Legislative Update, February 26, 2022

 

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).

 

"If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed, if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not so costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves."   ................Winston Churchill

Ron Patray Feb 5, 1937 - Feb 9, 2022

POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE:
Today is that day that we celebrate my husband's life and you are invited. Visitation starts at noon and the service starts at 2:00pm at Forest Hills Baptist Church, 2101 Old Hickory Blvd, Nashville, TN 37215. He will be buried in the Middle Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery on Monday, our 63rd Wedding Anniversary.  His obituary is available here. Would you please pray that God will be honored in all we do this weekend.
 

 

WE'VE GOT YOUR STUDENTS COVERED:

Bills this year  seek to protect our students from DIGITAL obscenity/pornography, one that will remove such materials from school premises, and one that addresses objectionable materials in the library.  Although SB2292-HB2454 is Tennessee Eagle Forum's bill, we are supporting the other two bills  because we believe that these three bills will function together to provide  the necessary and reasonably expected protection of  our students at school.

 

 

 

PROTECTING STUDENTS FROM DIGITAL OBSCENITY AND PORNOGRAPHY IN SCHOOLS:
SB 2292 by *Bell - HB 2454  by *Weaver
Obscenity and Pornography - As introduced, redefines "obscene" to include material that has educational value; makes various changes to the internet acceptable use policy LEAs are required to adopt; requires providers of digital and online resources to ensure that users cannot access certain obscene material; requires a local board of education to establish a mechanism for parents, legal guardians, or students to report failures of the technology selected by the LEA to filter, block, or otherwise prevent access to pornography or obscenity through online resources and to submit an annual report to the state board of education regarding same.

This is a very comprehensive and detailed bill.  You will want to SEE OUR TALKING POINTS HERE. and then contact you members of the respective committees.

The most important thing to remember here is that, while TEL does have filters, you can get to databases like GALE that bypass the filters.  Our bill will stop that.

 

 

STATUS:  SB2292 is scheduled in Senate Judiciary on Tuesday afternoon.
ACTION:  Please contact the members of the Judiciary Committee and urge them to support the legislation that will protect our students from digital obscenity and pornography
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. 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

STATUS:  HB 2454 is scheduled in House K-12 Subcommittee on Tuesday
ACTION:  PLEASE contact the committee members and urge them  to support the legislation that will protect our students from digital obscenity and pornography

Rep. Kirk Haston rep.kirk.haston@capitol.tn.gov
Rep. Michele Carringer  rep.michele.carringer@capitol.tn.gov
Rep. Glen Casada rep.glen.casada@capitol.tn.gov 
Rep. Scott Cepicky rep.scott.cepicky@capitol.tn.gov
Rep. Chris Hurt  rep.chris.hurt@capitol.tn.gov 
Rep. John Ragan rep.john.ragan@capitol.tn.gov
Rep. Robin Smith rep.robin.smith@capitol.tn.gov 
Rep. Mark white rep.mark.white@capitol.tn.gov
 

 

PROTECTING STUDENTS FROM OBSCENE MATERIALS:
SB 1944 by *Hensley - HB 1944 by *Cepicky
Obscenity and Pornography - As introduced, excludes local education agencies, public schools, and employees and private contractors of LEAs or public schools from the exception to certain obscenity offenses if the LEA, public school, employee, or private contractor possesses obscene material that is harmful to minors on public school premises; prohibits an LEA or public school from making obscene materials or materials harmful to minors available to students in the school libraries control
STATUS:  HB 1944 was in  the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee on Wednesday. where Rep. Cepicky amended it. After taking some excellent supportive testimony, the committee had to move the bill to  next week, on Wednesday, March 2nd at 9:00am, in order to complete testimony, discuss and vote.
You will want to see Kristen Benton's testimony and John Rich's testimony.  Both did excellent jobs.  Go HERE then move slide to 1:49 for Kristen; 2:01 for John.
ACTION:  Click on the committee link above, then the pictures and let the committee members know that you support this bill.

 

AGE-APPROPRIATE MATERIALS ACT OF 2022:
SB 2407 by *Johnson - HB 2154 by *Lamberth 
Local Education Agencies - As introduced, enacts the "Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022"; requires each public school to maintain, and post on the school's website, a list of the materials in the school's library collection; requires each local board of education and public charter school governing body to adopt a policy to establish procedures for the development and review of school library collections.
STATUS: Thursday SB2407  passed the Senate floor 26-5.
STATUS:  HB 2154 is in Education Administration on Wednesday.
ACTION:   Please click on the committee link, then the committee members' pictures and encourage them to support this bill.

