Tennessee’s lieutenant governor is backing a Memphis state senator’s move to force the ouster of Shelby County’s prosecutor for “dereliction of duty” in connection with felons caught carrying weapons.
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) issued a statement Monday saying he “wholeheartedly” supports efforts by Republican state Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) to dismiss Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy from office for “failing to properly prosecute convicted felons in possession of a firearm.”
Taylor sent McNally a letter Monday notifying him he plans to file a Senate resolution after the November election to remove Mulroy from office. The district attorney general said recently he plans to adopt a policy allowing non-violent felons to avoid being prosecuted for possession of weapons.
McNally said Mulroy’s “explicit refusal to prosecute criminals with guns is inexcusable and unconstitutional. While district attorneys have prosecutorial discretion, that discretion is not a license to override or subvert the law of the land. DA Mulroy’s record of refusal to prosecute laws he does not personally care for is longstanding and clear. I believe it is time for him to go.”
State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) during the 113th general Assembly Credit: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout
Even though district attorneys general are elected by a county’s voters, the Legislature can oust them with a two-thirds vote, according to a state law cited by Taylor in his letter.
Taylor and House Speaker Cameron Sexton made social media posts last week calling Mulroy soft on crime for his new policy to provide “diversion” from conviction for non-violent felons caught carrying weapons.
Mulroy, a Democrat serving his first term after defeating Republican Amy Weirich, told the Tennessee Lookout last week the DA’s Office continues to prosecute illegal gun possession cases, including possession of a gun connected to drug crimes and possession of a Glock switch, which makes those types of handguns fully automatic. His office did not respond to questions Monday.
The district attorney, though, noted his office is “open to offering a diversion track, on a case-by-case basis for those defendants who have no history of violence or significant criminal history and seem reformable.”
Those types of offenders would be prosecuted but could avoid conviction by meeting “stringent requirements” for rehabilitation, he said. The policy is designed to free up prosecutors to focus on offenders who “use a weapon,” he said.
Taylor acknowledged Monday that district attorneys general have “prosecutorial discretion” but contended that state law prohibits felons from possessing weapons and argued if Mulroy thinks non-violent felons should be excluded, then he should lobby the Legislature to change the law. He denied that his effort to remove Mulroy is a political move and maintained that the district attorney has “abused his prosecutorial discretion.”
It looks like every local official is now on notice not to cross powerful state politicians – or else. Memphians are sick and tired of seeing their local elected officials run over by state politics just for doing the job they promised to do.
Sens. Raumesh Akbari and London Lamar, Memphis Democrats, in a statement
“He’s attempting to enforce and prosecute the law based on how he wishes it were written, not how it’s actually written,” Taylor said. “District attorneys are obligated to enforce the law the legislature enacts.”
Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) and Minority Chairman London Lamar (D-Memphis) issued a statement in response calling Taylor’s effort an “unconstitutional attack” on Shelby County’s district attorney and saying it “sets a dangerous precedent.”
“It looks like every local official is now on notice not to cross powerful state politicians – or else,” they said. “Memphians are sick and tired of seeing their local elected officials run over by state politics just for doing the job they promised to do.”
They contend crime didn’t start with Mulroy’s election and said, “it’s beneath the Legislature to threaten local officials over a policy debate.”
Sen. Taylor and state Rep. John Gillespie (R-Memphis) passed legislation this year overturning a Memphis City Council ordinance stopping police from making “pretextual” stops such as driving with broken tail light. The measure was designed to prevent violent incidents between police and motorists such as the death of Tyre Nichols who was pulled over for reckless driving and beaten by five police officers, according to video of the stop.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and X.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is pledging to block Senate business, mainly items dealing with White House initiatives. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Blaming President Joe Biden for the 34-count felony conviction of former President Donald Trump, Sen. Marsha Blackburn is pledging to block Senate business, mainly items dealing with White House initiatives.
Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, joined seven other senators in signing a letter accusing the Biden White House of making a “mockery of the rule of law” and altering the nation’s politics in “un-American ways” by orchestrating the judicial proceeding.
Trump was convicted last week on 34 felony counts of breaking New York business laws in connection with a $130,000 “hush money” payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election.“As a Senate Republican conference, we are unwilling to aid and abet this White House in its project to tear this country apart,” the letter says. It is also signed by Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Sen. Rick Scott of Florida.
