Lobbyists unite to help state employee

Lobbyists are working to make sure that they can contribute to a fund benefitting seriously ill infant of state employee

Email | Print By Ken Whitehouse

Tennessee lobbyists are working with state legislators in an effort to contribute to a fund set up to assist the family of Department of Environment and Conservation employee Tim Schwarz.

Schwarz's son, Caz, has been diagnosed with SCIDs and is need of a bone marrow transplant. SCIDs is a rare disease that affects the body's immune system.

Caz is 10 months old and was being treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center until this week. Now, he is being treated at Duke University where he is expected to be for at least the next 9 months while awaiting a transplant and recovery.

Bo Johnson, a lobbyist with Smith, Johnson & Carr, told NashvillePost.com that he and other lobbyists have asked legislators to draft an amendment to the recently passed ethics legislation in order to allow them to contribute to a fund set up to benefit the Schwarz family.

"Tim and his family are going through a very difficult time," Johnson said, "Lobbyists would like to contribute to a fund set up by their church, St. Henry's Catholic Church, but unfortunately the new ethcis law prohibited us from making a contribution. We have asked the legislature to give us a brief window to assist the family in a provision that would sunset once the ethics commission is appointed."

The amendment is expected to pass through the committee system quickly.