Image Credit: State Representative Rusty Grills / Facebook & Antony-22 / CC
The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
Representative Rusty Grills (R- Newbern-District 77) assumed office in January of 2020 and is running for reelection this year.
While Rep. Grills has voted in favor of non-conservative legislation like the 2022 “Incumbent Protection Bill”, the 2023 “Money Transmission Modernization Act” which paves the way for global currency, and a 2024 piece of legislation that expedites the termination of parental rights in certain situations among other things, he still has a relatively conservative track record on other issues.
Below is a non-exhaustive but detailed look at Rep. Grills’ voting record over the last several years.
Back in 2021, Grills supported medical freedom by voting in favor of a resolution to nullify federal Covid-19 restrictions (SJR9005) as well as legislation prohibiting state and local governments from requiring or mandating that private businesses require proof of Covid-19 vaccination for entry or utilization of services (HB0575).
HB0037 is another important piece of legislation that Grills voted in favor of in 2021.
This legislation prohibited local governments or the executive head of a local government from creating categories or classes of “nonessential” and “essential” businesses, trades, professions, etc. for the purposes of suspending lawful commerce, encumbering trade, or denying citizens the right to work.
He also co-sponsored pro-life legislation (HB1252) and legislation that protected parental rights in education by requiring that public schools notify parents prior to exposing students to “sexual orientation or gender identity” curriculum (HB0529).
The Freedom Index Legislative Scorecard, which scores lawmakers based on the constitutional nature and implications of their votes, gave Grills a score of 67% for the 2021 legislative session.
In 2022, Grills co-sponsored legislation to protect teachers from being forced to use students’ preferred pronouns (HB2633) and voted in favor of legislation to protect children in schools (HB2454).
He also voted in favor of legislation supporting medical freedom and natural immunity to Covid-19 (HB1871), co-sponsored legislation to make Ivermectin an over-the-counter drug in Tennessee (HB2746) and co-sponsored anti-DEI legislation (HB2670), as well as a resolution to make The Holy Bible Tennessee’s official state book (HJR0752).
During the 2023 legislative session, Grills co-sponsored pro-life legislation that prohibited local governments from expending funds to assist a woman in obtaining a criminal abortion (HB0090).
Other legislative action he took in 2023 includes:
• Voting in favor of protecting children from obscene materials in schools (HB0841).
• Co-sponsoring legislation to protect children from being exposed to drag show performances (HB0009).
• Co-sponsoring legislation protecting parental rights by requiring the written consent of a parent or guardian before a healthcare professional can provide a vaccine to a minor (HB1380), and voting in favor of legislation also requiring parental consent before a student may receive gender identity instruction or health services through a coordinated school program (HB0727).
• Co-sponsoring legislation to uphold state sovereignty by limiting foreign ownership of real property in Tennessee (HB0040).
• Voting in favor of government transparency by requiring state and local governments to allow time for public comment at publicly-held meetings (HB0448).
• Voting in favor of banning public schools, colleges and the Department of Education from requiring employees to participate in implicit bias training (HB0158).
• Co-sponsoring legislation stating that public school faculty and staff are not required to refer to students by preferred pronouns (HB1269).
• Co-sponsoring legislation banning “gender affirming” surgeries for minors in Tennessee (HB0001).
Grills received a score of 83% from the Freedom Index Legislative Scorecard in 2023.
Additionally, The Tennessee Conservative’s 2023 RINO Report highlighted Grills’ vote against HB1109 which could take away parental rights and due process by criminalizing parents based on anonymous allegations of child abuse or neglect.
In 2024, Grills voted in favor of school safety measures that don’t infringe on the 2nd Amendment rights of Tennesseans by allowing certain faculty and staff members to conceal carry “subject to certain conditions” (HB1202).
He similarly voted for the “Laken Riley Act of 2024” which removes the criminal offense of carrying a non-lethal self-defense weapon on college campuses, and in support of allowing private schools to adopt their own handgun carry policies (HB1631).
Other bills Grills voted in favor of in 2024 include:
• HB2169: the “Tennessee Foster and Adoptive Parent Act” which prohibits DCS from requiring potential foster and adoptive parents to support policies concerning sexual orientation or gender identity.
• HB0878: legislation clarifying that a person is not required to “solemnize” a marriage if that person objects due to conscience or religious beliefs.
• HB2063: legislation banning chemical weather modification.
• HB1883: legislation protecting patient and family rights regarding hospital visitation under a declaration of disaster or emergency issued by the state.
• HB1664: legislation allowing law enforcement to assign SROs to schools that fail to request one.
Grills also co-sponsored the following pieces of legislation this year:
• HB1895: pro-life legislation to criminalize the abortion trafficking of minors.
• HB1872: illegal immigration legislation that increases penalties up to life in prison without parole for illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes.
• HB2310: legislation that allows individuals who traffic minors across state lines for sex reassignment procedures to face civil penalties by the minor’s parents.
• HB1663: legislation that authorizes the death penalty for child rapists.
• HB2882: legislation requiring public schools to provide students with age-appropriate firearm safety instruction.
• HB0835: election integrity legislation.
• HB1817: legislation to protect children by increasing the penalty for child endangerment by a parent or guardian of a child eight years or younger.
• HB1726: protects religious exemptions and prohibit DCS from requiring immunizations in order to place children in foster and adoptive homes.
• HB1605: would have banned Pride Flags and other ideological and political flags from public school classrooms.
• HB2035: prevents red flag gun laws in Tennessee by preempting the entire field of legislation regarding extreme risk protection orders or ERPOs.
Grills specifically received a shout out in The Tennessee Conservative’s 2024 RINO Report for sponsoring HB2124, a piece of illegal immigration legislation requiring Tennessee law enforcement to report illegal immigrants in their custody to the federal government.
He also got a shout out for sponsoring legislation that prohibits credit card companies and banks from requiring firearms retailers to be identified by a separate code or denying a legal firearms purchase based on that code (HB2762).
However, Grills also appeared in that very same report for voting against Rep. Bryan Richey’s rule change proposal that would have provided a great deal more transparency in the Tennessee House of Representatives by requiring that all votes in House Subcommittee and Committee hearings be roll call votes instead of voice votes.
The Tennessee Legislative Report Card gave Grills a voting score of 88 for the 2024 legislative session, a lifetime cumulative score of 86, and a C grade in leadership.
The report card also analyzes information from the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, which shows that 38.66% of Grills’ campaign contributions stem from special interests.
Grills has no Democrat opposition in this year’s general election, but he does have one GOP challenger in the upcoming primary election, James T. “Bubba” Cobb.
Cobb describes himself as “the ultimate public servant” and his campaign platform is pro-parental rights, anti-school vouchers, pro-Department of Education reform, pro-industrial development and pro-agriculture.
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.
One Response
Thanx!