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The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
With Governor Bill Lee’s intention to focus on education spending during what is predicted to be a tight budget year for the state, several bills which would have dealt with cost of living for Tennesseans or brought school enhancements have been essentially sidelined by the legislature.
The first bill, HB1530, would have exempted food and food ingredients from the 4% state sales tax while still allowing local governments to set their own grocery tax. Items like prepared foods, alcohol, candy, tobacco, and diapers would not have been exempted.
HB1530 was unceremoniously placed behind the budget during Wednesday’s House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee hearing, which is generally a death knell for legislation unless the bill sponsor can find an alternative method to fund their proposal or funding in the budget later becomes available.
Bill sponsor Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill-District 92) spoke with The Tennessee Conservative, expressing his frustration that leadership seems to be passing over the needs of all Tennesseans in favor of propping up the Education Freedom Scholarship program despite previous assurances that Republicans would be dedicated to addressing the grocery tax issue this year.
“If we’ve got money to help 40,000 families for school vouchers, let’s help Tennesseans all across the state and pass a grocery tax [exemption], is my thought,” Warner said.
He also reiterated that while lawmakers may have concerns about losing the sales tax revenue, it would not be as big of a deficit as predicted because the money taxpayers save on the grocery tax would likely be reinvested in the economy in other ways.
“When you give people money back, they spend it on other things. So, the state’s not going to necessarily miss that money. They say we’re going to lose $800 million, that’s a lie. Because when you give families back money from the grocery tax, they’re going to spend it on clothes, they’ll spend it on a new vehicle, hopefully they can buy a house, save money and get a down payment on a house, the state gets a transfer tax on that real estate, there’s all kind of ways the state can make it up,” he elaborated.
“It’s time for [legislative] members to learn how to pass bills on easing regulations and cutting taxes and helping all Tennesseans and get away from the pet projects like the school vouchers. We have moved our public education forward. I think the Governor said in his State of the State speech that we rank 25thnow. When I came down here, we were 37th-39th, we’ve brought public education forward. Sure, we want to be number one in the nation, there’s work that has to be done, but it’s time that we start putting some focus on infrastructure.”
This is the second consecutive year a full grocery tax exemption has been stymied in the legislature, with last year’s iteration also supposedly being stalled over budgetary concerns.
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Another bill which has been placed behind the budget is Sen. Joey Hensley’s SB0821 mandating schools have an annual “evidence-based substance abuse and violence prevention program” for grades 3-12 to “reduce tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use by students.”
“The bill has a large fiscal note on it so we are working on trying to find funding for it,” Hensley told The Tennessee Conservative.
Set to be heard by the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee on Tuesday, Feb. 3, the legislation was placed behind the budget due to the its fiscal note as there will be a cost associated with purchasing and implementing the curricula. The House version, HB0902, has been scheduled for the House Education Committee on Feb. 11, but that could change with the Senate version’s new status.
A third bill by Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma-District 16) appears to have stalled out in the Senate despite making progress in the House.
SB1041 is a carryover bill from last year which would allow to schools to hire or accept volunteer school chaplains to “provide support, services, and programs for students, school staff, and students’ parents.”
While the House companion, HB1250, is set for a full House vote on Feb. 11, the Senate version was sent to the General Subcommittee of the Senate Education Committee, or “general subbed”, at the end of last year’s legislative session and has not been revived thus far. When a bill is general subbed, it usually signifies the legislation is on hold or will not move forward and is often used in the Senate to kill or shelve a bill.
The Tennessee Conservative reached out to Sen. Bowling for clarification or further context about her intentions with SB1041 but has not received a response.
This article will be updated with any responses from lawmakers received after the time of publication.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
WHY!! wont someone introduce a bill to eliminate/lower tax on good food while raising tax on junk to make up difference? TN would be WAAY healthier.