By Andy Sher

Nashville Bureau

NASHVILLE -- Tennessee lawmakers are bracing for fights over lottery scholarships, statewide cable TV licensing and a proposed constitutional amendment on abortion in the legislative session that begins this week.

Other battles are shaping up over illegal immigration. And Senate Republicans say they will seek to block any effort by Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen to expand prekindergarten programs beyond the mostly low-income children now served.

The second year of the 105th General Assembly gets under way at noon Tuesday. Lawmakers will spend months debating policies and legislation and hope for an early finish in April.

"I think it's going to be a relatively short and probably a little contentious session," said Gov. Bredesen, who expects to give his State of the State address Jan. 28.

He said he hopes to "tamp" down the partisian politics that are typical in an election year.

All 99 House seats and 16 of 33 Senate seats are up for election in November. Democrats hold a 53-46 advantage in the House, while the two parties are tied at 16 each in the Senate, with one independent, according to The Associated Press.

The state's projected budget shortfall of $147 million to $230 million in this year's $27.9 billion budget means there will be "some tough choices to be made," he said. "But I think we'll get through it fine."

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, the Senate speaker, said Republicans and Democrats will seek partisan advantage on some issues this year.

"It's always a political season," he said.

But he argued that some issues stem from "deep-felt convictions," citing GOP support of a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to remove any guaranteed rights to abortion from the state Constitution.

House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, D-Covington, said Republicans "normally wait for an election year" to push the amendment.

Rep. Richard Floyd, R-Chattanooga, who opposes abortion rights, said in his view, the issue isn't politics but morality.

"I feel like morally abortion is wrong," he said.

EDUCATION FRONT AND CENTER

The chairman of the Hamilton County legislative delegation said among his top priorities is a push for continued phasing in of reforms to the state's Basic Education Program funding formula.

Rep. Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, warned that if the economy remains sluggish, "we may be looking at phasing it in a little bit longer than we were looking at."

Gov. Bredesen's continued efforts to expand prekindergarten programs beyond a benefit for poorer students into a universally available program is drawing fire from many Republicans.

"I'm not sure that's the highest and best use of our education dollars," Lt. Gov. Ramsey said.

LOTTERY SURPLUS SKIRMISH

Disputes between Democrats and Republicans over what to do with an estimated $400 million lottery surplus also are emerging. Lawmakers last year argued about what to do right up to the moment they abruptly adjourned in an angry flurry of finger pointing.

Lottery-based scholarships now are awarded on merit, but Gov. Bredesen and legislative Democrats are pushing for more needs-based awards and have discussed lowering grade point averages needed to maintain a scholarship from the current 3.0.

While some Republican argue lottery scholarships were sold to the public as merit based, Rep. Tommie Brown, D-Chattanooga, disagreed.

"I can say to you that the lottery was not sold in my community on the basis of merit scholarships," she said recently.

Speaker Naifeh last week suggested lowering the standard to 2.75 percent. He noted most GOP members voted against the lottery.

"I personally would not have the nerve to try to tell people how to spend lottery money if I hadn't voted for it," he said.

Lt. Gov. Ramsey said Senate Republicans "feel pretty strongly we don't want to lower standards on how you get the lottery, but at the same time (want to) take into consideration the fact there are a lot of students that go to college and lose that scholarship in the first year or so."

Under current law, students' GPA can dip below 3.0 their first year, provided they can bring it back up later to a cumulative 3.0 GPA. But Lt. Gov. Ramsey said he is open to doing away with cumulative provisions so students are not faced with having to earn a 3.25 percent GPA later to maintain their scholarship.

IMMIGRATION REVISITED

Legislation cracking down on illegal immigration is another divisive issue legislators are expected to tackle. Lt. Gov. Ramsey accused House Democrats of killing as many as half a dozen Senate Republican bills last year on the issue.

"We hope to be able to push some of those again that require verification of employment, that require proof of citizenship for people to vote," he said.

Rep. Henry Fincher, D-Cookeville, said Senate Republicans last year killed his anti-illegal immigration bill, which had bipartisan House support, because of a partisan remark he made.

He said the bill, which remains alive in the Senate, requires state and local government to verify the lawful presence of anyone applying for state, local or federal public benefits.

CABLE BILL

Other big fights loom over the state cable franchising bill in which AT&T and the cable industry spent as much as $11.2 million battling over last year.

AT&T is pressing for a state law allowing it to jump-start its entry into the cable business with a statewide license. The cable industry opposes it. Last year, Speaker Naifeh maintained he was neutral on the proposal although his wife was lobbying for the cable industry.

This year, the speaker said he directed both sides to get together and reach a workable compromise that will benefit consumers.

E-mail Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com

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