Tenn. House speaker says no consensus on December special legislative session on workers comp

Tenn. lawmaker: No consensus on special session

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee House Speaker Kent Williams says there’s no consensus among lawmakers about whether to call a special legislative session next month to delay a workers compensation law.

Williams wrote in an e-mail to lawmakers on Monday that his impression is that some lawmakers would prefer to wait until the January session to address the law.

The law requiring workers compensation coverage for most sole proprietors in the construction industry was passed in 2008 and is set to take effect Dec. 31. The measure was sponsored by House Republican Leader Jason Mumpower of Bristol and Republican Sen. Bill Ketron of Murfreesboro.

The last time the Legislature was called into special session was in 2006 to take up a sweeping ethics reform package in the aftermath of the FBI’s Tennessee Waltz bribery sting.