Sexton faulted on federal education funds
Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, Rcrossville, doubled down Thursday on the state rejecting nearly $1.8 bill in federal education funds, a possibility he floated while criticizing the federal requirements accepting the money brings.
“The federal government likes to pass down all kinds of things, whether it’s in the classroom, whether it’s curriculum, whether it’s testing, into the state of Tennessee,” Sexton said. “[The federal government] says if you want to take the money, you’ve got to do XYZ.
“We can fund it ourselves and not have federal overreach coming in.”
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Sexton’s stance, first reported by the Associated Press on Wednesday, sparked concern among education and disability advocates.
“These funds represent the best, strongest bootstraps these students have for successfully living and working in our communities,” the Tennessee Disability Coalition said. “We hope Speaker Sexton, Lieutenant Governor Mcnally and Governor Lee will recognize the disastrous impact this will have for students with disabilities, and that they would have more respect for the disability community than this rhetoric seems to indicate.”
House Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons, D-nashville, requested Republicans “walk away” from the proposal, calling public education “the single top priority” for Tennessee.
“It’s fiscal irresponsibility,” Clemmons said. “Tennessee taxpayers are taxed twice, federal and state taxes, but we’re not going to allow Tennesseans to benefit from their investment? We’re going to have to invest state dollars to fill in those funds, when those funds could be better used to fully fund our schools, or investing in healthcare.”
Sexton cited over-testing as one reason to cut ties with the federal funds, which Democrats on Thursday called ironic, given how the General Assembly passed a controversial third grade retention law that hinges on state testing requirements.
The state would replace the federal funds from its own coffers, Sexton said. No legislation outlining the proposal has surfaced yet in the General Assembly.
Public records bill passes committee
A bill that would prevent local governments from giving special access to certain groups when releasing public records passed unanimously in the Senate State and Local Government Committee on Tuesday.
SB 86, filed by Sen. Page Walley, R-savannah, specifies that a person “requesting public records is not entitled to special or more expeditious access to records under this part due to the person’s occupation or association with a specific profession.”
Walley previously told The Tennessean he filed the bill so his constituents do not feel as if they are “second-class citizens.”
“It might be redundant, but it is a statement so people will know clearly that every citizen has an entitlement to access to public records, and they don’t have to be in a specific profession like a media member,” he said. “There is this perception on the part of some that media have special access or first access. Open records means open records.”
There is no state law that allows media members to get access to open records faster than residents who are not employed in media.
The bill has not yet advanced in the House
Renewed push to make Juneteenth as a state holiday
Last year, a Gov. Bill Lee-backed push to officially designate Juneteenth as a state holiday stalled early in the session, even after Lee signed a proclamation officially honoring the day in 2020.
Lee has again proposed budget funding for the state holiday, and an administration bill is being carried by Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-franklin, and House Majority William Lamberth, R-portland.
June 19, which celebrates the emancipation of enslaved Americans, is now a federal holiday.
Lee last year budgeted for $7.7 million in state costs for the holiday, a figure later found to be overinflated due to a state salary calculation error. The governor’s budget released on Monday calls for $691,900 to cover state costs.
The bill, SB 269, was up for a consent calendar vote on Tuesday in the Senate State and Local Government Committee, signaling it may be up for easy passage out of the committee.
But the committee rolled it to a regular calendar on Feb. 28.
Nashville leaders join General Assembly Dems
Sen. Charlane Oliver, D-nashville, was joined on Tuesday by a group of Nashville civic leaders to criticize legislation to shrink Nashville’s Metro Council from its existing 40 members. Oliver, Rep. Vincent Dixie, D-nashville, and former Sen. Brenda Gilmore, D-nashville, and all spoke out against the bill.
The bill, HB 48, passed out of the House Local Government Committee on a party line vote on Tuesday and will next be heard in the House Ways and Means Committee. The Senate version, SB 87, has been referred to committee but not yet assigned to a calendar.
Oliver on Tuesday called the bill a “targeted attempt to usurp and undermine the will” of Davidson County voters. In 2015, Nashville voters rejected a referendum to reduce the council to 27 members.
“This action has been taken against the will of the voters and against the will of our elected officials,” Oliver said. “And let me stress this is not the first time or the second time there has been a hostile takeover by this legislature. We are constantly being preempted with laws that tie our hands behind our backs and prevent us from addressing real quality-of-life issues such as affordable housing, livable wages, police ac
During Tuesday’s State of the Union address, U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-columbia, drew headlines for shouting at President Joe Biden over the fentanyl crisis plaguing the U.S.
countability, unhoused populations and the rapid growth of our city.”
House honors pregnancy centers
House Republicans on Thursday passed a resolution honoring “pregnancy centers,” anti-abortion organizations that have historically counseled patrons against considering abortions, which are now completely illegal in Tennessee.
The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Debra Moody, R-covington, lauded the centers for providing “thousands of pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, sexual risk screenings, parenting classes, mentoring sessions, baby showers, and sexual risk avoidance courses annually as they serve women and men in need.”
It’s likely not the last time discussion of the centers, sometimes referred to as crisis pregnancy centers, will come up this session.
Lee hopes to funnel $100 million to the organizations through a grant fund proposed in his budget on Monday, one of the single largest tax-payer supported infusions into the groups in the country. In budget presentations, administration officials said the funds would support “wraparound” services for expectant and new families.
Most pregnancy centers are not licensed medical clinics and offer limited pregnancy testing and ultrasound services.
Sen. Lamar London, D-memphis, questioned why the grant program is listed under the budget as a criminal justice program, not health, and has raised concerns about the privacy rights of clinic clients.
Ogles making headlines
Freshman U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, Rcolumbia, is already making headlines in Washington, D.C. First, Ogles was the only Republican member of the state’s House delegation to oppose U.S. Rep. Kevin Mccarthy’s bid to become House speaker. (After nearly a dozen votes, he finally backed Mccarthy.)
Now, during Tuesday’s State of the Union address, Ogles drew headlines for shouting at President Joe Biden over the fentanyl crisis plaguing the U.S.
As the president described the crisis, Ogles shouted out, “It’s your fault.”
Ogles defended his reaction, later telling reporters it was “a visceral response,” according to The New York Times.
Ogles represents the newly drawn 5th Congressional District, which includes parts of Davidson, Wilson and Williamson counties, along with all of Lewis, Marshall and Maury counties. It’s a solidly Republican district. (His first State of the Union guest was former HUD Secretary Ben Carson, who lives in Virginia.)
What’s on tap this week?
h SB 01/HB 01, legislation to prohibit some transgender health care for minors, goes before the Senate for a full floor vote on Monday afternoon. The bill goes before the House Civil Justice Committee on Wednesday at 12 p.m. CT.
h HB 104/SB 71, a Democratic bill to required the TBI to test rape kits within 30 days, goes before the the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee at 12 p.m. CT on Tuesday.
h HB 1215, the House speaker’s bill dealing with transgender care, Tenncare and insurance companies, goes before the House Insurance Subcommittee on Tuesday at 12 p.m. CT.
h HB 48, the bill to reduce the size of Nashville’s Metro Council, goes before the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. CT.
Angele Latham and Duane W. Gang contributed to this report.
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