TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES: TN Unattended Children in Motor Vehicle Safety Act.
Establishes offense of knowingly leaving child under seven in motor vehicle without supervision. Specifies that first violation is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by $200 fine. Second or subsequent offense is punishable by $500 fine. Authorizes court to require violator to attend a community education course approved by the department of safety that includes education on the dangers of leaving young children unattended in motor vehicles. (S: Tracy; H: Hood) House amendment 1 states that it is an offense for a person responsible for a child younger than seven years of age to knowingly leave that child in a motor vehicle located on public property or while on the premises of any shopping center, trailer park, or any apartment house complex, or any other premises which is generally frequented by the public at large without being supervised in the motor vehicle by a person who is at least thirteen years of age if: (1) The conditions present a risk to the child's health or safety; (2) The engine of the motor vehicle is running; or (3) The keys to the motor vehicle are located anywhere inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle. Senate amendment 1 excludes private property. (SB 0270*, HB0304)

Senate Status: Senate 05/09/07 concurred in House amendment 1.
House Status: House 05/07/07 passed with amendment 1.
Other Status: Sent to the speakers for signatures 05/09/2007.

HEALTH CARE: Pediatric emergency medical and surgical services.
Directs board for licensing health care facilities and emergency medical services board to promulgate rules and regulations to enhance emergency medical and surgical services for pediatric patients. (S: Henry; H: Pruitt) (SB 0645*, HB 0842)

Senate Status: Passed 04/25/07.
House Status: House Finance, Ways & Means on 05/02/07 set behind the budget.

PROFESSIONS & LICENSURE: Prescriptive authority for psychologists.
Authorizes psychologists who meet training and certification requirements of the board of examiners in psychology to prescribe and dispense drugs and other treatment procedures. Prescribing psychologists will be permitted to prescribe Schedule II drugs. Limits certification of prescribing psychologists by the board to 25 until the general assembly has a chance to review the program's efficacy. Directs the board to establish procedures for certification of psychologists. (S: Burchett; H: Odom) (SB 0661*, HB 1607)

Senate Status: Senate General Welfare deferred to 04/11/07.
House Status: Referred to House Government Operations.

FAMILY LAW: Equal and Fair Parenting Act.
Establishes a rebuttable presumption that equally shared parenting time is the custody arrangement in the best interest of a child. Further, allows the court to order an equally shared custody arrangement, unless the parents have agreed to a different custody arrangement or the court finds by a preponderance of evidence to the contrary that such an arrangement is in the child's best interest. Permits court to order an investigation when necessary to determine whether an award of equitably-shared parenting is appropriate. (S: Jackson; H: Hardaway) (SB 0725*, HB 2227)

Senate Status: Referred to Senate Judiciary.
House Status: House Domestic Relations Subcommittee 04/17/07: Failed.

RETAIL TRADE: Sale of fireworks to minors.
Raises the age limit for minors purchasing Class C common fireworks from ten to 16 years of age. Specifies that a retailer who violates this provision is subject to a fine of up to $500 for the first offense, a fine of up to $1,000 for a second offense, and a fine of up to $1,000 and suspension of retail permit for subsequent offenses. (S: Ketron; H: Miller L.) Senate amendment 1 deletes language prohibiting sale of fireworks to "irresponsible persons." Senate amendment 6 specifies that this bill would not amend or restrict the validity of any private act or city ordinance that further prohibits or restricts the sale or use of fireworks. Senate amendment 7 specifies that this bill applies to seasonal retailers of fireworks. This amendment removes the change made by Senate Amendment 1, thereby restoring the prohibition against selling Class C fireworks to irresponsible persons. Also, this amendment removes suspension of a retailer's license as a potential penalty for third or subsequent violations. House amendment 1 reduces the fines for offenses from $500 for a first offense to $100, from $1000 for a second to $250, and from $1000 for a third to $500 with possible loss of retail license. (SB 0928, HB 0349*)

Senate Status: Senate 04/04/07 passed with amendment 1, 6 & 7.
House Status: House 04/16/07 passed as amended.
Enacted as Public Chapter 64 (effective 07/01/07).

