State Capitol (Credit: Tennessee State Government)
The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators wants state Rep. Paul Sherrell to be punished for saying the state should return to “hanging by a tree” as a form of capital punishment.
“The Republican Caucus should be ashamed and outraged. The silence of his members is deafening,” Black Caucus Chairman Sam McKenzie says.
A half-baked apology won’t suffice, either, says McKenzie, who sounded off with the caucus Thursday.
Sherrell, a Sparta Republican on the Criminal Justice Committee, made the comment as the Republican-controlled panel voted Tuesday in favor of legislation allowing death row inmates to request electrocution if lethal injection protocol is off the rails, as it has been. The measure was amended to add death by firing squads.
Apparently, the argument goes that we’ve had problems with lethal injection guidelines, so why not bring back firing squads since people can carry without a permit and the state could recruit people off the street to do the dirty work.
While McKenzie is seeking the minimum punishment, Rep. Johnny Shaw, a Bolivar Democrat and member of the Black Caucus, is calling for Sherrell to resign. Shaw points out Sherrell attends the same prayer sessions he does each week, but he notes the Bible’s New Testament contains nothing about hanging people.
They spoke about Sherrell’s flippancy after House Republican leaders put a statement in front of him Thursday morning and told him to read it in the chamber. They point out he’s also sponsoring legislation to change John Lewis Way in Nashville to President Trump Way, a slap in the face to civil rights advocates.
“I regret that I used very poor judgment in voicing my support of a colleague’s bill in the Criminal Justice Committee on Tuesday,” Sherrell intoned. “My aggressive comments were intended to convey my belief that for the cruelest and most heinous crimes, a just society requires the death penalty in kind. Although a victim’s family cannot be restored when an execution is carried out, a lesser punishment undermines the value we place on protecting life. My intention was to express my support of families who often wait decades for justice. I sincerely apologize to anyone who may I have hurt or offended.”
(It must be noted that Sherrell didn’t read the statement correctly, using the word “aggressive” instead of “exaggerated” and then botching the last few words.)
Thus, though it’s hard to take anything Sherrell says seriously, this is a different situation. Not only did he and the statement refuse to acknowledge that his comment conjured images of Black Tennesseans being beaten and lynched for hundreds of years, he tried to make it seem as if he were the victim, simply because he supports an immediate death penalty. Nevermind the fact that many people on Death Row nationwide have been found not guilty after years in prison.
On the House floor, state Rep. G.A. Hardaway did not respond with a smile, saying Sherrell’s apology wasn’t sincere – probably because it wasn’t.
Hardaway, one of two Black lawmakers on the Criminal Justice Committee, says he was “sad” and “mad” at the same time when he heard Sherrell call for hanging people.
“I couldn’t believe that I was hearing that and of all committees, a justice committee,” Hardaway says. The Memphis Democrat held his tongue on Tuesday because he didn’t want to display anger.
It evokes the sordid history of not just Tennessee, but of America, of those days when lynchings were common practice, when due process was denied to Black men whenever a white man decided to.
Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, on Sherrell’s remarks
But Hardaway contends Sherrell made a follow-up statement and used the term “living tree,” which made it more “maddening” for him.
“It evokes the sordid history of not just Tennessee, but of America, of those days when lynchings were common practice, when due process was denied to Black men whenever a white man decided to,” Hardaway says. “And I don’t need to hear anybody talk about, ‘It wasn’t me, that I wasn’t alive back then.’”
Asked about the matter Thursday, House Speaker Cameron Sexton says nobody approves of what Sherrell said. “I think if you saw, he apologized on the House floor for those comments.”
Sexton’s spokesman didn’t respond to email questions later about whether he felt Sherrell should be removed from committees.
Black Caucus members were apoplectic at the press conference shortly, especially since state Rep. Justin Pearson’s mic had been cut off as he tried to address the matter during the House’s preliminary “honoring and welcoming” portion of the Thursday session. Pearson previously was dressed down by the House Republican Caucus for wearing a dashiki the day he was sworn in this month after winning a special election to replace the late state Rep. Barbara Cooper.
He continues to wear it, and it must be noted, the dashiki looks better than most suit jackets.
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.
The Tennessee Senate Chambers. (Photo: John Partipilo)
A piece of legislation designed to stop the “criminalization” of doctors could be in trouble after several abortion-related bills went down in flames this week.
State Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes delayed a bill Wednesday for three weeks that would remove the “affirmative defense” requirement for doctors who provide abortions for women going through deadly pregnancies.
Helton-Haynes, an East Ridge Republican, said she believes she has enough votes to pass the bill out of the House Health Committee but that she wants to wait until the Senate Judiciary Committee takes it up. The House could pass its own version of the bill this session and allow the Senate to take up the matter again next year if it fails to progress there.
The decision to postpone House Bill 883 comes a day after Sen. Richard Briggs, sponsor of Senate Bill 745, delayed consideration of his bill in the Judiciary Committee in an effort to line up more votes. Briggs wants colleagues to get advice from Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti who, he said, told him it would be easier to defend his bill in court than the state’s “trigger” law, which bans abortions.
Lawmakers still haven’t tried to place an amendment on the bill that would change wording such as the “good-faith judgment” of physicians to “reasonable” judgment, which critics say could increase legal exposure to medical providers who might be charged with a felony for performing an abortion to save the woman or prevent a debilitating illness.
Pushing any bill that appears to soften the state’s anti-abortion law through the Senate Judiciary Committee will be a tough task.
The Republican-dominated panel killed legislation Tuesday by Democratic Sen. Raumesh Akbari that would ensure birth control and contraceptives are not included in the state’s abortion law, and another bill by Democratic Sen. London Lamar that would renew abortion rights in the state. Tennessee’s “trigger” law took effect banning abortions in August 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
“This bill is about giving women the opportunity to choose their own life,” said Lamar of Memphis. She urged Republicans to vote for it in spite of threats by Tennessee Right to Life to negatively score lawmakers who voted for the legislation in a House subcommittee.
