Legislative Update, April 28, 2018

Tennessee General Assembly information, click HERE. For information on State Senators, including phone numbers and email addresses, click HERE; for House members, click HERE. For information on legislation, click HERE.
Don't forget that you can now watch the Senate committee meetings and floor sessions online by going HERE; House committee meetings and floor sessions online HERE.
Phone calls can go to the legislative Switchboard at 615-741-3011 or to the Toll Free number 1-800-449-8366+1 last four digits of office phone number (available online).

 

And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep for ever . . . ."  Thomas Jefferson

FOR YOUR PRAYER LIST: 
On Wednesday evening, April 25, the 110th TN General Assembly adjourned Sine Die. Now the 2018 campaign season isofficially underway. The leadership of the State is on the line.  As you contemplate that, please keep this in mind and make your choices PRAYERFULLY:

"Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual--or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country." Samuel Adams

"Look well to the characters and qualifications of those you elect and raise to office and places of trust." Matthias Burnett, Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Norwalk,1803


JONATHAN'S CORNER:
The final day of the internship started by meeting with Senator Green to go over the final details of our bills since they were slated to be on the Senate floor that afternoon. Before going to watch the Finance Committee debate over our Sanctuary City bill, we stopped by to thank Representative Hicks for reviving the bill the previous day. The Finance Committee was closely split over our bill and a motion was heard to send the bill to summer study, as well as another motion replicating the one that had killed it the day before. Both motions were narrowly voted down, and there was no small degree of stalling until it was passed out of committee. Later in the day it was moved out of the calendar and rules committee with no discussion. We were able to watch the house floor session and see James Shaw Jr. honored for his brave actions in stopping a horrific shooting. The house then took up the legislation of the day and passed bills ranging from rural hospital funding to regulating short-term rental houses. I have been blessed to spend a day a week on the capitol this session watching the machinations of our state government. 


LUKE'S CORNER:
This week the internship was very informative.  I got to go to the house floor -  it was one of the most experience filled weeks and it was some of the most fun I've ever had at the internship.  I really enjoyed my time at the Capitol and it has been some of the most informative weeks of my life.


LAURABETH'S CORNER:
What a session it's been! Every obstacle that we could have faced, we did -- And we did it all with a smile! Our bills passed on the house and senate floors, and watching them do so was such a relief! The amount of energy you can expend just sitting in a chair is absolutely incredible! We can't thank our sponsors and co-sponsors enough; It was because of their support that our bills managed to squeeze through their final days! It was such a thrill to spend these last few months with Mrs. Bobbie, and I could not begin to say how much fun this has all been! This session, while as crazy and confusing as it might have been, was a delight to take part in. I loved every minute I spent at the capitol with Mrs. Bobbie, and I am so thankful for this opportunity! But what in the world will I do on Wednesdays now?

 

On March 19th, the Lord gave me this verse of Scripture.  Little did we know how many times we would see His hand literally move to perform 'wonders' and 'miracles'.  There is just no other way to explain how the Anti-Sanctuary City bill was passed: "He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted". Job 5:9

 

TEAMWORK: the combined action of a group of people, especially when effective and efficient.

OUR CHAMPIONS: Sen. Mark Green who sponsored both the Anti-Sanctuary City bill and the Anti-Municipal ID Bill in the Senate; Rep. Jay Reedy, who sponsored  the Anti-Sanctuary City bill in the House; Rep. William Lamberth who sponsored the Anti-Municpal ID bill in the House; Rep. Mary Littleton who LITERALLY kept the Sanctuary Bill from being KILLED at its first stop in House State Government Subcommittee; Rep. Gary Hicks who LITERALLY kept the bill from being KILLED in House Finance and, last, but certainly not least, my wonderful, talented attorney friend, Joanne Bregman, who did so much research and provided so much background information that made this bill possible.  THANK YOU TO ONE AND ALL.
 

Opponents of the Sanctuary City bill are FLOODING the Governor's office asking him to VETO the bill.
Let's help the Governor fulfill his campaign promises to the voters (see article below)!! Please take moment to politely encourage the Governor by sending him an email at bill.haslam@state.tn.us or calling his office 615-741-2001 asking him to sign the bill. 
Tennessee General Assembly Passes Immigration Bills That Help Governor Fulfill Campaign Promises to Voters  .