EDUCATION: School resource officers to be police officers.
Requires school resource officers to be law enforcement officers certified by the POST commission. (S: Burks; H: Jones S.) Senate amendment 1, House Finance amendment 1 defines "school resource officer" as a law enforcement officer who has been assigned to a school in accordance with a memorandum of understanding between the chief of the appropriate law enforcement agency and the local education agency. Specifies that training courses for school resource officers are to be designed specifically for school policing and are to be administered by an entity or organization approved by the POST commission. Requires school resource officers to participate in 40 hours of basic training in school policing within 12 months of assignment to a school. Permits a law enforcement officer to substitute a maximum of 40 hours of successfully completed training in school policing for regular continuing education hours.(SB 0938, HB 0403*)

Senate Status: Senate 04/30/2007 passed with amendment 1.

House Status: House passed 05/24/07. 

EDUCATION: School buses to have approved restraint systems.
Requires all school buses purchased after July 1, 2007, to have a restraint system approved by the National Transportation Safety Board for all passengers and driver. Requires all school buses in use after July 1, 2019, to have an approved restraint system. (S: Burks; H: Curtiss) (SB 1088, HB 1004*)

Senate Status: Set for Senate floor 05/14/07.
House Status: House Budget Subcommittee set behind the budget 05/09/07.

FAMILY LAW: Joint custody - best interest of child.
Creates rebuttable presumption that shared custody is in the best interest of the child. (S: Bunch; H: Campfield) (SB1101, HB0991) 

House Status: Failed in House Domestic Relations Subcommittee 04/10/07.

HEALTH CARE: Immunizations for children under age two.
Includes rotavirus gastroenteritis (Rotateq) to the list of immunizations recommended for children under the age of two. (S: Black; H: Maddox) (SB 1153*, HB 2077)

Senate Status: Referred to Senate General Welfare, Health & Human Resources.
House Status: Taken off notice 04/25/07.

TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES: Minors operating off-highway motor vehicles.
Establishes a Class C misdemeanor offense for a parent or legal guardian to permit a child under the age of 16 to operate or be a passenger on an off-highway motor vehicle without wearing a helmet that meets the U.S. department of transportation standards. Requires law enforcement officer to issue a citation in lieu of arrest to operator under certain circumstances. Allows a municipality to adopt an ordinance that mirrors these provisions. (S: Black; H: Maggart) (SB 1155, HB 1066*)

Senate Status: Withdrawn in Senate 02/14/07.
House Status: Referred to House Transportation.

HEALTH CARE: Pilot project to test oxygen saturation levels of newborns.
Authorizes commissioner of health to study effectiveness of pulse oximetry screening for newborns in a pilot project at hospitals in one of the grand divisions. (S: Black; H: Overbey) House Health & Human Resources amendment 1 allows individuals to opt out of the pilot project. (SB 1164, HB 0237*)

Senate Status: Senate passed 03/28/07.
House Status: House Finance, Ways & Means Budget Subcommittee 04/18/07. Placed Behind the Budget.

TORT LIABILITY: Sorry Works! Pilot Program Act.
Establishes the Sorry Works! pilot program in which participating hospitals and physicians promptly disclose and identify, acknowledge and apologize for mistakes in patient care and promptly offer fair settlements. Requires participants to report the total cost of malpractice verdicts, settlements, and litigation for the past five years to be compared with the cost for cases handled under the Sorry Works! program. Creates a commission to oversee and implement the program; specifies that unless terminated earlier by the commission, the pilot program will terminate after the seventh year. (S: Haynes; H: Briley) (SB 1347*, HB 1334)

Senate Status: Taken off notice 05/15/07.
House Status: Taken off notice 05/09/07.

EDUCATION: License renewal requirements for teachers.
Requires state board of education to adopt policies that require teachers to have training in recognizing warning signs of early on-set mental illness in children and adolescents in order to renew their license. (S: Burks; H: Brown) (SB 1444, HB 1012*)

Senate Status: Taken off notice in Senate Education 04/11/07.
House Status: Withdrawn in House 04/23/07.

TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES: No helmets required for persons 21 and up.
Exempts persons 21 years of age and older from requirement that persons riding a motorcycle must wear a helmet. (S: Burchett; H: Hensley) (SB 1511*, HB 1283)

Senate Status: Senate passed 04/09/07.
House Status: House Transportation passed.  Sent to House Finance.

HEALTH CARE: Access to services for persons diagnosed with autism.
Revises definition of "mental retardation" and "severe, chronic disability" in order to provide access to programs and services provided by the department of mental health and developmental disabilities to certain undiagnosed persons who meet the qualifications for mental retardation and certain individuals who have been diagnosed with autism. (S: Burks; H: Curtiss) (SB 1549*, HB 1570)

Senate Status: Taken off notice in Senate General Welfare 04/25/07.
House Status: Taken off notice 04/15/07.

