This Week In Nashville

[Rep. Barbara Cooper]

                                   

March 28, 2014     “either America will destroy ignorance or ignorance will destroy the United States.”     W.E.B. DuBois

This Week in Nashville

 

 

Rep. Barbara Cooper REPORTS

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www.capitol.tn.gov

 

 

THE RED PILL

HTTP://Redpilltraining.ning.com

 

Tennessee Work-Share Act approved in subcommittee

The House Consumer and Human Resources Subcommittee voted 6-0 for the ‘Tennessee Work-Share Act’ by House Democratic Leader Craig Fitzhugh. The bill creates a program to help avoid employers having to lay off their employees in a temporary downturn situation. Instead of laying off the employees completely, employers would have the ability to reduce employee hours while allowing those employees to receive unemployment compensation for the reduced time. In this situation, if an employer had 100 employees and was faced with laying off 20 of them, they could participate in the work sharing program so they move more employees to a four day work week instead of a five day work week, while allowing those employees to apply for unemployment benefits to offset the cost.

By implementing the Tennessee Work-Share Act we can reduce the financial and psychological costs associated with layoffs. Additionally, this program will help businesses rebound faster when their business climate improves. The bill is being supported by organized labor, business groups like the NFIB, and the Department of Labor. It is now scheduled to go before the full Consumer and Human Resources Committee on April 1^st.

 

Effort to Compensate Student Athletes Moves Forward in the House, Dies in the Senate

HB2147 by Rep. Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis) passed out the House Education Subcommittee this week only to later be narrowly defeated in the Senate Education Committee the next day. The bill would create the Student Athletic Trust Fund to help compensate student athletes after they leave college. The legislation was brought in the midst of a national conversation over whether it is fair for colleges and universities to reap millions of dollars in profits while student athletes are under tight restrictions as to what compensation they can and cannot receive. Under this proposal, colleges and universities who participate in Division I NCAA sports would contribute one percent of receipts from their athletic program to a trust fund managed by the State Treasurer. Student athletes would then be eligible for grants up to $75,000 upon graduation.

 

Effort to eliminate daylight savings time was turned back

Despite suggestions by Rep. Curry Todd (R-Collierville) that his bill, HB1909, had widespread support across Tennessee, the State Government Committee defeated his proposal to eliminate Daylight Savings Time in Tennessee. During discussions on the bill, various legislators raised concerns about the impact on commerce in our state, in addition to creating unnecessary confusion. In order to appease critics, Rep. Todd offered an amendment that would have exempted East Tennessee from the proposal, which would have created a two hour time difference in certain parts of the state. The bill was ultimately defeated on a 5-6 vote.

 

• The House passed HB1883 by Rep. Vance Dennis (R-Savanah) which removes prohibitions against the sale or carrying of switchblades or knives longer than 4 inches.
• Legislation to prevent Nashville from building a Bus Rapid Transit lane passed the Senate on Thursday. The Senate version prohibits bus lanes that use the median to let passengers on and off, while the House version currently just requires Nashville to get legislative approval for the Amp through the normal budgeting process.
• A bill to allow medical marijuana failed in the Health subcommittee on a party-line vote. HB1385 by Rep. Sherry Jones would have allowed doctors to prescribe medical cannabis for medical conditions such as PTSD, HIV/AIDS, cancer and Lou Gehrig’s disease.
• The House Criminal Justice committee moved forward a bill to limit the amount of pseudoephedrine an individual can purchase in an effort to crack down on the production of Methamphetamines. The House version would limit sales to 5.8 grams a month or 28.8 grams a year, whereas the Senate companion bill limits sales to 4.8 grams a month and 14.4 grams a year. 

[Tricyah]

Thanks,Mrs Cooper