STATE OF TENNESSEE Page 1

th
105 General Assembly

HOUSE MESSAGE CALENDAR

for consideration of Senate Actions

Summary of General Bills

Monday, June 04, 2007

Published by the Office of the Chief Clerk

(Asterisked number indicates which bill is printed in your file.)

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1. *HB 0094 by *Borchert, Fraley, Tidwell, DeBerry J (SB 1705 by *Herron,

Marrero B)
Child Custody and Support - Requires self-employed child support
obligors to establish a bank account for deposit of child support funds and
allow the department of human services to retrieve those funds by
automatic bank withdrawal on a periodic basis. - Amends TCA Section 36-
5-501.

Summary: Under present law, if a parent becomes an obligor under a child support
order, and if the court orders an immediate income assignment, then the department of
human services ,or its contractor in Title IV-D cases, must immediately issue an income
assignment to an employer once the employer of an obligor has been identified. This
assignment has the effect of diverting the ordered amount of child support as a deduction
from the obligor's paycheck. The deduction is then collected by the department and paid
to the obligee through the department's central collection and disbursement unit.

This bill requires a self-employed child support obligor to establish a bank account for
deposit of child support funds. If the obligor is a partner, member, owner or officer of a
business entity, then the entity must establish the bank account. The department of
human services would retrieve those support funds subject to income assignment by
automatic bank withdrawal on a periodic basis. Failure of an obligor to deposit the
required amount into the account or authorize automatic withdrawal of the funds by the
department would constitute failure to comply with a child support order, which is
punishable by a civil penalty of $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second violation, and
$500 for each subsequent violation.

ON MAY 31, 2007, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 94 FOR SENATE
BILL 1705, ADOPTED AMENDMENTS #1, #2, AND #3 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL
94, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 requires failure to deposit the required amount or to authorize

automatic withdrawal of the required amount by the department's central collection and
disbursement unit to be punished as civil contempt instead of a civil penalty of $100 to
$500.

AMENDMENT #2 defines "self employed" as earning one's livelihood directly from

one's own business, trade or profession rather than as a specified salary or wages from an
employer, in order to determine who would be required to open an account for child
support deposits as required by this bill.

AMENDMENT #3 authorizes courts to order self employed persons and business

owners to open bank accounts for child support deposits, instead of requiring those
persons to open the accounts.
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2. *HB 0099 by *Winningham, Brooks H, Eldridge, Coley, Montgomery, Overbey,

Armstrong, DeBerry L, Naifeh, Hawk, McDaniel, Roach, Harrison, Williams,
McCord, Vaughn, Lollar, Sontany, Odom, Ferguson, Dean, Favors, Baird, Casada,
Dunn, Bone, Shaw, Fincher, Johnson C, DuBois, Gresham, Hackworth, Briley,
Brown, Hill, Bell, Cooper B, Maddox, Pinion, Shepard, McManus, Lynn,
McCormick, Crider, Lundberg, Pitts, Tindell, Maggart, Hensley, Turner M, Litz,
Rinks, Todd, Bibb, Yokley, Fraley, Hardaway, Miller L, Hood, Windle, Bass,
Matheny, Gilmore, Pruitt, Moore, Mumpower, Johnson P, McDonald (SB 0620 by
*Woodson, Bunch, Tate, Harper, Marrero B, Ford, O.)
Education - Provides for establishment of cooperative innovative
programs in high schools and public colleges and universities; requires
articulation agreement for college credit for certain high school courses. -
Amends TCA Title 49.

Summary: This bill authorizes public postsecondary institutions and LEAs to jointly
establish cooperative innovative programs in high schools and public postsecondary
institutions, including, but not limited to community colleges. The programs will target:

(1) High school students who are at risk of dropping out of school before attaining a
high school diploma; or
(2) High school students who would benefit from accelerated academic instruction.

Cooperative innovative high school programs may include the creation of a school
within a school, a technical high school, or a high school or technical center located on
the campus of a postsecondary institution. Students will be eligible to attend these
programs from the ninth grade.

This bill specifies that an LEA and a public postsecondary institution will jointly apply
to establish a cooperative innovative high school program under this bill. The application
must include, among other things, a description of a program that implements the
purposes of this bill, a statement of how the program relates to the economic
development of the region in which the program is to be located, a description of student
academic and vocational achievement goals and the method of demonstrating that
students have attained the skills and knowledge specified for those goals, a description of
how the program will be operated, including how students will be selected from the
program, budgeting, curriculum, transportation, and operating procedures, and a
description of the funds that will be used and a proposed budget for the program.

