This Tennessee summer is coming in hot just like all the new state legislation that will take effect on July 1st. Regardless of the muggy weather, I hope you and your family are getting back out and enjoying our great city now that things are beginning to return to normal. Please consider getting vaccinated to protect yourself and others, if you have not already done so.
Recent District Activity
Recently, I hosted a virtual meeting with TDOT, MNPD, and other local officials and invited District 55’s Metro Council members and Beautification Commissioners to discuss I440 beautification and easement upkeep. You can view this meeting in its entirety here. (Passcode: $&+5*Qva)
2021 Legislative Activity
Whereas my previous newsletter highlighted the “Stop the Bleed” bill that Sen. Sara Kyle and I recently passed and briefly touched on a few of this year’s concerning bills, permitless carry being chief among them, this newsletter is focused on bills that I cosponsored this session.
This is not an exclusive list, but it is a sample of the work that I hope makes a positive difference in the lives of many Tennesseans and their families. You will note that our continued focus and work on mental health care and substance abuse services is paying off, and we are finally starting to make headway on criminal justice reform. We admittedly have a long way to go in many areas, especially the latter, but in this political climate, a legislative win is a win. Also, I ask you to note the bipartisan nature of these bills. While we certainly have our public and partisan bouts in the state legislature, many of us regularly reach across the aisle and work closely with colleagues on key policy issues. The legislative process can often be frustrating but searching out and discovering a new, unexpected ally on any given issue and working to find common ground is something I sincerely enjoy.
Observances
HB394 – designates June 19th of each year as “Juneteenth,” a day of special observance.
HB826 - designates the month of June as "African-American Music Appreciation Month."
*Because I will be coaching one of my son’s McCabe Park Little League teams in a postseason tournament, I will unfortunately be unable to attend this weekend’s Juneteenth dedication ceremony at the National Museum of African American Music.
Mental Health / Substance Abuse / Disabilities
HB119 – requires the TBI to implement a program to assist in the locating of missing, vulnerable citizens, called the “Silver Alert” program; mandatory protocol intended to help persons who have wandered due to age, dementia, mental health condition, physical impairment or disability, or intellectual or developmental disability.
HB130 – requires the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities to increase the hourly wage for direct care professionals employed at contracted agencies of the department for the home and community-based waiver programs for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
HB180 – establishes protocol when a patient at a healthcare facility or emergency department expresses to a healthcare provider a recent threat or attempt at suicide or infliction of bodily harm to themselves.
HB360 –requires the Department of Commerce and Insurance to prepare an annual report and educational presentation for the legislature that explains, in detail, how the state is enforcing compliance with the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008. Generally, the MHPAEA prohibits group health plans and health insurance issues that provide mental health or substance abuse disorder benefits from imposing less favorable benefit limitations on those benefits than on medical/surgical benefits.
HB455 - “Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact Act” - allows for tele-psychological practice across state lines as well as temporary, in-person, face-to-face services into a state in which the psychologist is not licensed to practice psychology, and to facilitate the exchange of information between compact states regarding psychologist licensure, adverse actions, and disciplinary history.
HB626 - requires the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Department of Human Services, Department of Children's Services, Department of Health, and Bureau of TennCare to actively seek and apply for federal, private, or other available funds, and actively direct available state funds, for the development of recovery programs for residents of this state who are pregnant or are women with children to assist those residents by providing substance use disorder treatment and wrap-around services to support life skills development in outpatient treatment facilities, in residential treatment facilities, or through home visitation programs.
HB828 - requires the Department of Health, in collaboration with other public and private healthcare agencies, to incorporate information about Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias into its existing public health programs and services.
HB1168 - prohibits a court from solely considering a parent's disability to determine custody unless it impacts the parent's ability to meet the needs of the child; specifies that a court cannot consider a parent or guardian's disability alone in a termination of parental rights proceeding unless it impacts the physical or psychological welfare of the child.
Health Care
HB750 - creates the chronic weight management task force to study the health implications of chronic weight management and Type 2 diabetes.
HB992 - requires the Bureau of TennCare to conduct an annual review of all medications and forms of treatment for sickle cell disease, and services for enrollees with a diagnosis of sickle cell disease that are eligible for coverage under the medical assistance program; requires the Bureau to solicit and consider input from the public when conducting the annual review; requires an annual report to the General Assembly.
Criminal Justice / Victim Protection
HB723 - requires the Department of Children Services to publish the guidelines for the best practices for identifying and reporting signs of child abuse, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking in which the victim is a child on the department's website.
HB864 – adds assault and aggravated assault of a nurse to the present law criminal offenses of assault and aggravated assault of a “first responder.”
HB888 - authorizes a court clerk to charge a fee of less than $100 for expunction; expands the offenses for which expunction is permitted; and, requires the court that denies a petition to state in writing its reasons for the denial.
SB1035 - “Jim Coley Protection for Rape Survivors Act” – provides more protections and guidance for victims, expedites the rape kit collection and testing process and lengthens storage time, and outlines specific rights for victims of sexually-oriented crimes.
HB1062 – changes the definition of “intellectual disability” to mean a disability as defined in the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association for purposes of determining whether someone convicted of first-degree murder can be sentenced to death.
HB1319 - requires a judge to notify, if practicable, a defendant at the time of sentencing if the conviction is for an expungeable offense and the time period after which a petition to expunge may be filed; requires the administrative office of the courts to provide judges handling criminal matters with a reference document listing: each criminal offense eligible for expunction and the time period after which each offense is eligible for expunction.
HB1406 - prohibits a law enforcement officer from using a choke hold, with or without the use of a police baton, on any person unless the officer reasonably believes that deadly force is authorized pursuant to the present law provision governing the use of deadly force by a law enforcement officer; requires that the use of choke holds be taught as a method of restraint only used if the officer reasonably believes that deadly force is authorized pursuant to present law provision governing the use of deadly force by a law enforcement officer; prohibits a magistrate from issuing a "no knock" search warrant, which expressly authorizes a peace officer to dispense with the requirement to knock and announce the peace officer's presence prior to execution of the warrant; require law enforcements agencies to develop a policy regarding de-escalation techniques and require training on same; prohibits law enforcement agencies from retaliating against an officer who intervenes against excessive use of force, reports excessive use of force, or cooperates in an internal investigation related to the excessive use of force; requires law enforcement agencies to develop, by January 1, 2022, a policy that limits the circumstances under which an officer may discharge a firearm at or from a moving vehicle, motorcycle, or bicycle to when the officer reasonably believes that deadly force is authorized as provided in the present law provision regarding use of deadly force by a law enforcement officer; requires law enforcement agencies to establish, by January 1, 2022, a use of force reporting system that allows for the agency to effectively review and analyze all use of force incidents; and, sets forth requirements for law enforcement officials who use force, witness the use of force or intervene in the excessive use of force.
Consumer Protection
HB1298 – clarifies that “wireless communication” includes text messages sent and received on smart devices for purposes of the “Anti-Phishing Act.”
Miscellaneous
HB83 – extends eligibility for tuition reimbursement provided to members of the TN National Guard under the STRONG ACT of 2017.
HB141 – creates tax exemptions and credits for qualified film and television productions
Campaign 2022
Stay tuned for upcoming information about our 2022 campaign events and fundraisers. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing you around District 55!
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