Both measures failed 7-2, but the committee voted in favor of legislation by Republican Sen. Joey Hensley, of Hohenwald, that prohibits city and county governments from assisting with abortions, such as paying for women to travel to other states for the procedure.
Lamar insisted that hospitals that receive county funding could lose that financial help for providing an abortion for an ectopic pregnancy. But Hensley responded that the bill simply stops local governments from paying for women’s out-of-state abortions.
Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, also removed his own bill from consideration in the committee after he saw it didn’t have enough support to pass. It would have created exceptions for rape and incest in the state’s anti-abortion law.
Democrats expressed frustration Wednesday that Republicans, who hold a supermajority in the legislature, could not move what they consider the “bare minimum” of legislation to roll back the abortion law.
“Two groups are put in dire circumstances without this bill, that is doctors and women, and we are losing, even before all of this plays out, doctors here in the state of Tennessee,” said state Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga.
Lamar, who lost a child at birth, called the Republican supermajority’s refusal to change the abortion law an “abomination.” She contends they are “lacking courage” because of the threats of Tennessee Right to Life, even though polls show 60 percent of Tennesseans support abortion rights.
Meanwhile, the state’s foster care system will be flooded with children as it struggles to care for those in its custody, she pointed out.
Gov. Bill Lee put $100 million in his budget plan for crisis pregnancy centers, one of which he supports by serving on its board. Lamar called those facilities for forcing women to give birth.
“I hope they have a funeral fund for all the women that’s going to be dropping over dead because doctors can’t save the lives of women in this state because they failed to at least do good public policy,” Lamar 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 Right to Life held a press conference on June 24 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Lawmakers including Rep. Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka (by Tennessee flag, partially obscured,) Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, in navy jacket and khaki pants, and left of podium, House Majority Leader Williams Lamberth, R-Portland. (Photo: John Partipilo)
State lawmakers are defending themselves against attacks from anti-abortion groups accusing them of trying to derail Tennessee’s new restrictions.
Tennessee Right to Life and Tennessee Stands are targeting members of the Population Health Subcommittee, mainly Republicans, and urging people to call and email them after they approved legislation designed to change the “affirmative defense” provision in state law in an effort to stop the “criminalization” of physicians who save the lives of women involved in deadly pregnancies.
Under current law, a doctor could be charged with a felony and forced to prove in court that an abortion was necessary to save a woman’s life. The law prohibiting abortions in Tennessee, without clear protection for physicians and exceptions for rape and incest, took effect in August 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The subcommittee voted in favor of the bill last week after House Speaker Cameron Sexton joined the fray and criticized Right to Life counsel Will Brewer for threatening negative scores against legislators who supported the bill.
“Saving the mother’s life isn’t an elective abortion – it is an emergency.”
Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville
State Rep. Andrew Farmer, a Sevierville Republican who supported the legislation, said Monday he can accept scoring by lobbying groups. Nevertheless, Farmer said he is “very disappointed” in Tennessee Right to Life.
“I never expected them to stoop to the level of misinformation. It’s like the next thing I know I’m going to see Will Brewer standing beside (President) Joe Biden arguing the country’s in the best shape it’s ever been in,” Farmer said. “They’re just saying anything they can say to make us look bad, and that’s just not professional.”
Tennessee Right to Life sent form letters to its members late last week saying House Bill 883 is being presented as a “clarification” with an exception to save the life of the mother, including treatment for ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages, but that it will almost completely rewrite the law.
“While well-intentioned, in reality this bill, if enacted, would offer cover for those who abort children in our state and would delete large sections of pro-life measures in Tennessee code,” the mailer says.
Sexton, a Crossville Republican, pointed out the “trigger” law makes saving the life of the mother a Class C felony that requires the physician to prove their innocence, “meaning they are automatically considered guilty.” The Tennessee Medical Association supports the legislation. “What kind of Republicans vote for legislation to weaken abortion laws in Tennessee?” asked Gary Humble of Tennessee Stands in a video message to his supporters.
The Speaker also noted the current law is “silent” on “lethal fetal anomalies,” which aren’t genetic anomalies or birth defects, including situations in which a fetus is diagnosed with anencephaly, a type of neural tube defect in which an unborn child lacks parts of the brain and skull.
“Saving the mother’s life isn’t an elective abortion – it is an emergency,” Sexton said Monday. “If the intent of the ‘trigger’ bill is to not save the life of the mother, then no clarification is needed. I believe it was the intent of the bill, and therefore, it needs clarification.”
The Right to Life mailer also contends the legislation would allow portions of “pro-life laws” to be removed, enable physicians to “abort children if they believe there is a ‘lethal fetal anomaly’ or if they think a baby has a condition that is ‘incompatible with life,’” require physicians accused of an illegal abortion to explain their actions to a state medical board, and allow physicians “to end the life of a baby if they claim it is to prevent or treat a medical emergency.”
“So a baby could be aborted to prevent a condition that may never happen,” the mailer says.
In addition, Gary Humble, leader of the advocacy group Tennessee Stands, sent out a video link saying, “What kind of Republicans vote for legislation to weaken abortion laws in Tennessee?” One of his messages points out Farmer voted for the bill.
Brewer told the subcommittee last week his group doesn’t consider the bill a piece of “pro-life” legislation and said it would allow “quasi-elective” abortions. Farmer, in contrast, argued that it is designed to save women and babies by allowing physicians to make life-saving decisions. Tennessee Right to Life sent a mailer to members last week saying a bill to provide exceptions to the state’s abortion ban to save a pregnant woman’s life would “rewrite the law,” a statement Republican Rep. Andrew Farmer described as misinformation.
Only one member of the subcommittee, Rep. Bryan Terry, R-Murfreesboro, voted against the bill. It is to be heard Wednesday by the Health Committee, which he chairs.
Rep. Caleb Hemmer, a Nashville Democrat who voted for the legislation last week, said he welcomes groups and advocates to express their concerns but believes those sending out these messages are “misguided” about the bill.