The application must be submitted to the state board of education and the governing
board of the applicant public postsecondary institution. The state board of education,
Tennessee higher education commission, board of trustees of the University of Tennessee
system and Tennessee board of regents will appoint a joint advisory committee to review
the applications and to recommend to the state board and the governing board of the
applicant public postsecondary institution those programs that meet the requirements of
this bill.

Priority will be given to applications that are most likely to further state education
policies, to address the economic development needs of the regions in which they are
located, and to strengthen the educational programs offered in the LEAs in which they are
located.

This bill authorizes any or all of the following education partners to participate in the
development of a cooperative innovative program that is targeted to high school students
who would benefit from accelerated academic instruction:

(1) A public postsecondary institution other than the applicant public postsecondary
institution;
(2) A private college or university located in Tennessee;
(3) A private business or organization; or
(4) The county legislative body in the county in which the program is located.
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A program approved under this bill will operate under the terms of a written
agreement signed by the LEA and the applicant public postsecondary institution, the state
board of education and the governing body of the applicant public postsecondary
institution. The agreement may be for a term of no longer than five school years. This
bill authorizes a waiver of certain laws and rules that may inhibit or hinder the program's
ability to meet its goals.

The state board of education, department of education, Tennessee higher education

commission, board of trustees of the University of Tennessee and the board of regents
will evaluate the success of students in programs approved under this bill and jointly
report to the select oversight committee on education annually by October 15. If, by
October 15, 2010, the state board of education, board of trustees of the University of
Tennessee and the board of regents determine any or all of these programs have been
successful, they will jointly develop a prototype plan for similar programs that could be
expanded across the state.

This bill requires the state board of education, the department of education, the
Tennessee higher education commission, the University of Tennessee system and the
board of regents to form a curriculum alignment committee composed of:

(1) Six experienced high school teachers, three of whom will be appointed by the
commissioner of education and three of whom will be appointed by the executive director
of the state board of education;
(2) Two experienced community college teachers appointed by the chancellor of the
board of regents;
(3) Two experienced technology center teachers appointed by the chancellor of the
board of regents;
(4) Two college educators appointed by the president of the University of Tennessee
system;
(5) One public school curriculum specialist appointed by the commissioner of
education;
(6) One community college curriculum specialist appointed by the executive director
of the Tennessee higher education commission; and
(7) One technology center curriculum specialist appointed by the executive director
of the Tennessee higher education commission.

Members of the curriculum alignment committee will not receive compensation for
serving on the committee, but will be reimbursed for attendance at meetings in
accordance with the comprehensive travel regulations. The committee will oversee the
development of a high school to community college and technology center articulation
agreement that will govern the articulation of courses between the public high schools of
this state and the community colleges and technology centers of the Tennessee board of
regents system. This bill requires that the high school to community college and
technology center articulation agreement be completed by June 30, 2008.

This bill requires the department of education and the Tennessee higher education
commission to determine the criteria for the award of college credit for high school
courses identified for articulation and the process by which credit will be documented
and awarded.

ON MAY 16, 2007, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2 AND PASSED

HOUSE BILL 99, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #2 revises various provisions of this bill, including the following:

This amendment authorizes two or more LEAs in cooperation with one or more public
postsecondary institutions to jointly apply to establish a cooperative innovative high
school program, instead of requiring an LEA and a public postsecondary institution
jointly applying.
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This amendment requires the state board of education, department of education,

Tennessee higher education commission, board of trustees of the University of Tennessee,
and the board of regents to create a consortium for cooperative innovative education. The
consortium will: oversee cooperative innovative high school programs; oversee
articulation, alignment, and curriculum development for the programs; and evaluate the
success of students in the program. The members of the consortium will not receive
compensation, but will be reimbursed for attendance at meetings.

