The Governor is about to sign two bills passed during the past couple of weeks and we have one last chance to stop them. Please call Governor Lee at (615) 741-2001 and leave a comment asking him to veto Senate Bill 1229, which allows parents to opt students out of curriculum that addresses sexual orientation and gender identity, and Senate Bill 828, which requires fetal tissue to be cremated or buried.
This is a relatively light week in the Legislature but there are still several significant bills making their way through the General Assembly. The Tennessee Equality Project has an email campaign to help you speak out agains anti-LGBTQ bills. This document compiled by Indivisible TN includes email addresses and sample scripts to help you contact legislators. Contacting legislators who sit on committees is sometimes the best way to stop bad bills while helping good bills move forward.
Monday Floor Votes, 4/26
HJR72 - Proposes a TN Constitutional Amendment that enshrines anti-Union "Right to Work" laws. The TN AFLI-CIO has an email campaign to help you contact your legislator.
HB446 – Prohibits using state & local funds to enforce federal law or executive orders that attempt to reduce gun violence if they violate state law.
HB1223 – Requires schools to accommodate students who don’t want to use same-sex restrooms/locker rooms. Stigmatizes trans gender students by separating them from other students in unequal facilities.
HB1075/SB915 - Prevents city & local governments from challenging constitutionality of state legislation in court.
SB1335 – Enacts the “Tennessee Second Amendment Sanctuary Act” declaring any rule, executive order, or regulation of the U.S. government that violates the federal second amendment null, void, and unenforceable in the state and prohibits state government from using public resources to enforce, administer, or cooperate with the federal rule, executive order, or regulation.
Monday Hearings
HB575 – Limits powers and authority of county health departments. House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
HB1143 - Increases, from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony, the penalty for a third or subsequent conviction of driving on a license that is canceled, suspended, or revoked. Could target minority and immigrant communities and disenfranchise voters. House Criminal Justice Committee
HB1406 – Requires law enforcement agencies to develop use of force policies; bans choke holds and no-knock warrants. House Criminal Justice Committee
Tuesday Floor Votes, 4/27
SB136 - Enacts the "CROWN Act: Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair" to define race and protective hairstyle for purposes of the Tennessee Human Rights Act.
SB457 – Requires members of Community Oversight Boards to complete citizen’s academy course within 6 months of appointment; removes authority of Board until all members comply. (House version filed by Glen Casada & has passed).
SB557 – Prohibits using state & local funds to enforce federal law or executive orders that attempt to reduce gun violence if they violate state law.
Tuesday Hearings, 4/27
HB1027 - Amendment to bill prohibits prescribing hormone treatment for transgender prepubescent minors. House Government Operations Committee
SB229 – Establishes a program to award TN Promise scholarship completion grants to those with financial hardships. Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
SB284 - Increases, from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony, the penalty for a third or subsequent conviction of driving on a license that is canceled, suspended, or revoked. Could target minority and immigrant communities and disenfranchise voters. Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
SB371 – Requires the BEP formula to fund a full-time school counselor for every 250 students. Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
SB868 - Amendment to bill creates a statewide chancery court, made up of three chancellors appointed by the Governor, that would hear constitutional challenges in the state.
SB1257 - Funds social worker positions through the BEP at a ratio of one per 1,500 or fewer students. Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
SB1402 – Amendment to bill cuts the number of weeks unemployment benefits are paid to 12 weeks when the unemployment rate is 5.5% or less. Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
Wednesday Hearings, 4/28
HB1388 - Deletes criminal offense prohibiting a person from carrying a firearm with the intent to go armed. House Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee
HB1393 – Restores right of suffrage if a person pays the full amount of restitution owed to a victim. House Criminal Justice Subcommittee
Thursday Floor Votes
HB928 - Enacts the “Tennessee Second Amendment Sanctuary Act” declaring any rule, executive order, or regulation of the U.S. government that violates the federal second amendment null, void, and unenforceable in the state and prohibits state government from using public resources to enforce, administer, or cooperate with the federal rule, executive order, or regulation.