Hazlewood Running For Reelection Next Year: A Look At Her Voting Record

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

Representative Patsy Hazlewood (R-Signal Mountain-District 27) is running for reelection in 2024. A look at her recent voting record shows that while she is a Republican, she is far from being a true conservative.

Hazlewood made it into our RINO Report last year as the 2022 Tennessee House RINO legislator of the year. 

Some of her votes in 2022 that earned her this distinction include:

Voting for Corporate Welfare.

Along with Governor Bill Lee, and other Republicans, Hazlewood supported allocating $550 million in state bonds to help fund a new stadium for the Tennessee Titans in Nashville. She also sponsored a bill, that was signed into law in May, to allow the Chattanooga Lookouts to retain a sales tax deal for a new stadium in the city.

Voting against the 2022 Bill To Protect Free Speech on Social Media.

HB2369/SB2161 was killed by Hazlewood and two other Republicans after being placed “behind the budget” and failing to receive funding. The bill sought to designate social media platforms as Common Carriers – which would have made them subject to common carrier law – and established that such platforms could not intentionally deplatform or shadow ban social media users

Voting against a bill that would have prevented taxpayer-funded entertainment venues from making COVID vaccines or “passports” a requirement for entry.

Voting against a bill that would have prevented taxpayer-funded entertainment venues from making COVID vaccines or “passports” a requirement for entry.

The bill failed in the House Business & Utilities Subcommittee of the Commerce Committee when Hazlewood and three of her Republican colleagues voted against it.

Voting against making the Bible Tennessee’s Official Book.

While the House Joint Resolution passed in the House, one Republican voted no, with Hazlewood and two others declining to vote at all.

Voting against lowering the concealed carry age to 18.

Hazlewood was joined by two other Republicans in voting against this bill which nevertheless passed the House.

While we didn’t award her any prizes in our 2023 RINO report, Hazlewood co-sponsored a bill in this year’s legislative session to weaken the Human Life Protection Act, estimated to be saving around 900 children from abortion every month in Tennessee.

Tennessee’s law is one of the strongest in the nation when it comes to protecting the unborn. HB1440/SB857 would have removed protection of some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens by allowing abortions in certain circumstances.

After much debate and protest from conservative Tennesseans, aided by TN Right to Life, the bill was eventually amended in such a way as to not undo the original intent of the law.

In the end, the legislation that was passed does not allow for more unborn children to be aborted in the state, but does clarify that treatment for ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy or a miscarriage are not violations of the law and provides an exception for when the life of a mother is at risk or there is risk of irreversible harm to a major bodily function.

Hazlewood signed on to the original bill, along with many other Republicans, to expand abortion in the state. Hardly the most conservative position.

About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.