The senators promised not to allow increases in non-security funding or a spending bill that funds “partisan lawfare.” They also said they would block political and judicial appointments as well as attempts to expedite Democratic bills unrelated to the American people’s safety.
Democratic state Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, who is running against Blackburn this year, said Monday the pledge is “beneath the dignity” of a U.S. senator.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.
A challenge of Tennessee’s law dealing with the use of public school restrooms and locker rooms by transgender students remains alive after a federal judge declined to dismiss all claims against the state education department and Williamson County Schools.
U.S. District Court Judge William Campbell denied the state’s request in to dismiss the child’s claim of a violation of rights under the Equal Protection Clause.
The judge, however, granted a request to dismiss the child’s claim that her Title IX rights were violated. The ruling notes that because the federal law allows schools to maintain separate restrooms for “the different sexes,” requiring the child to use the restroom based on her biological sex doesn’t violate Title IX.
The judge also dismissed the child’s request to correct all records to reflect her female gender.
Tennessee lawmakers have taken steps in recent years to prevent transgender athletes from playing sports based on their sexual identity. The Legislature enacted restrictions in 2023 on transgender medical treatment and this year adopted a bill preventing adults other than parents and guardians from taking children outside the state for transgender care.
The case against the Tennessee Department of Education and Williamson County Schools involves a 9-year-old transgender child who was male at birth but identifies as female, according to court filings. The child uses “she/her” pronouns and lives socially as a girl by wearing her hair long and dressing in a manner usually associated with girls.
The complaint was brought by a friend and the child’s parents when the child was 8, claiming the Williamson County elementary school she attends requires her to use a single-occupancy restroom, not the multi-use girls’ restroom.
The child claims the school’s “insistence” that she use a separate restroom “isolates her and distinguishes her from her classmates and exacerbates the stress and anxiety she experiences while trying to fit in and avoid being stigmatized on the basis of her sex and gender identity.” The child also claims the restroom designated for her has problems with distance from her class, safety and cleanliness.
The Tennessee Legislature passed the Tennessee Accommodations for All Children Act in May 2021, requiring public schools to provide a “reasonable accommodation” to students, teachers and employees who want “greater privacy when using a multi-occupancy restroom or changing facility designated for [their] sex and located within a public school building.”
“Reasonable accommodations” include single-occupancy restrooms or changing facilities or use of an employee restroom or changing facility.
The “reasonable accommodations” don’t include restrooms or changing areas designated for use by members of the opposite sex while the opposite sex is present or could be present. They also don’t require remodeling or structurally changing a school facility, or limiting access to a restroom or changing room designated for use by members of the opposite sex if that creates a violation or state or local building codes.
The new state law defines sex as “a person’s immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth.” It also provides students, parents, guardians, teachers and employees the right to sue public school systems for “psychological, emotional, and physical harm,” including monetary damages, legal fees and costs if they “encounter a member of the opposite sex in a multi-occupancy restroom or changing facility located in a public school building … [and] the public school intentionally allowed a member of the opposite sex [defined as sex at birth] to enter the multi-occupancy restroom or changing facility while other persons were present.”
Campbell denied the child’s request for an injunction against the school district to stop it from enforcing the state law.
Yet the judge opted not to dismiss the child’s claims under the Equal Protection Clause, which prohibits a state from “denying to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” and prevents government discrimination that “either burdens a fundamental right, targets a suspect class or intentionally treats one differently than others similarly situated without any rational basis for the difference.”
The judge’s ruling points out that classifications by the government based on sex are recognized as “a quasi-suspect classification subject to intermediate scrutiny.”
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.
Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, addressing his bill to prohibit local governments from spending funds to study reparations. (Photo: John Partipilo)
The Tennessee House voted 52-43 Wednesday to defeat an anti-reparations bill despite the efforts by an East Tennessee House Republican to resurrect the measure.
Before introducing the bill, Republican Rep. John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge) circulated a letter to colleagues seeking their support in passing House Bill 474 to stop counties from looking into reparations and disbursing money to those whose family members were enslaved.
