphis, and Rep. Dwayne Thompson, D-Cordova.

Medical Cannabis Dead in Legislature for the Year

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 3, 2018
The sponsor of a bill that would have allowed certain individuals with serious illness to obtain cannabis legally in Tennessee pulled his legislation today, WJHL reports. Sen. Steve Dickerson, R-Nashville, said that he worried that passing the bill as it was amended would only forestall the full legislation of medical marijuana in Tennessee, and promised to return next year with a more permissive bill.

Legislature Rejects Bill to Arm Teachers

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 3, 2018
Tennessee lawmakers today voted down a bill that would have allowed teachers in schools across the state to be armed on campus, WPLN reports. The House Education Administration and Planning Committee rejected the bill on a voice vote. Legislators said they’d rather continue with the state’s current policy of allowing only trained police officers to carry guns in schools.

Legislature Considers Banning Acceptance of Consular ID Cards

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 2, 2018
The Tennessee legislature is now considering legislation that would prohibit state and local officials from accepting student IDs, library cards and matricula consular IDs, The Tennessean reports. Consular IDs are commonly used by Mexican immigrants to verify their identity and help the Mexican government track its citizens. The bill will be taken up by the House State Government Committee at its final meeting tomorrow.

Tennessee Republicans File Bill Against Neo-Nazis

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 30, 2018
Two weeks after killing a Democrat’s resolution to denounce neo-Nazis, Republican lawmakers have introduced a similar bill of their own, The Tennessean reports. The Republicans’ bill is nearly identical to the one previously filed by Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville; however it omits a paragraph urging law enforcement to pursue white nationalist groups as “domestic terrorist organizations.” Clemmons’ bill made national headlines earlier this month after the House State Government Subcommittee refused to even discuss it. "They either have an intra-party dispute about whether Nazis are bad or they killed my resolution for politically partisan reasons or both," Clemmons said of the new bill, sponsored by House Republican Caucus Chair Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville.

Byrd Refuses to Resign Despite Allegations

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 28, 2018
Although House Speaker Beth Harwell has called on him to resign, Rep. David Byrd announced he has no plans to leave the legislature amid allegations that he engaged in sexual misconduct with teenage girls 30 years ago, Humphrey on the Hill reports. In his statement to the press, Byrd said that “conduct over 30 years ago is difficult, at best to recall” and said he was disappointed in Harwell for calling for his resignation. WSMV reports that three girls who played on a high school basketball team Byrd coached  have come forward, with one producing a recorded phone call with Byrd in which he apologizes for previous wrongdoings. Two of the girls were 15 and one was 16 at the time of the alleged misconduct.

House Committee Advances Medical Cannabis Bill

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 28, 2018
With minor amendments, the bill to allow medical cannabis for certain patients with serious illnesses in Tennessee has passed a second House committee, The Tennessean reports. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Crosby, advanced from the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee with a 9-2 vote. Changes made to the bill include elimination a provision that would allow people to obtain medical cannabis cards from other states in order to hold cannabis in Tennessee, and removal of two of the acceptable illnesses.
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