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The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
An amended version of House Bill 1694 was passed by the Tennessee House of Representatives in a 73 – 19 Vote with only the Democrats voting against.
The bill’s original version aimed to prohibit the state, a political subdivision, or a public official from prohibiting, or imposing additional restrictions on, the lawful operations of a church or religious organization, including religious services or activities, during a state of emergency, major disaster, or natural disaster.
The amendment to the bill removed the caveat “during a state of emergency, major disaster, or natural disaster” and was rewritten as the following:
HB1694 – Prohibits a state, a political subdivision of this state, or a public official from restricting the lawful operations of a church, temple, synagogue, mosque, or other place of worship for purposes of worship services.
The language “imposing additional restrictions on” was also removed by the amendment.
The amendment makes the assumption that the proposed language of the amendment would not alter current procedures for establishing a state of emergency or its renewal and that prohibiting specified entities from restricting lawful operations of places of worship for purposes of worship services will not result in a significant fiscal impact to state or local government.
The passed version of the bill is now “ready for transmission to the Senate.”
The amendment also applies to the Senate version of the bill SB1837, which has been placed on the Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for February 22nd, 2022.
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House Bill 1694 was sponsored by Representative Glen Casada (R-Franklin-District 63) and Senate Bill 1837 is sponsored by Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald-District 28)
Note from the Tennessee Conservative: The Senate Committee still has the power to kill this bill before it reaches the Senate floor for a vote. If you support this bill, contact the Committee’s Republican members prior to their meeting on February 22nd.
Senate State and Local Government Committee – Republican members:
Richard Briggs (Chair) – sen.richard.briggs@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1766
Todd Gardenhire (1st Vice-Chair) – sen.todd.gardenhire@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6682
Page Walley (2nd Vice-Chair) – sen.page-walley@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2368
Ed Jackson – sen.ed.jackson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1810
Brian Kelsey – sen.brian.kelsey@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3036
Bill Powers – sen.bill.powers@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2374
Ken Yager – sen.ken.yager@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1449
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Directory for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