The measure passed in the Senate on a 26-6 vote but got hung up in the House. Rep. Sam Whitson (R-Franklin) called for a vote to table Ragan’s legislation.
In response, Ragan told the chamber that people shouldn’t be forced to pay for the wrongdoing of their ancestors. He pointed out that all Japanese shouldn’t be blamed for the bombing of Pearl Harbor and all Muslims shouldn’t be held responsible for the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.
Ragan noted in the letter that state Sen. Brent Taylor of Memphis brought him the bill and said he will not back down from resistance. He also accused opponents of “blatant bullying and immoral tactics.”
Cred:t Tennessee Lookout
“Frankly, two opposition caucus members have unashamedly engaged in such, hurling repugnant insults and racial slurs in the “People’s House” – apparently without penalty,” Ragan’s letter says. “Regrettably, other members of their caucus have failed to demonstrate the moral courage to oppose such a degradation of our state’s great institution. In fact, some have even supported these actions openly.”
Ragan also said the press, “always hungry for salacious sensationalism and manufactured controversy,” blew the matter out of proportion, causing some lawmakers to consider support of the bill a threat to their re-election.
Democratic Reps. Justin Jones of Nashville and Justin J. Pearson of Memphis have been outspoken foes of the bill.
Pearson said shortly before the Wednesday vote, “I am hopeful that this racist bill will be tabled.”
Ragan’s letter asks Republican colleagues to vote their conscience and notes, “It is a good and just bill that helps Tennessee and deserves a vote.”
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.
Legislation designed to stop the potential release of climate-controlling chemicals into the atmosphere is scheduled to be considered in the House this week, a bill the Senate’s sponsor also relates to “chemtrails,” a conspiracy theory related to the lines of vapor coming from jet planes.
One environmental lobbyist called the measure “nonsense,” even though it passed the Senate last week 25-6.
Rep. Monty Fritts (R-Kingston) is taking the matter seriously and is slated to put House Bill 2063 before the Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee Wednesday. He is not expected to try to amend the measure.
Fritts said Monday the bill deals only with “geoengineering” purportedly to be done by the federal government and noted he is not concerned about a connection with “chemtrail” conspiracy theories.
If you look at a thousand planes, you won’t see one (chemtrail). But then all of a sudden you see one. So we’re just asking the question: Are they putting anything in the air that could be toxic?
– Sen. Steve Southerland, R-Morristown
The bill points out that the federal government and other entities acting at the government’s request are preparing to conduct experiments by dispersing chemicals into the atmosphere. It further notes the impact on human health and the environment from this type of “broad scale geoengineering” isn’t fully understood.
“Chemtrail” conspiracy theories have surfaced for decades. But this bill could be a reaction to a measure signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022 instructing the Office of Science and Technology Policy to work with NASA on research of climate intervention.
An article in MIT Technology Review reports the crux of the federal plan is to release tiny particles into the atmosphere that, theoretically, could reflect enough sunlight to slow down the Earth’s warming. In other instances, groups could try to determine whether the release of particles might stop cirrus clouds from trapping heat against the Earth, according to a news report.
The bill, which would avert that in Tennessee, says “intentional injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus within the borders of this state into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight is prohibited.”
Sen. Steve Southerland (R-Morristown), who initiated the legislation, didn’t mention “chemtrails” when he passed the bill on the Senate floor last week.
But when he spoke to the Tennessee Lookout previously, he made that part of his argument, pointing out that a space shuttle doesn’t leave a “chemtrail.” Likewise, he said, emissions at Watts Bar nuclear and Kingston fossil plants appear to be “pure steam,” in contrast to the “chemtrails” from some jets.
“If you look at a thousand planes, you won’t see one (chemtrail). But then all of a sudden you see one,” Sutherland said. “So we’re just asking the question: Are they putting anything in the air that could be toxic?”
Scott Banbury, a lobbyist with the Sierra Club, described the bill as more of a “laughing” matter than anything and said efforts in the legislature to undo wetlands protections are more important.
“It’s not happening,” Banbury said, adding he was uncertain how the bill got so much traction in committees. “It’s not gonna happen anytime soon. It’s nonsense.”
Numerous websites debunk the theories surrounding “chemtrails.”
