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Legislative Update April 1 2023

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).

DON'T KNOW WHO YOUR SENATOR OR REPRESENTATIVE IS?
Just go HERE and you can find out!!

"If we don't have a proper fundamental moral background, we will finally end up with a totalitarian government which does not believe in rights for anybody except for the State." President Harry Truman

FOR YOUR PRAYER LIST: We will never forget!!
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. ........Psalm 34:18

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PROPOSED CHANGES TO TENNESSEE'S PRO-LIFE LAW :
SB 0745 by *Briggs - HB 0883 by *Helton-Haynes , RUDDER, HAZLEWOOD, FARMER, MOON, WHITE, MARSH, WHITSON, TRAVIS, CARR, VAUGHAN
Abortion - As introduced, requires the state capitol commission to be responsible through funds appropriated to the commission, after funds from the construction and placement have been exhausted, for the upkeep and maintenance of a monument on the capitol campus that is in memory of the victims of abortion
STATUS: As you may recall, we thought this battle was all over last week. After celebrating the VICTORY that HB883, as amended, passed the House floor 83-11-2 and SB745 passed Senate Judiciary 8-1, and was sent to the Senate Calendar Committee for an assignment on the Senate floor. Then it was recalled and sent back to Senate Health and Wellfare where it was heard on March 28.
Sen. Yarbro tried unsuccessfully to add several other amendments to weaken the text of SB745 and it passed the committee 8-1:
Senators voting aye were: Crowe, Haile, Hensley, Jackson, Massey, Reeves, Swann, Watson -- 8. Senators voting no were: Yarbro -- 1.
Thankfully, it really is in the Senate Calendar Committee and will be assigned a place on the Senate floor soon.

BLURRING THE LINES BETWEEN PULIC CHARTER SCHOOLS AND HOME SCHOOLS:
SB 1194 by *McNally , Lundberg - HB 1214 by *Sexton , WHITE
Local Education Agencies - As introduced, changes, from five days to five business days, the amount of notice a local board of education member must give the board before a scheduled meeting of the member's intent to participate in the meeting electronically because the member is or will be out of the county at the time of the meeting
FOR BACKGROUND, PLEASE GO HERE.

Rep. Bryan Richey has brought us an excellent update on this ever-changing bill.....you can thank him for this work:
Rep. Bryan Richey rep.bryan.richey@capitol.tn.gov.

After listening to his update, you can make your voice heard here:

PROHIBITING ILLEGAL ALIENS FROM PUBLIC HOUSING
SB 1151 by *Niceley - HB 1247 by *Powers
Immigration - As introduced, prohibits an illegal alien from being housed on real property owned by this state or a political subdivision of this state; excepts incarceration and other housing required as a result of a criminal conviction

PLEASE NOTE:
There is a great deal of misunderstanding about who is 'illegal'!
It’s very important to watch all the committee meetings [move slide to 1:22:45] where a bill is being discussed to understand fully what the sponsor intends for their bill to do. In this week’s committee, Rep. Powers explained that he wasn’t trying to include all of the different groups of aliens in Tennessee who do not have a legal immigration status under the Immigration & Nationality Act (like DACA), but only the ones who as he described are part of the 1.1 million who have crossed the border illegally. These aliens have been labeled “got aways” having completely bypassed any contact with border patrol and enter illegally. However, the bill does not include any mechanism to discover who these people are or where they are residing. As the bill was discussed, it appears that the bill will be amended and is intended to protect certain groups of illegal aliens in Tennessee.

STATUS:
SB1151 has been deferred in Senate State and Local Government until 2024.
HB1247 is scheduled in House State Government Committee on Wednesday.

