GOP holds secret straw poll on gas tax
In an attempt to gauge the level of support for Gov. Bill Haslam’s gas tax proposal, House Republicans took an unusual approach Monday night: a secret straw poll taken with wooden ballots.
Immediately after the House floor session ended, the caucus gathered in the legislative library on the second floor of the Capitol, where House Republican Caucus Chairman Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville, informed the members present he wanted them to cast secret ballots on the governor’s IMPROVE Act.
The proposal seeks to raise the tax on gasoline and diesel fuel over a three-year period while also seeking tax cuts in other areas.
Williams said the straw poll — which was done by having members write either yes or no on a small wooden stick akin to a tongue depressor or Popsicle stick — was necessary in order to find out where members fall on the issue without having them formally vote on the measure.
“We simply don’t know where people are,” Williams said after the caucus meeting adjourned. “With 73 members, how do you know?”
After explaining why the
caucus was taking the straw poll approach, Williams fielded several questions from members, ranging from what exactly was in the current House version of the IMPROVE Act and why the vote was taking place despite the chamber’s leadership working on an alternative proposal.
At several points during the short gathering, the discussion got a bit heated.
“If we vote on this today, (Rep. David) Hawk is working on a bill now and if we get a vote today that says a majority is for the IMPROVE Act, then I think that would kill any effort going forward to try to do something else,” said Rep. Jerry Sexton, R-Bean Station, who has frequently been critical of the governor’s plan.
Hawk, along with House Speaker Beth Harwell and others, have been working on an alternative transportation funding plan that does not rely on a gas tax increase but instead seeks to use general fund revenue to help fund the state’s $10 billion backlog in road projects.
Haslam and Senate leadership have criticized any plans that mostly rely on using the state’s general fund, citing concerns about any future economic downturns.
Williams said the caucus was simply trying to figure out what direction House Republicans wanted to head.
After Williams said he hoped to determine where the caucus was by Tuesday morning, Rep. Charles Sargent, R-Franklin, objected.
“I asked for a caucus meeting two or three weeks ago,” Sargent said, pointing out that members of several House committees have already cast votes on the measure.
“Now all of a sudden we’re changing. Well, if we were going to make these decisions, we should’ve had this discussion a long time ago,” Sargent said.
“No one is trying to change anything,” Williams interjected, adding it is ultimately his job to determine if the IMPROVE Act is facing an uphill battle in the House. “If we know that the bill is having trouble, it’s my job as the caucus chair to make sure you don’t vote on something that will fail.”
It was unclear whether Rep. Timothy Hill, R-Blountville, who serves as the whip — the leadership position specifically charged with counting votes — for House Republicans was involved in the secret ballot effort.
Rep. Ron Lollar, R-Bartlett, argued that Williams was asking members to vote on a bill that wasn’t even in its final form, to which Williams objected.
As members began casting ballots, Hawk, R-Greeneville, reminded the caucus they are voting on the most recently amended version of the gas tax bill and not his latest proposal.
“(Speaker Harwell) has taken a broad and a bold step and has asked us to lead on this issue,” he said. “Each of us serve at the pleasure of the speaker … And I ask folks to remember that and to support our speaker.”
Although the majority of those present for the caucus meeting cast their ballots, after the meeting ended Williams said he might either announce the results of the straw poll at another caucus meeting or not say what the results are at all.
“The issue is if we find out there’s 73 members for it, there’s no point to say anything. But if we have 35 members who don’t like it and 37 who do, then we’ve got a lot of work to do ahead of us,” he said.
Contact Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.