Senate committee advances bills on sewer regulation, candidate filings, drone limits and hiring background checks

A Senate committee advanced four bills Thursday, issuing favorable reports on proposals affecting sewer regulation, candidate filing deadlines, drone flights over critical infrastructure and restrictions on asking job applicants about criminal histories.

The first bill, SB 137, would remove unregulated privately owned sewer systems from the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission (PSC). "This is a pretty simple bill pertaining to the public service commission that would allow unregulated privately owned sewer systems to come out of the jurisdiction of the PSC. It's that simple," Senator Wagner said when introducing the measure. The committee gave the bill a favorable report by voice vote, recorded as "8 ayes, no nays." The discussion identified Shelby County systems and a parent company owning both regulated and unregulated systems as the prompt for the legislation.

The committee also advanced SB 165, which seeks to clarify filing deadlines and procedures for candidates. Senator Coleman Madison said the bill intends to resolve confusion between deadlines for party-affiliated candidates, independents and people transitioning out of government employment who must show proof of prior filings. Under the proposal, major-party candidates would submit required documents five days before qualifying deadlines, and independents would file five days before the primary; the Secretary of State reviewed the change and "doesn't have a problem with it," Coleman Madison said. The bill was given a favorable report on the committee roll call.

Senators moved and approved a bill, SB 164, that would bar drone flights within a vertical distance of 200 feet over critical infrastructure facilities, including military and certain federal sites cited in committee discussion — examples named during debate included Maxwell Air Force Base, Redstone Arsenal, NASA facilities and TVA hydroelectric dams. Committee members noted related code sections and said prisons and other sites may also be covered by existing language or by amendments to come; the measure received a favorable recommendation.

The most extensive debate concerned SB 49, which would limit when state and other governmental employers may ask job applicants about criminal convictions. Senator Sink Singleton, the bill's sponsor, said the bill addresses workforce challenges and would prohibit asking about criminal history before a conditional job offer. "This bill will allow state government, any governmental agency, to be able to hire people without asking them about their criminal background upfront," Sink Singleton said. The measure would require employers, after making a conditional offer, to notify applicants of convictions and explain any disqualification; it would also require agencies to retain records for three years showing positions that require background checks, numbers of conditional offers and numbers of disqualifications.

Senator Robert Stewart offered a friendly amendment changing which state office enforces the measure and explicitly excluding some entities from the rule. "I want to offer a friendly amendment to SB 49 ... and it excludes agencies that deal with HIPAA. It excludes law enforcement agency and officers, and personnel will conduct annual reviews to ensure an accountability measure," Stewart said. The committee adopted that amendment and a second amendment addressing district attorneys and law enforcement office coverage, and later gave the bill a favorable report with the adopted changes.

Votes at a glance

- SB 137 — Public Service Commission; unregulated privately owned sewer systems: Favorable report; committee recorded "8 ayes, no nays." Sponsor: Senator Wagner. (Discussion identified Shelby County systems as the reason for the bill.)

- SB 165 — Candidate filing deadlines and proof for candidates leaving government employment: Favorable report; recorded as favorable on roll call. Sponsor: Senator Coleman Madison. (Secretary of State reviewed the language and had no objection, per committee record.)

- SB 164 — Drone flights over critical infrastructure: Favorable report. Sponsor: Senator Orr (handled in committee by a cosponsor). Committee discussion cited Maxwell Air Force Base, Redstone Arsenal, NASA facilities and TVA dams as examples for the covered facilities; members noted prisons and other sites may be covered by other code sections or by amendment.

- SB 49 — Limits on pre-offer criminal-history questions for government hiring ("ban-the-box" style change): Favorable report as amended. Sponsor: Senator Sink Singleton. The committee adopted at least two amendments (one narrowing enforcement and excluding HIPAA-covered agencies and law enforcement; another addressing district attorneys/law enforcement coverage) and recorded the measure as given a favorable report.

Details, clarifications and next steps

- SB 137: Committee discussion identified a parent company that owns sewer systems in Shelby County and other counties; committee members said the Shelby County system is regulated while others owned by the same company are not. The transcript did not provide detailed implementation language or an effective date.

- SB 165: The bill would require major-party candidates to submit required filings five days before qualifying deadlines and would require independents to file five days before the primary. The Secretary of State's office was reported as not objecting to the language; exact statutory citations were not read into the record.

- SB 164: Committee members said prison facilities may already be covered under other statutes and suggested sponsors include any missing facilities in a substitute bill; the bill's text and any future substitute will determine whether prisons are explicitly listed.

- SB 49: The bill would require agencies to retain records for three years about positions requiring background checks, numbers of conditional offers and disqualifications. Committee amendments shifted enforcement language and excluded certain agencies (including entities covered by HIPAA, law enforcement agencies and the district attorney's office) from the rule as adopted in committee. The transcript shows the committee adopted amendments and then advanced the bill; the final committee text and any changes on the floor were not part of this transcript.

Meeting context

The committee convened with a quorum and progressed through several bills with largely procedural debate on two measures and more substantive discussion and amendments on the hiring-background measure. Multiple senators spoke during roll calls and debate; several amendments were offered and adopted on SB 49. The transcript covered committee consideration and recorded roll-call results and voice votes where announced.