Illegal Aliens, Foreign-Owned Land, SROs & Common Core: Conservative Bills That Failed In Tennessee This Legislative Session

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –

The Tennessee General Assembly officially adjourned their 2024 legislative session on Thursday, April 25^th.

Some conservative legislation that wasn’t ‘killed’ outright but failed to make any significant progress in the lawmaking body this year includes the following:

Bill to Eliminate Vestiges of Common Core

House Bill 1724 (HB1724)/Senate Bill 1696 (SB1696) would have strengthened Tennessee’s current ban on Common Core curriculum by changing the language of existing law to also ban materials that hold any kind of alignment, association with or derivation from Common Core. 

This Republican legislation was sponsored by Rep. Ron Gant (R-Piperton-District 94)) in the House and Sen. Page Walley (R-Savannah-District 26) in the Senate.

Just two days after being filed, the legislation was referred to the Senate Education Committee and assigned to the House Education Instruction Subcommittee. 

However, HB1724/SB1696 was never considered by either committee and did not move forward during this year’s legislative session. 

Bill to Prohibit Illegal Aliens from Being Housed on State-Owned Property

Senate Bill 1151 (SB1151)/House Bill 1247 (HB1247) would have pushed back against the harboring of illegal immigrants on state-owned property by prohibiting illegal immigrants from “being housed on real property owned by this state or a political subdivision of this state.”

This Republican legislation was initially filed in 2023, sponsored by Sen. Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains-District 8) in the Senate and Rep. Dennis Powers (R-Jacksboro-District 36) in the House, but was “shelved until early 2024.”

In January of 2024, the House State Government Committee deferred the bill to their special calendar which was not considered until March. The committee then returned SB1151/HB1247 to the clerk’s desk without taking any further action.

The only action on SB1151/HB1247 that took place on the Senate side this year was a sponsor switch from Sen. Niceley to Sen. Ferell Haile (R-Gallatin-District 18) and the bill did not move forward during this year’s legislative session. 

Bill to Prohibit Foreign-Party-Controlled Businesses from Owning Land in TN

Senate Bill 1950 (SB1950)/House Bill 2583 (HB2583) would have prohibited “certain foreign-party-controlled businesses from acquiring interest in public or private land” in Tennessee, to cut back on the amount of state property currently being held onto by foreign entities.

This Republican legislation was sponsored by Sen. Art Swann (R-Maryville-District 2) in the Senate and Rep. Lowell Russel (R-Vonore-District 21) in the House.

SB1950/HB2583 was initially referred to the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee and assigned to the House Property and Planning Subcommittee but was never considered by either one and did not move forward during this year’s legislative session. 

Bill to Allow Schools to Hire Retired Officers and Veterans as SROs

House Bill 1899 (HB1899)/Senate Bill 2025 (SB2025) would have allowed Tennessee’s public and charter schools to hire retired law enforcement and military personnel as on-campus security in School Resource Officer (SRO) positions.

This Republican legislation was sponsored by Rep. Tim Rudd (R-Murfreesboro-District 34) in the House and Sen. Shane Reeves (R-Bedford/Cannon/Moore/Rutherford-District 14) in the Senate as a solution to the state’s shortage of full-time SROs. 

HB1899/SB2025 did not make the cut for this year’s legislative session despite receiving 69-21 passage in the House of Representatives, as no action was taken on the legislation in the Senate after it was initially referred to the Senate Education Committee in January. 

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.