John Rodgers reports in this morning’s City Paper that General Assembly members are squabbling over who gets to sponsor a bill that would eliminate the certificates for driving program that many people believe is being abused by illegal immigrants.

“[The Assembly may] be headed toward gridlock concerning two very similar bills that eliminate the certificate for driving program and replace it with a license for legal immigrants. But while both sides are in agreement on the core of the issue, they are in disagreement concerning who should sponsor the legislation that actually becomes law.

[Lieutenant Governor Ron] Ramsey said his Republican colleague, Sen. Bill Ketron of Murfreesboro, has championed eliminating the certificate for driving program ‘for years’ and should be the sponsor of the bill that passes and becomes law.

‘Nothing personal, that’s just the way it oughta be,’ Ramsey said.

The Democrats, however, want to pass the Bredesen administration bill concerning certificates for driving. House Majority Leader Gary Odom (D-Nashville) said the Department of Safety has worked on the bill and would be administering the legislation, and “that’s obviously important.”

And Rep. Mike Turner (D-Old Hickory), the House sponsor of the Bredesen bill, said he is not signing onto Ketron’s Republican-backed measure.

“That’s not going to happen,” Turner said.

This kind of infighting is nothing new in the Assembly or in nearly every legislative body, although as Rogers notes John Wilder’s departure as speaker has changed the climate in the Senate. Nevertheless, it is a sad state of affairs, in my opinion, that some of our lawmakers are more concerned with getting credit for what they accomplish than for actually doing it. That is not a good thing.