“It actually helps clarify a lot of things in the law and has been carefully negotiated with legislative leaders, physician and hospital groups, advocates, as well as the Attorney General’s Office,” Hemmer said.
Despite Tennessee Right to Life’s stance, Hemmer said he is “comfortable” with the legislation’s language, including “protections for physicians to do their jobs and fulfill their Hippocratic Oath and protect the lives of mothers and babies.”
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.
Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, photographed in Tennessee Senate Chambers on Feb. 13. Johnson sponsored a bill to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Despite the threat of legal action, supermajority Republicans passed legislation Monday restricting transgender therapy and surgery for anyone under 18 in Tennessee.
As amended, the bill clarifies that hormones and puberty blockers can be distributed and that the legislation won’t apply until July 1, 2023.
Brought by Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson in response to allegations by a right-wing radio show host that Vanderbilt University Medical Center did gender-affirming surgery on minors, Senate Bill 1 prohibits health-care providers from performing medical procedures to enable a minor to identify or live with a “purported identity” other than the minor’s sex.
Vanderbilt has said it followed state law but that it would put its clinical procedures on hold. The hospital also was accused of pushing the procedures because they were a strong revenue producer.
On the Senate floor Monday, Johnson, R-Franklin, cited a medical expert who said gender-affirming treatment can cause permanent damage to minors. He also quoted a person who testified in committee last week about her disenchantment with going through gender-affirming surgery for breast removal and other changes at the age of 17.
Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, who introduced the legislation in response to allegations by a right-wing radio show host, argued that gender-affirming science is “unsettled at best.”
“Body parts won’t regrow when they’re removed,” Johnson said.
He argued that gender-affirming science is “unsettled at best” and that treatment can have long-term negative effects. Johnson encouraged mental health treatment for minors who identify as the other sex.
The measure would impose licensing sanctions against physicians who provide gender-affirming care and enable those dissatisfied with their treatment to take legal action.
“The reality is these kids are victims,” Johnson said.
The House version of the bill sponsored by House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, is set to be considered Wednesday in the Civil Justice Committee.
Senate Democrats voted against the measure Monday, with Sen. Jeff Yarbro of Nashville contending that the measure wouldn’t stop medical procedures dealing with hormones.
“This isn’t regulating people’s conduct. It’s regulating what they believe,” Yarbro said.
State Sen. Heidi Campbell, a Nashville Democrat, argued that the legislation will take away freedoms. She also pointed out that the people who testified in committees weren’t Tennessee constituents and that the same language is surfacing in legislation across the country.
“This isn’t regulating people’s conduct. It’s regulating what they believe,” said Democratic Sen. Jeff Yarbro of Nashville during Senate debate. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Likewise, Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari said such medical decisions should be made by parents, psychiatrists and medical doctors.
“We’re legislating our personal beliefs in a blanket ban,” Akbari said.
The American Civil Liberties Union, its Tennessee arm and Lambda legal said Monday they will file a lawsuit immediately against new state restrictions, contending the bill infringes on the rights of transgender youth and their families.
Current state law allows post-pubescent teens to have gender-affirming care. The ACLU points out similar restrictions in Alabama and Arkansas have been enjoined by federal courts.
“Trans youth in Tennessee deserve the support and care necessary to give them the same chance to thrive as their peers. Gender-affirming care is a critical part of helping transgender adolescents succeed in school, establish healthy relationships with their friends and family, live authentically as themselves and dream about their futures,” said ACLU attorney Lucas Cameron-Vaughn in a statement. “Politicians are risking the lives of young people by forcing their way into family decision-making, a fundamental right which has traditionally been protected against government intrusion.”
The ACLU contends the legislation is filled with misinformation and that committee testimony supporting it was full of “falsehoods.”
The legislation says the medical procedures that change a minor’s hormonal balance, remove sex organs or change the person’s physical appearance are harmful, can lead to sterility, increased risk of disease and illness and sometimes fatal psychological consequences. The legislature further claims that such procedures are “experimental in nature and not supported by high-quality, long-term medical studies.”
Politicians are risking the lives of young people by forcing their way into family decision-making, a fundamental right which has traditionally been protected against government intrusion.
– Lucas Cameron-Vaughn, ACLU
The legislation points out that Dr. John Money, founder of the Johns Hopkins Gender Identity Clinic, abused minors in his care, which led to the suicides of two people — claims that are at least partially false. It also claims the medical procedures are being performed with “rapidly increasing frequency” and that guidelines have changed in recent years.
Furthermore, the bill claims pharmaceutical companies that contributed to the nation’s opioid epidemic have tried to profit from the use of drugs and devices for transgender therapies and surgeries.
The legislation also goes as far as to say health-care providers in Tennessee have posted pictures of naked minors online to advertise these types of surgeries and that Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, “an organization responsible for killing tens of thousands of unborn children, has become one of the largest administrators in this state of such medical procedures.”
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.
The fight over Tennessee’s strict abortion law is set to start this week in a House subcommittee slated to hear legislation removing the “affirmative defense” for physicians who perform an abortion to save the life of a mother.
State Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes, R-East Ridge, is sponsoring House Bill 883, which will be designed to clear up confusion and enable doctors to make decisions without the threat of prosecution. Doctors can be charged with a felony for performing an abortion under the “trigger” law that took effect last August after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and sent abortion decisions back to states.
“Right now it’s affirmative defense, and there needs to be an exception for the life of the mother,” Helton-Haynes told the Tennessee Lookout. “I believe moms matter. Oftentimes they have babies at home, other children at home that need them, and that’s why I’m carrying the bill.”
The measure could pit Helton-Haynes against Tennessee Right to Life, which was waiting Monday morning to see the legislation’s language. The group opposes a “subjective” decision by physicians to perform an abortion to save a woman’s life but could agree to language that makes those decisions “objective.”
Helton-Haynes, however, said, “I think that’s difficult if a mother’s hemorrhaging, to be objective.” Right to Life wants more diagnostic testing, but sometimes the doctor needs to know what to do and “take care of it,” she said.
