Shorter Calendars, Longer Days

  Now that some of the subcommittees are beginning to close, smaller calendars are just around the corner! However, that also means that our afternoons and evenings spent at the Capitol will become longer and much more frequent as legislators work later hours to try to make a dent in their lengthy agendas. As of right now, we are hearing that session will last until at least the end of April, potentially spilling over into early May. If the final days are spent disagreeing over a particular budget item, that tentative adjournment time could be pushed back even more. We'll do our best to keep you informed as to when it looks like session will wrap up, especially if there is a major change in the time frame. 

  As we've done for the past few weeks, we've noted if a bill is scheduled to be heard more than once during the week to somewhat cut down on the length of our updates. However, we know that many of you are watching different bills, so we're doing our best to cover all of the bases! Please pay special attention to the notes about bills dealing with issues that are most important to us (minimum wage, equal pay, etc.) The bills that we've highlighted below are only a small fraction of all of the legislation that we're watching. We may be starting to sound like a broken record, but we'll say it again: if you have questions or concerns about a particular piece of legislation, please don't hesitate to get in contact with us!   
Monday, April 3rd
 
Senate Commerce & Labor Committee, 12:30 p.m., LP 12

Note: This committee will hear several bills dealing with equal pay, minimum wage laws and workers' compensation. We've noted those below in the agenda for the House Consumer & Human Resources Subcommittee, which is meeting on Wednesday afternoon. 

Senate Bill 1106 (HB 1246): T his bill would enact the "Tennessee Pay Equality Act," which would prohibit wage discrimination on the basis of sex.
Note: This bill failed in the House this past week at the hands of the Republican majority on the subcommittee.   

Senate Bill 1411 (HB 80): This piece of legislation would establish a $15 minimum wage beginning on July 1, 2017.
Note: This bill will also be heard in the House Consumer & Human Resources Subcommittee on Wednesday at 3 p.m. in LP 29. 

Senate Bill 1141 (HB 1184): This bill would require that all employees be given six weeks of paid leave for adoption, pregnancy, childbirth or nursing. 

Senate Bill 1237 (HB 451): This is a workers' compensation bill that has been introduced by the administration.
Note: This bill will also be heard in the House Consumer & Human Resources Committee on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in LP 30. 

Senate Bill 1313 (HB 1391):  Among other things, this is a good bill that would create the office of apprenticeship and work-study programs. 
Note: This bill will also be heard in the House State Government Subcommittee on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in LP 29. 

Senate Bill 473 (HB 979): Despite failing to pass out of committee earlier this week, the rules were suspended so that this bad bill could be heard again.  Similar to last year's "Right to Earn a Living Act," this enacts the "Freedom to Prosper Act," which limits how local governments may regulate occupations.
Note: This bill will also be heard in the House Finance, Ways & Means Subcommittee on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in LP 29. 
Tuesday, April 4th 

Senate Finance, Ways & Means Committee, 8:30 a.m., LP 12

Senate Bill 1214 (HB 325):  This is a "clean-up" workers' compensation bill that has been introduced by the administration. We have read the legislation and do not have any issues with the bill. 
Note: This bill will also be heard in the House Consumer & Human Resources Committee on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in LP 30.  

Senate State & Local Government Committee, 9:30 a.m., LP 12

Senate Bill 641 (HB 943):   Making a return appearance from last year, this is the bill that authorizes deannexation of an area within a municipality.

Senate Bill 155 (HB 271): This bad piece of legislation prohibits state and local governments from adopting sanctuary policies. It has been postponed several times in committee. 
Note: This bill will also be heard in the House State Government Subcommittee on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in LP 29. 

Senate Bill 363 (HB 1143):  A bad bill dealing with local control, this prohibits local governments from passing laws that require affordable housing. It builds on a piece of legislation that was passed last year.
Note: This bill has already passed in the House. 

Senate Bill 403 (HB 609): This is a dangerous piece of legislation that would exempt churches and religious groups from filing campaign finance disclosures when they are spending money advocating for or against various issues.

Senate Bill 512 (HB 625): This piece of legislation would prohibit implying that a non-incumbent candidate is an incumbent.   
Note: This bill will also be heard in the House Local Government Committee at 9 a.m. in LP  31. 

Senate Bill 638 (HB 358): T his bad bill would prohibit TSEA members from having their dues automatically deducted from their paychecks. While the bill specifically targets one group, it has the potential to be amended to target ALL public employees. 

Senate Bill 645 (HB 686):  This bill would require courts to impose a $5,000 fine for a conviction of voter fraud and would provide a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to that conviction.

Senate Bill 772 (HB 887): This piece of legislation would require a person to declare a statewide political party affiliation before voting in a primary election.

