This week, the State House of Representatives moved closer to passing important lottery scholarship legislation designed to expand the opportunity for more Tennesseans to attend college.
“The original purpose of the lottery was to help send Tennesseans to college, ” said Representative Frank Buck. “That purpose remains true today and years of running a surplus shows that we could be helping more people achieve the dream of a college degree.”
In the Higher Education Subcommittee, a bill targeting the retention GPA of students who receive the HOPE Lottery Scholarship was approved and moved to the full House Education Committee for passage. Under the new legislation, the retention GPA for students would be revised from 3.0 to 2.75, helping to increase the retention rate among college freshmen and sophomores. Currently, more than 70% of incoming freshmen who qualify for the HOPE Lottery Scholarship lose it after the first year.”
“With so many losing their scholarships, it’s obvious that a change is needed,” Buck said. “Working students and students who struggle when they first start college shouldn’t be penalized the rest of their college career. A college degree is not just for the elite or the privileged, but for all those who want to attend higher education.”
In an interview with WJLE Thursday, Buck says he supports revising the GPA from 3.00 to 2.75. ” I understand there is a compromise in the making that will suggest that you can keep your lottery funding of the HOPE scholarship at 2.75 but that you must raise it up to be fully funded. That’s one of the compromises that may be coming out. I really think we probably ought to lower it to 2.75 during the first year because a lot of these kids are just adjusting to college and a very high percentage of them have been losing that scholarship the first year. There are a lot of kids that don’t come from a really good environment and they are not goofing off. They are trying. You know a 2.75 is almost a B average so I really think that is probably what we ought to do.”
On another issue, Representative Buck says the state gasoline tax may have to be increased before too long. “There is no way around it. Keep in mind that the last time the gas tax was raised petroleum was selling at about $30 a barrel or less. It may have been around $25 a barrel. It is now $100 a barrel. The problem that you have is that every time you lay a yard of asphalt of repaving, that product is costing three or four times as much as it used to and the last time the gas tax was raised was around 1992. Not only that, but that bulldozer that builds the highway is using diesel fuel that costs three or four times as much as it used to cost. What choice do we have? if we’re going to have good roads, at some point in time, we’re going to have to (raise gas tax) whether we like it or not. Our costs keep going up.”
Another costly project is the proposed replacement of Sligo bridge, which has state officials thinking that it would be more cost effective to remodel the existing bridge. Buck says bridge construction there will also cause traffic problems for a long period of time. “We’ve got the problem with Sligo bridge. That thing is $23 million. That’s what it’s going to cost to rebuild that bridge. They are now trying to decide whether or not they can remodel the floor for five or ten million dollars and save that old bridge, but again the problem you get into is if they do that, that thing will be closed for a year to two years. That would mean people in DeKalb County would have to drive 50 miles (alternate route) to get to the other side of Sligo bridge. What is making that bridge so terribly expensive is the fact that the water is so deep over there. It’s not just the cost of the bridge per se. It is the cost of the footers that makes it so horribly expensive. The bridge is not unsafe yet. They tell me it is not ready to cave in but that at some point in time in the very near future we’re either going to have to put a new deck on that thing or we’re going to have to build a new bridge right beside it. They indicated to me that they looked at building a new bridge, but once they got into it, they began to realize that the footer to the bridge is so expensive, they then began to look at refurbishing the old one. The federal government gives so much for bridge replacement, but apparently the feds have cut back on the money as well. So it’s a crisis not only at the state level but it’s also on the federal level. But what are we going to do? We can’t allow our bridges to fall in. They’ve had a net underneath Sligo bridge for about two years now to keep the concrete from falling on the fishermen’s heads down there. They’ve also inspected Hurricane bridge which is the same design as the bridge that collapsed in Minnesota. The difference is that they were rebuilding that bridge or remodeling it in Minnesota and they put a bunch of building materials out there on that bridge and just stored it, which put a lot more weight on that bridge than it should have had. So they contributed to a very substantial degree to the failure of that bridge.”