That "No-Brainer" Bill?? That is what I kept hearing from people outside this 'sausage-making' process.TN Eagle Forum has sponsored and passed some pretty spectacular legislation in the past 31 years, but NEVER have we EVER encountered the level of opposition that this bill endured, including from some of the co-sponsors!!  It occurred to me that this MUST be pretty important to pass.  Praise the Lord, we were finally successful, thanks to God's intervention, answered prayer, good sponsors, the active participation of our members and supporters, and a LOT of hard work.

ANTI-SANCTUARY CITY BILL:
SB 2332 by *Green , Bell, Ketron, Roberts, Pody, Southerland, Bowling, Jackson, Reeves, Hensley, Lundberg
HB 2315 by *Reedy, , Terry, Sexton J, Moody, Rogers, Hill M, Goins, Eldridge, Byrd, Matheny, Boyd, Matlock, White D, Weaver, Keisling, Zachary, VanHuss, Carr , Vaughan, Crawford, Hawk, Whitson, Tillis, Kane, Calfee, Marsh, Sexton C, Lynn, Johnson, Moon, Hill T, Holt, Casada, Holsclaw, Halford, Brooks H, Sargent, Brooks K, McCormick, McDaniel, Carter, Travis, Gant, Smith, Sherrell, Powers, Lollar, Gravitt, Sparks, Littleton, Hulsey, Coley, Ragan, Doss, Lamberth, Howell, Hicks, Williams, Faison, Kumar, Butt, Forgety, Harwell, Daniel, Rudd, Alexander, White M, Wirgau
Immigration - As introduced, prohibits state and local governmental entities and officials from adopting sanctuary policies; provides that violations subject entities to ineligibility of state moneys; allows law enforcement agencies to enter into memorandums of agreement with federal officials concerning enforcement of federal immigration laws.

HB2315 finally escaped the clutches of the Finance Subcommittee and was on the full committee calendar Monday. At that time the House Finance literally KILLED the bill when Rep. Patsy Hazelwood moved that the bill be sent to TACIR, TN Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. A voice vote was called and Chairman Charles Sargent gaveled it PASSED. At the end of the committee meeting Rep. Gary Hicks, who had erroneously been recorded as a yes, (another God-thing) was able to move that the committee Reconsider Their Action.  After a lot of discussion, that motion PASSED 12-9:
 Representatives voting aye were: Brooks K, Byrd, Carter, Coley, Crawford, Hawk, Hicks, Hill M, Johnson, McCormick, Williams, Wirgau -- 12.
Representatives voting no were: Camper, DeBerry, Fitzhugh, Gilmore, Hazlewood, Love, McDaniel, Miller, Sargent -- 9. [Interesting that Sargent and McDaniel were both co-sponsors on the bill.]

On Tuesday, we made it to House Calendar and Rules, where AMAZINGLY, it came out without any discussion and was assigned to the House Floor on Wednesday.

At 10:10am, Rep. Jay Reedy took to 'the well' doing a great job presenting the bill, fighting off the destructive amendments and responding to the ludicrous opposing statements about what the bill would do. Finally it passed 64-23: Reps. voting aye were: Alexander, Boyd, Brooks H., Brooks K., Butt, Byrd, Calfee, Carr, Carter, Casada, Coley, Crawford, Curcio, Daniel, Doss, Dunn, Eldridge, Faison, Forgety, Gant, Goins, Halford, Hawk, Hicks, Hill M., Hill T., Holt, Hulsey, Johnson, Kane, Keisling, Kumar, Lamberth, Littleton, Lollar, Lynn, Marsh, Matheny, Matlock, McCormick, Moody, Moon, Powers, Ragan, Reedy, Rogers, Rudd, Sexton C., Sexton J., Sherrell, Smith, Sparks, Tillis, Travis, Van Huss, Vaughan, Weaver, White M., Whitson, Williams, Windle, Wirgau, Zachary, Madame Speaker Harwell -- 64.
          Reps voting no were: Akbari, Beck, Camper, Clemmons, Cooper, DeBerry, Fitzhugh, Gilmore, Hardaway, Hazlewood, Love,McDaniel, Miller, Mitchell, Parkinson, Pitts, Powell, Shaw, Staples, Stewart, Thompson, Towns, Turner -- 23

SB2332 was on the Senate floor at 3:26pm. Sen. Mark Green also did a great job of presenting what the bill REALLY does and responding to more erroneous accusations about what the bill would do if passed. 
Finally it passed 27-5. Sens. voting aye Bailey, Bell, Bowling, Briggs, Crowe, Dickerson, Gardenhire, Green, Gresham, Haile, Hensley, Jackson, Johnson, Kelsey, Ketron, Lundberg, Massey, Nicely, Pody, Reeves, Roberts, Southerland, Stevens, Swann, Watson, Yager, Mr. Speaker McNally. Sens. voting No: Harper, Harris, Kyle, Tate, Yarbro.  Finally, I felt like I could exhale. 
Tennessee General Assembly Passes Aggressive Anti-Sanctuary City Bill .