David Keith’s Research Group with Harvard University describes “chemtrails” as a conspiracy theory that governments and other groups are running a secret program to add “visible plumes” containing toxic chemicals to the atmosphere, similar to contrails or vapor trails released by aircraft engine exhaust that are made up mainly of water in the form of ice crystals.
The group notes, “We have not seen any credible evidence that chemtrails exist,” but if researchers did find proof the government is endangering people it would be “eager to expose and stop any such activities.”
Banbury pointed out fear of “chemtrails” has been discussed for years, but he was uncertain how the federal government could conspire with enough people to send out toxic chemicals from jets without someone “blowing the whistle.”
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.
Rodney and RowVaughn Wells, parents of the late Tyre Nichols, at a Monday press conference speaking out against a bill to overrule a local government measure to limit traffic stops of the type that resulted in Nichols' death. (Photo: John Partipilo, Tennessee Lookout)
Promises, promises. This wouldn’t be the first time they’re broken.
Rep. John Gillespie (R-Bartlett) swore on the House floor Thursday he didn’t tell the family of slain motorist Tyre Nichols’ he would postpone a policing bill they oppose until next week when they could return to the Capitol. That claim brought an accusation from Rep. Justin J. Pearson (D-Memphis) that Gillespie lied to the family (and a subsequent rebuke that amounted to nothing).
Nichols’ parents, Rodney and RowVaughn Wells, also sent out a statement Thursday urging Senators to vote against the bill when it reaches the upper chamber and reiterated what Pearson said, that Gillespie told them not to visit Nashville because he didn’t plan to bring the bill to the floor.
The Wellses visited the legislature Monday lobbying against Gillespie’s bill, which would turn back a Memphis City Council ordinance designed to prevent police officers from making “pretextual” stops such as pulling over motorists for a bad tail light. The Wellses believe their son, Tyre, would be alive if such an ordinance had been in place in January 2023 when police stopped him and beat him (the incident is on video). He later died.
Gillespie responded by postponing the bill until Thursday and attaching an amendment — which is usually a no-no on the floor — making the bill apply only to “pretextual” stops. In other words, police would still make them in Memphis and statewide.
Several Memphis Democrats questioned whether he told the Wellses he would delay the bill until they could return to the Capitol, which is more than three hours from Memphis.
Rodney and RowVaughn Wells, parents of the late Tyre Nichols, at a Monday press conference speaking out against a bill to overrule a local government measure to limit traffic stops of the type that resulted in Nichols’ death. (Photo: John Partipilo, Tennessee Lookout)“They were told it would be presented next Thursday. John lied to them,” said Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) of Rep. John Gillespie. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)Rep. Gloria Johnson hugs RowVaughn Wells, mother of the late Tyre Nichols. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Gillespie contended his community is “begging” for safer streets and refused to give in, saying the bill needed to pass immediately to cut Memphis crime.
Afterward, he said he texted Mr. Wells during Thursday’s session to let him know he was moving forward with the bill and received no response.
“I feel horrible that they feel this way. But I told them this bill was on the calendar today and that my intention was adding an amendment if I was allowed,” Gillespie said.
Regardless of who said what and when, Gillespie could have put it off again. Democrats practically begged him for a delay.
But the second-termer who succeeded the late Rep. Jim Coley wouldn’t budge — buoyed by supermajority Republicans. And two efforts by Towns to force postponement failed.
Eventually, the House voted along party lines to adopt Gillespie’s bill, bringing yet more criticism from Pearson.
“They were told it would be presented next Thursday. John lied to them,” Pearson told the Lookout later, basically the same thing he said on the floor.
The Wellses issued a statement later Thursday saying the legislation is a “dangerous step back in the fight for accountability, transparency and justice within law enforcement.” They consider the Memphis ordinances a “part of Tyre’s legacy,” intended to build trust between law enforcement and residents and prevent tragic deaths.
The Senate is likely to follow the House on this issue, even though Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) isn’t enthusiastic about several other constitutionally questionable measures emanating from the lower chamber.
The real question, however, is whether Memphis police will follow the legislature’s orders if the bill becomes law or stick with the Memphis City Council directive to limit “pretextual” stops, those in which officers pull over vehicles to make a “speculative” investigation unconnected to the reason for the stop, and not for enforcing traffic laws.
