Ken Yager Running For Reelection: A Look At His Voting Record

Image Credit: Senator Ken Yager / Facebook & Antony-22 / CC

The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

Senator Ken Yager (R-Kingston-District 12) is running for re-election and is on the ballot in the Republican primary slated for August 1st, 2024. Yager has been a Tennessee state senator since 2008.

Yager faces a Conservative Republican challenger in the primary, Teena Hedrick.

Does Yager deserve another four years in office? Read on for The Tennessee Conservative’s scrutiny of Yager’s voting record and decide for yourselves if he deserves that honor.

Some highlights from 2020-2024:

Voted to Protect Businesses from Covid-19 Related Lawsuits That Followed Nonsensical “Health Guidance.”

In 2020, Haile was one of 24 Senators to vote for tort reform that small business association NFIB supported. The Tennessee Recovery and Safe Harbor Act provided protection from pandemic-related lawsuits for businesses that “substantially complied with public health guidance.” The bill ultimately failed after a conference committee report failed to receive a constitutional majority in the House.

Voting to Make Illegal Immigration Worse.

In 2022, Yager voted to make illegal immigration worse in Tennessee by voting for SB2464 which allowed professional or commercial licenses to be issued to non-citizens.

Refusing to Vote to Make a Safe Medication Easily Available to Adults.

Yager abstained from voting on a bill (SB2188) making Ivermectin an over-the-counter medicine in Tennessee for individuals over the age of 18.

Opposing Legislation to Ban Abortion.

Yager also opposed a 2022 bill (SB2582) that sought to ban all abortions within the state except those that would prevent death or “substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function” of the mother. The legislation was taken off notice in the House due to Senate resistance.

In 2023, Senator Yager earned one of our five spots for Tennessee Senate RINO in The Tennessee Conservative’s RINO Report.

Some of the votes that earned him this distinction in 2023 were…

Refusing to Even Vote on Education Savings Account Expansion.

Yager refused to vote on a 2023 bill (SB0012) to expand Tennessee’s Education Savings Account Program to the Chattanooga area of Hamilton County.

Acting as Prime Co-Sponsor for a Questionable Resolution.

A resolution (SJR0034) seeking to give power to Tennessee’s Treasurer and Comptroller to use taxpayer dollars to purchase a portion of a company or a bank was co-sponsored by Yager in 2023. Although the Senate voted in favor 17-16, the resolution failed due to the fact that a resolution resulting in a constitutional amendment must have 22 votes for passage. 

Choosing Not to Second an Important Bill Regarding State Sovereignty.

Yager chose not to second a bill (SB1092) known as the “Restoring State Sovereignty Through Nullification Act” in the Senate State and Local Government committee after Senator Mark Pody made a motion for the bill to be heard. This bill sought to establish an orderly process by which the General Assembly could nullify any unconstitutional federal statute, regulation, agency order or executive order. The legislation was killed when no member offered a second.

Also in 2023, Tennessee Right to Life took issue with a bill that Yager sponsored (SB0983) which they said would weaken Tennessee’s abortion law.

Republican Bills Seek To Add Exceptions To Tennessee Abortion Ban

The Tennessee Legislative Report Card gave Yager a voting score of 75 with a dismal D- for leadership for the 2023 legislative session. Of note, the report card which can be seen in full HERE shows that 54.31% of Yager’s campaign contributions were designated as special interests.

During the 2024 session of the Tennessee General Assembly, Yager made some questionable decisions, which are outlined as follows:

• Yager voted to amend a sneaky caption bill (SB2820) that creates a new type of congregate setting called an “opportunity school” that may lead to the unnecessary institutionalization of young people with disabilities and other so called “at-risk” youth in a way that may interfere with the rights of parents. Children as young as 11 may be enrolled and sent across the state, far from their families and communities. The bill is currently on Governor Bill Lee’s desk awaiting action.

• A bill that would have prohibited Pride Flags in public school classrooms (SB1722) failed to pass the Senate because Yager and two other Senators chose to abstain from casting a vote when the bill came to the Senate floor.

12 Republican Senators Allow Gay Pride Flags in Tennessee Schools Ahead of Election (Update 4.25.24)

• Yager voted for a bill (SB2660) that effectively makes it easier to funnel children away from their parents and into state custody. The law that takes effect July 1st, 2024, allows Tennessee Department of Children’s Services to file a petition for termination of parental rights within 90 days if there has been substantial noncompliance by a parent or guardian with the statement of responsibilities in a permanency plan over a period of six months.

• Legislation that allows the Department of Tourist Development to keep records hidden from the public at the discretion of the attorney general and tourism commissioner received a vote in favor from Yager. SB2093, now law, allows records to be exempt from public records laws if the information is deemed “sensitive.” A similar law passed in 1988, allowing the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to keep records secret for five years. Critics of the bill said it creates problems with transparency.

• Yager also voted in favor of a “red flag” bill expanding mandatory reporting laws for mental health professionals. The legislation, which was signed into law on April 23rd and became effective immediately, requires a report be made on a patient to local law enforcement, 988, or a local health facility if the individual makes what a mental health professional deems a threat against a group of people related to a school or against a family member of the patient. Critics of the bill voiced concern regarding privacy laws and how reported information would be stored and used. Mental health professionals are also given civil, criminal, and regulatory immunity given the subjective way in which they might perceive something to be a threat.

• A new law (SB2020) that prevents the autopsies of minors who are victims of violent crimes from becoming part of public record, and so protects violent offenders also received Yager’s vote.

Also this year, Yager took issue with a conservative challenger to Senator Jon Lundberg, asking the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance to look into the East Tennessee Conservatives PAC and any connections it might have to candidate Bobby Harshbarger.

As Conservative Challenger’s Campaign Gains Traction, Incumbent RINOs Seek To Weaponize Tennessee Bureau Of Ethics & Campaign Finance

Yager says that text messages that the PAC sent relating to Lundberg’s voting record were “falsehoods” and that the PAC and U.S. Representative Diana Harshbarger share a campaign treasurer. Bobby Harshbarger is the son of the Representative for the 1st Congressional District of Tennessee. In the letter, Yager stated that the “various connections” needed “to be scrutinized.”

Yager’s Conservative challenger Teena Hedrick takes issue with his indecisiveness and failure to take action four years ago during the pandemic when “our constitutional and medical rights were stripped away, censorship became rampant, and certain individuals were labeled as nonessential.”

In 2021, Yager joined 15 other Senators in endorsing a letter that urged Tennesseans to receive the Covid-19 vaccine – available in the U.S. at that time for only seven months – and which has since seen recipients who have been injured from the shots sue the federal government.

Were These 16 GOP State Senators Wrong On The Covid-19 Vaccine?

Yager later opposed a crucial bill, SB1109, which aimed to acknowledge religious exemptions in the face of immunization requirements in the workplace.

Hedrick, a Nurse Practitioner, organized an event in front of the Roane County courthouse in 2021 to protest the vaccine mandates that were being thrust upon healthcare workers. Having worked with Covid patients from the beginning of the pandemic, Hedrick said the Covid-19 vaccine mandates were an affront to medical ethics and the Constitution.

“A lot of people in our community are going to have to make gut wrenching decisions about taking the vaccine or losing a job that they worked at all their life,” said Hedrick ahead of the protest. “No one trusts what the government tells us. They have told so many lies.”

EARLY VOTING:  JULY 12-27 2024   ELECTION DAY:  AUGUST 1, 2024

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