The Attorney General’s Office is helping her craft the language in House Bill 883 to make sure it’s constitutionally sound. Republican Sen. Richard Briggs of Knoxville is sponsoring the Senate version.
The Tennessee Medical Association is making HB883 its first initiative for the legislation session. The measure clarifies exceptions to criminal abortion when the life or health of the mother are in danger, including for common procedures such as ectopic pregnancies as well as ending a pregnancy in which a “non-survivable fetal anomaly is diagnosed,” in addition to providing immunity for pharmacists who dispense drugs for inducing abortions, according to a memo from the association.
Right now it’s affirmative defense, and there needs to be an exception for the life of the mother. . . I think that’s difficult if a mother’s hemorrhaging, to be objective.
– Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes, R-East Ridge
The Tennessee Medical Association is encouraging its members to show support for the bill by wearing their white coats and attending Tuesday’s meeting to “convey a “powerful message” to the Legislature.
Briggs, a physician, has been saying for months that the law needs to be clarified so doctors will be able to follow their professional oath and save the life of a pregnant woman without worrying about prosecution. He has acknowledged he didn’t understand the legislation when it passed four years ago and didn’t think the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade.
While it has HB883 on its radar, Tennessee Right to Life is going after lawmakers trying to change the state’s abortion law to provide exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the mother in dangerous pregnancies.
Will Brewer, executive director of Tennessee Right to Life, confirmed that the group opposes a “subjective” decision by a physician to perform an abortion when a mother is going through a dangerous pregnancy, though it could support an “objective” decision.
A group of doctors attempt to get Gov. Bill Lee’s attention after an October 2021 press conference. The Tennessee Medical Association is urging physicians to attend hearings to support legislation to change the state’s abortion laws.(Photo:John Partipilo)
The anti-abortion group is sending emails to constituents encouraging them to challenge legislation that dials back restrictions that took effect in August 2022.
“The Human Life Protection Act is one of the strongest laws in the nation to protect unborn children and is working as legislators intended when they passed it in 2019,” the Tennessee Right to Life email says. Yet the law is “now under attack,” the missive continues.
Co-sponsors added their names to legislation last week allowing for abortions in cases of rape and incest and to remove “affirmative defense” from cases involving the life of the mother in which doctors could face felony charges for performing an abortion for saving a woman’s life.
While talks are under way on some legislation, Brewer said Tennessee Right to Life will not support Senate Bill 857 by Sen. Ferrell Haile and House Bill 1440 by Rep. Iris Rudder, which exempts cases of rape and incest from the offense of criminal abortion.
Despite the addition of sponsors, Brewer said, “I don’t think they have enough momentum to change it, so I don’t think it’s a done deal.”
The group also objects to weakening the affirmative defense portion of the law, though it has been working with lawmakers to come up with a “clarifying” measure, according to Brewer, and that remains the “preferred path.”
Helton-Haynes also is sponsoring HB778, which would limit criminal abortions to “elective” procedures and define those as not medically necessary to prevent the death or serious injury to a pregnant woman. It is sponsored in the Senate by Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Ken Yager of Kingston.
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.
Two Memphis lawmakers are raising concerns about the state’s decision to cut federal HIV funding from nonprofit agencies and direct it through metro health departments, saying such a move could endanger lives.
State Rep. Antonio Parkinson is asking the Tennessee Department of Health why it is cutting HIV funds received through multi-million dollar grants from the Centers for Disease Control. He contends the Department of Health shouldn’t “play politics” with the money because HIV prevention and treatment is needed statewide.
The Memphis Democrat sent a letter this week to the department requesting an official explanation for the end to HIV funds by June 1.
“I want to know why and how that decision came down,” Parkinson says.
The Associated Press reported documents show the state planned to cut HIV funding from Planned Parenthood and to stop a partnership with the organization for HIV testing even before the state made the decision to end the funding for nonprofits. Planned Parenthood has been a target for anti-abortion lawmakers and top state officials for years.
It’s irresponsible to deprive trusted organizations in our community (of) giving non-controversial lifesaving treatment, testing and prevention for HIV.
– Sen. London Lamar, D-Memphis
Dr. Ralph Alvarado, a former Kentucky state senator and 2019 Republican candidate for lieutenant governor there, was appointed commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health by Gov. Bill Lee shortly before the funds were cut. Alvarado is set to address the Senate Health and Welfare Committee Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
Dr. Amy Gordon Bono, a primary care physician, said Tuesday she hopes Alvarado will explain the decision. She pointed out Davidson County organizations such as Nashville Cares and Nashville Health have been providing HIV services for years where the “most vulnerable populations live.”
“Does Dr. Alvarado really think that our Metro Health Department has the infrastructure and staffing in place to provide these same services?” Bobo says. “And, more critically, will those who need these services be able to access them if they are not conveniently located in their communities?”
More than 20,000 Tennesseans live with HIV, and 14% with the disease don’t realize it, according to reports.
Even though funds are supposed to go to the state’s six largest health departments, Gov. Lee said last week the state will continue to use some nonprofit agencies for HIV services. He admitted the details haven’t been worked out.
Gov. Bill Lee swears in Dr. Ralph Alvarado, pictured with his wife and Lee, as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health on Jan. 17. (Photo: tn.gov)
“The purpose of this is to make sure that we spend the dollars in the way that best serves Tennesseans and that best mitigates and prevents HIV spread in the community, particularly focusing on human trafficking victims, on the transmission to first responders, on transmissions from mothers to their babies,” Lee said.
However, state Sen. London Lamar says in order to be a “pro-life state,” Tennessee should ensure the funds are reaching people who need them.
“It’s irresponsible to deprive trusted organizations in our community (of) giving non-controversial lifesaving treatment, testing and prevention for HIV,” Lamar says.
Planned Parenthood is already prohibited from providing abortion treatment under the state’s new law, and now the state is “attacking” the organization to stop it from providing other types of health care, Lamar points out.
Restricting those services for nonprofit organizations puts people at risk of spreading HIV, in part because of a lack of trust for health departments and poor access to them, Lamar points out.
