Legislative Update, March 20, 2021

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).

 

"It is not the critic that counts. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marked by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasm and great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."  Teddy Roosevelt

 

FOR YOUR PRAYER LIST:
Well, the House Subcommittee Calendar for next week is 71 pages long and some subcommittees are already announcing their final meeting date.  That means that we are really getting serious about the session and some of the most controversial bills are being and will be debated. This is the place where I bring out the old saying: "There are two things you should not watch being made - sausage and law." So please pray that the lawmakers will be thoughtful, wise, and attentive as these debates unfold. One of our house members was exposed to Covid and he was out this week quarantined. You will want to continue to remember Rep. Mike Carter, Rep. David Byrd and Sen. Paul Bailey.

 

PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM MUTILATING SURGERY:
SB 0657 by *Bowling - HB 0578 by *Ragan , WEAVER
Children - As introduced, prohibits the provision of sexual identity change therapy to prepubescent minors; prohibits the provision of sexual identity change therapy to minors who have entered puberty unless a parent or guardian has written recommendations for the therapy from at least three physicians; punishes violations as child abuse; designates violations by healthcare professionals as professional misconduct.
The Victims of Childhood Transgenderism Have Spoken Out - It's Time for Joe Biden To Listen .
‘Transition’ Treatment Harms Kids, Veteran Psychiatrist at UK Gender Clinic Says .
STATUS: HB578 was passed out of the Criminal Justice Subcommittee and will be on the full Criminal Justice Committee calendar on Wednesday.
ACTION: Please contact these legislators and urge them to support HB578: Rep. Scotty Campbell rep.scotty.campbell@capitol.tn.gov , Rep. David Hawk rep.david.hawk@capitol.tn.gov , Rep. Bud Hulsey rep.bud.hulsey@capitol.tn.gov , Rep. Jerry Sexton rep.jerry.sexton@capitol.tn.gov .

 

ARTICLE V CONVENTION FOR TERM LIMITS:
HJR 0008 by *Todd ,  Eldridge, Mannis, Garrett, Zachary, Doggett, Calfee, Williams, Ogles, Bricken, Hurt 
Constitutional Conventions - Makes application to Congress for the purpose of calling an Article V convention to propose an amendment to the United States Constitution to set a limit on the number of terms to which a person may be elected as a member of the Congress of the United States.
                   Looking around at the world in which we are living today, this sounds like a great idea. But.....an Article V convention is completely  uncharted territory and there really are important things to know about:
"TWENTY QUESTIONS ABOUT A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION" and "THE PROBLEMS WITH ARTIFICIAL TERM LIMITS". 
               Today’s problems in Washington do not stem from defects in the Constitution, but rather Washington’s departure from the Constitution’s original meaning and interpretation. Just as an informed electorate would be necessary for upholding any new amendments, so too is an informed electorate necessary for the preservation of the current U.S. Constitution. Therefore, the solution is not a lack of new amendments, but a lack of education about and fidelity to the current Constitution.
                Many national supporters have been misleading the public and state legislators for years, telling them that the state legislatures will control the convention process; that Congress has only a ministerial role to call the time and date of the convention; that the state legislatures will control their delegates to the convention; that the delegates must stick to the subject of the application, and on it goes. Remember NONE of this has been tried.
STATUS:  HJR008 was reset on the House floor on March 25.
ACTION:  Please read the two articles linked above and the find your House member HERE and politely URGE him or her to vote NO on HJR0008

 

PUTTING AUTHORITY IN THE RIGHT PLACES:
SB 0858 by *Bowling - HB 0575 by *Ragan
Public Health - As introduced, repeals private acts enacting county boards of health or departments of health; requires commissioner of health to report information regarding certain quarantines to the joint government operations committee, the health committee of the House of Representatives, and the health and welfare committee of the senate; limits the county health officer's quarantine power.
               You can go to THIS LINK, click on SUMMARY, to see the proposed details of this legislation. This is a bill that I suspect will be amended in one way or the other as it goes through the 'sausage making' process. We will try to keep you up to date.
STATUS: HB575 is in Health Subcommittee on Tuesday.
ACTION: Please these members and politely urge them to support this legislation. Rep. Bob Freeman rep.bob.freeman@capitol.tn.gov , Rep. Mark Hall rep.mark.hall@capitol.tn.gov , Rep. Darren Jernigan rep.darren.jernigan@capitol.tn.gov , Rep. Sabi Kumar rep.sabi.kumar@capitol.tn.gov , Rep. Pat Marsh rep.pat.marsh@capitol.tn.gov , Rep. Paul Sherrell rep.paul.sherrell@capitol.tn.gov , Rep. Robin Smith rep.robin.smith@capitol.tn.gov , Rep. Bryan Terry rep.bryan.terry@capitol.tn.gov.