Some folks call it stereotyping or “driving while Black,” and the U.S. Department of Justice saw enough problems with Memphis policing policy to investigate last year.
But the city council, worn out with traffic stops turning into killings, took things into their own hands and prohibited “pretextual” policing.
It sounds like something the police department should have done years ago. But in the majority minority city on the banks of the Mississippi, change comes slowly — if at all.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee enters the House chambers and greets Lt. Gov. Randy McNally for Lee’s sixth State of the State address. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Entering the second year of a second four-year term, Gov. Bill Lee is singing the same chorus he did when he started five years ago: A heavy dose of private-school vouchers is the solution for Tennessee.
In the annual State of the State speech, Lee presented a $52.6 billion spending plan the day after he committed to send Tennessee National Guardsmen to Texas to provide backup to federal personnel on patrol there.
Lee entered office in January 2019 with a plan to offer students public money to attend private schools, as well as to bolster charter schools, which are privately held but officially considered part of public school systems. The state also has boosted K-12 spending by about $3 billion in five years, $1.8 billion from the state level.
After a contentious vote that led to an FBI investigation, in addition to a protracted lawsuit, his education savings account plan took effect two years ago.
As he starts his sixth year in office amid flattening state revenue and a looming business tax break caused by “significant legal risk,” Lee is pushing a $141 million voucher plan for up to 20,000 students to go to private schools, this time without as many requirements to qualify financially. The details for his bill haven’t quite tumbled out completely, but he continued the sales pitch Monday night in the State of the State address.
Less than half of the crowd stood and cheered as Lee introduced his proposal, and people jeered from the balconies, even as the governor said he wants to avoid the “status quo.”
“There are thousands of parents in this state who know their student would thrive in a different setting, but the financial barrier is simply too high,” Lee said during his annual address Monday. “It’s time that we change that. It’s time that parents get to decide — and not the government — where their child goes to school and what they learn … 2024 is the year to make school choice a reality for every Tennessee family.”
In his pitch, the governor also maintains the argument that the state has put an “unprecedented focus” on public schools and he noted Monday the two ideas “are not in conflict.”
The state’s revenues are 46 percent higher than they were four years ago, increasing to $19 billion from about $11 billion. The state is weaning itself off the flow of federal funding that came down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yet Lee is pushing for a franchise tax rebate of $1.2 billion and $400 million reductions for the next few years after 80 companies balked at paying the property portion of the state’s franchise tax.
Even though some financial experts have said the state could fight big business efforts to reduce the tax, the Lee Administration and Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office recommended the refunds and reduction because of “significant legal risk.” Officials say no lawsuit is pending.
Democrats criticized the governor’s proposals, saying Tennesseans are being told they should support a “scam” to defund public schools and give large corporations another tax break. No sales tax holiday is scheduled for the coming fiscal year that starts July 1 after the state gave a three-month break from the grocery sales tax last fall.
They point out Lee contends Tennessee is among the nation’s leaders in low taxes and several other financial categories, yet the state is seeing rural hospitals close and money diverted that could go to public schools.
“We ain’t leading nothing when we’re leaving so many people behind.”
Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis)
“We ain’t leading nothing when we’re leaving so many people behind,” said Senate Minority Caucus Chairman London Lamar of Memphis.
Lamar said the franchise tax break will cost the state $8.3 billion over a decade while the private-school voucher plan will take $800 million in its second year when it could become available to every student. She noted companies will be getting a “fat check” while hourly workers will receive no tax breaks.
Democrats point toward increases in gun violence amid softer gun laws and personal bankruptcies that forced working families to struggle while wealthy business owners receive treatment with kid gloves.
Besides his private-school voucher move, Gov. Lee is proposing legislation to stop the theft of musicians’ voices through AI, calling it the Elvis Act.
He also plans to introduce legislation dealing with the protection of young people from social media. The measure would enable parents to oversee their children’s use of the Internet by requiring new social media accounts.
In addition, Lee said he plans to make hundreds of rule changes and cut permitting regulations to streamline government but gave no details.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.
State Capitol (Credit: Tennessee State Government)
Outgoing Republican Representative Sam Whitson is mulling a reversal of state law requiring the governor to gain approval from the legislature before expanding Medicaid.