Parkinson says he doesn’t know whether the funding withdrawal is designed to punish specific organizations.
“I hope that it’s not political like that. I hope and pray it’s not, because we don’t need to put politics over the lives and health of the people of Tennessee,” Parkinson says.
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.
Six months after one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws took effect in Tennessee, state lawmakers are ready to loosen it.
Sen. Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin) confirmed to the Tennessee Lookout this week he is preparing legislation to make rape and incest exceptions to the “trigger” law, which was enacted in 2019 before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer.
Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Ken Yager (R-Kingston) also is set to sponsor a bill to change the “affirmative defense” mechanism that criminalizes physicians who perform abortions to save the life of a mother going through a deadly pregnancy.
“I’m certainly going to support that piece of (Yager) legislation going forward, and I’m still looking at some other options,” Haile, a Gallatin Republican, said this week.
Haile and Yager are both leaders of the Senate Republican Caucus and are likely to be given leeway by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) to carry their bills through the legislative process without him trying to quash them, though McNally is satisfied with the law as written.
Yager recently said his legislation would “strengthen protections” for doctors who perform abortions to save the life of the mother or stop her from suffering the loss of bodily functions by changing the “affirmative defense” exception “to a clear exception when the life of the mother is in clear jeopardy.”
House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) says he would back measures to create exceptions to abortion restrictions; GOP Sen. Ken Yager, Kingston, and Sen. Ferrell Haile of Gallatin confirm they are set to sponsor legislation. No such legislation has been proposed in the House.
“Although well intended, the affirmative defense provision is not only overly burdensome for physicians but it can prevent them from performing life-saving abortions for fear of litigation, which puts at risk the lives of pregnant women who require medically necessary abortions,” Yager said in a statement.
The Kingston Republican noted he has heard from constituents and doctors who support such a bill. He added that “abortion would remain illegal” under his legislation in Tennessee.
Yet another heavy hitter, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, is saying he would back exceptions to the abortion restrictions.
“Speaker Sexton believes clarification is needed in the current law, as well as a change to affirmative defense — meaning someone has to prove their innocence which runs contrary to our judicial system. A doctor should not be singled out under affirmative defense instead of the usual standard of being innocent until proven guilty,” spokesman Doug Kufner said this week. “As with any legislation, should a proposal with agreeable language make it through the committee system to the House floor — including exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother — the speaker would be supportive.”
Sexton is expected to appoint a committee when the General Assembly convenes this week, along with standing committees, that would shepherd such legislation through the House.
Tennessee Right to Life PAC, which pushed the “trigger bill” to passage, withdrew an endorsement of Republican Sen. Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville) for saying he supports changes to the law. It will be interesting to see if they harangue Speaker Sexton, Yager, and Haile. Former legislator Roger Kane, leader of the Tennessee Right to Life PAC said last week he doesn’t expect to pull any other endorsements, even if legislators sponsor bills to tweak the law. Briggs was targeted, Kane said, because he kept seeking out the media to make his point.
Right to Life counsel Will Brewer said this week he is set to meet with Yager and Haile and is waiting to see the legislation but still opposes “any changes in the abstract.”
Democrats said last summer they would be proposing a litany of bills designed to turn back the state’s abortion ban, which is among the most stringent in the nation.
Rep. Yusuf Hakeem (D-Chattanooga) is sponsoring HB10, that specifies a criminal abortion doesn’t include a procedure necessitated by a medical emergency affecting the physical or mental health of the mother or one performed on a patient whose pregnancy was the result of rape or incest. It requires the doctor who performs the abortion to verify the patient reported the offense to law enforcement before the procedure.
Hakeem filed his bill weeks ago, but it would be fairly amazing to see this Republican-controlled Legislature allow a Democrat to turn back a bill they worked so hard to pass, only to realize they angered every physician in Tennessee, in addition to many women who, like it or not, go to the ballot box.
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.
A week after unveiling a report displaying incompetence in the state’s lethal injection program, Gov. Bill Lee appointed an Arizona prison official who oversaw a renewal of executions there to lead Tennessee’s prison system.
Frank Strada, deputy director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, will replace interim Commissioner Lisa Helton this week as the governor marks off one of his steps for fixing the state’s lethal injection protocol.
The governor put a hold on executions in May after finding out the state failed to follow guidelines on the testing of lethal injection drugs, stopping the execution of death row inmate Oscar Smith one hour before he was to be put to death.
Frank Strada, commission, Tennessee Department of Corrections. (Photo: Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.)
“I commend Lisa’s [Helton] strong leadership as interim commissioner and appreciate her continued service to the department,” Lee said in a statement. “Frank’s extensive corrections management and law enforcement experience make him well-suited to lead the Department of Correction, and I am confident he will serve Tennessee with integrity.”
In Arizona, Strada handled prison operations, inmate programs, public affairs, facilities management, and financial services for four years. He also oversaw three 2022 executions in Arizona by lethal injection, marking the first execution there in eight years, a delay caused by a botched lethal injection, according to reports.
But in all three of the 2022 executions, Arizona Department of Corrections officials “struggled” to properly place needles delivering lethal injection chemicals, according to the The Arizona Republic. In both the June 8th execution of Murray Atwood and the November 16th execution of Murray Hooper, prison staff had trouble inserting an IV in the men’s arms to administer the lethal dose but eventually the doses were made through the femoral artery of the leg.
Strada has 34 years of experience in the corrections field, including nearly three decades with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, where he led 121 institutions and advised the bureau’s director. Helton, who replaced Tony Parker in December 2021, is to continue working as assistant commissioner for community supervision in the department.
Strada is the second corrections official in less than a week to depart Arizona for the top job in another state. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders tapped Joe Profiri, deputy director of the Arizona Department of Corrections since 2018, to lead Arkansas’s correction agency.
The appointment comes a week after the governor released a third-party review of the state’s lethal injection operations by former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton.
Based on the review, Lee said he planned to shake up the department’s leadership, hire a permanent commissioner this month, require department leaders to revise lethal injection protocol in consultation with his office and the attorney general, and order new leadership to review training for the revised guidelines.