Buck also supports stronger penalties on scrap metal thieves and a law requiring a registry for the sale of precious metals. “We’ve got to do something to jack up the penalty. Whenever these thieves are going out here and stealing air conditioners out of churches, something has to be done. I don’t know what they get for that copper, but it’s not that much. But there are people who are having to pay $4,000 to $5,000 to replace their central air units and these thieves are getting, maybe $200. We must do the same kind of thing as we did with ephedrine and cold medicines. Whenever we made people register to buy that cold medicine, which was a necessary ingredient to make crystal meth and the pharmacies couldn’t just sell it across the counter anymore, that cut down the meth business very substantially. We’re going to have to do the same thing with precious metals. We have no choice.”
On illegal immigration, Buck says he has mixed emotions.” This is a terrible issue. Here we’ve got an estimated 20 million people in this country who are illegal aliens. We don’t know who they are and where they are, but they have come across the border. We’ve got to get some kind of reasonable policy. I don’t know what you do in these circumstances, as long as you have a situation like our nursery and tobacco business. If we didn’t have these workers we couldn’t ultimately grow the nursery stock that we do or get the tobacco in. We’ve got to develop some reasonable method because we need the labor in this country. Maybe we need to let them come in from Mexico on a visa but then make them go back home after the visa expires. Register them, find out who they are. There’s bound to be some kind of middle ground that’s workable in this case. If they’re here on a visa and have to go back to Mexico before they can return, that’s another possible solution. Make them go back home, then if they’ve been here, and have been a good citizen, not given us any trouble or been in our jails, then give them another visa to come back. But make them go home first. And for all those folks who have gotten into a lot of criminal trouble while they are here, they need to go back and stay down there.”
Enforcing the borders of this country is a difficult task, but Buck says deporting illegals is also a problem, especially concerning those who have given birth to children while they’re here. “Remember they have kids while they’re here and our Constitution provides that a child born on American soil is an American citizen. They may have illegal alien parents, but once that baby is conceived and born in this country, they’re an American citizen. Our border with Mexico is so long and we have so much shoreline, it’s going to be very difficult to build a wall around America, it’s just almost impossible.”
Buck says he tends to agree with the Bush administration that a path to citizenship is probably the best solution. “I disagree with (President) Bush about a lot of things, but one of the compromises they were working on was to give them (illegal immigrants) a certain period of time to come in here and register and get legal. I don’t think we ought to give them any gifts but we need to make them learn English and do all the kinds of things that naturalized citizens have to do.”
Buck adds that one reason the Congress may be slow to act is because illegal immigrants are paying into the Social Security System. ” A lot of them are using invalid or fake social security numbers, but withholding taxes are coming out of their paychecks. That money is going into that Social Security system and it ain’t never coming back out again. Not to them it won’t because with a bad or fake Social Security number, they will never get to draw any benefits. It’s propping up our Social Security system and it’s delaying the Congress from having to make a decision about the future solvency of Social Security.”
Another top issue is proposed expansion of the Pre-Kindergarten program in Tennessee. Buck says the local Director of Schools and two school board members have expressed their opinions. “You know Governor Bredesen is just determined to do it. I’ve had the Superintendent and two board members come down there and indicate to me they think the money could be better spent other places. That’s a very controversial matter. But whenever two board members and my Superintendent come by and tell me that the money could be better spent in other places, that causes me to stop and think. After all, they are in the trenches. They know more about education than I do. I’m going to check it out in these other counties. I want the opinion of the educators in the other counties. There is a very substantial dispute about that matter. It’s also a matter of the wisest use of the money. My understanding is that the difference in those kids that have it (pre-k) and those that do not have it disappears somewhere around the third grade. Kids from disadvantaged homes probably do need that (pre-k) but for our kids, we kept books around all the time. Our children were exposed to books. Our grandchildren are exposed to books. There are some families that don’t do that. But that’s what Head Start is for. The truth is money is tight and sales tax revenues are down. We’re going to have to make every wise use of every dollar we’ve got. We need to look at the pre-K program and make the best use we can of that money.”

Tennessee may soon require convicted sex offenders to provide email addresses and screen names to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), under legislation approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. Judiciary Chairman Mae Beavers said the bill would strengthen Tennessee’s laws against child sex offenders and better protect children online.
“Child sexual predators know how to reach their victims via the Internet,” said Beavers. “I believe this legislation will be an effective tool for law enforcement to find and prosecute these offenders.”
