EV fees, medical marijuana and targeting Nashville
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s new transportation plan would charge Tennesseans with electric vehicles $200 for registration fees between 2024 and 2026, according to new legislation debated in the General Assembly.
Lee’s $3 billion transportation plan, which made its legislative debut, had initially called for a $300 the annual registration fee, which officials said roughly equaled an average annual gas tax expenditure.
Under Lee’s proposed Transportation Modernization Act, the annual fee would increase to $274 for 2027. Rates would be adjusted after 2027 according to appropriate inflation or deflation rates, as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Though Lee has publicly touted an influx of electric vehicle component manufacturer’s to Tennessee, some companies had chafed at the initial proposal of $300. Rep. Dan Howell, Rcleveland, said Tuesday the plans had allayed concerns.
Medical marijuana effort dies but delta-8 proposal remains alive
A proposal from Sen. Janice Bowling, R-tullahoma, to allow medical marijuana in Tennessee failed, another setback in the efforts to provide some legalization of the product.
Bowling sponsored SB 1104, the Tennessee Medical Cannabis Act but the effort failed on a 6-3 vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Still, some efforts to regulate cannabis-related products remain alive.
A Gop-backed plan to regulate the sale and production of delta-8 remains pending before lawmakers. The bill, HB 403/ SB 378, was delayed until March 14 in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-portland, and Sen. Richard Briggs, R-knoxville, are sponsoring the bill. The proposal would ban the sale of hemp-derived cannabinoid products to those under the age of 21, impose a 5% sales tax on the products and create a licensing, testing, regulatory and enforcement process through the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.
Rape kit testing and evidence lab backlogs
A bill that would require the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to test rape kits within 30 days passed out of the Criminal Justice Committee on Tuesday, though the proposed time frame is at odds with the timeline TBI Director David Rausch said the department was aiming for.
Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-memphis, is sponsoring HB 104, which is similar to a 2014 bill he sponsored that ultimately failed. Sen. London Lamar, D-memphis, is the Senate sponsor.
Evidence testing came under renewed scrutiny last summer following the kidnapping and murder of Eliza Fletcher in Memphis. After she was killed, a rape kit was discovered implicating the suspect in Fletcher’s murder in an earlier sexual assault, but the kit languished in the TBI’S Jackson crime lab for months before testing.
“Our missteps, such as that of not passing legislation like this in 2014, has had a tremendous negative impact on many lives in our state,” Parkinson said.
Rausch said TBI hopes to reduce evidence testing turnaround times to 8 to 12 weeks with the addition of 25 forensic services employees.
If successful, it would be a significant reduction in evidence turnaround times. TBI labs last year took more than 34 weeks on average to process sex offense evidence, a Tennessean analysis of state data found in September.
At the Jackson lab, staffed by just three scientists last summer, average turnaround times increased to nearly 49 weeks in July and August.
TBI has requested $4.5 million for the 25 forensic services positions, in addition to a $23.3 million funding pot to make other salary adjustments. TBI is one of several state agencies that have reported difficulties hiring and retaining staff due to state salaries under market rates.
Lee last year authorized TBI to immediately began hiring for the 25 positions, with promises to fully fund the positions in this year’s budget. In a committee presentation, Rausch said 18 are still open but believes the market rate adjustments will help the department hire faster.
The Jackson lab will receive the largest portion of new positions, Rausch said, though funding approval is just the first step to ramp up testing at state labs.
“The training times in these positions can be significant, anywhere from 6 months to two years, depending on the specialty,” Rausch said.
Council size bill advances in House
A bill, HB 48, that would limit metropolitan councils to no more than 20 members advanced in the state House on Tuesday, clearing the path for a floor vote. The House Finance, Ways and Means Committee passed the bill with an amendment to match one approved by the Senate.
Lamberth, the House majority leader, said the amendment allows the change to go into effect this year, prior to local Nashville elections scheduled for Aug. 3. The qualifying deadline is May 18.
“If, for whatever reason, due to some frivolous lawsuit or just by frankly dragging their feet and choosing not to do so, which I hope would not happen, (the amendment) would kick (current council) terms one year,” Lamberth said.
Rep. Bob Freeman, D-nashville, asked Lamberth if the bill supersedes the will of Nashville voters, who rejected a referendum to decrease the council’s size and extend term limits in 2015. Freeman noted he voted in favor of shrinking the council that year.
Lamberth said it’s hard to say how Nashville voters felt about a smaller council because the referendum also included term limit extension. He argued the bill has “nothing to do” with Nashville’s council blocking an effort last year to host the 2024 Republican National Convention, although many widely view it as retaliation.
“It’s just a simple group dynamics issue,” Lamberth said. “A body of 40, 50, 60 people is not able to coalesce around ideas and be efficient like a body that is 15 or 20 is able to do.”
“I find that very interesting … that you have an issue with a body of 40 when you’re (in) a body of 99, saying how it can operate appropriately,” Freeman responded.
Airport authority bill advances
Continuing a string of bills designed to wrest local control from Nashville, a House transportation subcommittee advanced a bill to remake airport authority boards for metro governments. As with the council bill, the bill doesn’t explicitly name Nashville but would only affect the Nashville airport board.
Rep. Johnny Garrett, R-goodlettsville, amended HB 1176 to give the House speaker, Senate speaker and governor three picks each to sit on the board. The Nashville mayor, or mayor’s designee, would serve as a voting ex-officio member.
“The airport authority is not funded by that particular area, it’s funded by the entire state of Tennessee. So, the board is not representative of the entire state of Tennessee,” Garrett said.
New appointees would have to be Davidson County residents, per Garrett’s amendment.
A separate bill, HB 1197, would do the same thing to Nashville’s sports authority board and give state leaders the power to appoint the majority of the members, got delayed. The bill is now scheduled before House and Senate committees on Wednesday.
Catch up on the week
Here are a few stories to catch up on: h Why doctors are decrying Tennessee’s “dangerous” abortion ban as lawmakers debate change.
h Gov. Lee signs gender-affirming care ban, drag bills into law.
h Tennessee bill to add rape, incest exceptions to abortion ban falters.
h Tennessee lawmaker apologizes after suggesting “hanging by tree” as method of execution.
h Gov. Bill Lee will sign drag bill, reacts to yearbook photo showing him dressed as a woman.
h Tennessee drag show bill: Will drag performances be banned? What we know.
h U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles admits he was “mistaken” on the college degree he received.
h Nashville council candidates charge ahead with campaigns for seats in state crosshairs.
h “It’s harmful, it’s violent”: Memphians rally against ANTI-LGBTQ+ bills.
The week ahead
h The House Higher Education Subcommittee will hear HB 1445 on Tuesday, which would ban people from accessing the Tiktok app on college or university internet. Government bodies around the country have moved to ban the app, which is owned by a Chinese parent company, over security concerns.
h Garrett’s airport authority board bill is up for a full House Transportation Committee vote on Wednesday
h The Senate version of the bill, SB 1326, will be heard in Senate Government Ops on Wednesday as well, along with the Nashville sports authority bill SB 1335
h SB 279, an administration bill that would allow Lee’s office of faith-based initiatives to receive state funding, will be heard in the Senate State and Local Government Committee on Wednesday. It would also allow state employees to benefit from a nonprofit partnered with the office.
h After advancing in Senate Judiciary, HB 239 will go before House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee on Wednesday. The bill seeks to define “sex” in state law, which could prevent transgender people from changing their legal gender identities on state documents such as driver’s licenses.
Duane W. Gang contributed to this report.
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