Lee issued temporary reprieves for five executions in May after finding out the department failed to follow lethal injection rules put into place in 2018.
Among the findings, the review determined there was no evidence the state provided a copy of its protocol to the pharmacy hired to test its lethal injection chemicals.
The report also found the state didn’t follow protocol in several executions, failing to properly test drugs before executions took place, mishandling drugs, and preparing to use defective drugs for at least one execution.
The ACLU of Tennessee recently called the report “disturbing” and said it displays “the danger that arises when government operates in secrecy.”
“The state was fully prepared to execute seven people using improperly tested, and at times defective, drugs that create the sensation of drowning or burning alive — in the name of Tennesseans,” ACLU of Tennessee Executive Director Kathy Sinback said in a statement. “Because of state laws that allow secrecy in execution protocols, these horrific errors would not have come to light had the governor not ordered this investigation.”
ACLU Tennessee, which contends the death penalty is unconstitutional and a failed government program, called for a moratorium on executions while the governor continues to review a “broken system.” It also encouraged the governor to find “more effective ways” to protect public safety.
Frank Strada, new commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Corrections, oversaw three executions in 2022 as deputy direction of the Arizona Department of Corrections, all of which were marked by problems delivering lethal chemicals.
Chemicals that were to be used in the April execution of Smith were tested for potency and sterility but not for endotoxins.
Evidence further showed lethal injection chemicals used to execute Billy Ray Irick in August 2018 were not tested for endotoxins, nor was the drug Midazolam tested for potency.
The report also found that when the state put Edmund Zagorski to death in November 2018 using electrocution, the lethal injection chemicals prepared as an alternative if he changed his mind were not tested properly. Similar errors were made in the executions of David Earl Miller, Stephen West, Lee Hall, and Nicholas Sutton, who all chose electrocution.
The lethal injection chemicals used in the execution of Donnie Edward Johnson weren’t tested for endotoxins, either, according to the review.
The report lays the blame at the feet of leaders in the Department of Correction.
“The evidence shows that TDOC leadership placed an inordinate amount of responsibility on the drug procurer without providing much, if any, professional guidance; resources; or assistance,” the report states. “Instead, TDOC leadership viewed the lethal injection process through a tunnel-vision, result-oriented lens rather than provide TDOC with the necessary guidance and counsel needed to ensure that Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol was thorough, consistent, and followed.”
The report shows the drug procurer hired by the state is responsible for obtaining lethal injection drugs to be used in executions but that neither the position nor the responsibilities are defined in “any iteration” of the protocol.
Under instructions from former Commissioner Parker, the department’s deputy commissioner/general counsel picked the current drug procurer in 2016. The drug procurer, which is not named in the review, described it as an “off the books” role because obtaining the drugs was not its only responsibility with TDOC.
Before the company took that role, the state used a lethal dose of one drug, Pentobarbital, in executions. Parker instructed the drug procurer to find a new source for the drug, but it had trouble locating a supplier because pharmacies and manufacturers didn’t have the quantity of the chemical Tennessee requested or didn’t want to be associated with lethal injection executions.
The state also sought the drug from an international supplier but ultimately decided the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency would not allow Pentobarbital, a schedule II drug, to be imported.
Thus, the department opted for a three-drug lethal injection, even though TDOC officials told the reviewers that the one-drug injection had a lower risk for error.
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.
Not long after the Tennessee Department of Transportation proposed public-private partnerships to build express lanes and cut congestion on highways, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville sought permission for a joint venture to build dorms and an indoor athletic facility.
The State Building Commission authorized the university’s plan to take bids for a public-private partnership for three multi-use student housing facilities on campus and construction of the infield practice facility.
The General Assembly will have to pass legislation enabling the Department of Transportation to enter a public-private partnership in which a company would invest the money in a road project, then recoup it through fees.
Under the UT-Knoxville proposal, which didn’t require legislative action, the university will “engage” a developer to design, construct, finance and maintain the buildings, which will meet growth needs and allow renovation or replacement of older dorms. The university is requesting proposals from developers on each project.
“The added facilities will help us meet our campus housing needs and position UT-K for anticipated enrollment growth while supporting the Volunteer student experience. This process has been utilized in various other states,” the university said in a statement.
It is unclear what impact these public-private partnerships would have on the university’s finances, though UT-K would remain in charge of dorm assignments and programming.
State transportation officials prefer to use the term “choice lanes” for their proposal on express routes, but Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, contends they are “toll roads” in essence because motorists would have to pay to drive on them.
The question is whether this is the wave of the future for Tennessee government operations in which it would ask the private sector to take control of building projects and maintain and operate them. Thirty-five states have authorized public-private partnerships for highways, and Tennessee could be the next.
The idea is to inject 80 percent of private investment in road projects, expedite the delivery of construction from the typical 15-year time frame and cut the cost of urban projects to free up money for rural road expansion.
Most lawmakers aren’t aware of the UT-K project, and they say they need more financial information about public-private partnerships on road construction before making a commitment.
State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, a Chattanooga Republican, believes proposals for express lanes, which would be paid for with motorist fees, would most likely be geared toward Nashville.
“I would have to see what the economics of it is and make sure it’s not more of a public with a capital P and private with a little p,” Gardenhire says.
He’s also uncertain how express routes or use of high-occupancy lanes would work differently than they do now.
Gardenhire contends that few drivers use the state’s high-occupancy vehicle lanes appropriately. During his trips on I-24, he sees the HOV lanes surrounding Nashville packed with vehicles carrying only one person, when they are supposed to be for two or more during rush hours, such as 7 to 9 a.m.
“People don’t even try to hide it anymore by putting a dummy with a hat on in the passenger seat,” Gardenhire says with a laugh. “They’re a waste of space.”
He appears willing to give them a chance, though.
“If somebody can figure out how to make it so I can pay a fee and get in there and blow it out going back home or coming to Nashville, that’s great,” Gardenhire adds.