This amendment requires the consortium to develop a plan for the rollout of new
cooperative innovative programs in a staggered manner as quickly as possible, so that the
programs will be available throughout the state by 2009-2010. This amendment also
transfers to the consortium various responsibilities that the bill as introduced would have
imposed on other organizations such as the board and department of education, the UT
system and the board of regents. Those transferred responsibilities include:

(1) Reviewing and evaluating applications to create a cooperative innovative high

school program and for making recommendations to the state board of education and the
governing board of the applicant postsecondary institution;
(2) Evaluating student success and reporting to the legislature. This amendment
requires the consortium to evaluate programs for success, to establish best practices and
lessons learned from successful programs, to provide assistance to LEAs and
postsecondary institutions seeking to institute a program by replicating or adapting a
successful program, and to report to the education committees of the senate and house
annually; and
(3) Overseeing the development of a high school to community college and
technology center articulation agreement. This amendment requires the state board of
education, the department of education, the Tennessee higher education commission, the
board of regents, and the University of Tennessee system to assist in the curriculum
alignment process.

This amendment makes formation of a curriculum alignment committee discretionary

instead of mandatory and replaces language regarding the committee's composition with
a general requirement that it be composed of experienced secondary and postsecondary
educators and curriculum specialists. This amendment authorizes the consortium for
cooperative innovative education to undertake curriculum alignment and articulation
itself or by appointment of a curriculum alignment committee or subcommittee.

This amendment adds to the information required in an application to create a

cooperative innovative high school program an explanation of how a viable and workable
linkage between the institutions that includes academic and technical opportunities for
students will be established. This amendment requires that all applications "specifically
demonstrate" this linkage.

This amendment requires that a program under this bill provide for the award of dual
credit for a high school course and authorizes a program to provide opportunities for dual
enrollment. This amendment also requires the LEA and the participating postsecondary
institution to determine the length of time of instruction for each course.

With respect to high school to community college and technology center articulation
agreements, this amendment extends the deadline for completion of the agreements from
"June 30, 2008" to "the 2009-2010 school year," with a requirement that agreements be
completed as expeditiously as possible.

ON MAY 31, 2007, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 99 FOR SENATE
BILL 620, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 99, AS
AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #2 corrects typographical errors.

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3. *HB 0633 by *Ferguson, Overbey, Cobb J, Williams (SB 1412 by *Herron,

Marrero B)
Abuse - Requires physicians, certain health care facilities, community
centers, and pharmacies to post information concerning assistance for
teenagers involved in relationships that include dating violence, and
further allows that information and all information required to be posted
concerning adult abuse and domestic violence be combined and printed on
one poster. - Amends TCA Section 71-6-121.

Summary: This bill requires all offices of all licensed physicians; health care facilities
other than nursing homes, assisted care living centers, and residential homes for the aged;
community centers; and pharmacies to post on a sign a statement that a teen involved in a
relationship that includes dating violence may call a national toll-free hotline, with that
number printed in boldface type, for immediate assistance.

ON MAY 31, 2007, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED

HOUSE BILL 633, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 applies the requirements of this bill to all health care facilities by
removing the exclusion for nursing homes, assisted care living centers, and residential
homes for the aged. This amendment also specifies procedures the departments of health
and commerce and insurance must follow to notify providers of the requirements of this
bill and the present law requirements regarding posting information on elder abuse and
domestic violence.

ON MAY 31, 2007, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 633 FOR
SENATE BILL 1412, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 633,
AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 revises the present law requirement that health care providers and
facilities post notice that any person may call the nationwide domestic violence hotline.
This amendment applies this requirement to other such hotline as may be determined by
the departments of health and commerce and insurance.

4. *HB 1006 by *Curtiss (SB 1728 by *Ketron, Tate)

Contractors - Transfers the responsibilities of the home improvement
commission to the board for licensing contractors; moves the staff of the
commission to the board; creates three subcommittees of the board to
focus on limited areas and report their findings and recommendations for
final action by the board. - Amends TCA Title 62, Chapter 37 and Title 62,
Chapter 6.

Summary: Under present law, home improvement contractors are licensed and
regulated by the Tennessee home improvement commission. The commission is
comprised of five gubernatorial appointees.

This bill transfers responsibility for the regulation and licensure of home improvement
contractors to the state board for licensing contractors. This bill transfers the staff of the
Tennessee home improvement commission to the state board for licensing contractors
and reassigns the current members of the Tennessee home improvement commission to a
new subcommittee concerning home improvement contractors. Once the terms of the
gubernatorial appointees to the Tennessee home improvement commission expire, the
state board for licensing contractors will be authorized to appoint a new subcommittee of
board members to focus on issues relating to home improvement contractors.

