Elmer Gantry's Top Ten List Of Stupid Representative Mattthew Hill Tricks

I seriously doubt that David Letterman knows much of anything about any pending legislation before the Tennessee General Assembly, let alone any of that legislative dribble that Rep. Matthew Hill is filing with the Tennessee General Assembly...

HB0659 by Hill, Swafford, Crider.
Taxes, Sales - Exempts sale of food or food ingredients, except candy, dietary supplements, and prepared food, from state sales and use taxation. - Amends TCA Title 67, Chapter 6.

[Hill's HB0659 removes taxation from a stable revenue source currently and thereby will subject his Washington County constituients to a state government fiscial crisis and resultin state income tax should state expenditures keep increasing while state revenues collections shrink from tax cutting.]

HB0660 by Hill.
DUI/DWI Offenses - Makes ignition interlock devices mandatory for all DUI offenders, including first-time offenders. - Amends TCA Title 39; Title 40, Chapter 33, Part 2 and Title 55, Chapter 10, Part 4.

[Hill's HB0660 as stated creates yet another layer of punishment for first-time offenders: A first DUI offense can result in a possible sentence of 11 months and 29 days to a minimum sentence of 24 hours in jail for those over 21-years-of-age, 48 hour in jail for those between 18 and 21-years-old, or a minimum of 7 days in jail if the accused was tested to have a blood alcohol level of .20 percent or higher. Also included in a first DUI conviction in Tennessee is 24 hours of mandatory litter pick-up, probation, license suspension, DUI school, and a minimum $350 dollar fine.

Did I mention here that Rep. Matthew Hill accepted campaign contributions during the 2006 election year from both Johnson City beer baron Bill Breeding and former Alpine Package Store co-owner Ben Garrison?]

HB0662 by Hill.
Criminal Offenses - Makes punishment for child rape same as punishment for first degree murder. - Amends TCA Section 39-13-522.

[Hill's HB0662 is similar to the bill that he filed last year --- Hill's 2006 version failed within the Constitutional Protection subcommittee most likely due to concerns with U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding "proportionality" and concerns that Hill's child rape legislation would further endanger the lives of child rape victims from attackers who may consider that they would have nothing left to lose by killing their victims.]

HB0663 by Hill.
Handgun Permits - Reduces handgun carry permit application fee from $115 to $100; removes $15.00 from fee that is earmarked to TBI for background checks. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13.

[Hill's HB0663 proposed fee reduction would take away revenue from the operating budget of Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and make TBI more reliant upon a greater share of state general revenues (including those sources originating from the sale of grocery items in Tennessee), in effect hindering the ability of the TBI to investigate criminal cases and make arrests of perps (e.g. drag racers, drunk drivers; child rapists, etc.)]

HB0664 by Hill.
Pensions and Retirement Benefits - Adds new Group 1 service retirement provision of age 55 with 25 years of creditable service for public safety officers. - Amends TCA Title 3, Chapter 9, Part 1 and Title 8.

[Hill's HB0664 dole out earlier retirement dates for local and state law enforcement agencies, thereby increasing the future demand for local and state tax revenue allocations toward law enforcement recruiting, selection, and hiring on the entry side and more tax dollar allocation toward meeting earlier law enforcement retirement obligations.]

HB0904 by Hill.
State Government - Requires the state budget to be prepared and adopted on a biennial basis rather than annually. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 10 and Title 9, Chapter 4, Part 51.

[Hill's HB0904 is likely to be known by the popular title "Tennessee Lazy Bastard Legislator Act of 2007".]

HB0905 by Hill.
Education - Requires schools to notify parents of clubs and organizations [sic], including the mission or purpose of the club or organziation; requires written permission of parent to join school club or organization. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 6.

[Hill's HB0905 legislation is simply another piece of --- an unfunded state mandate that will require local school systems to make the choice to either:

a) divert local school system revenue toward of such things as postage, photocopying, envelopes, personnel, filing, record keeping, public inspection, etc, instead of classroom academics or legitimate school and classroom expenditures, or;

b) simply do way with all student club or organizations --- and you can then kiss goodbye to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.]

HB0906 by Hill.
Guns - Prohibits the confiscation or seizure of lawfully possessed firearm or ammunition during an emergency or disaster unless peace officer reasonably believes that disarming a person is immediately necessary for the protection of the officer or another individual. - Amends TCA Title 58, Chapter 2, Part 1.

[Reads like Rep. Hill got his panties bunched-up in a knot following the news accounts of the Katrina hurricane ripping through New Orleans --- someone should whisper into his ear and remind Rep. Hill that it was most widely reported in the Katrina news accounts that it was members of President Bush's federally deputized and private Blackwater "contractors" who were spending a lot of their time disarming New Orleans residents. HB0906 would not have any effect upon federal law enforcement, military, or federally deputized private contractors.]

HB0907 by Hill.
Teachers, Principals and School Personnel - Authorizes loans and requires pay bonuses for National Board certification and requires state board of education to recognize certification for certain licensure requirements. - Amends TCA Title 49.

[Who pays? State government? Local government? Local school boards?]

HB0943 by Hill.
Public Funds and Financing - Enacts "Transparency in Government Act." - Amends TCA Title 9, Chapter 4 and Title 67.

[This bill should have another legislative twin titled "Transparency in Tennessee Non-Profits Act", requiring all Tennessee non-profits filing an IRS Form 990 "Return Of Organization Exempt From Income Tax" or similar IRS exempt organization document and maintaining an exempt organization web page soliciting donations from the public via an internet web site --- such as Rep. Matthew Hill's Appalachian Educational Communication Corporation, d.b.a. WHCb 91.5 FM --- post the exempt organization's IRS filed Form 990s at the orgganization's web site or hyperlink to another web where the exempt organization has posted copies of IRS Form 990s...]