Whitson, a Franklin lawmaker who recently announced he will not seek re-election in 2024, said Tuesday he’s been considering such a measure for two years with Tennessee forgoing billions in federal funding that could enable the working poor to obtain insurance coverage. He has not filed a bill yet.
The amount Tennessee is losing ballooned from about $1 billion in 2014 to $2.1 billion this year, according to healthinsurance.org.
“We should give the governor the opportunity to explore options,” Whitson told the Tennessee Lookout. “I’m not saying we need to do Medicaid expansion. I just think that was a restrictive bill done for purely political reasons to enhance Kelsey’s and Durham’s political future.”
Former Sen. Brian Kelsey, who pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance fraud but is fighting to reverse the plea, and former Rep. Jeremy Durham, who was expelled from the House in 2016 for 22 cases of sexual misconduct, passed the resolution in 2014 requiring legislative approval of a plan that former Gov. Bill Haslam was negotiating with the federal government.
Haslam’s Insure Tennessee proposal would have expanded TennCare coverage to some 250,000 uninsured and underinsured Tennesseans, giving them the opportunity to obtain health insurance through private providers, in some cases through a small premium.
Even though the legislature directed Haslam to come up with a plan, a Senate health committee rejected it on a 7-4 vote, stopping it from reaching the House or Senate floor.
Whitson, a member of the House Health Committee, said he is talking to colleagues to see if changing the state law has “traction.”
“We leave a lot of money on the table with that. I’m a big supporter of helping the working poor, people who work and try to make a living and are caught in that gap,” Whitson said.
Tennessee is believed to have more than 300,000 uninsured and underinsured people in a gap between TennCare and Affordable Care Act coverage.
Gov. Bill Lee has refused to take up the matter, consistently saying since his first election five years ago he believes the Affordable Care Act, through which 40 states expanded Medicaid, is “fundamentally flawed.” Since then, Tennessee has lost billions annually to other states.
Democratic Rep. Caleb Hemmer of Nashville, a House Health Committee member who penned an op-ed on the matter, pointed out 70 percent of Tennesseans said in a recent Vanderbilt poll they back Medicaid expansion. He favors a change in the law that restricts the governor’s ability to negotiate with the feds and set policy for Medicaid expansion.
“It’s a pathway,” Hemmer said of Whitson’s idea. “I’m a little concerned our governor wouldn’t do it even if we did pass the law, based on his prior comments.”
Studies show the state could widen coverage to 150,000 to 300,000 and save money, in addition to reducing medical bankruptcies, expanding mental health resources and preventing rural hospital closings, according to Hemmer.
We leave a lot of money on the table with that. I’m a big supporter of helping the working poor, people who work and try to make a living and are caught in that gap.
– Rep. Sam Whitson, R-Franklin
He pointed out the Affordable Care Act passed “a generation ago” and “the world has moved on” to other topics. In addition, Tennessee has a federal Medicaid waiver that gives the state flexibility to use TennCare savings to provide more services.
Lawmakers such as Republican Rep. Kelly Keisling of Byrdstown, who represents one of the state’s most rural districts, back Medicaid expansion but can’t find enough support within the Republican Caucus to push it to passage.
Gaining enough votes would be difficult, mainly because Obamacare and the resulting Medicaid expansion became a national political hotpoint a decade ago. Rejection of Haslam’s plan led to yearly protests at the Capitol, but Republican lawmakers haven’t budged since then.
House Health Committee Chairman Bryan Terry said in a short statement Tuesday “any Medicaid changes will have an impact on our budget; thus, should go through the legislative process.”
Haslam’s proposal was expected to cost the state $200 million, about 10 percent of the overall expense, which was to be paid by the Tennessee Hospital Association.
Democratic Sen. Jeff Yarbro of Nashville and Democratic Rep. Larry Miller of Memphis sponsored a bill during the 2023 session removing the requirement for the legislature to approve a governor’s decision on Medicaid expansion. It didn’t move through the House or Senate committee systems.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.