According to the Crimes Against Children Research Center, one of five U.S. teenagers who regularly log on to the Internet say they have received an unwanted sexual solicitation via the web. However, only 25 percent of the children who encountered the approach told a parent or adult.
The legislation, SB 2594, would require that convicted sex offenders provide email addresses, chat names, instant message screen names, and any other online electronic communications information to the TBI as part of their routine and annual information collection requirements. The TBI would be authorized to transmit that information electronically to companies that provide pre-screening services. In order to obtain information from the TBI, this bill requires the requesting business or organization to agree to notify them when a comparison indicates that a registered offender’s email address, instant message, chat, or other Internet communication name or identity is being used on their system. Finally, the bill would also provide stiff penalties and/or incarceration for the falsification or omission in providing this information to the TBI.
Beavers said other studies show teens are willing to meet with strangers, with 16 percent of them considering meeting someone they have talked to online. Eight percent have actually met someone they only knew online.
Recently, a Tennessee convicted sex offender’s vehicle was stopped during a routine search in Nashville and was found with five male children, ranging in age from 12-13 years-old. The sex offender met one of the boys on MySpace, a popular social networking site. The five juveniles were in the vehicle with the offender for three hours, and officers discovered that none of them had any relation to the defendant, police records indicate. Earlier this year, MySpace announced a national partnership with 49 states to implement greater security measures for sites available to teens online.
“Hopefully, this bill will keep these convicted sex offenders from using the Web to contact children,” she added.
There are 600,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S. An estimated 150,000 of these offenders have been “lost” in the system.
Beavers said action to strengthen Tennessee’s sexual offender laws build on legislation passed last year including:
The Tennessee Jessica Lunsford Act which implemented the 25-year minimum mandatory sentence for sex offenders and global positioning system (GPS) monitoring for those under community supervision
A measure to create a class of “child sexual predators,” who upon a second or subsequent conviction would be required to serve 100 percent of their sentence
A new law to add rape of a child and aggravated rape of a child to felony murder offenses
Legislation to extend the group of people required to give DNA samples to those convicted of a misdemeanor sexual offense
A measure requiring sex offenders to report a change in employment status
A new law ensuring that sex offenders who enter a plea of “nolo contenderes” or who are found guilty by a jury or court in any other state or country register with the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry
Legislation that aims to strengthen Tennessee’s new law against the hiring of illegal aliens has advanced in the Senate Commerce Committee. The bill is one of a series of proposals being considered by the State Senate this year that would address illegal immigration reform.
“This bill is one of several bills pending before us that will crack down on the hiring of illegal aliens in the workplace in Tennessee,” said Senator Beavers. “Our legislature is taking a comprehensive look at bills to stop the flow of illegal aliens within Tennessee’s borders.”
Currently, only state or local government agencies can file complaints against companies who knowingly hire illegals with the Department of Labor. The bill, SB 3647, approved by the committee deletes this requirement and instead allows any person who has reason to believe that an employer has knowingly employed an illegal alien to file a complaint. It also requires that the complaint be in writing and under oath, and imposes a penalty for intentionally falsifying information.
The current law, which went into effect on January 1, allows the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development to take away an employer’s business license for up to one year if the employer is found to knowingly employ an illegal immigrant. The complaints filed with the Department of Labor are followed with an investigation. If probable cause is found, a hearing is held. If the employer is found to have employed an illegal immigrant, their business license can then be revoked, suspended or denied.
The full Senate gave final approval this week to legislation clarifying that Tennessee employers have a right to institute an English-in-the-workplace policy. The bill, which was passed by a vote of 30 to 0, makes it clear that an English-in-the-workplace policy is not considered discrimination on the basis of national origin while the employee is engaged in work.
Protection of employer rights in instituting English-in-the-workplace policies has increased both in the states and on the national scene since the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) began prosecuting employers who required that English be spoken while conducting business. One notable case involved a Salvation Army thrift store in Framingham, Massachusetts, where two employees refused to learn English and were subsequently fired after being given a year’s notice to learn the language.
Under the bill, SB 2849, a person would not be considered to be engaged in work during any meal period, rest period, or any other break. The bill is permissive and only applies during the period in which the person is required to perform official duties associated with their employment.
