View the list of 2007 Committees.
2007 Legislative Report
The Tennessee General Assembly met on Jan. 20 in special session to attend the inauguration of Gov. Phil Bredesen. The House reconvened last week for session and full committees met for organizational purposes. The Senate is scheduled to return this week. Gov. Bredesen will deliver the State of the State address this evening and is expected to focus on education.
The House and Senate leadership have announced their respective committee appointments, and some House subcommittees have been appointed. There have been substantial changes in both the leadership and membership of all Senate committees due to the new Republican lieutenant governor and to important committees in the House. House subcommittees will not begin to meet until the week of Feb. 12.
We understand that Feb. 8 will be the legislative cut off commonly known as the “Nine Bill Cut Off.” After Feb. 8 each senator will be limited to filing nine additional bills, and so we expect the bulk of the legislation to be filed and introduced over the next two weeks. Based upon current schedules, it appears that Feb. 15 will be the bill filing cut off in the House and after this date, all bills of general application will be assigned to the Late Filed Bills Committee. Traditionally, this committee has rarely allowed the consideration of such bills.
Approximately 200 bills have been filed in each house so far. Several bills of interest to you are listed below.
We will continue to monitor bills as they are introduced, and we expect to have our first comprehensive report to you the week of Feb. 12, which will cover most bills filed prior to the Nine Bill Cut Off.
SB 84* by R. Finney - Restricts power of
executive branch in budgetary process.
Requires that any use of funds in the reserve for revenue fluctuations be
specifically appropriated by the general assembly if used to meet expenditure
requirements in excess of appropriated funding. Specifies that the general
assembly must approve any transfer of appropriated funds between departments.
Prohibits any department from making expenditures in excess of appropriated
funding.
Senate Status:
Introduced on 1/20/2007
BUSINESS AND TAX
SB 155 by Jackson/HB 62* by M. Turner - TN
Minimum Wage Act. Increases state
minimum wage to $6.15 per hour. Exempts tipped employees.
Senate Status: Companion bill introduced.
House Status:
Introduced on 1/31/2007
HB 65* by M. Turner - Pay Equity in the
Workplace Act of 2007. Prohibits
an employer from discriminating between employees on the basis of sex by paying
any employee salary or wage rates less than the rates such employer pays to any
employee of the opposite sex for comparable work on jobs the performance of
which require comparable skill, effort and responsibility, and which are
performed under similar working conditions. Creates a Class A misdemeanor for an
employer to discharge or discriminate against an employee for submitting a
complaint or testifying in a case related to pay equity.
House Status:
Introduced on 1/31/2007
HB 74* by M. Turner - Employment of illegal
aliens. Requires an employer to
verify the lawful resident information required by the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security at the time a person's employment begins. Also requires the
employer to retain such documents for the entire time a person is employed and
for at least two years after employment has ended. Permits the commissioner of
labor and workforce development to assess a civil penalty of $1,500 per
violation for an employer who is in noncompliance. Creates a Class E felony for
an employer to knowingly hire an illegal alien.
House Status:
Introduced on 1/31/2007
HB 78* by Litz - Small in-state dealers -
compensation for collecting tax.
Establishes compensation procedure for qualified small in-state dealers to
recoup portion of expenses derived from collecting and remitting sales tax.
Defines "qualified small in-state dealer" as a Tennessee business with annual
gross sales totaling $240,000 or less.
House Status:
Introduced on 1/31/2007
ESTATE TAX
HB 85* by Coleman - Inheritance tax exemption.
Increases the exemption for the net taxable estate from $1,000,000 for decedents
dying in 2006 to $2,000,000 for decedents dying in 2007 and thereafter.
House Status:
Introduced on 1/31/2007
PRACTICE OF ACCOUNTING
SB 220 by Ketron/HB 160* by DeBois -
Unauthorized practice of law.
Allows bar associations that adopt protocol approved by the Board of Governors
of the Tennessee Bar to bring civil action seeking relief against persons
engaged in unauthorized practice of law.
House Status:
Introduced on 2/1/2007
HB 98* by DuBois - Legal action to stop
unauthorized practice of law.
Decreases population requirement for regional bar associations to bring legal
action to stop unauthorized practice of law from 100,000 to 75,000.
House Status:
Introduced on 1/31/2007
PROPERTY TAXES
SB 1* by Jackson/HB 1 by Maddox - Tax relief
program for elderly homeowners.
Allows cities and counties to adopt and implement by ordinance or resolution a
program of tax relief for residential property owners who are 65 years of age or
older and whose total annual income from all sources does not exceed $60,000.
