Tag: Tennessee General Assembly

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TN House Committee Advances ‘Hateful Anti-Refugee’ Resolution

CREDIT: World Relief

World Relief

Refugee family reunites at airport

A Tennessee House committee advanced what some are calling a “hateful anti-refugee” resolution Tuesday.

The resolution, HJR 0741, sponsored by Rep. Terri Weaver (R-Lancaster), seeks to advance Tennessee’s lawsuit against the federal government over refugee resettlement here.

The lawsuit was filed in March 2017 against the United States Department of State on the grounds that refugee settlement in Tennessee violates the U.S. Constitution by requiring the state to pay for a program it did not consent to.

The lawsuit was dismissed in March 2018 by a federal judge who ruled there was a lack of standing by the legislature to sue on its own behalf and that the state failed to show that refugee resettlement in Tennessee violates the Constitution.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision in August, also stating that the General Assembly had not established its standing.


In September, attorneys with the Thomas Moore Law Center (TMLC), who are representing the state in the suit, filed a petition asking the appellate court to rehear the case, on the grounds that the court’s decision was “painfully at odds” with Supreme Court precedent. The court denied that request.


Now, attorneys with the TMLC are petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.

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Weaver, who was the House sponsor of the 2016 resolution that initiated the litigation, said the purpose of the resolution is to help the lawsuit move to the Supreme Court.

“The problem that is being addressed is that the federal government cannot coerce the states to pay for a federal program because that sets a very dangerous precedent for us as a state using the state budget as a solution to federal funding deficit.”

Weaver

Weaver said President Donald Trump’s executive order in September, which gave states the choice to opt in or out of continuing refugee resettlement and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s consent to the program “has made it a muddy mess.”

“We object to Governor Bill Lee’s action, the effect of which nullifies and violates the constitutional duty and exclusive institutional authority and power of the General Assembly to expend public money pursuant to appropriations made by law,” the resolution reads in part.

Weaver said she doesn’t like to see “where the separation of powers are muddied. We need to stay in our own sandbox.”

Rep. Bill Beck (D-Nashville) opposed the resolution Tuesday.

“To me it just seems that the love, accepting, warm, hospitality that we as Tennesseans serve is not reflected in this resolution,” Beck said. “We need to put ourselves in the shoes of those fleeing persecution and the challenges they have and know the empathy we need to have for them and to know what they’re going through and to welcome them and love them and lift them up. That’s my position.”

To that Weaver responded: “This is not that. This is all about a federal program. We can’t stop refugees from coming here because it’s a federal program. So what we’re asking is the federal government to pay for it.”

Weaver added that “the spirit of this is not mean. The spirit of this is to separate separations of powers, which we gave our oath to protect.

We’re appropriating funds for something we do not have authority over and that is a slippery slope for other programs down the road.”

Weaver said she is unclear about exactly how much the state is appropriating to the program, but that the state has been responsible for costs related to housing, English Language Acquisition (ELA), and health-care needs of refugees.

“We have our homeless, our veterans, our seniors,” Weaver said. “We have people in this state that are citizens currently that have needs we need to address as well.”

The resolution advanced Tuesday with a voice vote.

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Judith Clerjeune, policy and legislative affairs manager for the Tennessee Immigration and Refugee Rights Coalition Votes condemned the resolution, calling it a “hateful tactic.”

“Just in time for another election, a handful of legislators are returning to their classic hateful playful — scapegoating refugees,” Clerjeune said. “Facing a primary challenge, Rep. Weaver is trying to appeal to those most hateful voters in her district, hoping she can win her re-election bid by targeting some of the world’s most vulnerable people. But, her constituents deserve a representative who will work to meaningfully improve their lives, not just recycle a failed resolution from five years ago.”

Clerjeune also questions the intent of the resolution.

“Despite legislators’ attempts to cast these bills and resolutions as simply a matter of clarifying constitutional responsibilities, the real intent and impact of these efforts are a crystal clear: keeping refugees from finding safety and opportunity in Tennessee.”

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TN Lawmaker Wants CNN, WaPo Labelled as “Fake News”

CREDIT: Micah Van Huss/Twitter

Micah Van Huss/Twitter

Today a real Tennessee state House committee will hear a real House Joint Resolution from a real Tennessee House member to label CNN and The Washington Post as “fake news.”

On the agenda for the real Constitutional Protections and Sentencing Subcommittee, is HJR 0079 by Rep. Micah Van Huss (R-Jonesborough).

