NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican leaders coordinated in the recent legislative session to pass new laws that spotlight Tennessee's business-friendly reputation, while a spurt of social issue measures from lawmakers have critics arguing the state looks so backward it will hurt economic development.

In 1999, Tennessee made national news with the so-called "road kill bill" that allowed highway carcasses to be taken home for dinner. Talk show host Jay Leno mocked the measure, saying the state's motto should be changed to "fender-licking good."

More than a decade later, Tennessee is again the butt of jokes in national forums for proposals ranging from undermining the teaching of evolution to barring classroom discussion of gay issues.

"We're the laughingstock in a lot of publications," said Rep. Jimmy Naifeh, D-Covington.

Republicans passed business-focused proposals eliminating the tax on estates smaller than $1 million, restructuring re gulatory boards and increasing the amount of cash grants available to companies looking to invest in Tennessee. At the same time, some bills drew considerable national notice, much of it negative. Those include bills that: required abstinence-focused sex education; prohibited students from sagging their pants or dressing indecently in school; capped the number of foreign workers at Tennessee charter schools; and tried to exempt student religious groups from colleges' nondiscrimination policies.

"We represent the people of the state, and we can tell you that in these tough economic times these bills are certainly a distraction from what Tennesseans believe the Legislature's priorities should be - crafting public policy that boosts the well-being and productivity of hard-working middle- and working-class families," said Mary Mancini, executive director of Tennessee Citizen Action.

Sen. Stacey Campfield, sponsor of the "Don't Say Gay" measure that passed the Senate l ast year, said social issues make up just a small portion of the bills lawmakers propose on Capitol Hill.

"I don't think social issues are that big," said the Knoxville Republican. "We do a lot of other things up here."

Last month, Republican Gov. Bill Haslam voiced frustration that the Democratic-sponsored saggy pants bill was getting all the attention instead of more substantive measures. Soon after, he signed the bill into law.

It was a Republican-sponsored bill, though, that provoked the governor to announce his first veto since taking office in 2010.

The measure tried to force Vanderbilt University to exempt student religious groups from its nondiscrimination policy. Haslam said the state had no role in telling a private institution how to run its organization.

Several Democrats agreed.

"It was the biggest government intrusion of a private business or institution that I can ever remember," said Democratic House Minority Leader Craig Fi tzhugh of Ripley.

Haslam allowed two other measures to become law without his signature.

The proposal that protects teachers who allow students to critique scientific theories like evolution was derided by critics as the "monkey bill" for attacking evolution. The state held the famous Scopes "monkey trial" in 1925 in Dayton, and opponents of the legislation say evolution is still under attack in 2012.

Haslam said he allowed the legislation to become law without his signature because "good legislation should bring clarity and not confusion."

Three Vanderbilt Ph.D.s wrote an op-ed that criticized the bill for hurting efforts by the state, home of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to build a reputation as a leader in science and technology.

"What high-tech employer will want to open up shop in a state that allows ideology and prejudice to trump science education?" the piece said.

The other proposal Haslam won't sign limits the number of forei gn workers at charter schools. The measure prohibits a chartering authority from approving a school's application if it planned to hire 3.5 percent of foreign workers from H1B or J-1 visa programs.

Haslam said in a recent statement that he questioned the constitutionality of the measure and that he doesn't want to harm the state's efforts to improve education standards.

However, the governor said changes made to the bill late in the legislative session eased some of those concerns.

"I am comfortable that because it is permissive and not mandatory, it does not adversely impact the state's momentum in education reform," Haslam said.

Dick Williams, chairman of Common Cause Tennessee, said he's concerned the legislation could "limit the pool of potentially good teachers" for science, technology, engineering and math.

"It's all just kind of short-sighted," Williams said. "Businesses are not only looking for places with low taxes, but qualified workers ."

Two other proposals that Haslam didn't view favorably failed. The "Don't Say Gay" bill would have limited all sexually related instruction to "natural human reproduction science" in kindergarten through eighth grade.

The other, and probably the most contentious of the session, would have stripped employers of the right to ban firearms on company property.

A number of large companies in Tennessee opposed the legislation, including FedEx in Memphis and Volkswagen, which has a $1 billion assembly plant in Chattanooga.

Frank Fischer, the CEO and chairman of the Volkswagen plant, visited the state Capitol earlier this month and told The Associated Press he wasn't comfortable with the legislation.

"We would not welcome people being able to carry weapons on factory grounds," he said. "Probably just as little as the state House or Senate would like people to enter their building armed."

William Ozier is chairman of the board of directors of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce. He said he was glad to see the bill's demise because he believes it was one in particular that would have reflected badly on the state.

"That legislation would ... have opened the door to new lawsuits against employers, which would clearly erode the status that Tennessee currently enjoys as one of the most business-friendly states in the country," he said.

Williams said proposals like the one that limits the number of foreign workers at charter schools makes the state seem non-inclusive.

"More and more businesses now are looking to be more inclusive," he said. "So legislation that goes the opposite direction I think would actually hurt businesses."

Despite the controversial proposals, Haslam noted Tennessee is still ranked among the nation's most favorable states and he doesn't expect that to change - for potential residents or businesses.

"I do think it is important the legislation we pass," he said. "And I do thin k we send messages with that. One of the things we want to make certain is that Tennessee is always a friendly state for businesses to locate."