More evidence that Republicans have no interest in the rights of regular people: The Senate has approved and sent to the governor a bill that would reduce the maximum civil penalty for a "knowing" violation of state insurance laws from $25,000 per occurrence to $1,000 per occurrence. This means that an insurance company can deliberately and in bad faith deny your claim, and there is essentially no state penalty.

And by the way, talk about conflicts of interest: "The measure was sponsored by Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, and Rep. Charles Sargent, R-Franklin, who both operate insurance agencies."

If Governor Haslam cares a whit about this state's policyholders, he will veto this bill. Don't hold your breath.