2014 Legislation

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TSEA’s Legislation

Fiscal Review, Contracts, and State Employees
HB2161 (Matheny) / SB2022 (Bell)
Fiscal Review Committee – As introduced, requires committee to review contracts that result in lay offs of state employees; requires committee as part of reviewing proposed contracts to consider whether existing state employees can perform the tasks in such proposed contracts. – Amends TCA Title 3, Chapter 7.

Senate
March 11: Assigned to General Subcommittee

House
March 12: Bill taken off notice in State Government Subcommittee

Medicare Supplemental Insurance for Retired State Employees
HB1738 (D. Carr) / SB1824 (Bowling)
Pensions and Retirement Benefits – As introduced, modifies the Medicare supplemental insurance benefit for participating retired employees and teachers to ensure that such retirees are not required to pay the full cost of each premium increase. – Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 27, Part 7.

Senate
March 18: Rolled 1 week in Senate Finance, Ways, & Means Committee (March 25)

State Employee Health Insurance Reserve
HB1711 (Ramsey) / SB1814 (Massey)
Insurance, Health, Accident – As introduced, on or after July 1, 2014, requires the state insurance committee to ensure that if the estimated total solvency reserve for the state health insurance plan exceeds the actuarially-required target solvency reserve for the calendar year by 75% for 2 consecutive years, then the excess amount must be used to decrease member’s out-of-pocket expenses. – Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8, Chapter 27; Title 9 and Title 56.

Senate
March 18: Bill assigned to General Sub of Commerce & Labor Committee

Approved RIFs
HB1748 (M. Hill) / SB1997 (Yager)
State Employees – As introduced, prohibits layoffs in excess of 10 employees if not approved in the state budget unless the general assembly approves the layoffs. – Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 30.

House
February 25: Bill rolled 1 week (March 4)
March 4: After lengthy discussion and a policy proposal brought forth by the Commissioner of Human Resources to address the needs of the bill, Rep. Hill took the bill off notice. The committee agreed that if the policy is not implemented as stated, the bill will be brought back to put these needs in code.

TSEA’s TEAM Act Amendments
HB1940 (Dunn) / SB2045 (Southerland)
State Employees – As introduced, revises the provisions governing the Tennessee Excellence, Accountability and Management (TEAM) Act. – Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 30, Part 3.

House
March 4: House State Government Committee passes the bill on to the Finance, Ways, and Means Committee (March 12)
March 18: Bill passes Finance, Ways, & Means Committee and is sent to calendar for the House Floor (March 27)
March 27: Bill passes the House Floor, 89-0

Senate
March 5: Rolled 1 week in the Senate State & Local Committee (March 11)
March 11: Passed out of committee 8-0 to be sent to calendar and the Senate Floor (March 24)
March 24: Bill passes Senate Floor, 32-0

Relief for Parking Fees for Higher Education Employees (Continued from 2013)
HB1306 (Windle) / SB1369 (Tate)
Education, Higher – As introduced, requires UT and TBR institutions to provide free parking to employees who earn less than the average state employee salary; permits other employees to be charged for parking on a tiered scale based on salary. – Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 7.

Status
TSEA and TBR have reached an agreement to launch a pilot program this Fall at the University of Memphis to test out this bill. TBR, TSEA, and the bill’s sponsors have agreed to bring the bill back before the General Assembly next year to report on the pilot program’s results and explore expansion of the project to other TBR schools.

House
April 1: Bill rolled 1 week in Education Subcommittee (April 8)

Senate
March 27: Bill assigned to General Sub of Education Committee

State Employees, Not Contractors (Continued from 2013)
HB1052 (Jernigan) / SB1188 (Niceley)
Public Contracts – As introduced, requires any state department or agency to certify to the comptroller of the treasury that no employee within such department or agency is capable of accomplishing certain tasks before the department or agency can contract for such services. – Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8 and Title 12

Retiree/Spouse Tuition Discount (Continued from 2013)
HB0887 (Hawk) / SB1164 (Hensley)
Education, Higher – As introduced, allows retired state employees to take one class without charge per semester at public institutions of higher education; allows spouses of state employees to receive a 25 percent discount on tuition at public institutions of higher education. – Amends TCA Section 8-50-114; Section 8-50-115 and Section 49-7-113

House
February 5: On calendar in Finance, Ways, & Means Subcommittee, then placed Behind the Budget later in session

Senate
March 12: Bill passed Education Committee 6-3, passes on to Finance, Ways, & Means Committee (April 8)


Legislation We’re Watching

DOHR’s TEAM Act Bill
HB1420 (McCormick) / SB1624 (Norris)
State Employees – As introduced, makes certain revisions to the T.E.A.M. Act; expands board of appeals to no more than 18 members rather than nine; clarifies burden of proof and standard of review during the appeals process; establishes when an order or settlement agreement becomes final. – Amends TCA Section 8-30-108 and Section 8-30-318.