Senate Status: Introduced on 1/9/2007
House Status:
Introduced on 1/9/2007
SB 2* by Norris - Property tax relief for
certain elderly homeowners. Allows
cities and counties to adopt and implement by ordinance or resolution a program
of tax relief for residential property owners who are 65 years of age or older
and whose total annual income from all sources does not exceed $50,000.
Senate Status:
Introduced on 1/9/2007
SALES TAXES
SB 20* by Kurita - Increases cigarette tax.
Increases the cigarette tax to five cents per cigarette from ten mills per
cigarette.
Senate Status:
Introduced on 1/9/2007
SB 62* by Beavers/HB 10 by P. Johnson - Repeal
of state sales tax on food.
Reduces the state sales tax rate on food incrementally each year until it is
eliminated completely by July 1, 2018. Specifies that such exemption does not
include candy, dietary supplements, prepared food, alcoholic beverages and
tobacco.
Senate Status:
Introduced on 1/19/2007
House Status:
Introduced on 1/19/2007
SB 93* by Jackson - Food Tax - Cigarette Tax
Swap Act of 2007. Lowers the sales
tax on food from six percent to three percent, effective July 1, 2007. Requires the
commissioner of revenue to develop and implement a formula to hold counties and
municipalities harmless from net loss of revenue resulting from the decreased
food sales tax revenue. Raises the cigarette tax from 10 mills per cigarette to
3.20 cents per cigarette, effective July 1, 2007. Provides for a cigarette tax
increase of at least 0.05 cent on each cigarette, or the amount needed to offset
loss in revenue due to the decreased food sales tax revenue, every subsequent
July 1 until July 1, 2018.
Senate Status:
Introduced on 2/5/2007
SB 94* by Jackson - Decreases sales tax on food
and increases cigarette tax.
Lowers the sales tax on food from six percent to three percent, and raises the
cigarette tax from 10 mills per cigarette to 3.25 cents per cigarette, effective
July 1, 2007. Provides for a cigarette tax increase of at least 0.15 cent on
each cigarette, or the amount needed to offset loss in revenue due to the
decreased food sales tax revenue, every subsequent July 1 until July 1, 2018.
Senate Status:
Introduced on 2/5/2007
SB 97* by R. Finney - Monthly sales tax holiday
on food. Creates a monthly food
sales tax holiday weekend for the first weekend of every month, beginning at
12:01 a.m. on Friday and ending at 11:59 p.m. the following Sunday. Requires the
commissioner to reimburse counties and municipalities for the loss of local tax
due to the holiday.
Senate Status:
Introduced on 2/5/2007
SB 112* by Burchett - Exemption for calculators
during annual sales tax holiday.
Increases the maximum dollar amount for sales price of calculators receiving
sales tax exemption when purchased during the annual sales tax holiday to
$175 or less.
Senate Status:
Introduced on 2/5/2007
SB 132 by J. Cooper/HB 42* by Fraley - Motor
vehicle sales tax exemption for armed force members.
Extends sales tax exemption for motor vehicles purchased by certain members of
the military to active members of the armed forces who reside in Tennessee and have
resided in Tennessee for five years prior to active military service. Applies exemption
from date of official military orders and expires upon date of discharge.
Senate Status: Companion bill introduced.
House Status:
Introduced on 1/29/2007
SB 147* by Kurita - Increases tax per cigarette
from ten mills to five cents.
Increases the cigarette tax from ten mills (one cent) per cigarette to five cents
per cigarette. Broadly captioned.
Senate
Status: Introduced on
2/5/2007
HB 64* by M. Turner - Exemption for hybrid
vehicles. Exempts hybrid vehicles
from the state sales tax until June 30, 2017. Broadly captioned.
House Status:
Introduced on 1/31/2007
HB 68* by M. Turner - Delayed implementation of
streamlined sales tax. Delays the
implementation of the streamlined sales tax until one year following the
effective date of action taken by the U.S. Congress to expressly permit the
taxation of catalog and Internet sales by individual states.
House Status:
Introduced on 1/31/2007
HB 76* by Litz - Fundraising for nonprofit
organizations and public schools.
Increases number of fundraising events which nonprofit organizations and public
schools may conduct without collecting sales tax from two events per year to
four events per year. Specifies that sales during subsequent events are taxable
sales at retail.
House Status:
Introduced on 1/31/2007
HB 100* by Winningham - New coal mining museum -
sales taxes to be used to pay debt.
Specifies that, if a new coal mining museum is built in Roane County, then
revenue from sales and local taxes on admission, parking, food, drink and other
services shall be distributed to the entity responsible for retirement of the
museum's debt for up to 30 years.
House Status:
Introduced on 1/31/2007