Ethics law tops new measure going into place Friday
NASHVILLE — It will be illegal for lawmakers and many government officials to take consulting deals with state contractors starting Friday, one of the biggest changes to Tennessee law taking effect that day.
Many of the laws passed by the General Assembly earlier this year go into place at the start of the fiscal year, July 1.
Some drunken drivers will now be forced to pick up trash along the state’s highways, and teenage drivers using learner permits will be banned from talking on a cell phone while driving. Other changes simply clean up state laws, like a clarification that drivers must yield at a yellow blinking light and stop at a blinking red light.
The big ethics law cracking down on public officials who engage in consulting contracts was aimed at the business deals of former state Sen. John Ford. The issue of ethics dominated the session and will likely carry over to next year.
Ford, who resigned shortly after his arrest in the FBI’s “Tennessee Waltz” corruption sting, had consulting deals worth hundreds of thousands of dollars tied to TennCare contractors.
The new law would ban such relationships — and would have thrown a wet blanket on Ford’s big business deals. Ford said passage of the new restrictions was the reason he resigned, not his arrest.
“I made up my mind then it was time to go,” Ford said outside a courtroom after his arrest in May. “I didn’t need to resign from the Senate because of these charges.”
The new law will force other lawmakers to more fully disclose their income sources, and public officials must now report to the state if their spouse works as a lobbyist. The first of those reports won’t be due for six months.
“I do think that every lawmaker needs to look at what they’re doing currently and make sure there is nothing that can even be construed or give the appearance of impropriety,” said House Minority Leader Tre’ Hargett, R-Bartlett.
Lower level state employees, including legislative staffers, will have to report any consulting deals they hold.
Another ethics law that goes into place Friday, also aimed at Ford, makes it illegal to use a business address when establishing residency for a legislative district.
Both measures were passed before four sitting lawmakers — Ford, Sens. Ward Crutchfield and Kathryn Bowers, and Rep. Chris Newton — were arrested on bribery charges just days before the end of the five-month legislative session.
The arrests have increased the call for more ethics laws, and Gov. Phil Bredesen is considering a special session this fall to consider such ideas as an independent ethics commission and tougher lobbying laws.
But Bredesen doubts any new laws could stop the kind of corruption alleged by the FBI in the scheme to influence state laws, saying “taking money in envelopes has always been illegal.”
Other new laws among roughly 200 changes set to take effect July 1 are:
— The new state budget going into place Friday authorizes the governor to cut up to 323,000 people from TennCare, spend $25 million in lottery money on expanding preschools and earmark $10 million for land preservation.
— It becomes a crime for public officials to mislead state auditors.
— Law enforcement retirees will be exempt from licensing fees for handgun carry permits.
— Penalties for identity theft will be increased.
— Machines that let people breath in alcohol vapor rather than ordering a drink are outlawed.
— A “sales tax holiday” exempting some purchases from tax during the first full weekend in August, starting next year, will be created
— Day care center drivers will be required to take drug tests.
A look at the big ethics law going into place Friday:
WHAT’S ILLEGAL: It’s a class A misdemeanor for lawmakers, the governor’s cabinet and local officials to have lobbying or consulting deals with companies doing business with the state. Bribery, trading cash directly for a vote, would remain a class C felony.
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Public officials must report to the state if their spouse works as a lobbyist.
DISCLOSURE: Lawmakers will have to more fully report their income sources, including business names and addresses. They will not have to report amount of income. First disclosures are due in January.
RANK AND FILE: State employees, including legislative staffers, and board members will have to report any consulting deals they hold.