Posted by jbmccord on 04/13/10

Senate Floor Vote April 12th

 SB3194 (Lowe Finney) / HB3175 (Eric Swafford) Purchasing As amended,clarifies that the purchase price received by a municipality from a cooperative purchasing alliance is to be considered 1 of 3 bids under competitive bidding procedures. As introduced, allows municipalities to purchase through cooperative purchasing alliances, whether based in Tennessee or elsewhere. In addition, this legislation allows local governments to purchase equipment under the same terms of a legal bid initiated by any other local government. THIS IS A TML-SPONSORED BILL.

Senate Judiciary April 13th

 SB3781 (Dewayne Bunch) / HB3050 (Eric Watson) Open Records States that if a party, party’s attorney, or party’s agent is engaged in civil litigation in which a city is also a party, then requests for must be made via the discovery process and not the public records act. THIS IS A TML-FAVORED BILL SB3012 (Doug Jackson) / HB3125 (Curry Todd) Guns in restaurants, bars As amended, authorizes a person to carry a firearm in a restaurant licensed by the alcohol beverage commission as long as said person is not consuming alcohol, which would result in a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a minimum incarceration period of 72 hours and a minimum $500 fine. Allows businesses to post a notice of prohibition of firearms, specifying that violators with a handgun carry permit that consume alcohol in a prohibited area to be charged with a Class A misdemeanor with an incarceration period of not less than 48 hours, a fine not less than $500, and the revocation of the violator’s handgun carry permit. Requires the handgun safety courses to include a one-hour instruction on alcohol and drugs related to firearms. Note: By apperances this bill may not leave the Judical Committee. SB3669 (Brian Kelsey) / HB3703 (G.A. Hardaway) Law Enforcement Prohibits taking disciplinary action against law enforcement personnel for pursuing a suspect unless the pursuit violates the law enforcement agency’s pursuit policy and changes the liability standard for law enforcement personnel pursuing a suspect from negligence to gross negligence. SB3735 (Dewayne Bunch) / HB2694 (Vance Dennis) Guns in restaurants, bars Repeals the statutory prohibition relative to possession of a firearm where alcoholic beverages are served. SB3609 (Bill Ketron) / HB3338 (Joe Carr) Eminent Domain As amended, requires condemning entity at the request of the property owner to enter into arbitration. Should a judge later award damages equal to or greater than the arbitrator’s award, the property owner must be paid all associated costs including attorney fees and appraisal fees. The condemning entity would not be entitled to recover any fees or costs regardless of final judicial decision, even if the decision is in favor of the condemning entity. THIS IS A TML-OPPOSED BILL

 Senate Commerce, Labor & Agriculture April 14th

 SB1508 (Tim Burchett) / HB1743 (Craig Fitzhugh) Utilities As introduced, limits a municipality’s ability to regulate pole attachment fees on all municipally owned utilities; requires the Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) to mediate negotiations between parties as requested, with the requesting party paying a fee of $500 to the TRA; and gives the TRA the authority and jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this legislation after providing notice and holding a hearing. As amended, establishes best practice standards for pole attachment contract negotiations and creates a statewide operational working group compromised of three representing pole owners and three representing pole users, to be appointed by the speakers of the House and Senate. The group members will not receive state reimbursement for attending meetings. Outlines issues for the group to discuss and requires the filing of an annual report.

House Floor Vote April 12th

 HB2970 (Gary Odom) / SB2945 (Mark S. Norris) Public Safety Changes TACIR’s deadline to report on the effectiveness of TN’s current underground utility damage program to the General Assembly from January 29, 2010, to Jaunary 17, 2011. HB3153 (Harry Tindell) / SB3094 (Tim Burchett) Authorizes, after January 1, 2011, estimates from the most recent release of the American community survey five-year estimates to be used in the place of long form data for the following: (1) Determining which households are low-income households for purposes of the Competitive Cable and Video Services Act; (2) Defining an “Average Tennessee Household” under the Tennessee Housing Development Agency Act; and (3) Determining the median household income for certain age groups under the Property Tax Freeze Act. HB3152 (Harry Tindell) / SB3602 (Bill Ketron) Public Safety As amended, states that the Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance as well as the executive director of the Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy be ex-officio members of the Firefighter Personnel Standards and Training Commission, three members appointed to the commission shall be selected from candidates submitted collectively by the Tennessee Fire Chiefs Association, the Tennessee Fire Safety Inspectors Association, and the Tennessee Firemans Association, three members appointed to the commission shall be selected from candidates submitted by the governing body of the Tennessee Professional Firefighters Association, and three members appointed to the commission shall be appointed by the governor with one appointment being a career firefighter and one appointment being a volunteer firefighter. The bill also requires that all members of the commission must be at least a certified fire fighter II and a member of a fire department currently participating in the commission’s training program.

