NEWS

The devil is in the details - and a review of Tennessee's Ethics Reform Act of 2006 shows some of those "details" may be unconstitutional.
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Just got a note that Tennessee Citizen Action has asked our new state ethics commission to weigh in on whether it’s legal for a registered lobbyist to give money to a state official who is running for a non-state office (federal, county, or city).
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Industry Insiders Admit Tort Reform Doesn't Lower Rates
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This week brought a jolting reminder of why our work at Tennessee Citizen Action is so important - it came with a phone call from a news reporter about truly horrific conditions in a Tennessee nursing home.
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“The best way to improve patient care, reduce medical cost and cut malpractice cost is to reduce medical errors, and Sorry Works does that,” said Bill Mason. “This is something doctors, hospitals, and patients can agree on, because we all win.”
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Tennessee ranks fifth nationally in releases of toxic chemicals into the air, and some plants that create the state's largest amounts of toxic waste are in the Midstate, a new federal report said.
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US Airways' unwelcome attempt to take over Delta Air Lines is making waves in the media these days for good reason.
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They are doctors who the state says are doing wrong -- in some cases, outright malpractice. But a NewsChannel 5 investigation has found some of those questionable doctors are still being allowed to keep practicing.
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When you need a doctor, you want someone who knows what they're doing. But a NewsChannel 5 investigation has found there may be secrets about your doctor that you don't know.
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Bill Mason, the executive director of Tennessee Citizen Action, said the concessions were “a significant improvement” over earlier conditions that AT&T had offered. But he said two years wasn’t long enough to promise fair pricing for Internet content. “That’s been our worry about this monopoly - AT&T will have ability to control what you can see and what you can learn and how you can see it,” he said. “That should be worrisome to anybody.”
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As Americans struggle to afford basic health care and life-saving prescription drugs, the U.S. House of Representatives is playing games.
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“We consider it only a first step toward protecting those citizens who, far too often, have lost their life savings, their peace of mind, and their very homes due to unscrupulous practices, hidden fees, flipping of loans, and other means utilized to rob them of their equity in return for little or no tangible benefits,” said Bill Mason, executive director of Tennessee Citizen Action, in a statement.
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Because of the confusion surrounding the plan, Tennessee Citizen Action, a consumer advocacy organization, and other groups have been calling for an extension of the May 15 deadline.
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Both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly have now passed legislation that aim to fight predatory lending practices by financial institutions. The bill now awaits the likely signature of Gov. Phil Bredesen.
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Tennessee Citizen Action Executive Director Bill Mason spoke with News 2 Tuesday. Mason said the group is asking the government to push back the deadline.
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NASHVILLE -- After six years of failure, Tennessee consumer advocates and the lending industry are working toward a compromise predatory-lending bill that may be less comprehensive than advocates had hoped. Time is running out: The state legislature is steaming toward adjournment in mid-May. The bill is set for review Tuesday in what may be the House Commerce Committee's last meeting of the year. A bill must win committee approval before advancing to final floor votes.
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More than 75 people attended the "Democracy in Action" forum April 18 at the Gallatin Civic Center.
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A proposal to allow raw milk sales in Tennessee could put dairy consumers at risk, opponents of a measure moving through the Legislature said Friday.
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Consumer Groups are expected to try and stop the proposed 67-billion dollar merger between AT&T and Bellsouth.
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If approved, the merger of AT&T and BellSouth will mean higher prices for local, long distance and cell phone services for individuals and small businesses alike.
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Physicians in Tennessee are increasingly seeking the services of real estate attorneys to protect their personal and family assets in case of a malpractice lawsuit against them.
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For years now, not only in Tennessee but also nationally, the debate over medical malpractice has been based, not on the facts, but instead on scare tactics promoted by the insurance industry. The time has come to look at the true situation here in Tennessee; and more importantly, it is time for the insurance industry to make the facts available to Tennesseans.
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Tennessee Citizen Action, a consumer advocacy organization based in Nashville, organized the event. "Our focus is on economic justice," said Bill Mason, executive director of Tennessee Citizen Action.
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"Over 62,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in Tennessee, with more than 150,000 people looking for work in our state," said Bill Mason of Tennessee Citizen Action.
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"The group has a new ally in that effort -- Tennessee Citizen Action. "It's about the only voice consumers have on Capitol Hill," Brewer said, as he introduced Bill Mason, the agency's new director. Predatory lending is one of the issues the action agency plans to take on this year, he said. "We're going to push the (comprehensive) legislation, that's our goal," Mason said after the meeting. Part of that effort will be to make sure amendments don't make any legislation worse than no law at all, he said."
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