NO MUNICIPAL IDs:
SB 2333 by *Green, Bell, Hensley HB 2312 by *Lamberth, Casada, Hill M, Holt, Boyd, Goins, Eldridge, Byrd, Matheny, Terry, Rudd, Alexander, Powers, Lynn, Reedy, Moody, Vaughan, Ragan, Weaver, White D, Daniel, Carter, Kumar
Public Officials - As introduced, prohibits the use of consular identification cards, and other similar documents not authorized by the general assembly for use for identification purposes, for determining a person's identity or residency by an official or employee of the state or any political subdivision of the state; prohibits local governments and law enforcement agencies from establishing the acceptability of any such cards or documents.

HB2312 - as you will recall, under the expert and enthusiastic leadership of Rep. William Lambreth, the ID bill passed the House on April 12, 72-23-1:
Reps. voting aye were: Alexander, Boyd, Brooks H., Brooks K., Butt, Byrd, Calfee, Carr, Carter, Casada, Coley, Crawford, Curcio, Daniel, Doss, Eldridge, Faison, Farmer, Forgety, Gant, Gravitt, Halford, Hawk, Hazlewood, Hicks, Hill M., Hill T., Holsclaw, Holt, Howell, Hulsey, Johnson, Kane, Keisling, Kumar, Lamberth, Littleton, Lollar, Lynn, Marsh, Matheny, Matlock, McCormick, McDaniel, Moody, Moon, Powers, Ragan, Ramsey, Reedy, Rogers, Rudd, Sanderson, Sargent, Sexton C., Sexton J., Sherrell, Smith, Sparks, Terry, Tillis, Travis, Van Huss, Vaughan, Weaver, White D., White M., Whitson, Windle, Wirgau, Zachary, Madame Speaker Harwell -- 72.   Reps. voting no were: Akbari, Beck, Camper, Clemmons, Cooper, Favors, Fitzhugh, Gilmore, Hardaway, Jernigan, Jones, Love, Miller, Mitchell, Parkinson, Pitts, Powell, Shaw, Staples, Stewart, Thompson, Towns, Turner -- 23. Reps present and not voting were: Dunn -- 1.

SB2333 was on the Senate floor on Tuesday, April 24, the House language ran into some significant opposition, so Sen.Green moved it to the next calendar. After some discussion, the House language was amended and the bill was back on the floor Wednesday afternoon, April 25, where it passed the Senate 23-5:
Sens. Voting aye: Bailey, Bell, Bowling, Briggs, Crowe, Dickerson, Gardenhire, Green, Gresham, Hensley, Jackson, Johnson, Lundberg, Massey, Niceley, Pody, Reeves, Roberts, Stevens, Swann, Watson, Yager, Mr. Speaker McNally. Sens. vote No; Harper, Harris, Lyle, Tate, Yarbro.
The House REFUSED to concur with the Senate language, and sent it back to the Senate, where the Senate refused to receed from its action and a conference committee was appointed.  The six committee members (three from each body) finally came to an agreement and it went back to each chamber for a vote:

Conference Committee Report on House Bill No. 2312 / Senate Bill No. 2333 .

Conf. comm. report adopted, Ayes 69, Nays 9 PNV 1 in the House, adopted in the Senate Ayes 25, Nays 3

AMAZING POINT:  The vote on this Conference Committee report was the LAST VOTE on the floor of EACH CHAMBER  before they adjourned Sine Die. Wow! Nothing like being involved until the very last minute.

You won't want to miss Sen. Gardenhire's comments about the ID bill:
State Sen. Todd Gardenhire Says ‘It’s Not the White Parents That Show Up to Be with the Kids, It’s Not the African American Parents That Show Up with the Kids’ .


OTHER ACTIONS OF INTEREST: 

House Republicans Call For Tennessee Monument to The Unborn For The Victims of Abortion .

Approved bill lets TN corporations avoid increased taxation .

Two proposed TN constitutional amendments die in windup House-Senate squabbling 

The Technical Requirement That Nearly Killed Haslam's Opioid Package .

Tennessee General Assembly Passes Bill to ‘Hold Harmless’ Students and Teachers Over This Year’s TNReady Tests .