Capitol roundup: MLS, vouchers, child abuse and nursing homes

Three weeks ahead of the start of the 110th General Assembly, legislation and proposed legislation are starting to make the rounds.

— State Sen. Steve Dickerson has filed a bill to send any state sales tax spent at a hypothetical future Major League Soccer stadium back to Metro coffers, making it possibly more palatable for the city to pony up funding for a stadium. The Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators have similar deals in place. Bill Hagerty, the former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, is leading the push to land an MLS team, which he says can't be done without a stand-alone stadium, even as other cities like Atlanta have been granted MLS expansion bids with a dual-purpose NFL-MLS stadium. Apparently, Hagerty approached Dickerson about the legislation while both men's children were playing soccer.