Though state transportation officials prefer to use the term “choice lanes” for their proposal on express routes, Gardenhire, a member of the Senate Transportation Committee, contends they are “toll roads” in essence because motorists would have to pay to drive on them.
My big concern is the extent they’re talking about privately-owned toll roads or fast lanes. That’s going to be a dead end when it comes to Democratic support. We’re not going to back a plan that hands over state roadways to management, operation or ownership of a private entity.
– Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, House Democratic Caucus Leader
State officials, including Transportation Commissioner Butch Eley, the former founder and CEO of Infrastructure Corporation of America, proposed “choice lanes” and public-private partnerships in response to Gov. Bill Lee’s request to find ways to build more roads without raising taxes to meet a 9 percent growth rate over the last decade.
Eley’s old company is one of the nation’s leading asset maintenance management companies with contracts nationwide. DBi Services bought HDR | ICA Asset Management from Nebraska-based holding company HDR in 2018, the second sale of the company in three years.
Tennessee state Rep. Sam Whitson agrees with the need to find an innovative way to move traffic, and he believes Eley can get it done.
“I’m still driving on the same roads and interstates I’ve been driving on since I was 16 years old in the 1970s,” says Whitson, a Franklin Republican.
Whitson says he’s interested in finding out how options such as public-private partnerships would generate revenue to build “choice lanes” and express routes.
Butch Eley, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Eley founded Infrastructure Corporation of America, highway management company. (Official photo)
House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons is not enthused with the idea of allowing private entities to take control of tolling. Privatizing government services has been a goal of both Lee and former Gov. Bill Haslam, he points out.
“My big concern is the extent they’re talking about privately-owned toll roads or fast lanes. That’s going to be a dead end when it comes to Democratic support,” Clemmons says. “We’re not going to back a plan that hands over state roadways to management, operation or ownership of a private entity.”
Clemmons contends transportation and roadways are an “inherent governmental function” and the public needs accountability. The state could lose authority over rates and maintenance if it allows a private entity to control the roadway, he says.
“The last thing you want is somebody profiting off of somebody else’s inconvenience,” Clemmons says.
The Transportation Department is declining to discuss too many details or exactly how “choice lanes” would be monitored because it doesn’t want to get ahead of legislative action.
It contends state law not only prohibits public-private partnerships for highway projects, it also limits the number of “alternative delivery” projects the state can complete each year.
“All we are doing right now is asking the Legislature to change that in the Build With Us proposal so we can keep up with the growth Tennessee urban areas are experiencing,” TDOT spokeswoman Beth Emmons says.
TDOT says Texas and Georgia are good examples of how “choice lanes” or express routes work.
Eley and other state officials recently visited Dallas, Texas to review its “choice lanes,” which have seen a 10 percent increase in general traffic but with a 60-75 percent reduction in congestion and an average speed increase of 10-15 percent, according to the state.
The department points out many states with “choice lanes” use electronic transponders to track vehicles. Texas issues different types of fees to motorists who want to use its express lanes.
The Georgia Department of Transportation partners with the private sector for projects in which the contractor designs and builds the highway or takes complete control, designing, building, financing, operating and maintaining.
That state touts “expedited” completion compared to the normal time for delivery of a project, in addition to cost savings and improved quality along with the use of private resources and personnel to cut back on the need for public employees and funding. Access to private capital is another benefit, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation.
“We’re all over them. We are a believer and utilize them and will continue,” says Georgia state Rep. Rick Jasperse, a Jasper Republican who chairs the House Transportation Committee.
Known for having some of the worst traffic congestion in the nation but as a “transportation hub of the Southeast,” Georgia had to find a new method for building roads quicker and moving people faster, which impacts surrounding states such as Tennessee.
Georgia is in the midst of a project it calls a “P-3 heavy” on Atlanta’s north side along I-285 that will connect I-20 East to I-75 and then to I-20 West. The limited access road is to be funded, built, tolled and maintained by a third party and enables the state to embark on a project that, otherwise, would “overwhelm” the state’s budget, Jasperse says.
Another project calls for a truck route from Atlanta to Augusta in East Georgia.
“There is some state money in any of these projects, but it really helps us spread our money further and addresses true traffic needs,” he says.
In some instances, the private entity will take all of the risk on a project. In others, the state will pay back the price of construction plus interest, but state officials feel they can justify that expense because the road is completed in half the time of conventional methods, according to Jasperse.
“It’s not some damn giveaway either,” he says.
Jasperse is quick to note that bidding for these projects is highly competitive among multinational companies and contracts are heavily scrutinized.
Georgia motorists use what is called a Peach Pass, a small transponder or small electronic toll collection device that kicks in when they use an express lane. They’re also good in North Carolina and Florida.
Money is deducted from the motorist’s account, and violators receive a civil fine from the Georgia Toll Authority. No private tolling is done yet in Georgia.
A trip for Jasperse to Jasper in North Georgia can cost $2 to $8, depending on how jammed the interstate is around Atlanta. The minimum is 10 cents per mile.
“I have the choice. I don’t have to get on that road. I can stay on the five-lane highway or get on the express lane at a cost,” Jasperse says.
One possible drawback is that express lanes along interstates such as I-75 allow traffic to move in only one direction at different times of day. The lanes are closed for an hour when the direction is shifted.
Jasperse also acknowledges express lanes can get backed up too, but he says they don’t run into the same problems as the normal interstates. He believes it’s the right option, though, because the state has limited money and construction costs are increasing.
Jasperse also says it is critical to have a department of transportation and governor’s office that can be trusted to handle complex multi-year contracts and “to do what’s right and not to make screwy deals … or allow poor infrastructure that hurts us in the long run. Because you really get one shot.”
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.
Facing tens of billions of dollars in transportation project backlog, Gov. Bill Lee’s administration is proposing a patchwork of proposals designed to expedite work and raise more revenue, the most notable of which would institute toll roads or “choice lanes” built and maintained by the private sector through a state partnership.
The thinking is that Tennessee’s IMPROVE Act of 2017, a combination of fuel tax increases and vehicle registration fees, isn’t bringing in enough money to construct the roads and bridges needed to serve a state that grew by 9 percent over the last decade.
