Whitson Doesn’t Deny That His Bill Is An “Insidious Attack On Freedom Of The Press”
Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
Following The Tennessee Conservative sounding the alarm about a bill that has the potential to censor news outlets and advocacy groups across Tennessee, many Tennesseans reached out to the bill sponsors expressing opposition to the proposed legislation.
One such communication was sent to the House Bill sponsor, Representative Sam Whitson (R-Franklin-District 65) by one of his constituents in his district.
In part, the letter read:
“I’m writing today to ask you to reconsider your sponsorship of this bill.
It is my understanding that this new legislation seeks to redefine ‘some’ news outlets and companies as Political Action Committees (PACs), then subject them to all the same rules and regulations as real PACs. If true, this is a ridiculous, even insidious attack on the freedom of the press, but more importantly an attack on our alternatives away from the major news sources which have a proven bias.
This legislation seems to be an attack on the conservative options. I feel this may be on purpose. To require ‘some’ (read conservative) news sources to become PAC’s is a direct attack on freedom of the press and the rights of the people to read and decipher truth.
Such is the case with this proposed legislation. Maybe I’m wrong and if proven so, I’ll stand corrected. But, to ‘reclassify’ a news outlet as a PAC is an attack plan and simple.”
Instead of flatly denying the allegations made in the constituent’s email, Whitson replied, “It is a draft piece of legislation that is a work in progress. While the language may change, I will continue to fight for financial disclosure legislation to ensure individuals do not personally profit from running for public office.”
The constituent shared with us that he has also written to the other elected officials that represent his district in the legislature, Representative Mary Littleton (R-Dickson -District 78) and Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield-District 23) but the only response he received was from Whitson.
“I’ll just bet Mary and Kerry are not even sure what HB0183 / SB0160 are!” – he said.
Read more about how this bill could affect News Outlets and Companies HERE.
Read more about how this bill could affect Advocacy Groups HERE.
The Conservative Club of Tellico contacted the Senators on the State and Local Government Committee, where action was deferred earlier this week to apparently give the sponsors time to make amendments, to express opposition to the legislation.
The letter read in part:
“We find this legislation abhorrent, anti-Constitutional, and a clear effort to silence our voices. To expect groups of activists like ours to register as PACs, incur legal expenses, fill out mandated state and federal paperwork, pay fees for registration, and collect and divulge the names and addresses of small donors would be an overwhelming burden.
Large left-wing organizations funded by Soros and others have no problems, with the use of resources and attorneys, made financially available to them, circumventing these laws.
Including journalism shared by conservative groups is really detrimental to our efforts. The few news sources that we do have provide us with a constant source of information which is invaluable to our members and provides an effective check and balance to government which our founding fathers and service members fought so hard to obtain.
We stand in opposition to this legislation. We request that it be pulled completely from this year’s (and every year’s) legislative agenda.”
The response received was a form letter from the Chair of the Committee and Senate bill sponsor, Senator Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville-District 7). Another response came from the 2nd Vice-Chair on the Committee, Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon-District 17), who was under the impression the bill had been pulled.
In a response to another constituent’s email, a different member of the committee indicated that he believed the bill had been pulled as well.
Senator Adam Lowe (R-Calhoun-District 1) told his constituent, “SB0160 was removed weeks ago. I am not sure who is drumming up the alarm but you have been misled.”
Obviously, Lowe was mistaken as the bill was on the agenda for January 31st and it was rolled along with two other bills for the next meeting of the committee on February 7th.
In addition both, HB0183 and SB0160 are still live bills on the General Assembly website.
Yet another email to the Committee members from a Spring Hill, Tennessee resident said in part:
“Your intentions, whatever they may be, are ill served by this pending legislation, it provides nothing more than a “whack-a-mole” approach to censorship. Re-defining what a PAC is and does is nothing more than Orwellian censorship. Tennessee needs less censorship. Allow free thinking Tennesseans the freedom to read and analyze on their own is what the Federalist Papers discussed in great detail. The law as written is fatally flawed and must be withdrawn from consideration. Organizations like Parler moved to Tennessee to promote free speech and provide an open forum for all parties to opine. Your proposed legislation will have a chilling effect on free speech advocacy. HBO183 and SBO160 do nothing to promote our First Amendment Rights. In fact, it circumvents what the Founding Fathers considered when they drafted the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
In an email to subscribers, the founder of The Tennessee Conservative, Brandon Lewis, wrote, “Let me tell you this: A bill is most often filed EXACTLY how RINOs want it to become law in the end the first time around.”
Lewis stated that many in the legislature do not like to be held accountable by news outlets like The Tennessee Conservative and advocacy groups like Tennessee Stands and gave the gist of the legislation.
“Any person, organization or company who speaks out about a “measure” or a “candidate” and “gives or receives money” over $2,000 a year, will be subject to being defined as a Political Action Committee.
It could be you personally, your church, business or grassroots organization. That’s what the bill says, you can read the language here.
Then, the Tennessee Election Finance board can come after you in an arbitrary way without even having a complaint filed, just like they did with Tennessee Stands. They hope to intimidate people into silence.
There isn’t a news publication, church, person or grassroots group that would be safe to speak their mind if this bill passes.”
In preparation for this article, The Tennessee Conservative reached out to the bills sponsors, Representative Sam Whitson and Senator Richard Briggs with the following:
“The introduction of Senate Bill 0160 / House Bill 0183 has caused a great deal of pushback from Republican primary voters and conservatives in the state. Will you be withdrawing it?
Could you explain what amendments may be made to the bill if not withdrawn entirely?
Will there be clear exceptions made for news outlets?
Will there be clear exceptions made for legitimate companies?
And finally, will there be clear exceptions made for advocacy groups that have a primary focus of keeping the public informed, i.e. education?”
Upon publication of this article, Briggs nor Whitson, have replied to our press inquiry.
Prior to any amendments being made to address the concerns of constituents, Representative Curtis Johnson (R-Clarksville-District 68) has signed on as a co-prime sponsor for HB0183 and Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis-District 31) has signed on as a co-prime sponsor in the Senate.
The Tennessee Conservative will keep a close eye on the progress of this legislation and keep you informed.
Senate Bill 0160 is scheduled to be heard again on February 7th in the Senate State and Local Government Committee.
Their contact information can be found below.
Senator Richard Briggs (R) – Chair- sen.richard.briggs@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1766
Senator Page Walley (R) – Vice Chair – sen.page.walley@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2368
Senator Mark Pody (R) – 2nd Vice Chair – sen.mark.pody@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2421
Senator Ed Jackson (R) – sen.ed.jackson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1810
Senator Sara Kyle (R) – sen.sara.kyle@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4167
Senator Adam Lowe (R) – sen.adam.lowe@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-0374
Senator John Stevens (R) – sen.john.stevens@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4576
Senator Ken Yager (R) – sen.ken.yager@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1449
Senator Jeff Yarbro (D) – sen.jeff.yarbro@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3291
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