 

 

LEGALIZING MARIJUANA:
SB 0854 by *Bowling - HB 0621 by *Rudder
Controlled Substances - As introduced, enacts the "Tennessee Medical Cannabis Act." 
5 reasons marijuana is not medicine .
New Study Finds More Marijuana Use, Higher Rates of Marijuana Addiction in States With Medical Marijuana Laws

SAM Statement on June 2015 Medical Marijuana Study Published in Lancet Psychiatry
STATUS: SB854 is in Senate Judiciary on Tuesday.
ACTION: Understand that taking this step is a step toward decimalization and legalization. Every state that has legalized Marijuana started with 'medical marijuana'. Please review the articles linked above and then contact these members, politely urging them to vote NO on SB854. Sen. Mike Bell sen.mike.bell@capitol.tn.gov,  Sen. Dawn White sen.dawn.white@capitol.tn.gov, Sen. Paul Rose sen.paul.rose@capitol.tn.gov, Sen. Jon  Lundberg sen.jon.lundberg@capitol.tn.gov, Sen. Katrina Robinson Sen.Katrina.Robinson@capitol.tn.gov, Sen. Kerry Roberts sen.kerry.roberts@capitol.tn.gov , Sen. John Stevens sen.john.stevens@capitol.tn.gov , Sen. Todd Gardenhire sen.todd.gardenhire@capitol.tn.gov . Sen. Sara Kyle sen.sara.kyle@capitol.tn.gov.

 

 

VERIFYING ELIGIBILITY TO BE EMPLOYED:
SB 0902 by *Stevens - HB 0801 by *Griffey
Employees, Employers - As introduced, requires certain employers to utilize an e-verification program in hiring; removes immunity for an employer's reliance on other forms of verification; makes other related changes.
The Tennessee Lawful Employment Act (among other things) requires employers to use the E-Verify program to verify the work eligibility of an employee prior to the employee providing labor or services and maintain documentation of any results generated by the E-Verify program. Under present law, only private employers with 50 or more employees are required to enroll in the E-Verify program.  This bill expands employers subject to the requirements of the Act to include public contractors and public subcontractors with at least six employees.
STATUS: Unfortunately, HB801 failed 6-1, in Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee of Commerce Committee 3/10/2021/. Representatives voting no were: Boyd, Bricken, Camper, Haston, Powell, Vaughan -- 6.    Representatives present and not voting were: Lynn. 
HOWEVER:

Rep. Bruce Griffey Seeks to Revive E-Verify Legislation by Invoking a Special House Rule 

In an effort to revive the legislation requiring the use of E-Verify for Tennessee employers with six or more employees, Rep. Bruce Griffey filed the necessary paperwork Thursday to recall the bill in accordance with a House rule.

Rule 53 of the House of Representatives Permanent Rules of Order for the 112th General Assembly allows for a process to recall a bill from committee. If the effort is successful, the bill will be scheduled directly to the House floor for a vote, bypassing the committee process that killed the bill.

 

ACTION: You will want to read the article above and then you can find your House member HERE and politely urge him or her to vote YES on the Rule 53 motion for HB801.

 

I AM SO PLEASED TO TELL YOU THAT THESE TWO IMPORTANT BILLS PASSED SENATE JUDICIARY AND ON A CONSENT CALENDAR ON THE SENATE FLOOR UNANIMOUSLY; PASSED THE HOUSE COMMITTEES UNANIMOUSLY AND WE ARE EXPECTING THEM TO BE ON A CONSENT CALENDAR ON THE HOUSE FLOOR SOON.
WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL TO SEN. WHITE, REP. DOGGETT, TO SEN. ROSE AND REP. MOODY.

STOP SEXUAL HARASSMENT
SB 1124 by *White--HB 1006 by *Doggett
Juvenile Offenders - As introduced, expands the unruly act of illegal use of a communication device by a minor to include possessing or transmitting an image of sexual activity involving a minor.


GIVING POWER TO THE VICTIM OF RAPE
SB 0274 by *Rose - HB 0326 by *Moody
Child Custody and Support - As introduced, removes custody, visitation, or inheritance rights for a parent who has been convicted of aggravated statutory rape, statutory rape by an authority figure, or lesser included offenses of rape, from which crime the child was conceived

 

With all the legislative restrictions this session, please know that you can, AND SHOULD, watch the committee meetings as well as the floor session.  You can see the Senate HERE;  and the House HERE    

 

 

 

 

Slatery sits out GOP AGs’ letter questioning federal stimulus rules for states, cities .

State bill wants to move constitutional cases against Tennessee laws out of Davidson County .

GOP legislators, Gov. Bill Lee have finally agreed on a plan to spend $700M TANF reserve .

GOP lawmaker levels impeachment threat over bust removal .

Smith wants to cast wider net on banning lawmakers from doing business with state .

Tennessee Republican wants to permanently block recreational marijuana through state constitution

Amazon, Nissan among businesses speaking out against Tennessee bills targeting LGBTQ communities .

New Tennessee bill would let students refuse to share bathrooms with transgender peers .

Tennessee bill establishing six-step disciplinary process for student removal passes Senate .

Lt. Gov. McNally blasts 'fake' gun rights groups as GOP fights over permitless carry .

State bill wants to move constitutional cases against Tennessee laws out of Davidson County .

Bill Lee pushes against Confucius Institutes at Tennessee Colleges, which already cut ties with the Chinese group.

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