Bills Filed To Combat Executive Branch Overreach In Response To Gov. Lee’s Use Of Emergency Powers
Image Credit: Gov. Bill Lee / Facebook & capitol.tn.gov
The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
Last week Sen. Mark Pody (R-Lebanon-District 17) filed a bill to effectively restrain the governor from renewing or extending a state of emergency without the General Assembly’s approval.
Senate Bill 1642 (SB1642) as introduced, “prohibits the governor from renewing or extending beyond 45 days an executive order, proclamation, or Tennessee emergency management plan (TEMP) issued pursuant to the governor’s emergency management powers and that applies to more than 48 counties.”
According to the bill summary, the governor would have to receive approval by joint resolution of the Tennessee Senate and House of Representatives before he/she could renew or extend a state of emergency order.
This joint resolution could be passed in either a regular legislative session or an extraordinary session if necessary.
If an emergency order expires and the legislature has not granted the governor permission to renew or extend that order, SB1642 would also prohibit the governor “from declaring a new state of emergency for the same disaster or occurrence as the expired emergency within one year following the expiration of the state of emergency.”
Another bill on emergency orders that has been filed for this session is House Bill 1615 (HB1615), sponsored by Rep. Bryan Richey (R-Maryville-District 20).
HB1615 as introduced, “provides that the violation of an executive order, proclamation, or rule issued by the governor cannot be enforced as a Class A misdemeanor” unless that order “specifies that such violation is a Class A misdemeanor” and the order is approved by a majority vote of both houses of the state legislature.
“In 2020 […] when the governor issued a lockdown order and allowed county mayors to issue mask mandates…In the technical sense of the law, had you been cited for violating those orders you could have been criminally charged with a Class A misdemeanor in the state of Tennessee,” Gary Humble with Tennessee Stands said in a recent conversation with Brandon Lewis. “Most people don’t realize that.”
Currently, Class A misdemeanors in Tennessee carry up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and/or up to a $2,500 fine.
Sen. Pody and Rep. Richey’s bills are likely in response to the government overreach that occurred in relation to Covid-19 on the part of Gov. Bill Lee.
This included the mandating of masks despite their inefficacy, the pushing of Covid-19 vaccines despite their inefficacy, contact tracing, and restrictions which led to small businesses shutting down across the state while large corporations were allowed to remain open.
“We’ve never received an apology and we’ve never seen the legislature make a move to make sure that never happens again,” said Brandon Lewis.
These new bills could end up being the legislature’s “move” on the issue but it is entirely possible that the legislation meets the same fate as a similar bill brought by Sen. Pody and Rep. Richey last year.
SB0590/HB0422 also would have required the governor to receive approval by the state legislature in order to renew or extend an emergency executive order, but it ultimately failed in a House Subcommittee during the 2023 legislative session.
The upcoming session of the General Assembly begins Tuesday, January 9th, 2024.
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee.
You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
Sounds like a reasonable bill but until it’s put out in it’s entirety, in the form it will be voted on, I’m very skeptical. The RHINOs have a nasty habit of sneaking unrelated items into such bills.
Let’s see how that would work:
As Lockdown King (and I was re-elected by the “voting machines”, so I know you really love this stuff), I will issue two executive orders:
1. Executive Order 1 forces 48 counties to lockdown indefinitely, wear masks and closes restaurants, but not Amazon, Pilot, Walmart, FedEx and other “important businesses” that lobby me, until the likes of the corrupt-as-hell CDC says so – because the feds, not any elected Tenneseans, tell us when to lockdown and how.
2. Executive Order 2, is exactly the same language as Order 1, but captures the other 47 counties, indefinitely.
The General Assembly then whines “there’s nothing we can do – it’s less than 49 counties. Sorry King Executive Order destroyed your livelihood AGAIN”.
If the 2020 executive orders taught us anything, it is that the government and health departments are incapable of protecting us or advising. Their only function is parroting the federal, corrupt, Big Pharma CDC/FDA “recommendations” who no one wants to be responsible for. Just look at those TNDOH hold harmless agreements you had to sign to take a Chinese covid test at a health department. Or having “Dr.” Deborah Birx (who has no medical license in any state) tell you to wear masks that can’t work. They love all that power of the executive order, but want none of the responsibility for the consequences. The TNGOP does not believe in medical bodily autonomy, or they would not have limited prohibiting forced vaccinations to only the illegal, unapproved, covid-19 “vaccine” (and even that privilege initially came with an expiration date!) and it would cover ALL Tennesseans equally. Lockdown Lee pretended that school boards and health departments don’t have to obey the executive orders (but you do!) and that they could suddenly start prescribing medical devices for your children – when no such power ever existed.
State government cannot be trusted with executive order power. They’ve already proven it. Every emergency order should be HARD to implement. Super-majority of the representatives at a minimum. Not one-man power. Especially when the order is a blatant violation of the state constitution. One man is far easier to threaten, bribe, etc. than the supermajority.
100% in favor of the concept of limiting Lee. Executive Orders (from Biden’s on down) are the sneak thieves of our freedom.
By rational application of the definition of “Emergency”, it is no emergency if the Legislature has the time & opportunity to act.
Our capitulation to the Governor’s exceedance of authority was another example of our self-imposed voluntary servitude.