House Civil Practice & Procedure April 13th

 HB3058 (Frank S. Niceley) / SB3090 (Dewayne Bunch) Eminent Domain Requires the fair market value of property to be taken by eminent domain to be based on the highest and best use of the property, meaning the most profitable use after all improvements have been made to the property, without regard to that use which is legally allowable. Prohibits determination of highest and best use from being limited to current zoning or land use restrictions. It is estimated to increase local government expenditures more than $100,000. THIS IS A TML-OPPOSED BILL. This should a crimp in the old redevelopment scheme.

HB3125 (Curry Todd) / SB3012 (Douglas Henry) Guns in restaurants, bars As amended, authorizes a person to carry a firearm in a restaurant licensed by the alcohol beverage commission as long as said person is not consuming alcohol, which would result in a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a minimum incarceration period of 72 hours and a minimum $500 fine. Allows businesses to post a notice of prohibition of firearms, specifying that violators with a handgun carry permit that consume alcohol in a prohibited area to be charged with a Class A misdemeanor with an incarceration period of not less than 48 hours, a fine not less than $500, and the revocation of the violator’s handgun carry permit. Requires the handgun safety courses to include a one-hour instruction on alcohol and drugs related to firearms.

HB3404 (Bob Ramsey) / SB3526 (Doug Overbey) Elections authorizes any municipality, including those incorporated by private act, to change the date of municipal elections by ordinance to coincide with the August or November general elections and to extend the terms of incumbents to meet the new date so long as no term is extended for more than two years. THIS IS A TML-FAVORED BILL. This one might be a reasonable bill.

House Judiciary April 13th

 HB2719 (Stacey Campfield) / SB3753 (Dewayne Bunch) Guns in parks As amended, defines the term “greenway.” As introduced, authorizes a person with a handgun carry permit to carry a handgun on a greenway that runs through a park, even if a municipality prohibits firearms in the park. THIS IS A TML-OPPOSED BILL

HB3338 (Joe Carr) / SB3609 (Bill Ketron) Eminent Domain As amended, requires condemning entity at the request of the property owner to enter into arbitration. Should a judge later award damages equal to or greater than the arbitrator’s award, the property owner must be paid all associated costs including attorney fees and appraisal fees. The condemning entity would not be entitled to recover any fees or costs regardless of final judicial decision, even if the decision is in favor of the condemning entity. THIS IS A TML-OPPOSED BILL

HB2952 (Harry R. Brooks) / SB2703 (Tim Burchett) Traffic Citations Prohibits a municipality from formally or informally maintaining a policy of evaluating, promoting, compensation, or disciplining an officer based upon the number of traffic citations issued. Prohibits any type of quota for traffic citations. Violation by an elected official is misconduct in office and ground for removal. Violation by a non-elected person is ground for discipline up to and including termination. THIS IS A TML-OPPOSED BILL

HB3882 (Michael Kernell) / SB3114 (Beverly Marrero) Open Records Prohibits a governmental entity from limiting or denying access to any books, records, or other materials that are available for public inspection and copying pursuant to miscellaneous provisions of the present public records law on the basis that the governmental entity is involved in litigation or is contemplating involvement in litigation.