FOR THESE REASONS WE OPPOSE THIS LEGISLATION:
*   the bill lacks any mechanism to “find” or discover who the illegal aliens are that the subject of the bill
*   the bill has been amended to exempt many groups of individuals who do not have lawful immigration status under the Immigration & Nationality Act (INA) which is the controlling federal law on immigration, making the utility of HB1247 highly questionable
*   the definition of “illegal alien” in the bill perpetuates a factually and legally incorrect premise that someone with temporary federal work authorization cannot at the same time be considered an illegal alien under the INA. There are several groups of aliens, such as DACA recipients and those with unadjudicated asylum petitions who have temporary federal work authorization but who have not lawfully entered after inspection and authorization by an immigration officer as required by the INA meaning that their unlawful immigration status is not changed by obtaining work authorization.
*   one of the requirements that must be met in order to qualify for the DACA deferred deportation program is that they do not have lawful immigration status
*   based on conflicting information presented to the committee Rep. Powers indicated that he does not intend for DACA recipients to be subject to this bill and suggested that he would be amending the bill again to ensure that DACA recipients are exempted from the bill even though last year it was publicized that there are upwards of 7,000 DACA recipients in Tennessee.
*   The DACA recipient who testified indicated that this bill would prohibit her from living on her Tennessee university campus while the TIRRC representative said that DACA recipients have “legal status”. The DACA recipient was correct in acknowledging that she does not have a legal immigration status.
*   The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals specifically noted that DACA grantees “were simply given a reprieve from potential removal; that does not mean they are in any way lawfully present under the [INA].” The INA passed by Congress in 1952, determines the “status” of all non-citizens entering the U.S. and provides that individuals in violation of the INA are subject to removal.
*   The U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been very clear in stating that DACA approval does not confer any Congressionally authorized legal immigration status. "Q6: If my case is deferred, am I in lawful status for the period of deferral? A6: No. Although action on your case has been deferred and you do not accrue unlawful presence (for admissibility purposes) during the period of deferred action, deferred action does not confer any lawful immigration status.” https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/consideration-of-deferred-action-for-childhood-arrivals-daca/frequently-asked-questions#general

We support the 'idea' of this effort, but we believe that it needs to be re-written to actually achieve that goal.

PROTECTING PARENTAL AND STUDENT RIGHTS:
SB 1443 by *Roberts - HB 0727 by *Hulsey
Local Education Agencies - As introduced, requires a student's parent or legal guardian, or the student if the student has reached the age of majority, to provide a written, informed, and voluntarily signed consent to the student's LEA before the student may receive instruction through the LEA's family life curriculum, participate in a survey, analysis, or evaluation, or receive health services provided through a coordinated school health program.
You will want to the bill page and review the SUMMARY.
STATUS: As amended, SB1443, passed Senate Education 8-1:Senators voting aye were: Crowe, Gardenhire, Haile, Hensley, Lundberg, Pody, Powers, White -- 8; Senators voting no were: Akbari -- 1.
HB0727 is scheduled in Education Administration on Wednesday. Please contact these committee members and urge them to support this legislation:

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FROM IMMUNIZATIONS:
SB 1109 by *Bowling - HB 0637
by *Barrett , CAPLEY, FRITTS, RICHEY, MARTIN B, DAVIS, TODD, DOGGETT, RAPER, BURKHART
Employees, Employers - As introduced, requires an employer that requires an immunization as a condition of employment or continued employment to exempt from the immunization requirement a person who files a signed, written statement that the immunization conflicts with the person’s religious tenets or practices; prohibits an employer from taking adverse action against a person who files a statement of religious objection
STATUS: I am sorry to report that SB 1109 FAILED in the Senate Commerce Committee, so HB637 was taken off notice in the House.

Got Some Good News? Share It!!! – Byrd Patterson Family

TN CONSTITUTION REQUIRING TERM LIMITS
HJR 0035 by *Richey
Constitutional Amendments - Proposes amendment to establish a term limit of 16 years for all state and local public officials
STATUS: Withdrawn

TN CONSTITUTION REQUIRING TERM LIMITS
HJR 0045 by *Richey
Constitutional Amendments - Proposes amendment to establish a term limit of 16 years for all state and local public officials, except for the governor, for whom a term limit is established of eight years
STATUS: FAILED in Public Service subcommittee of the State Government Committee

INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
SJR 0041 by *Yarbro
Constitutional Amendments - Proposes constitutional amendment to allow people to propose laws by initiative
STATUS: FAILED in Senate Judiciary Committee.

INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
HJR 0042 by *Hardaway
Constitutional Amendments - Proposes amendment to allow people to propose laws by initiative.
STATUS: FAILED in Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee

AFFIRMING THE (DEAD) PROPOSED EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
SJR 0177 by *Akbari
General Assembly, Statement of Intent or Position - Urges the publication and affirmation of the Equal Rights Amendment as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States
STATUS: Assigned to the General Subcommittee of Senate Judiciary

Federal judge temporarily blocks Tennessee drag show ban

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Legislative Update April 1 2023

Rep. Bryan Richey has brought us an excellent update on this ever-changing bill.....you can thank him for this work: Rep. Bryan Richey rep.bryan.richey@capitol.tn.gov.

Federal judge temporarily blocks Tennessee drag show ban

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Rep. Bryan Richey has brought us an excellent update on this ever-changing bill.....you can thank him for this work:
Rep. Bryan Richey rep.bryan.richey@capitol.tn.gov.