Legislation Aimed At Protecting Elderly Tennesseans From Abuse Moves Forward
Legislation sponsored by House Republicans that cracks down on elder abuse and exploitation continues to advance through the House committee process.
House Bill 810, known as the Elderly and Vulnerable Adult Protection Act, closes legal loopholes in existing abuse laws to further protect some of our most vulnerable from criminal targeting. The legislation increases penalties and raises fines for elder abuse offenders while also enabling the Tennessee Department of Human Services to track serial abusers by placing them on a registry.
House Bill 810 is part of a larger effort by lawmakers this year to help ensure the safety of Tennessee’s senior citizens. Over the last several years, there has been a nationwide increase in the number of cases related to the financial exploitation of seniors as technology and internet related scams have been on the rise.
Two additional pieces of legislation that have already passed the full House this year include House Bill 304, which helps protect the elderly and those at increased risk of cognitive impairment from financial exploitation by providing the Tennessee Securities Division with the tools needed to help detect and prevent financial fraud and abuse.
Similarly, House Bill 1064 adds tools and greater flexibility as to how financial institutions can best protect their customers when they have reason to suspect financial exploitation of elderly or vulnerable adults is occurring or being attempted.
Studies show that approximately 20% of seniors have been a victim of financial exploitation at a cost of approximately $2.9 billion annually. Moreover, these numbers are likely low as it is also estimated that only one out of every 44 instances of financial abuse is actually reported.
House Republicans Enhance Transportation Safety For Tennessee Students
Monday evening, House lawmakers unanimously approved legislation designed to enhance safety and create more oversight of school bus transportation for Tennessee students.
As passed, House Bill 322 requires all school districts, including charter schools, to appoint a transportation supervisor to monitor and oversee student transportation. This supervisor must receive annual training developed from the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) and the Tennessee Department of Safety (TDS) and must also implement a school transportation policy adopted by the local board of education. Additionally, House Bill 322 requires all new bus drivers to complete a driver training program based on standards developed by the TDOE and the TDS prior to transporting any students.
Another key provision of the bill requires any school bus driver to be 25 years old and have five years of unrestricted driving privileges, areas that came into question after the Chattanooga school bus crash last year that killed six children where the driver, who was 24 at the time, had several previous traffic violations. A 2014 school bus crash in Knoxville — caused by distracted driving — also killed two children and a teacher’s aide.
Supporters of the legislation hope the new transportation oversight will help prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
The full text of House Bill 322 can be accessed by visiting the Tennessee General Assembly website at: http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/110/Bill/HB0322.pdf.
House Approves Legislation To Remove Burdensome And Outdated Regulations From Law Books
The full House passed legislation this week to remove unneeded governmental regulations and red tape from the system by exempting those whose profession is shampooing hair from having to acquire a barber or cosmetology license before being able to run their businesses.
Currently, a person in the shampooing business must submit an application, pay a fee, and take 300 hours of education at a cosmetology school before being able to offer their services to the public — burdens that supporters of the legislation believe are excessive and unneeded.
Similarly, the House Finance, Ways & Means Subcommittee will hear legislation this week to authorize any individual, firm, or corporation that holds a cosmetology, manicurist, aesthetician, or natural hair styling license to practice in a customer’s home or place of business instead of being required to have a separate business location of their own. Presently, with a few exceptions, cosmetology services must be provided in a salon. House Bill 710 removes that restriction and allows for willing providers and willing recipients to transact that business outside of a salon.
The support of these bills by House Republicans are part of a broader effort to relieve the burden of regulation on the right of an individual to pursue a chosen business or profession without first having to jump through governmental hoops.
As part of the same effort, lawmakers earlier this month moved forward with legislation to encourage the growing and selling of Tennessee-based agricultural products across the state by removing governmental regulations that have placed undue burdens on the distribution of homegrown, locally produced food products.
Prior to the passage of House Bill 299, all food manufacturers, regardless of size, were required to be licensed and inspected by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, incurring fees and other payments due to the state. House Bill 299 removed these licensing costs, allowing home-kitchens and small start-up companies the ability to thrive without being burdened by unnecessary fees and expenses.
Over the last several years, many rural communities across Tennessee have seen newly established farmers markets and local kitchens pop up that continue to grow in size and offerings to the public. Because of the regulations in place, however, these groups had difficulty expanding because of the high fees associated with providing these services.
Now that the legislation has passed, House Bill 299 will stop the licensing and inspections required by the Department of Agriculture at over 150 existing domestic kitchens. This will allow for growth in our rural communities and at small business start-ups and farmers markets in all parts of the state.
As the 2017 legislative session continues, House Republicans remained committed to fighting back against governmental overreach and working to empower individuals to succeed without the worry of burdensome governmental regulations.