House
March 4: Passes to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee (March 12) then referred to Government Operations Committee (March 11)
March 11: Passed out of committee and headed to Calendar, then House Floor (March 27)
March 27: Bill passes the House Floor, 91-0

Senate
March 11: Passed out of State & Local Committee 8-0 to be sent to Calendar and the Senate Floor (March 24)
March 24: Bill passes Senate Floor, 32-0

TDOT Grandfathering Bill
HB1542 (Bailey) / SB1705 (Niceley)
State Employees – As introduced, credits a state employee with ten (10) or more years of state service with the equivalent of a GED® for the purposes of retention of state employment, promotion as a state employee, or return to state service. – Amends TCA Title 8.

Senate
April 9: Bill passes Senate Floor, 28-0-3

House
April 14: Bill passes House Floor, 97-0

Transparency in State Contracts
HB1872 (Fitzhugh) / SB1447 (Finney)
Public Contracts – As introduced, requires agencies of the state to identify, evaluate, avoid, and mitigate actual or potential organizational conflicts of interest before awarding or amending any contract for goods and services. – Amends TCA Title 4; Title 9 and Title 12.

Senate
March 4: Bill rolled 1 week in State & Local Committee (March 11)
March 11: Failed in State & Local Committee 2-4-2.

Health Care Freedom and Affordable Care Noncompliance Act
HB 1770 (Pody) / SB 1888 (Beavers)
State Government – As introduced, enacts the “Health Care Freedom and Affordable Care Noncompliance Act”
(TSEA is watching this legislation as it could potentially affect the job duties of employees in TennCare and DHS.)

House
March 5: Bill taken off notice in Insurance & Banking Subcommittee
March 19: Bill put back on notice in Insurance & Banking Subcommittee, rolled 1 week (March 26)

Senate
March 24: Bill assigned to General Sub of Commerce & Labor Committee

Payroll Deduction
HB0502 (Casada) / SB0490 (Kelsey)
Labor – As introduced, requires certain political activities by labor organizations be funded separately through voluntary donations of members and not through regularly collected dues. – Amends TCA Title 50, Chapter 1.

Senate
March 5: Rolled in Senate Commerce & Labor Committee 2 weeks (March 18)
March 18: Assigned to General Subcommittee

House
March 19: Bill heard in Consumer & Human Resources Subcommittee, taken off notice

Disruptive Employee Organization & Union Activities
HB1687 (Durham) / SB1662 (Kelsey)
Criminal Offenses – As introduced, prohibits certain union and employee organization activities; revises certain criminal provisions to include certain disruptive and illegal conduct involving unions and employee organizations. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 14; Title 39, Chapter 16 and Title 39, Chapter 17.

House
March 18: Bill passed to Criminal Justice Committee (March 26)
March 26: Bill rolled 1 week (April 1)
April 1: Bill passes Criminal Justice Committee, heads to Calendar

Senate
April 2: On calendar in Judiciary Committee

Demonstrating/Picketing Over Labor Disputes
HB1688 (Durham) / SB1661 (Kelsey)
Criminal Offenses – As introduced, adds new criminal offenses involving mass picketing and targeted residential picketing. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 3.

House
March 18: Bill rolled 1 week in Consumer & Human Resources Committee (March 25)
March 25: Bill passes Consumer & Human Resources Committee, on calendar in Criminal Justice Committee (April 1)
April 1: Bill assigned to Summer Study

Senate
April 1: Bill assigned to General Sub of Judiciary Committee

Whistleblowing/Litigation Issues
HB1954 (Dennis)/ SB2126 (Johnson)
Employees, Employers – As introduced, revises various provisions concerning employment litigation in Tennessee. – Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 21; Title 8, Chapter 50 and Title 50, Chapter 1.

Senate
March 25: On calendar in Commerce & Labor Committee, passed 9-0 to Senate Floor (April 3)

House
April 1: Passes Consumer & Human Resources Committee, on to Finance, Ways, & Means Committee

Killed in the Line of Duty Estate Pay
HB2228 (Calfee) /SB2268 (Yager)
Public Employees – As introduced, entitles estate of any correctional officer employed by the state or a political subdivision of the state who is killed in the line of duty to receive $25,000. – Amends TCA Title 7, Chapter 51, Part 2 and Title 41.

Senate
March 3: Passed the Senate, 27-0

House
April 16: Passed the House, 93-0