Some items of note from the Tennessee General Assembly...

• Sen. Roy Herron (D-Dresden) sponsored SB1566 that bans hunting while under the influence of drugs or a blood alcohol level of .08 (the same as DUI). A first offense will get you 48 hours in jail, a fine of between $350 and $1,500, and the loss of a Tennessee hunting license for one year. A second offense will get you 11 mo. 29 days in jail and a fine of up to $3500. The bill includes an "implied consent" provision for anyone hunting. The Senate passed the bill unanimously and it is now pending in the House. What's amazing is that this wasn't already the law.

• In related news, Sen. Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville) and Rep. Frank Nicely (R-Knoxville) sponsored HB2184 to allow carrying a handgun in state parks. The bill was passed by the House Judiciary Committee, and is on the Senate Judiciary Calendar for May 15th. Along the way, it was amended to eliminate prohibitions on carrying handguns on
"the grounds of any public park, playground, civic center or other property owned, used or operated by any municipal, county or state government, or instrumentality thereof, for recreational purposes," and a second amendment requires posting a sign to that effect at parks, playgrounds, civic centers, etc. What a bunch of yahoos.

So now, visitors to the beautiful State of Tennessee and our parks and our civic centers would be greeted with a sign informing that anyone and everyone there could be armed. How pleasant. I guess the gun nuts are happy, though, because they would be able to protect themselves from that guy peeing over there in the bushes who might be a terrorist or a child molester.

But wait. The commissioner of the State Department of Environment and Conservation says that out of 50 million visits to state parks in 2005 and 2006, there were only 12 reported crimes against state park visitors. And the Tennessee Association of Park Rangers says that handguns are not compatible with the family friendly atmosphere at our state parks.

UPDATE: In what must be a sign of the Apocalypse, SayUncle tends to agree.

• Sen. Rosalind Kurita (D-Clarksville) and Sen. Raymond Finney (R-Maryville) co-sponsored SB0116 which requires the Department of Economic and Community Development to establish energy and lighting efficiency standards to be enforced by local governments. It establishes the 2003 International Energy Conservation Code as the minimum energy conservation standards for new residential construction in Tennessee beginning January 1, 2008. Current law requires the usage of building codes established in 1992. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate, and is pending in the House. If she can get it passed and to the Governor, this would be some redemption for Kurita. As for Finney, it moves him up from around -9 to -8 on my approval scale of 1 to 10.

• "Tort Reform" proposed by SB2001 sailed through the Senate but hit a snag in the House when Rep. Rob Briley (D-Nashville) tried to amend it to change some rules regarding expert testimony. It's now back in the House Judiciary Committee. Here's our take on why this is bad legislation.

• A Tennessee minimum wage bill has once again failed, except this time it was pulled by its own sponsor in the Senate, Sen. Doug Jackson (D-Dickson), who said "I want there to be a loud discussion and debate in the early days of the next session." SB1668 doesn't even increase the minimum wage, it just sets it the same as the Federal minimum wage with provisions to change it if the federal minimum is not changed for five years. This is weak and embarrassing.