 

YOUTH HEALTH PROTECTION ACT
SB 2696 by *Bowling - HB 2835 by *Ragan
Health Care - As introduced, enacts the “Youth Health Protection Act.”
NOTE: This is a very important bill and among other things states: It is unlawful for an individual to engage in the following practices upon a minor, or cause the practices to be performed, to facilitate the minor's desire to present or appear in a manner that is inconsistent with the minor's sex:  Surgery that sterilizes the minor, including castration, vasectomy, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, metoidioplasty, orchiectomy, penectomy, phalloplasty, and vaginoplasty;  A mastectomy;  Administering or supplying the following medications that induce transient or permanent infertility: puberty-blocking medication to stop or delay normal puberty; supraphysiologic doses of testosterone or other androgens to members of the female sex; or supraphysiologic doses of estrogen or synthetic compounds with estrogenic activity to members of the male sex; or  Removing an otherwise healthy or non-diseased body part or tissue, etc.
STATUS:  SB2696 is on the Senate Health and Welfare Committee calendar 3/2/2022.
HB2835 is on the House Health Subcommittee calendar 3/1/2022
ACTION:  This bill is so important. PLEASE click on the respective committee links, then the pictures and  PLEASE urge the members to support this legislation to PROTECT OUR CHILDREN.

 

 

LEGALIZING MARIJUANA??
SB 1973 by *Kyle - HB 1634 by *Griffey
Election Laws - As introduced, requires county election commissions to include three non-binding questions related to the legalization of marijuana on the November 2022 ballot; requires the secretary of state to compile the results of the public policy opinion poll and forward the results to the members of the general assembly. 

NOTE:  We could not be more OPPOSED to a piece of legislation. Supporters of legalizing marijuana  will use every step a state takes to achieve their ultimate goal.  Putting this on the ballot moves our state away from a true Constitutional Republic toward a Democracy.  We are NOT an Initiative and Referendum state and we want to keep it that way.  If this bill passes, expect national marijuana supporters to pour money and  time into the state to get these numbers as high as possible so they can use them to come back to the General Assembly and demand that the laws be changed to help them be successful. 
STATUS:  HB1634 is in Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee 3/2/2022
ACTION:  PLEASE click on the committee link, then the pictures and ask the members to OPPOSE this bill,

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION:
SB 2290 by *Bell - HB 2670 by *Sexton C
Education, Higher - As introduced, prohibits a public institution of higher education from taking certain actions with regard to divisive concepts and the ideologies or political viewpoints of students and employees; revises the duties of an institution's employees whose primary duties include diversity; requires each institution to conduct a survey of its students and employees to assess the campus climate with regard to diversity of thought and the respondents' comfort level in speaking freely on campus and to publish the results on the institution's website
STATUS:  You will be glad to know that SB2290 is Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 2/28/2022' HB2670 passed and was referred to Calendar & Rules Committee

 

 

EMPLOYER VACCINATION POLICY: 
SB 1823 by *Johnson - HB 1867 by *Zachary
Employees, Employers - As introduced, requires an employer with a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy to grant an exemption to the policy to any person who provides a medical reason supported by a statement from a licensed healthcare practitioner or a religious reason, and makes other related changes; specifies that a healthcare practitioner that provides such a statement is acting within the practitioner's scope of practice, immune from civil liability, and protected from disciplinary action by a health-related board.

NOTE:  Well, as you know, "politics is the art of the possible."  Here is what we got out of this bill. 

Passed H., Ayes 64, Nays 18, PNV 0 02/24/2022
Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 26, Nays 5 02/24/2022

 

YOU MAY WANT TO LOOK CLOSELY AT THIS BILL:

 

CREATING REGIONSMART DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT:
SB 1915 by *Walley - HB 1989  by *Vaughan
Interstate Compacts - As introduced, enacts the Interstate Compact Between the States of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee Creating the RegionSmart Development District and the RegionSmart Development Agency of the Greater Memphis Region.

Proposed Legislation Would Enter Tennessee into an Interstate Compact, Creating an Unelected Quasi-Governmental Entity with Broad Powers Including Eminent Domain .

 

In Presenting Bill for Interstate Compact with Arkansas and Tennessee, Mississippi Senator Omits Unelected Quasi-Governmental Entity’s Broad Powers Including Eminent Domain, Passes Senate Unanimously . 

SB1915 will be in Senate Government Operations Committee calendar  3/2/2022
HB1989 is in House Commerce Committee  3/8/2022

 

 

Lee unveils details of school funding overhaul .

 

Governor unveils $9 billion proposal to change how Tennessee funds K-12 education .
 

Tennessee lawmakers eye the road ahead for Gov. Bill Lee's education funding overhaul .

 

Gov. Bill Lee and Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn announce public school funding formula proposal