HB3537 (Mark Maddox) / SB2902 (Randy McNally) Public Safety Requires that, for each piece of evidence submitted to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) for analysis, a $20 fee be added to court costs following a conviction. Requires that fees be paid to TBI regardless of the nature of the case. Requires fees to be transmitted by the Court Clerk to the State Treasurer for deposit into a special TBI fund. Authorizes Court Clerks to deduct a five percent fee for compensation. Prohibits funds from reverting to the General Fund. Authorizes TBI to waive fees if local agencies demonstrate an inability to pay or collect through court costs. The bill is estimated to increase local government expenditures by $1.2million. THIS IS A TML-OPPOSED BILL

HB2659 (Chad Faulkner) / SB3301 (Brian Kelsey) Labor Requires that any complaint lodged against a law enforcement officer who is certified by the Tennessee peace officer standards and training commission or a firefighter who has successfully completed the minimum training requirements under present law to be in writing and signed by the person making the complaint. A signed copy of the complaint must be given to the officer or firefighter within five days of the complaint being filed. Disciplinary action may not be taken against the officer or firefighter unless the copy is given. Additionally, the officer or firefighter may not be indefinitely suspended or terminated from employment based on the complaint unless the complaint is investigated and there is evidence to prove the allegation of misconduct. THIS IS A TML-OPPOSED BILL

House Conservation & Environment April 14th

HB3683 (Joe McCord) / SB3501 (Charlotte Burks) Stormwater Fees As amended, clarifies the definition of agricultural land for exemption purposes. As introduced, extends the period to petition for review of a civil penalty or damage assessment for violating a municipal storm water ordinance from 30 to 35 days. House State and Local Government April 14th HB2998 (John DeBerry) / SB3361 (James Kyle) Tax Collection As amended, allows any municipality by ordinance to enter into contracts with the trustee to process tax relief applications; allows tax collectors in Shelby County only to extend the deadline for applications. As introduced, authorizes municipalities to enter into a contract with another local collecting authority in the same county to outsource the processing of tax relief applications. Authorizes a collecting official to waive the application deadline of a tax freeze applicant if good and reasonable cause existed for failing to file before the deadline.

HB3779 (Curry Todd) / SB2695 (Bill Ketron) Annexation Prohibits annexing municipalities from providing garbage collection services to newly annexed territories for five years from date of annexation unless collectors who served territory prior to annexation are contracted with for such services or are otherwise compensated. THIS IS A TML-OPPOSED BILL

HB2713 (Mike Turner) / SB2581 (Joe Haynes) Annexation Clarifies that a municipality may annex property outside but contiguous to its urban growth boundary by submitting the desired change in its urban growth boundary to the coordinating committee who subsequently makes a recommendation to all the legislative bodies in the county for approval. If approved, the recommended change will be submitted to the local government planning advisory committee for its approval. The annexation then may proceed by formal adoption of an ordinance. This legislation also clarifies that as an alternative to this process, a municipality may annex property outside but contiguous to its urban growth boundary by referendum of the affected property owners.

HB3864 (Jason Mumpower) / SB3489 (Ron Ramsey) Annexation Permits any municipality to expand its urban growth boundary to include tracts of land that are 10 acres or smaller if the tract is contiguous to the existing urban growth boundary and the municipal city limit and the owner of the tract consents to being included. THIS IS A TML-FAVORED BILL

HB2827 (Jim Coley) / SB2983 (Reginald Tate) Codes Allows municipalities, counties, and the state to authorize a community organization to remedy overgrown lots when the owner fails to do so within the prescribed time frame. The community organization can then place a lien on the property for reimbursement of expenses incurred in the clean-up. Purports that the community organization will assume all liability. THIS IS A TML-OPPOSED BILL

House Transportation April 14th HB3262 (Phillip Johnson) / SB3157 (Steve Southerland) Transportation Prohibits the use of traffic surveillance cameras as a means to monitor or enforce traffic violations. THIS IS A TML-OPPOSED BILL

HB3024 (Bill W. Harmon) / SB2918 (Tim Burchett) Transportation directs the comptroller to study traffic surveillance cameras, places a two-year moratorium on new cameras, and revises fines from traffic violations captured by such cameras. THIS IS A TML-OPPOSED BILL

HB3684 (Joe McCord) / SB3286 (Tim Burchett) Transportation As amended, requires non-binding referendum on traffic surveillance cameras in all municipalities currently utilizing such cameras. As introduced, requires state agency or political subdivision to disclose on official website the names and addresses of vendors operating or maintaining traffic surveillance cameras. THIS IS A TML-OPPOSED BILL

HB2516 (Chad Faulkner) / SB3040 (Mike Faulk) Transportation Prohibits the installation or maintenance of red light camera monitors on or after January 1, 2011. THIS IS A TML-OPPOSED BILL HB3371 (Ryan Haynes) / SB3287 (Tim Burchett) Transportation Prohibits traffic citations for failure to stop completely before turning right at an intersection based solely on evidence from a traffic surveillance camera.