Tasked with finding alternatives to raising the fuel tax or taking on debt, Transportation Commissioner Butch Eley recently presented a list of options, including public-private partnerships on express lanes, creation of “choice lanes” on existing routes, raising electric vehicle fees, speeding up planning and bidding phases on construction projects and eliminating $34 million in unfilled Transportation Department positions and using that money to raise salaries for staff.
The response as the 113th General Assembly prepares to convene in January 2023 varies widely, with some lawmakers supporting and others raising questions.
Gov. Bill Lee is proposing public-private partnerships to create toll roads in Tennessee. Photo: John Partipilo)
“Mussolini liked those public-private partnerships. They called it fascism back then,” says Republican Sen. Frank Niceley, a Strawberry Plains farmer, referring to the early twentieth century Italian leader and the governor’s plan for toll or “choice lanes.” “I’m adamantly opposed to toll roads. Everybody in my district’s opposed to toll roads.”
Niceley points out that Texas adopted toll roads but mainly because it owed $20 billion for construction, in contrast to Tennessee, which holds no road work debt.
The Department of Transportation avoids the term “toll roads,” preferring “choice lanes” instead because motorists would have the option to use them and pay a rate to avoid slower traffic.
Other states use transponders to track vehicles’ use of “choice lanes,” but Tennessee hasn’t made a decision on how user fees would be collected here.
The Dallas, Texas area has a 100-mile TEXpress Lanes System of toll-managed lanes, with fees collected by the North Texas Tollway Authority through the use of three types of tags. Vehicles carrying more than one person can receive a 50 percent discount during peak travel periods during the week.
More than 60 managed price lanes exist in about 12 areas nationwide, mainly in California, around Washington, D.C., Florida, Texas, Atlanta, Charlotte, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City.
Mussolini liked those public-private partnerships. They called it fascism back then.
– Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains
The state points out on its Build With Us site that pricing managed lanes enables it to control congestion and help it keep pace with changing traffic volumes and “guarantee travel reliability.”
Getting into the details
The governor will need approval for any plan from the Legislature, as well as authority to set up multiple public-private partnerships for highway projects.
Tennessee officials are likely headed to Texas soon to see how its “choice lanes” and express system operate.
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and House Speaker Cameron Sexton generally agree with Lee’s efforts to bolster the state’s road system and say they anticipate lively debate when the session starts.
“How quickly and efficiently people and goods can move across the state is directly related to our economic success,” McNally says. “I also agree that we should not abandon our pay-as-you-go system of road funding and that we must not increase the tax burden on our citizens.”
Says Sexton, “We must have honest discussions on infrastructure in our state to solve the traffic congestion issue. Those must include expansion of rail access, shortening the decades-long timeline to build roads, as well as looking at express lanes on our interstates in highly congested areas.”
Sexton doesn’t anticipate toll booths or mandatory toll roads but believes giving motorists the option to travel on an expressway will be considered.
The 2017 IMPROVE Act was projected to bring the state $1.081 billion from fiscal 2018 through fiscal 2022, and it is $5 million over projections. Yet gas tax revenue was down 4.4 percent through September and 2.5 percent through October this year, and state officials worry those dollars will continue to drop as electric vehicles take a bigger market share.
Thus, part of the proposal is to increase the $100 wheel tax on electric vehicles and bring it in line with the roughly $250 to $300 most motorists pay annually in fuel taxes.
The state has completed about 30 percent of the projects approved through the IMPROVE Act, and $16 billion worth of work remains. Another $26 billion of investments need to be made to deal with congestion across the state, according to TDOT.
Transportation officials haven’t put a dollar figure on the amount of money “choice lanes” would net. The idea is that a private company would invest its own money in the project and recoup expenses through fees.
State Sen. Becky Duncan Massey, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, is willing to delve into the proposals because of the “exponential growth” in Tennessee and its impact on highways.
“The public-private partnership is looking at ways to build roads a little more efficiently, try to build them quicker, which saves us money,” Massey says.
“Choice lanes,” as long as they are an option and not the only way to reach a destination, are a “viable solution,” Massey adds.
The 2017 IMPROVE Act was projected to bring the state $1.081 billion from fiscal 2018 through fiscal 2022, and it is $5 million over projections — but gas tax revenue is down and state officials expect that it will continue to drop as more drivers transition to electric vehicles.
Massey, a Knoxville Republican, says her daughters have used an Austin, Texas toll road that enabled them to arrive at work in 15 minutes compared to a free route that took an hour. Even though they had to pay, the shorter ride equated to savings, she says.
While most lawmakers want to dig into the details, state Rep. Pat Marsh, a Shelbyville Republican and trucking company executive who serves on the House Transportation Committee, is ready to move on the governor’s entire plan.
Traveling to Nashville from his home along I-24 is “horrible,” he says. And traffic in neighboring Murfreesboro is nearly as bad. He typically dreads driving anywhere.
“I’m proud that (Gov. Lee) is saying he wants to tackle that problem,” Marsh says. The influx of new residents in Tennessee and the rising cost of road construction, 50 percent to 100 percent more, are driving the need for new solutions, Marsh says.
He compares the matter to reforming the way the state pays for education, though the governor’s solution drew criticism from much of the education community.
Democratic state Rep. Sam McKenzie of Knoxville, also a member of the House Transportation Committee, recalls that former Gov. Phil Bredesen discussed the idea of building a toll road from the interstate to Gatlinburg. The proposal didn’t draw much Republican support.
“We already pay a lot in gas taxes and from a transportation standpoint our roads are in really good condition. I give us a B-plus,” McKenzie says.
But if a road can be built as an “optional path” for a direct route into a town, he would support it. On the other hand, McKenzie says he would oppose a toll road that would cost the same amount for a wealthy motorist and someone making $15 an hour.
In addition, McKenzie says fees for electric vehicles should not be raised to match the amount motorists pay in fuel taxes, noting an incentive should be kept in place to purchase EVs.
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.
