Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
A bill aimed at terminating parental rights after “substantial non-compliance” passed the Children & Family Affairs Subcommittee led by Chair Mary Littleton yesterday by a voice vote.
House Bill 1808 (HB1808) sponsored by Representative Ed Butler (R-Rickman-District 41) was amended in the subcommittee to match what was passed by the Senate last week.
The amendment states that the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) must file a petition to terminate parental rights within 90 days of a juvenile court finding that there has been substantial non-compliance of a permanency plan by the parent or guardian.
The corresponding Senate Bill 2660 (SB2660) sponsored by Senator Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro-District 13) has already passed the Senate and is only a few steps away from becoming a law that would take effect July 1st.
There is no clear statutory definition for what entails “substantial non-compliance” and legal services yesterday said it would be up to the courts to define the term.
Butler said that a juvenile judge brought the bill to him, citing examples of children being “bounced back and forth” between state custody and their parents, and a situation in Butler’s district where an order to terminate parental rights had still not been completed after 13 months.
Chair Mary Littleton (R-Dickson-District 68) chose to use a voice vote to hide the voting records of subcommittee members from public scrutiny. We can only assume that Representative Littleton supports this bill and is responsible for its passage. As chair of the subcommittee, Littleton could have used a transparent roll call vote but opted for a voice vote to shield subcommittee members and herself from accountability.
According to a statement made by Representative Jody Barrett (R-Dickson-District 69) on the Mill Creek View Tennessee Podcast all that is necessary for a legislator to have their voice vote recorded is to simply give a thumbs up or a thumbs down to the clerk. It is very easy then for legislators to put their vote on the record for transparency with their constituents if they so choose.
At least one no vote can be heard from the audio of the proceedings, presumably from Representative Torrey Harris (D-Memphis-District 91) who told Butler that he could not support the bill. (Democrat Representatives Harris and Jernigan were later recorded as having voted no on the General Assembly’s website.)
HB1808 will now go to the Civil Justice Committee for a vote. If you wish to share your thoughts on the proposed legislation with members of the committee, their contact information is as follows:
Chair Andrew Farmer (R) – rep.andrew.farmer@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-4419
Vice-Chair Darren Jernigan (D) – rep.darren.jernigan@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-6959
Rush Bricken (R) – rep.rush.bricken@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-7448
Gino Bulso (R) – rep.gino.bulso@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-6808
Kip Capley (R) – rep.kip.capley@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-2190
Rick Eldridge (R) – rep.rick.eldridge@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-6877
Ron Gant (R) – rep.ron.gant@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-6890
Johnny Garrett (R) – rep.johnny.garrett@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-3893
Rusty Grills (R) – rep.rusty.grills@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-0718
Torrey Harris (D) – rep.torrey.harris@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-2239
William Lamberth (R) – rep.william.lamberth@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-1980
Mary Littleton (R) – rep.mary.littleton@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-7477
Antonio Parkinson (D) – rep.antonio.parkinson@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-4575
Jason Powell (D) – rep.jason.powell@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-6861
Lowell Russell (R) – rep.lowell.russell@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-3736
Robert Stevens (R) – rep.robert.stevens@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-3830
Chris Todd (R) – rep.chris.todd@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-7475
rep.andrew.farmer@capitol.tn.gov, rep.darren.jernigan@capitol.tn.gov, rep.rush.bricken@capitol.tn.gov, rep.gino.bulso@capitol.tn.gov, rep.kip.capley@capitol.tn.gov, rep.rick.eldridge@capitol.tn.gov, rep.ron.gant@capitol.tn.gov, rep.johnny.garrett@capitol.tn.gov, rep.rusty.grills@capitol.tn.gov, rep.torrey.harris@capitol.tn.gov, rep.william.lamberth@capitol.tn.gov, rep.mary.littleton@capitol.tn.gov, rep.antonio.parkinson@capitol.tn.gov, rep.jason.powell@capitol.tn.gov, rep.lowell.russell@capitol.tn.gov, rep.robert.stevens@capitol.tn.gov, rep.chris.todd@capitol.tn.gov
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative.
You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
5 Responses
Another ridiculous Bill trying to slip through with no accountability for those who vote for it. That thing is so riddled with how comes, maybes and aw the hell with it lets just take the kids. Child Services has been a joke for years, yet the Legislature sees fit to empower them even more leaving parents with little recourse. Lets get specific. If a child dies or is abused in a home where Child Services is supposed to oversee, that agent goes to jail. No trial, no recourse, just go to jail. That’s exactly the setup your empowering for one of the worst agency’s in the state, second only to a Legislature that doesn’t know it donkey from its elbow.
Emailed them;
Another voice “vote” crime against Tennessee families.
Where this ends: TN confiscates your kids if you don’t agree to mutilate them. Thanks again treasonous cuck TN Republicans.
I find this highly disturbing. The CPS has one of the largest budget’s in the state. The implications of this bill, is that the state has done everything it can to help a family and resolve issues within the familial relationship, yet the children are still endangered and the parents are noncompliant. How so? The this new law gives no indication of what qualifies. The wording of this bill, is based on not firm goals outlined but highly subjective opinions that result in terminating parental rights, thus, creating more state wards of children.
Recently, I have seen multiple prominent psychologist recently stand up and discuss the fact that mental health care providers are predominantly left leaning and find that many of these therapists give bad advice, promote therapies that do not help those they council. This at a time, when I see more and more signs throughout our state, encouraging people to become foster parents. We know our states political demographics have been dramatically changing since the advent of the plandemic. The influx of people with a wide variety views of everything from politics to parenting. What they may deem as “abuse”, is truly not by most God fearing families residing in Tennessee.
So what is really going on with this picture??? Something is a foot. Some one is benefitting from this new law. And our representatives are too cowardly to openly record their vote for the destruction of families? This all smacks of DC swamp behavior and needs to be addressed.
We’ve all hv seen neglect and abuse go on for yrs.
Lack of due process and anonymous reporting is dangerous.
Weak legislative oversight is just as repugnant.
How do we find a commonsense center point?