Cooper: Rep. Carter on winning streak

State Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, has had several pieces of legislation passed by the House or House committees this spring.
State Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, has had several pieces of legislation passed by the House or House committees this spring.

State Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, is on a winning streak this spring.

Not only has the state legislature passed his civil asset forfeiture bill and the House his adoption bill, but his bill to end mandatory vehicle emissions testing has passed the full House Finance Ways and Means Committee and advanced to the House's Calendar and Rules Committee. Passage there sends it to the House floor.

The bipartisan civil asset forfeiture bill, officially dubbed the "U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act," passed the House 88-0 and the Senate 30-0. It awaits the governor's signature.

Simply, it limits the ability of law enforcement to seize cash, vehicles and other property, especially from individuals who are never charged with a crime or who were not even present (such as a man whose son borrowed his vehicle and used it in the commission of a crime; previously, the man had no right to appear and contest the seizure of his vehicle). It also mandates that the seizing agency of wrongfully seized property must pay the attorney fees, if any, of the property owner.

Carter, on a Facebook post, said the bill "strikes the right balance between protecting the constitutional rights of citizens and making sure our police officers, who put themselves in harm's way every day to protect us, can effectively do their jobs."

Additionally, on a Facebook live discussion with bill co-sponsor Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, he said, "What we want to do is make sure that the innocent don't have to pay the penalty for the guilty. The guilty pay for the guilty, but the innocent are protected and honored."

The bill is named for former President Ronald Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese, who helped Carter and Senate sponsor Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, shape the bill.

The adoption bill, which passed the House 86-0 and is scheduled for Senate committee discussion this week, simplifies the form for surrendering a child and updates language to reflect what previous court rulings have said.

Further, the bill clarifies parental abandonment, makes the law consistent with U.S. Supreme Court cases on absentee fathers and protects biological fathers attempting to assert parental rights. It also eliminates the six-month prior residency requirement for adoption petitioners, and expands the opportunity for active duty military personnel to use Tennessee as their legal state of residence in order to adopt children here.

"This bill makes some big changes," Carter said, "but most importantly, it streamlines the process and makes it easier to understand. This is important for children, because it allows them to be in a more stable environment in a more timely manner."

But perhaps nothing the District 29 representative has done this year has drawn more interest than his bill that would, in effect, end vehicle emission testing in six counties - including Hamilton - that are judged to be in attainment status of national air standards. And the federal Environmental Protection Agency recently declared all 95 Tennessee counties to be in attainment.

It isn't the $9 testing fee that has been onerous to vehicle owners in counties where testing is mandatory, Carter has argued, but the cost of car repairs that may or may not take care of the emissions problem, the burden of such repairs on those who can least afford them and the fairness of the testing in the first place.

"The idea that we have to choose between clean air and placing costly, burdensome regulations on Tennessee's working families is a false choice," he said on a social media post. "I reject it. Vehicle emissions testing is a perfect example of a well-intentioned government program with harmful, unintended consequences for Tennessee's middle class. Frankly it's outlived its usefulness. I'll be happy to see it go."

Carter and other critics have pointed out that counties surrounding the counties that have testing do not have it, so the general cleaner effect is not sustained; that polluting, older 18-wheeler diesels, other big trucks, buses, trains and planes are not required to be tested; that non-Tennessee drivers who daily drive to work in the state are not required to be tested; and that neither the state nor county gets the lion's share of emission fees (but the vendor does).

Typical of the many stories he said he has received is this one: "I had a car that I spent $800 [on]. To pass. Next year $1,200 to pass. The next year God provided a miracle when the engine light went off temporarily. The next year it was going to take $2,000 for repairs. It has been sitting for 3 years now. Very hard for working class to survive."

Carter has said he figures about eight in 10 Tennesseans, which would include many Democrats, favor the bill, which is sponsored in the Senate by Bo Watson, R-Chattanooga. Carter also told a social media poster it was not likely to pass the General Assembly before the end of April, but he said "we'll get there."

"We will maintain or improve current air quality standards," he has said. "We're just not going to do it on the backs of those least able to afford it."

We appreciate Carter's various pieces of common-sense legislation this spring, his ability to work across party lines on tough legislation and his boldness in standing up for that in which he believes.

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