By AP
Nashville, TN – The Tennessee governor could decide to hire an outside attorney without the consent of the attorney general under a bill advancing in the Senate. The measure sponsored by Republican Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey, a gubernatorial candidate and a vocal critic of the new federal health care law, was unanimously approved by the State and Local Government Committee Wednesday.
Ramsey wants state Attorney General Bob Cooper to join more than a dozen states in challenging the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
It's unclear whether the bill would have any immediate impact if it becomes law, since Governor Phil Bredesen says he supports Cooper's legal opinions on whether to challenge the measure. The term-limited governor leaves office in January 2011.