HB1324 (Les Winningham) / SB0957 (Jim Tracy) Transportation Defines “surveillance camera” as a permanently mounted or mobile electronic device capable of recording video or photographic images. House State and Local Government April 14th HB2429 (Jim Cobb) / SB2402 (Bo Watson) Annexation Requires an election of all residents in the proposed area to be annexed prior to an annexation by ordinance. Election costs are assessed to municipality. Restores right to jury trial for annexation contests. NOTE: The Senate companion to this bill failed in the Senate State and Local Government Committee. THIS IS A TML-OPPOSED BILL

 HB3956 (Mike Stewart) / SB3430 (Douglas Henry) Zoning Allows a multifamily residential property owner to destroy present facilities and reconstruct new facilities even after a change in zoning. THIS IS A TML-OPPOSED BILL

Posted by jbmccord on 02/24/10
Last updated 02/24/10

Dear Tennessee Friends of Liberty,

Letter of Invitation

It is a great pleasure for me to invite you to the Second Annual Tennessee Campaign for Liberty Conference featuring guest speaker Dimitri Kesari of National Right to Work Foundation giving "Real-Politics Training," that will be held in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on March 6, 2010.

The mission of Campaign for Liberty is to promote and defend the great American principles of individual liberty, constitutional government, sound money, free markets, and a noninterventionist foreign policy, by means of educational and political activity.

The purpose of the convention is to select a Western, Middle and Eastern Assistant State Coordinator, and to give Tennessee Patriots Real-Politics Training and to encourage networking and fellowship among our dispersed geographic locations.

Additionally, we plan to invite Tennessee Campaign for Liberty members that are running for offices such as U.S. House of Representatives and State Legislature to attend and educate you on there campaigns and platforms.

WHAT:      Second Annual Tennessee Campaign for Liberty Conference. - Agenda forthcoming

WHO:        You

WHEN:      March 6, 2010, 9:30am until 5:00pm

WHERE:    Room S102 at The College of Basic and Applied Sciences (CBAS) on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU).

HOW:        Register HERE.  Cost $15.00. Lunch included.

I'm looking forward to meeting you all in the beautiful city of Murfreesboro!

If you feel led to speak at this event please contact me thru the website email, or directly @ jbmccord@charter.net

In liberty,

Justin McCord

Interim State Coordinator

Tennessee Campaign for Liberty

P.S.  If you are a regular member and wish to upgrade to take advantage of Local Coordinator Training, click here.

If you are not a member of Campaign for Liberty and wish to join, click here.

If you would like to send a check do so to:

Campaign for Liberty

Attn: STN1002A

PO Box 104,

Lake Jackson, TX 77566-9991

Include your (Name, address, phone and e-mail and the accounting code STN1002A)

Posted by jbmccord on 04/06/10

PROTECTING OUR US CONSTITUTION:
HJR 0030 by Hill
General Assembly - As introduced, rescinds three specific resolutions from 1977 and any other resolutions passed at any time that call for a federal constitutional convention.

                                                                       **EXTREMELY IMPORTANT**
      If you really want to protect our US Constitution and our form of government, you will fully engage in the effort to repeal the previous TN calls for an 'Article V' Federal Constitutional Convention (Con-Con). Article V of our Constitution provides two ways to amend. An amendment generated in Congress and sent to the state for ratification or 34 states call for a Con-Con where delegates are elected to form a convention. Please go HERE for why we should repeal the 'calls'. Go HERE for vital background information to understand this issue.
          You may be told that once a Con-Con is initiated, the delegates will only be able to address the issue that was the subject of the 'call'. That is the crux of the debate. A majority of legal scholars, and two former U.S. Supreme Court Justices, Warren Burger and Arthur J. Goldberg, have stated there is no assurance that an Article V convention can be limited to a particular amendment once it is convened. Any claim that Congress could, by statute, limit a convention's agenda is pure speculation. More over, once convened, a convention could reject any, or all, Congressional restrictions on its activity. Congress, therefore, may not be any more effective in restricting the agenda of a modern-day convention than was the Continental Congress in 1787 when its directives to the original constitutional convention were totally ignored. And don't buy into the 'safe harbor' argument that whatever the Convention proposes must be ratified by 38 state legislatures. The Convention could direct that the ratifications take place in state conventions, not legislatures and just at the original Convention did, change the number of states needed for ratification and/or the ratification process.
          Because of the high level of frustration with the federal government, a Constitutional Convention may seem like a 'way to take back our government' but it is actually a way to lose the Constitution, as we know it.

