Image Credit: TN General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
As the legislative session continues, the House State and Local Government Committee is scheduled to hear a number of bills on Wednesday, ranging from GOP caucus rights to the dismantling of DEI departments. Below is a highlight of some of the important legislation the committee will be considering.
House Bill 0855 (HB0855) – Sponsor: State Rep. Lee Reeves (R-Franklin-District 65)
An amendment added to this caption bill prohibits county political parties from nominating candidates by any method other than primaries. While counties that have been using other methods previously will be temporarily grandfathered in, there is concern over the constitutionality of state intrusion into local election proceedings. Passage of this legislation would make it difficult for counties to make individual decisions to change election processes at a later time. Senator Jack Johnson (R-Franklin-District 27) is prime sponsor of the Senate bill (SB0799). It is scheduled to be considered on the Senate floor on Wednesday, April 9th as well. You can use the Tennessee Elected Legislator Finder HERE to find the contact information for your TN State Senator.
House Bill 0653 (HB0653) – Sponsor: State Rep. Tim Hicks (R-Gray-District 6)
This complex bill would change already complicated laws surrounding campaign finance. There is concern that this would make things even harder on candidates who are already struggling to finance their campaigns.
Changes proposed by the legislation include:
– Requiring certain executive branch officials to receive ethics training from the bureau.
– Allowing the Registry of Election Finance to skip audits or investigations of complaints against financial reports and instead go straight to show cause hearings.
– Requiring a local candidate whose jurisdiction covers more than one country to register a political treasurer in each county the election occurs.
– Deleting an entire section of existing law and replacing it with exemptions for campaign contribution limits for certain political campaign committees, such as those controlled by a political party.
House Bill 0923 (HB0923) – Sponsor: State Rep. Aron Maberry (R-Clarksville-District 6)
This legislation, also known as the “Dismantling DEI Departments Act,” would mandate that no government agency or department have an office or department that “promotes or requires discriminatory preferences in an effort to increase diversity, equity, or inclusion.” The legislation stipulates that the ruling would apply to all county, municipal, and metropolitan governments, and public institutions of higher education.
House Bill 0783 (HB0783) – Sponsor: State Rep. Greg Martin (R-Hamilton County-District 26)
This bill would allow local governments to adopt ordinances that require a sober living home to be located at least 1,000 feet away from any K-12 school, preschool or daycare facility. It would also require those who operate homes for recovering individuals to obtain a clinical referral from a licensed healthcare provider before a placement is made.
House Bill 0833 (HB0833) – Sponsor: State Rep. Kelly Keisling (R-Byrdstown-District 38)
This legislation would require all local law enforcement agency to provide a monthly report to the Department of Safety, detailing all interaction with illegal aliens over the past month. It would require that they provide the date of the interaction, the number of illegal aliens involved, and a description of all identification documents in their possession. Additionally, the Department of Safety would be required to provide an annual report to the General Assembly with “an assessment of the population of illegal aliens residing in this state and any associated criminal enterprises.”
If you would like to provide comment on any or all of these bills, contact members of the House State and Local Government Committee using the contact information below:
Rep.john.crawford@capitol.tn.gov, rep.dave.wright@capitol.tn.gov, rep.rush.bricken@capitol.tn.gov, rep.jeff.burkhart@capitol.tn.gov, rep.ed.butler@capitol.tn.gov, rep.michele.carringer@capitol.tn.gov, rep.jesse.chism@capitol.tn.gov, rep.vincent.dixie@capitol.tn.gov, rep.rick.eldridge@capitol.tn.gov, rep.dan.howell@capitol.tn.gov, rep.tom.leatherwood@capitol.tn.gov, rep.mary.littleton@capitol.tn.gov, rep.greg.martin@capitol.tn.gov, rep.jake.mccalmon@capitol.tn.gov, rep.larry.miller@capitol.tn.gov, rep.bo.mitchell@capitol.tn.gov, rep.jerome.moon@capitol.tn.gov, rep.jason.powell@capitol.tn.gov, rep.dennis.powers@capitol.tn.gov, rep.tim.rudd@capitol.tn.gov, rep.iris.rudder@capitol.tn.gov, rep.gabby.salinas@capitol.tn.gov, rep.todd.warner@capitol.tn.gov
One Response
Thanx, emailed them, posted to X with “Tennesseans!
Y’all help!!”