House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee, 10:30 a.m., LP 31

House Bill 1208 (SB 1110): This bill prohibits the outsourcing of maintenance, operation and preservation of state parks.

Senate Education Committee, 11:30 a.m., LP 12

Senate Bill 14 (HB 174):  This piece of legislation creates a list of rights and protections given to teachers. 
Note: This bill will also be heard in the House Finance, Ways & Means Subcommittee on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in LP 29. 

Senate Bill 404 (HB 356):  Among other things, this bill adds language that allows a local board of education to provide payroll deduction for dues of professional employees' organizations, but does not require an LEA to do so. This is one of our top bad bills from this year. 
Note: This bill will also be heard in the House Finance, Ways & Means Subcommittee on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in LP 29. 

Senate Bill 731 (HB 793):  According to this bill, a local director of schools may not have his or her salary increased to an amount that is higher than the governor's salary.
Note: This bill will also be heard in the House Education Administration & Planning Subcommittee at 3 p.m. in LP 29. 

House State Government Committee, 12 p.m., LP 29

House Joint Resolution 24:  This dangerous bill would  call on Congress to hold a constitutional convention for a balanced budget amendment.

House Transportation Committee, 1:30 p.m., LP 29

House Bill 1374 (HB 559):  This bill would create a state office that helps local governments with public-private initiatives dealing with transportation facilities.

House Local Government Subcommittee, 3 p.m., LP 31

House Bill 1039 (SB 582): This bill requires partisan elections in municipalities with a population greater than 100,000 and in all school board elections.  

House Bill 787 (SB 592):  A good bill, this calls for people to be automatically registered to vote when they apply for a driver's license or photo ID card. 
Note: This bill will also be heard in the Senate State & Local Government Committee at 9:30 a.m. in LP 12. 

House Bill 429 (SB 1296):  This piece of legislation would allow voters to take a picture of their own marked ballot at a polling place. 
Wednesday, April 5th

  Senate State & Local Government Corrections Subcommittee, 8 a.m., LP 12

Senate Bill 277 (HB 281): This bill deals with the scheduling and pay of correctional employees. 

House Transportation Subcommittee, 12 p.m., LP 16

House Bill 1358 (SB 1315): This bill urges the Department of Transportation to study funding for a light rail service in the Nashville area.  

House Government Operations Committee, 12 p.m., LP 30

House Bill 126 (SB 161):  This is a bad bill that would create a school voucher program for Shelby County Schools.

House Bill 817 (SB 240): This bill would authorize the governor to appoint people to fill positions on certain boards from lists submitted by interested groups. In short, this could jeopardize the positions that some of our brothers and sister hold (or could hold) on certain boards. 

House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee, 12 p.m., LP 29

House Bill 846 (SB 833): This bill authorizes the governor to expand Medicaid according to the ACA (somewhat of a "resurrection" of Insure Tennessee).

House State Government Subcommittee, 1:30 p.m., LP 29

House Bill 54 (SB 127):    A bad piece of legislation dealing with local control, this pro hibits state and local governments from taking discriminatory action against a business based on the business's internal policies. This bill has already passed in the Senate.  

House Bill 790 (SB 765): This bill would restore longevity pay for executive branch employees hired after June 30th, 2015. 
Note: This bill will also be heard in the Senate State & Local Government Committee on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. in LP 12. 

House Bill 618 (SB 851): This caption bill is part of the campaign to stop the governor's outsourcing plan and begin taking back legislative oversight from the executive branch.  
Note: This bill will also be heard in the Senate State & Local Government Committee on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. in LP 12. 

House Consumer & Human Resources Subcommittee, 3 p.m., LP 29

House Bill 1060 (SB 1122):  Among other provisions, this bill would set a minimum wage that increases each year on July 1st. 
Note: This bill will also be heard in the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee on Monday at 12:30 p.m. in LP 12.

House Bill 38 (SB 124): This piece of legislation extends certain employment protections to members of the army and air national guards, state guards and civil air patrols of other states so that they are consistent those that already exist for Tennessee members. 
Note: This bill will also be heard in the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee on Monday at 12:30 p.m. in LP 12.

House Bill 939 (SB 261): According to this bill, workers' compensation cases would be required to go through the bureau's appeals board before seeking appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court. 
Note: This bill will also be heard in the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee on Monday at 12:30 p.m. in LP 12.

House Bill 1309 (SB 1094): This piece of legislation increases the amount of notice that a person has to give before cancelling an approved 30-minute break waiver. 
Note: This bill will also be heard in the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee on Monday at 12:30 p.m. in LP 12.
Contact:
Alyssa Hansen, Communications Director
1901 Lindell Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203  |   615.269.7111