This bill requires the state board for licensing contractors to appoint two additional
subcommittees to focus on home builders and commercial construction respectively.
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Present law authorizes any county, by a two-thirds majority vote of its legislative
body, to elect to make the provisions of the Home Improvement Licensing Act applicable
in such county. This bill removes the opt-in authorization, thereby applying the home
improvement licensing requirements to all counties EXCEPT Sequatchie County, which
would be exempt from this bill pursuant to that county's general exemption from the
Contractors Licensing Act at TCA Section 62-6-127.

NOTE: In Section 62-6-409(c), on page 13 of the printed bill, there is a reference to

"commission" which should be "board."

ON APRIL 25, 2007, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENTS #1 AND #2 AND

PASSED HOUSE BILL 1006, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 schedules the state board for licensing contractors for sunset
review June 30, 2009.

AMENDMENT #2 revises various provisions of this bill and present law provisions
governing contractors. This amendment removes all provisions regarding the
department's involvement in the licensure and makes licensure biennial instead of annual.

This amendment also provides that if home improvement contractors in a county are
exempted from licensure under this bill on the effective date of this bill due to a county
exclusion, the legislative body of that county may, by a two-thirds vote, elect to make the
provisions of the bill applicable in that county.

Under the present law provisions governing licensing contractors, if the application is
satisfactory to the board, then the applicant is entitled to an examination to determine the
applicant's qualifications. This examination may be written and/or oral. The board may
charge each applicant an examination fee as set by the board for each written and/or oral
examination. This amendment revises this provision to instead provide that anyone
desiring to be licensed as a contractor in this state must take a written examination to
determine the applicant's qualifications. The examination may be given orally at the
board's discretion if a written examination is precluded by reason of disability.

Present law provides that in case of a merger, purchase by nonstockholders of the

majority interest, or reorganization pursuant to a bankruptcy proceeding, of any
corporation engaged in contracting, the corporation must make written application to the
board and obtain a new license before undertaking contracting. This amendment revises
this provision to apply to "licensees" instead of "corporations."

This amendment provides that any individual or entity that fails to pay a civil penalty
assessed by the board for licensing contractors pursuant to the terms of a final order
entered by the board after a contested case hearing may be referred to collection agency
and that failure to pay any civil penalty assessed by the board will subject the individual
or entity to suspension or revocation of a contractor's license.

This amendment schedules the home improvement commission for sunset review June
30, 2007.

ON MAY 16, 2007, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 1006 FOR
SENATE BILL 1728 AND RESET HOUSE BILL 1006.

ON MAY 31, 2007, THE SENATE FURTHER CONSIDERED HOUSE BILL 1006,
ADOPTED AMENDMENT #4, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1006, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #4 clarifies that if home improvement contractors in a county are

exempted from licensure under this "chapter," rather than this "bill," on the effective date
of this bill due to a county exclusion, the legislative body of that county may, by a two-
thirds vote, elect to make the provisions of the bill applicable in that county.
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5. *HB 1995 by *Miller L, Sontany, Briley (SB 2007 by *Kyle, Marrero B, Norris)
Nuisances - Authorizes certain parties to sue owner of building that is
public nuisance for compliance with building codes; authorizes courts to
appoint receivers to abate public nuisance when owner will not do so. -
Amends TCA Title 13, Chapter 6 and Title 29, Chapter 1, Part 1.

Summary: This bill authorizes any nonprofit corporation, any owner, mortgagee, lien
holder or person who possesses an interest of record in any property that becomes subject
to the jurisdiction of a court pursuant to this bill, or any neighbor to bring a civil action to
enforce any local building, housing, air pollution, sanitation, health, fire, zoning, or safety
code, ordinance, or regulation applicable to buildings against the owner of the building
for failure to comply with the ordinance or regulation.

A complaint filed pursuant to this bill must include a proposed order of compliance
setting forth the relief requested and may include a request for the appointment of a
receiver if an order of compliance is unsuccessful. The civil action will be dismissed if
the building is not certified as a public nuisance by the municipal corporation or code
enforcement entity where the building is located. It will constitute a complete defense to
any cause of action brought under this bill upon proof brought by the owner that failure to
maintain the property is due to act of nature, serious illness, or legal barrier.