Tennessee Senate leaders, including Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (top) and House Majority Leader Jack Johnson (second from right), photographed on Aug. 29, the final day of a special legislative session on public safety. (Photo: John Partipilo)
A Nashville resident is seeking an expedited ruling by the Tennessee Supreme Court after the state challenged a three-judge panel decision that found state Senate redistricting maps unconstitutional.
Simultaneously, a West Tennessee resident is appealing the judicial panel’s finding that the House redistricting plan approved in early 2022 withstood constitutional muster. The challenge by Trenton resident Gary Wygant also seeks an expedited ruling by the state’s highest court.
Attorneys for Francie Hunt, a Nashville resident and executive director of Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood, filed a request Tuesday asking the court to move quickly in her case against the Senate redistricting map. Otherwise, if the appeal proceeds on its regular schedule, Tennessee voters will vote again in Senate districts the trial court has found twice to violate the Tennessee Constitution, according to the filing.
The state Attorney General’s main argument in the challenge of the judicial panel’s ruling is that Hunt doesn’t have standing to sue to overturn the Senate redistricting maps, which contain non-consecutive numbered Senate districts 17, 19, 20, and 21 in Davidson County, a violation of the state Constitution. Counties with multiple Senate districts are required to be consecutively numbered so the entire delegation or majority of the delegation can’t be replaced in one fell swoop.
Hunt resides in District 17, which is represented by Sen. Mark Pody, (R-Lebanon).
Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed a motion Tuesday asking the court to reject Hunt’s request, arguing the Supreme Court is likely to reverse the lower court’s finding because she has no standing to sue.
“Absent a stay, the state will be irreparably harmed because it cannot enforce a duly enacted law and because the General Assembly must either abandon the Senate map that it drew or cede its sovereign map-drawing authority to the judiciary,” Skrmetti’s filing says.
There’s not really any dispute about whether the maps comply with the Constitution. They don’t.
– Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville
Meanwhile, Wygant filed a notice of appeal November 29 and requested an expedited decision December 1. In addition, he asked the court to separate the House and Senate cases “to avoid subjecting” voters to a second election in Senate districts found to be unconstitutional. Wygant challenged the House map, claiming it split 30 counties, more than necessary to reapportion 99 House districts.
The state responded to Wygant’s filing Tuesday with a move to negate it, saying he has not shown “good cause” to suspend the normal schedule, especially since there is no need for “new map” because it was found constitutional.
Democrats contend controlling Republicans, who hold supermajorities in the House and Senate, gerrymandered the districts to keep control.
The three-judge panel ruled against Wygant and found the House redistricting maps constitutional but determined the Senate maps to be unconstitutional and ordered the Senate to draw new maps by January 31.
“There’s not really any dispute about whether the maps comply with the Constitution. They don’t,” state Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) said Tuesday. “We should pass maps that comply with the Constitution rather than seek to not be subject to it. The state shouldn’t be in the business of finding immunity from constitutional violations for itself.”
Gov. Bill Lee signed the Senate and House maps into law on February 6th, 2022, two months before the April 7 qualifying deadline for Senate candidates. On April 6, the trial court enjoined the Senate map and extended the candidate qualifying deadline to May 5, while giving the legislature 15 days to approve a remedial Senate map.
The state sought an extraordinary appeal the following day when a spokesperson said, “While Lt. Gov. [Randy] McNally remains confident the appeal will be successful, the Senate will work on an alternative map so that it can be passed in the allotted time frame, if it becomes necessary.”
At trial a year later, an expert testified that the constitutional problems with the Senate map could be “cured” by changing fewer than five Senate districts. The plaintiffs’ court filing contends the General Assembly can work on changes to a “remedial map” this December and January so it can be enacted by early February.
Chancellor Russell T. Perkins of Davidson County and Circuit Judge J. Michael Sharp of Bradley County ruled against the Senate map while Chancellor Steven W. Maroney of Jackson found Hunt didn’t have standing to sue because there is “no demonstrable causal connection” between Hunt’s “generalized grievances” and non-consecutive Senate districts in Davidson County.
Hunt testified during trial that she was affected by a “dishonoring of the Constitution” with the way Roe v. Wade was overturned as well as the enactment of a “trigger ban” by the legislature on abortion rights in Tennessee.
