Tennessee’s state Legislature convened Monday in Nashville for a special session to consider a number of bills responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing protests outside the state Capitol.
Legislators will consider bills to provide COVID-19-related liability protection for businesses and schools, expand telehealth services and amend laws governing protesters and camping on state property.
When the Legislature reconvened in June to complete this year’s regular legislative session, lawmakers debated liability protection but were not able to agree on a final version of the bill. This week, they’re taking up the issue again in a bill called the Tennessee COVID-19 Recovery Act. The bill would provide limited immunity from COVID-19-related lawsuits for businesses, schools, health care providers and nonprofits.
“This provides a pathway for those who have valid claims to be able to access the judicial system, but provides an extreme amount of protection for all of our organizations and civic institutions out there from any abuse through the court system in a frivolous lawsuit,” said House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, a sponsor of the bill.
The bill would not protect entities from accusations of gross negligence or willful misconduct, as in the case against a Gallatin nursing home where an outbreak of the coronavirus occurred in March. An estimated 2,000 COVID-19-related lawsuits have been filed across the country, and Tennessee’s business and educator communities have called for such liability protections.
“In the middle of a pandemic, there’s no reason for someone to take advantage of circumstances and to try to get a quick payday in a court case,” Lamberth said.
The bill would apply to COVID-19-related lawsuits filed on or after Aug. 3.
The General Assembly also will consider legislation that would expand telehealth services and insurance coverage for telehealth services in Tennessee.
“During the COVID response, we’ve learned very vividly that telemedicine is a value to all Tennessee patients because you can interact with your own physician without being exposed in a clinical setting to unnecessary contagens,” said Rep. Robin Smith, R-Hixson, chairwoman of the House Insurance Committee.
Other bills filed for consideration include expanding laws against assault of first responders and camping in nondesignated areas of state property, a measure to give the state attorney general the ability to investigate and prosecute criminal cases if the victim is a state employee or state property is damaged, and a bill to clarify the manner COVID-19 is treated under workers’ compensation law.
The special session is anticipated to last through Thursday.
“This is a special session for special interests. We are facing a public health crisis, an economic crisis, an education crisis, and an unemployment crisis in every county of this State,” Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, said in a statement. “The list of important policies we could and should be taking up is long. … This governor has instead chosen to bill taxpayers $153,200 for a special session to give a small handful of special interests liability immunity, usurp the jurisdiction of local officials, and criminalize peaceful protests.”
The special session is the second time this General Assembly has convened for a special session, meeting last year to elect a new House speaker. According to legislative historian Eddie Weeks, the last time extraordinary sessions were called in back-to-back years was in 2015 and 2016, and, before that, in 1984 and 1985.