FAMILY LAW: Requires reporting of domestic violence.
Requires, rather than encourages, health care practitioners knowing or suspecting that a patient's injuries are the result of domestic violence to report such injuries, as well as information upon which the suspicion of abuse is based, monthly to the department of health, office of health statistics. (S: Burks; H: Jones S.) House amendment 1 makes the bill. Requires health care providers who know of or suspect domestic abuse to report such statistical information to the department of health. Adds a two-year sunset. Removes veterinarians from such requirement. (SB 1551, HB 1183*)

Senate Status: Senate passed 04/12/07.
House Status: House 04/09/07 passed with amendment 1.
Enacted as Public Chapter 83 (effective 07/01/07).

FAMILY LAW: Child abuse - illegal drug use by mother when pregnant.
Expands definition of "abuse" to include a mother who causes her newborn child to be born with an illegal substance present in the newborn's bodily fluids as a result of the pregnant mother knowingly using an illegal substance or a mother who causes her newborn child to be born with a health problem as a result of the pregnant mother's use before birth of an illegal substance. Authorizes a test of the child's bodily fluids or bodily substances to be used as evidence to establish abuse. Requires health care providers to report illegal drug use by pregnant women to the department of children services. (S: Herron; H: DeBerry J.) (SB 1564*, HB 2044)

Senate Status: Deferred to 5/2 on General Welfare, Health & Human Resources.
House Status:  Taken off notice in House Judiciary Criminal Practice Subcommittee 04/18/07.

EDUCATION: Requires seat belts on school buses.
Requires all school buses purchased after July 1, 2007, to be equipped with safety belts or other safety restraint system approved by the federal government. (S: Herron; H: Fitzhugh) (SB 1682, HB 0685*)

Senate Status: To Gen. Subcommittee of Education.
House Status: Taken off notice 04/25/07.

Other Status: Enacted as Public Chapter 0057 (effective 04/24/07).

TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES: Minors required to wear helmets on off-highway vehicles.
Establishes a Class C misdemeanor offense subject for a parent or legal guardian to permit a child under the age of 18 to operate or be a passenger on an off-highway motor vehicle without wearing a helmet that meets the U.S. department of transportation standards. Specifies that a violation is a Class C misdemeanor. Allows municipalities to adopt ordinance that mirrors these provisions and to issue a traffic citation in lieu of arrest for a violation. (S: Black; H: Maggart) Senate amendment 1, House Public Safety and Rural Roads amendment 1 replaces "helmet that meets the United States department of transportation standards for off-highway motor vehicles" with "appropriate helmet," defined as meeting the federal motor vehicle standards. Permits such helmet to have ventilation airways that penetrate through the entire shell of the helmet but not exceeding one and one-half inches in diameter. Requires helmet to be affixed with label indicating compliance with requirements of STM, CPSC, SIRC or Snell Foundation. Changes penalty of $2 fine and court costs to a fine not to exceed $50 and court costs not to exceed $10. Removes maximum penalty provision for incorporated municipality ordinances. Senate amendment 2 adds that such offense does not apply to parents or legal guardians of a child under 18 if the operator or passenger is 21 or older or if the child is operating the off-highway motor vehicle while under the supervision of a person 21 or older. Senate amendment 3 clarifies that this bill would not apply to street legal dune buggies. (SB 1994*, HB 1974)

Senate Status: Senate 04/04/07 passed with amendments 1, 2 & 3.
House Status: Held on House clerk's desk.