Here is exactly what the resolution would do:

“Resolves to recognize CNN and The Washington Post as fake news and part of the media wing of the Democratic Party, and further resolves to condemn such media outlets for denigrating our citizens and implying that they are weak-minded followers instead of people exercising their rights that our veterans paid for with their blood.”
[pullquote-1] Van Huss explained the resolution to conservative talk show host (and self-proclaimed Memphian) Todd Starnes, on his podcast, “the ToddCast.” Van Huss said the resolution stems from reports last fall from both news outlets that labeled supporters of President Donald Trump as “part of a cult.”

TN Lawmaker Wants CNN, WaPo Labelled as ‘Fake News’

Further, Van Huss said CNN recently “mocked Trump supporters for being rude, basically as hayseed hicks.” Van Huss said in 2016 that more than 60 percent of Tennesseans voted for Trump.

“My constituents are tired of these elitists in the media for denigrating them,” Van Huss told Starnes. “They’re tired of Republicans who don’t fight.”

Van Huss said his Republican colleagues in Nashville were “excited” about the legislation and that he is “looking forward to making this statement on behalf of all Tennesseans.”

TN Lawmaker Wants CNN, WaPo Labelled as ‘Fake News’ (2)

Some northeast Tennessee lawmakers told Bristol, Virginia’s WCYB News 5 that the resolution isn’t necessary.

The resolution has 13 House co-sponsors, including Rep. Andy Holt (R-Dresden).

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Companies Say Anti-LGBTQ Laws Threaten Business

CREDIT: OUTMemphis

OUTMemphis

Hilton, the Tennessee Titans, the Nashville Predators, IKEA, Nike, Amazon, CMT, Postmates, and Warby Parker.

These are but some of 36 corporations doing business in Tennessee that believe the state’s recently passed bill to discriminate against the LGBTQ community in adoptions will hurt business.

Those corporations and 109 small businesses issued a letter Wednesday saying “policies that signal that the state is not welcoming to everyone put our collective economic success at risk.”

“As we seek to maintain and grow our world-class workforce, we often face questions about whether our state is welcoming to the LGBTQ community and beyond,” reads the letter. “It is both a business imperative and core to our corporate values that our customers, our employees and their families, and our potential employees feel fully included in the prosperity of our state.”

The letter was organized by the Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Freedom for All Americans, GLAAD, and the Human Rights Council. As such, most of the letter’s signers are in Middle Tennessee.

The Nashville Predators said the city has seen enormous fan turnout for the NHL All-Star Weekend, the NHL Stanley Cup Final, and SEC men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.

“Passing discriminatory legislation would limit revenue for the city of Nashville and the state of Tennessee by inhibiting our ability to secure events like those and future events such as league marquee events, NCAA Games, award shows, and countless potential concerts,” the Predators said in the letter. “We strongly encourage our elected officials to keep us on an inclusive path that protects the rights of all Tennessee citizens.”

Memphis Pride Fest

Postmates, the tech-forward delivery service, said it “continues to be alarmed by the Lee Administration’s anti-LGBTQ agenda, particularly as we consider expanding our presence in the Volunteer State.”

“State leaders cannot and will not be able to expect companies like ours to power its economic engines while supporting legislation that undermines our ability to feel welcome in this state unless they commit to a new pathway to include all families and all workers,” the company said in the letter. “HB 386 undermines businesses’ ability to recruit top talent and grow in the state by policies that say not all are welcome — and it’s just plain wrong.
[pullquote-1] “To our Postmates fleet, our customers, our small business owners, our entire community: we stand with you no matter who you love or who you are, and we will not accept this kind of flagrant hatred.”

State senators passed the bill in its first major move since the 111th Tennessee General Assembly reconvened in January. Lee signed the bill into law last month. It allows adoption agencies to discriminate against the LGBTQ community.

The bill shelters faith-based adoption agencies from lawsuits by any group claiming discrimination. It prohibits faith-based groups from participating “in any child placement for foster care or adoption that would violate the agency’s written religious or moral convictions.”

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Some senators warned passing the bill could hinder business in the state, with companies and conventions passing over Tennessee for more gay-friendly states.

But the bill’s Senate sponsor, Sen. Paul Rose (R-Tipton and part of Shelby County), said the bill “was about the right to choose.”

“If you believe in freedom, you’ll put aside the issues thrown at you from the business community and look to the roots of this nation,” Rose said.

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Medicaid Will Be Focus of TN General Assembly

As much as any other issue impinging on the fortunes of Tennessee is the imminent prospect of federal block grants to pay for the state’s Medicaid expenses. The Trump administration has indicated it intends to shift in the direction of block grants, and Republicans in Tennessee, from the time of former Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey, have invoked a preference for the principle as their excuse for not committing to expansion funds under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

The idea behind block grants is simple enough: Monies are dispatched from Washington not in accord with federally prescribed requirements and formulas for distribution but more or less for the states to dispose of as they see fit.