“This bill is permissive,” said Senator Beavers. “It simply says that if employers want to require that employees speak English while on the job, they can do so. There are many occupations where there could be real safety concerns if there are court rulings holding that other languages are the ‘civil rights’ of workers while on the job.”
Issues in Brief
Sales Tax Holiday bill becomes law — The governor signed into law legislation sponsored by Senator Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville) this week to move the state’s spring sales tax holiday to the last weekend in April so that it will not interfere with businesses that close for Easter. The holiday, which was designed to provide relief to taxpayers by instituting a temporary sales tax exemption on certain items, was scheduled by law for the weekend of March 21 – 23. Those dates coincide with both Good Friday and Easter this year. Senate Republicans were instrumental in the passage of several tax reform initiatives during the past legislative session, including Senator Mae Beavers’ (R-Mt. Juliet) bill that reduced the sales tax on food and created the spring sales tax holiday.
Auto theft — The full Senate approved legislation sponsored by Senator Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville) to reduce auto theft in Tennessee. The bill, SB 2858, would require scrap metal processors who purchase vehicles with the intention of dismantling or salvaging them to provide proof of ownership. Any vehicle purchased that is over ten years old and which does not contain the motor or is inoperable, would not require a title but must have a written statement signed by the seller or their agent stating they have a lawful right to sell and dispose of the vehicle. It also requires records on those transactions be kept for five years, including the name and address of the buyer, the amount they paid for the vehicle, date of sale, description of the auto, VIN number, and the license plate number of any vehicle transporting the automobile.
Charter Schools – Legislation extending the life of charter schools in Tennessee was heard in the Senate Education Committee. The bill, sponsored by Senate Education Chairman Jamie Woodson (R-Knoxville) would also make a very conservative expansion of student eligibility to public charter schools to fill any empty slots with students who are classified “at risk.” Tennessee has the most restrictive public charter school law in the nation. Currently, a student must be from a “failing” school or the student must be a “failing” student. Tennessee’s charter schools passed their first real performance test this year when the State Comptroller’s Office of Education Accountability issued its findings to the General Assembly. The study showed a higher percentage of middle and high school students in charter schools scored “proficient” or “advanced” in 35 comparisons with their traditional school counterparts, while the traditional school students scored higher in 18 of the comparisons.
Election of Lt. Gov. and Secretary of State — The full Senate approved 20 to 10 a resolution calling for the election of Tennessee’s lieutenant governor and secretary of state. The lieutenant governor is currently elected by the State Senate every two years, while the secretary of state is elected by House and Senate members in a joint session every four years. The proposal to change the state constitution would have to pass both chambers this year; and then again by a two-thirds vote in the next General Assembly before it could be voted on by Tennesseans in the 2010 election.
Health Care Tax Credits — The Senate Finance’s Tax Subcommittee considered but deferred until next week, action on two bills to provide health care tax credits. One bill, SB 3936, sponsored by Republican Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville) would provide a Hall Income Tax deduction for premiums paid by the taxpayer for long term care insurance. The credit would be in an amount equal to the total amount of premiums paid by the taxpayer. The other bill, SB 2659 , sponsored by Republican Caucus Chairman Diane Black (R-Gallatin) would establish tax credits for small business owners who offer health insurance to their employees and dependents.

A Middle Tennessee Endangered Child Alert was issued Thursday by the Smithville Police Department for 4 month old Cori Alaina Edwards.
The child was apparently with her father Michael L. Edwards.
According to the alert, Mr. Edward’s wife last spoke with Michael L. Edwards on March 12, at Noon. He advised he was traveling to a hardware store in Smithville. There had been no contact with Edwards since that time until he returned home with the baby Thursday evening.
The baby is now in her mother’s custody.

Retiring Democratic State Representative Frank Buck says he will not endorse any candidate to succeed him during the primary season
In an interview with WJLE Thursday, Buck said it would not be appropriate for him to support one candidate over another during the Democratic Primary. “If anybody tells you or the public that I am endorsing any one candidate over another, they are simply not telling the truth. I have not said anything like that to any of the candidates that have come by and talked with me. I’ve made it very clear to everyone of them who have come by that in the primaries I’m not going to endorse anybody and anyone who tells the public otherwise is simply not telling the truth.”