TORT LIABILITY: Health care liability action.
Replaces the term "medical malpractice" with "health care liability action" throughout Tennessee Code Annotated. Also revises provisions concerning damages, expert testimony, attorney fees, and other matters in such actions. (S: Norris; H: Overbey) House Judiciary amendment 1 rewrites the bill. Requires person asserting a claim for medical malpractice to give written notice to each health care provider 60 days before filing complaint. Notice shall include actual written notice to the health care provider or notice by certified mail, return receipt requested. The pleadings shall state whether each party has complied with the notice provision and shall provide evidence as the court may require. Allows the court's discretion in compliance with this section. Notice shall toll the applicable statute of limitations and repose to and including a period of 90 days and apply to all parties and potential parties. Allows 30 days to receive medical records. Requires the plaintiff or plaintiff's counsel to file a certificate of good faith within 90 days after filing a complaint in which expert testimony is required stating that they have consulted with an expert who has provided a signed written statement that expresses a belief based on information reviewed that there is a good faith basis to maintain the lawsuit. Requires the defendant or defendant's counsel to file a certificate of good faith within 30 days after alleging in an answer that another, whether already a party to the action or not, is at fault and expert testimony is required stating that they consulted with an expert who has provided a signed written statement that expresses a belief based on information reviewed that there is a good faith basis to allege fault against another. Failure of a plaintiff to file a certificate of good faith shall, upon motion, make the action subject to dismissal with prejudice. Failure of a defendant to file a certificate of good faith alleging the fault of another, shall, upon motion, make such allegations subject to being stricken with prejudice, unless plaintiff consents to waive compliance. If a party prevails on the basis of the failure of an opposing party to offer competent expert testimony, the court may compel the opposing party to provide a copy of each expert's signed written statement relied upon in executing the certificate of good faith. The court may compel the experts to provide testimony under oath through answers to written interrogatories to determine compliance by a party or party's counsel with this section. If the court determines that a certificate of good faith was filed under false pretenses, the court shall award sanctions against the attorney or party. Eliminates the locality rule for expert testimony; allows the recognized standard of acceptable professional practice in the defendant's profession at the time the injury occurred. Administrative Office of the Courts shall develop a certificate of good faith form when this act becomes law. Notice provisions shall take effect January 1, 2008, but shall not apply to actions filed on or before March 1, 2008. For all other purposes, this act shall take effect January 1, 2008. Senate amendment 1 makes the bill. Requires early certification; a written statement from experts confirming there is a good faith basis for the action; streamlines disclosure of medical records; allows 30 days to receive medical records; outlines procedures to give notice of a claim; failure to file certificate of good faith subjects the action to dismissal with prejudice; if court finds action filed in bad faith, sanctions shall be awarded against attorney or the complaining party. (SB 2001*, HB 1993)

Senate Status: Senate 04/02/07 passed with amendment 1.
House Status: Re-referred to House Judiciary 05/09/07.

CRIMINAL LAW: Handgun permit holders allowed to carry gun in state park.
 Handgun permit holders allowed to carry gun in state park.Permits Tennessee resident who has a valid handgun carry permit to possess his or her handgun while within the boundaries of any state park. (S: Burchett; H: Niceley) House Judiciary amendment 1 deletes the section of the code that makes it an offense to carry weapons on public parks, playgrounds, civic centers and other public recreational buildings and grounds. House Judiciary amendment 2 adds appropriate signage to be displayed informing the public when entering public parks, playgrounds, civic centers and other public recreational buildings and grounds that the carrying of handguns with a valid handgun carry permit is allowed. (S: Burchett; H: Niceley) (SB 2143, HB 2184*)

Senate Status: Set foor Senate Floor 05/31/07.
House Status: Passed Jud for 05/09/07.  Re-referred to Finance.

HEALTH CARE: HIV pregnancy screening.
Requires all providers of health care services who assume responsibility for the prenatal care of pregnant women during gestation to test these women for HIV and to provide referral into appropriate medical and social services for those women who test positive unless a woman refuses. Previously counseling was required rather than testing. Removes requirement that health care providers report to department of health number of pregnant women tested for HIV each month and number that tested positive. (S: Kyle; H: Favors) (SB 2232*, HB 2317)

Senate Status: Passed 4/30/07.
House Status: Passed 4/25/07.
Enacted as Public Chapter 154 (effective 05/14/07).

HEALTH CARE: Tennessee Smokefree Air Law of 2007.
Prohibits smoking in all enclosed public places in Tennessee and within 20 feet outside entrances and windows of enclosed public places. Exempts the following from prohibition: private residences and automobiles not used for childcare for child care; hotel and motel rooms designated as smoking rooms, provided that no more than 25% of rooms are smoking rooms; private and semiprivate rooms in nursing homes and long-term care facilities designated as smoking rooms; private clubs with no employees, except when holding an event for the general public; certain entities that conduct scientific research on tobacco products; religious ceremonies in which smoking is part of ritual. Requires department of health to enforce prohibition in public places and the department of labor and workforce development to enforce in places of employment. Authorizes a civil fine of up to $50 violation by an individual and staggered civil fines of up to $100, $200, and $500 for first, second, and third violation by employer or one who operates a public place. (S: Kyle; H: Odom) (SB 2255, HB 2336*)