STATUS: HJR 30 was voted out of Civil Practice Subcommittee on Wednesday and will be in the full Judiciary Committee on Tuesday afternoon.

ACTION: Pushing for a Con-Con is bubbling up all over the country by people who DO NOT understand the risk (and a few who know exactly what they are doing). We can't control that but we can do our part in Tennessee to protect the integrity of our US Constitution. More information HERE.
To send an email to your State Representative, go HERE.

Posted 04/06/10 iclozm Placentia, CA

I enjoyed your perspective. However I believe a Fed-Con-Con could be held while preserving the current Constitution. It would require a tremendous amount of state coordination on the matter. Say a state calls a convention through legislation. In that resolution they may stipulate the scope of negotiations their representative may have. If that representative does not operate with in the confines of the resolution then the person may be automatically stripped of all rights to act on behalf of the state, per the resolution. The convention may be given a scope of what is appropriate to modify because of the stipulations of participation on the states resolution. However, that may mean 50 different sets of resolutions on the scope of what may be modified.

Posted 04/07/10 clintchedester Kearny, NJ

Thanks for the info. I have several family members in TN whom I'll contact to act on this.

Posted 04/09/10 ken j Hendersonville, TN

I don't understand why people are pushing for a convention. What we really need are a few Amendments to be ratified by the states. Off the top of my head: 1. Bills should begin with a statement of which enumerated power (or other amendment) allows the action contained in the bill. 2. Requirement that no bill may be broader than its caption and that it may only contain one subject. 3. A clarification of the Tenth Amendment and possibly an outline for a process of amicable secession. 4. A balanced budget amendment, one that forces action on the deficit and any accumulating debt. Just the threat of these being ratified may be enough to keep congress in line.

Posted by jbmccord on 04/05/10

Here are the results of the 3rd district LiberTea Debate series. these are the written responses from all of the candidates and it is important we have them posted, I figured I would give you guys the chance to have at them. It would be nice to get recognition for the work with the community, although due to the Chattanooga Tea Party most of the questions were neutered.



We can post the candidates answers on our C4L meetup site, but each of the candidates responses to all the questions would be a separate file.    But I like how they put the candidates answers side-by-side for easier comparison.  Can any of you figure out an easy way to copy onto an Open Office or Google document spreadsheet that we could upload to our meetup site?   http://chattanoogateaparty.com/libertea/debateanswers.htm   If any of you are making any progress on this, please email/reply to all so multiple people aren't working on it.   Thanks! -David


--
Jeremy Dahl
Graphic Graphics- Production and Design
423-693-4730
jeremybdahl@gmail.com

"Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness"

Posted 04/05/10 AaronA Springville, UT

Van Irion has the closest some of the best answers, however he fails, just as all the other candidates do, on use of the military. He alludes to the fact that only Congress can declare war, but kind of stopped short on saying that "the military can only be used overseas if and only if congress declares war." Overall though, I found his answers to be better. Especially in the areas of marriage, the UN, and education.

Posted by jbmccord on 03/19/10

Share This, Tell Everyone, Take Action Today

You are under attack, worst of all, the non-voting/non-active youth are under attack.

All indications are that at least three Tennessee Congresspersons are undecided on the Obama-Care legislation.

Please take a minute of your time to call your Representative, especially if you live in one of the below districts:

** Lincoln Davis (D): DC 202.225.6831; TN http://www.house.gov/lincolndavis/contact/offices.htm

** Jim Cooper (D): DC 202-225-4311; TN 615-736-5295

** Bart Gordon (D): DC (202) 225-4231; TN http://gordon.house.gov/contact/contactnumbers.shtml

** John Tanner (D): DC (202) 225-4714; TN
http://tanner.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=364
&Itemid=19

PLEASE BE POLITE. If you get a busy signal, try again.

Explain that the Senate Health Care Bill is not right for Tennessee.

One minute of your time to stop the Obama/Pelosi health care bill.

Let's do it!