“The matter of gaining the trust of the public is going to have to be done by the candidates themselves. There are dozens of issues that are dealt with during the General Assembly that you cannot anticipate from one year to the next. The members of the General Assembly have to make judgment calls. They have to make decisions and over innumerable matters. It is up to the candidates to get out here and make the public understand whether or not they can be trusted. Anytime you have a new representative who is elected to vote on that many different issues, this is a leap of faith to some degree on behalf of the public. They have to try to decide to vote for whoever they think will be fair, who will try to use the position for the interest of the counties and the public, and not to use the position for their own benefit. All these things are matters of confidence of the public in the representative. One person cannot give trust and confidence to some other candidate. The candidates themselves have to convince the public that they’re worthy of trust and that simply has to be done by the candidates. Simply put, I’m doing exactly what I ought to do. These candidates ought to have to get out here and convince the public themselves and for that very reason I feel like it’s highly inappropriate for me to embrace anybody. They need to get out here and convince the public themselves.”

Another Smithville business has been burglarized.
Smithville Police Chief Richard Jennings told WJLE Thursday afternoon that someone broke into the Smithville BP convenience store at 627 West Broad Street around 1:13 a.m. Thursday but the intruder quickly left after the motion sensor alarm in the store activated.
According to Officer Scott Davis’ report, “I was dispatched to the business in reference to a burglar alarm. Upon my arrival, I discovered that an unknown subject had made entry into the rear of the business. The suspect gained entry into the business by knocking a hole into the concrete wall with a sledge hammer. Once inside, the suspect then crawled toward the front of the business when he activated the alarm.” The suspect then fled the scene, apparently going back out the same way he came in.
The complainant, Rasikkumar Patel, stated at the time of the report that he could not determine if any merchandise or money was missing. Patel stated that he was going to do a complete inventory of the store.
The estimated amount of damage to the building is approximately $2,000.
The suspect, whose image was captured from the store surveillance camera, is described as a male, approximately 5′ 10 inches to 6′ 1 inch, weighing 180 to 210 pounds. He was wearing a ball cap and a white zip-up hoodie jacket with some sort of design over the entire jacket, and jeans.
If you have information that could help solve the crime, contact the Smithville Police Department.

Any school club or booster organization raising funds in the name of the school system must adhere to new state law known as the “School Support Organization Financial Accountability Act”
The DeKalb County Board of Education adopted the policy on first reading Thursday night.
Public Chapter 326, Acts of 2007 enacts the “School Support Organization Financial Accountability Act” which requires local education agencies to adopt a policy concerning local school support groups. The policy must be in place by July 1, 2008.
The policy must require, at a minimum, that local school support groups do the following:
Furnish a form stating the organization’s status as a nonprofit organization, the goals and objectives of the organization and the telephone number, address and position of each office of the organization;
Provide an annual detailed statement of receipts and disbursements to the applicable school principal;
Maintain a copy of its charter, bylaws, minutes, and documentation of its recognition as a nonprofit organization
Maintain financial records for a period of at least 4 years;
Operate within the applicable standards set by a related state association, if applicable;
Ensure that funds are safeguarded and spent only for purposes related to the goals and objectives of the organization;
Get prior approval from the director of schools or the director’s designee before the organization undertakes fundraising activities that utilizes any property or facilities owned or operated by the local education authority
Provide access to all books, records, and bank account information upon request to the local school board, local school principal, or auditors of the office of the comptroller of the treasury.
The act prohibits school representatives from acting as a treasurer or bookkeeper of a school support organization and prohibits a majority of the voting members of the group’s board from being school employees.
The principal of a school may agree to allow an authorized school support organization to operate and collect money for a concession stand or parking at a related school academic, arts, athletic, or social event on school property without the prior approval of the director or his designee. Any money payable to the school pursuant to the agreement with the principal will be considered school support group funds and not student activity funds if the school support organization provides the school with relevant collection documentation required by the student activity funds manual produced by the state
These groups would be subject to audit by the Office of the Comptroller of the Treasury.
The board is expected to adopt the policy on second and final reading next month.