McNally spokesman Adam Kleinheider said Tuesday the lieutenant governor is “optimistic” the state’s appeal will succeed because of Maroney’s “compelling dissent.”
“If a redraw becomes necessary, the Senate will follow an open and transparent process similar to those in previous years. At the moment, however, the main focus is on the appeal,” he said.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.
Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower is pushing a plan to increase the frequency of county property reappraisals to more closely match market values and stop local governments from losing tax revenue.
Mumpower, who floated the idea in May, told the Tennessee Lookout he plans to introduce a bill in 2024 to speed up the reappraisal schedule statewide.
“It’s just something everybody recognizes needs to happen in such a dynamic and growing state,” Mumpower says.
With 83,000 people moving into the state last year, seventh highest nationally, the state is suffering from a housing shortage, which is driving up real estate prices, according to Mumpower.
Yet real property is appraised by country property assessor offices only once every four, five or six years, depending mainly on the size of the county. Mumpower wants to move that up to every two, three or four years, and he’s considering requesting larger counties such as Shelby, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Rutherford, Williamson, and Wilson go to a yearly reappraisal.
Because of the lag time between appraisals, governments often have to discount property taxes by applying a sales ratio dealing with appraisals versus market values, which led 38 counties to experience “extraordinary revenue loss,” according to Mumpower.
Another 36 counties will suffer the same type of revenue loss next year, he says, thus the need to speed up reappraisal cycles.
“It is a modern practice. It is the global standard,” Mumpower says.
Local property assessor offices would be in a constant state of reappraisal, and equalization boards might have to go through more hearings for contested appraisals.
But Mumpower contends counties and the state have the technology for annual reappraisals.
Officials such as Davidson County Property Assessor Vivian Wilhoite and Rutherford County Property Assessor Rob Mitchell also support the proposal.
Mitchell says Rutherford lost $11 million over the last two appraisal cycles because market values outstripped property appraisals by such a wide margin.
An appraisal or sales ratio has to be applied in cases where a property is appraised at $300,000, for instance, but sells in a growing economy at $400,000 within two or three years before the property is appraised again.
Wilhoite, a Metro Nashville mayor candidate this year and a former appraiser for the Tennessee Regulatory Commission, points out the state already does annual reappraisals on personal property, and she believes frequent appraisals will help property owners.
“Taxpayers won’t get that sticker shock,” Wilhoite says.
The Comptroller has an Office of State Assessed Properties, which reappraises some commercial, utility, and transportation properties annually.
Mumpower presented the plan to the Tennessee County Services Association, the Tennessee County Mayors Association, the Tennessee Municipal League, and the Tennessee Assessors Association and the Government Finance Officers Association and says it is “heralded” as a good idea from a “fairness” standpoint for taxpayers and local governments.
“There are tax dollars generated off of growth,” Mitchell says, but he notes county commissions still wind up missing out on revenue increases because of the way sales ratios are applied.
If appraisals are done every two years, the law doesn’t require the use of an appraisal or sales ratio, according to Mitchell.
In addition, assessors say disabled, elderly, and veteran property owners who receive property appraisal reductions will benefit from the proposal.
The Beacon Center, a libertarian group, issued a statement Monday saying it agrees with Mumpower that property taxes and housing costs “are becoming a larger issue in Tennessee,” though it contends the state has bigger problems with taxation.
“The timing of reassessments doesn’t change the underlying issues with property taxes,” Ron Shultis of the Beacon Center says in a statement. “Policymakers should create property tax caps across the board to give property owners protection from large unexpected tax hikes, as we are one of only four states without one. More frequent reassessments without a cap would make it easier for local governments to collect a windfall due to the truth in taxation law, as evidenced by what occurred recently in Nashville.”
The Beacon Center points to the 34 percent property tax increase in Metro Nashville four years ago, followed by a reappraisal when property values increased across Davidson County.
In April 2021, now-former Mayor John Cooper claimed the tax increase would be “reversed” because property reappraisals would show values increased countywide. Several Metro Council members disagreed with the mayor, saying his comments were misleading.
Under state law, counties are prohibited from having a tax revenue windfall from increases in property reappraisals. A certified tax rate from the state that equalizes revenues must be sent to counties following reappraisals, then the county’s governing body sets a new rate.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.