If the owner cannot establish a complete defense, the court may, after a hearing, issue
an order of compliance requiring the owner of the building to produce a development
plan for the abatement of the public nuisance. If the owner fails to comply with the
court's order, the court may allow an interested party the opportunity to undertake the
work to abate the public nuisance under a development plan. If these actions fail to abate
the public nuisance, the court may appoint a receiver to take possession and control of the
building to abate the public nuisance.

Prior to ordering any action to be taken to abate the public nuisance, the court will
cause a more detailed development plan to be submitted for review, which will include
the following: a detailed budget for abating the public nuisance; if repair and
rehabilitation of the building are found not to be feasible, the cost of demolition of the
building or of the portions of the building that constitutes a public nuisance; and the
terms, conditions and availability of any financing that is necessary to abate the public
nuisance or a show of sufficient assets. Any party submitting a detailed development
plan must post a bond in an amount that is no less than the assessed value.

If the court deems the detailed development plan to be sufficient and appropriate the
court may empower the receiver to complete any of the following:

(1) Take possession and control of the building and the property on which it is located;
(2) Pay all expenses of operating and conserving the building and the property
including obtaining mortgage insurance;
(3) Pay pre-receivership mortgages or installments of them and other liens; and
(4) Implement the detailed development plan.

The interested party or receiver must file a report with the court every 60 days and
upon completion of the detailed development plan must file a final report with the court
indicating the public nuisance has been abated. If the court finds the final report as
sufficient and complete the court may assess court costs and expenses and also may
approve the payment of receiver's fees not to exceed $5,000. These costs as approved by
the court order will be considered a first lien on the property, which, with the exception of
those for federal, state, and local taxes and assessments, will be superior to all prior and
subsequent liens or other encumbrances associated with the building or the property. If
the lien is not satisfied within 180 days, with approval of the court, the municipal
corporation in which the building is located may sell the property pursuant to applicable
local ordinances.
 Page 8

Upon the sale of a building or the property on which a building is located the
municipal corporation will distribute the proceeds of the sale. The proceeds of the sale
will first satisfy all federal, state, and local taxes and assessments or tax settlements. If
the remaining sale proceeds are sufficient to satisfy the receiver's lien, then the
receivership will be terminated. If the receiver's lien is not satisfied by the sale proceeds,
the receiver's lien will remain in effect until the lien is satisfied.

ON MAY 29, 2007, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED

HOUSE BILL 1995, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 Changes various provisions of this bill, including the following:

This amendment allows a civil action of the type described in the first paragraph of
the above bill summary to proceed before the code enforcement entity has issued a
certificate of public nuisance. This amendment allows the court to request that the code
enforcement entity complete its inspection within 30 calendar days; if the code
enforcement entity fails to respond within this period, this amendment requires the court
to schedule a hearing, requesting that the code enforcement entity be present with its
findings. If the municipal corporation or code enforcement entity denies certification of
the building as a public nuisance, the action will be dismissed.

This amendment revises the receiver's fees a court may approve. Instead of the
maximum of $5,000 as in the original bill, this amendment authorizes the court to
approve payment of either 10 percent of the total costs of the abatement or $25,000,
whichever is greater.

ON MAY 31, 2007, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 1995 FOR
SENATE BILL 2007, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL
1995, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #2 clarifies that the owners against whom a nonprofit corporation or

interested party or neighbor may bring a civil action under this bill are owners of
buildings or structures not occupied by any owner, tenants, or residents.

6. *HB 2012 by *Kernell (SB 2138 by *Harper)

Sunset Laws - Department of children's services, June 30, 2011. - Amends
TCA Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 37, Chapter 5.

Summary: ON MAY 29, 2007, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND

PASSED HOUSE BILL 2012, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 schedules the department of children's services to terminate on

June 30, 2007, instead of June 30, 2011.

ON MAY 31, 2007, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 2012 FOR
SENATE BILL 2138, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL
2012, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 changes sunset date for the department of children's services to

June 30, 2008. This amendment also requires the department of children's services,
except as otherwise provided in present law regarding the child care agencies licensing
standards committee, to strive, in making appointments to the committee, to ensure that
the membership includes a balance of representatives from the regulated industry and
persons whose expertise would be of assistance to the departments. The amendment, in
addition, requires the department to appoint child advocates, social workers, attorneys,
and other such persons with knowledge and experience in the specified area, as well as
citizen members of the committee.
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