In his State of the State address Monday night, GOP Governor Bill Lee boasted that “with the encouragement of this legislature, I’m proud that Tennessee was the first state in America to apply for a Medicaid block grant from the federal government.” He went on: “While we do not yet know whether this proposal will be accepted, I am confident that what we’ve proposed would be a good deal for Tennesseans and that no Tennessean would be worse off if it is approved.”

Jackson Baker

Accepting the mic (and an endorsement) from County Mayor Harris, Jerri Green addresses Democrats in East Memphis.

State Senator Jeff Yarbro of Nashville, presenting the Democrats’ response, professed himself “disappointed tonight to see the governor mentioning this ill-fated attempt at a block grant. … It looks pretty clear from what the federal government said last week that it’s not gonna come out well for us.”

The fact that allows for such disparate views is real enough. The federal guidelines released last week aim in a wholly different direction than does TennCare, the state health-care program that is the primary recipient in Tennessee of Medicaid funding.

The Trump administration’s formula, under what is to be called “the Healthy Adult Opportunity Program,” limits its assistance basically to that part of the state population that has least need of drastic remedies. The idea is to free up more of a given state’s existing health-care resources for more serious problems — like the low-income patients and people with disabilities that TennCare deals with. And it is these people, along with pregnant women and children, who would be the direct recipients of federal block grant assistance under the state’s application for a block grant.

Much remains to be worked out if block grants become the primary medium of federal assistance, and undoubtedly some form of accommodation can be arrived at between the state’s and the Trump administration’s goals. But the unspoken feature of block grants in either formulation is that they provide possible loopholes for ad-libbed, unstructured use of the monies involved.

Meanwhile, Democrats campaigning for legislative office in Tennessee tend to make a major issue of the state GOP’s disinclination so far to claim direct Medicaid aid available under the A.C.A. One such is Jerri Green, who, using the slogan “One Tough Mother,” is campaigning to unseat Republican state Representative Mark White in state House District 83.

Green has been endorsed by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, who introduced her to a tightly packed crowd of 100-odd attendees at Craft Republic in East Memphis last Thursday night. Both Green and Harris pointed out the $1 billion or so in annual federal Medicaid funding that has gone wanting, as well as the inexact fit for Tennessee of the new Trump guidelines for block grants. It remains to be seen if the issue has legs.

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Lawmakers Want Tigers, Vols Match-Up Each Year

Two Memphis lawmakers want to ensure the University of Memphis Tigers and the University of Tennessee Volunteers play each other each year.

State Sen. Brian Kelsey (R-Memphis) and Rep. Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis) filed a resolution Wednesday that would ensure that the two schools’ football teams and men’s basketball teams would meet at least once per year during regular-season play.

“While Coach Hardaway welcomes playing the University of Tennessee in basketball, Coach Calipari strongly opposed the idea, and future coaches could do the same,” said Sen. Kelsey. “These are major Tennessee teams. While coaches may come and go, there is no reason these teams should not face each other every year or that such contests be omitted from their schedules.”

The Tigers and Vols met on the court in December. But the football teams haven’t played since 2010. The bill would ensure the basketball teams would play “during future regular seasons. The legislation would be effective for the football teams beginning in the 2025-2026 seasons to provide for advanced scheduling.
[pullquote-1] “I had a brief informal conversation with UT President Randy Boyd about this matter,” Parkinson said. “I think he gets the importance of this rivalry for our state, and the economic impact it will provide.”

Kelsey said, “The fan base remains strong in Tennessee and wants to see this match-up every season. Tennessee fans deserve to see the two oldest programs in the state battle it out every year.”

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House Committee Delays Vote on Forrest Bust to End of Session

CREDIT: Nathan Bedford Forrest Boyhood Home/Facebook

Nathan Bedford Forrest Boyhood Home/Facebook

A resolution to remove a bust of slave trader Nathan Bedford Forrest won’t be heard by a state House committee until sometime closer to the end of the year’s legislative session.

Members of the House Naming, Designating, and Private Acts committee approved a motion from Rep. Andy Holt (R-Dresden) to suspend any further votes on the move until the last meeting of that committee later this year.

Rep. Rick Staples (D-Knoxville) brought a resolution to the committee last week. It would remove the bust, “replacing it with tribute to a more deserving Tennessean.” After hearing from the state commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and a historian last week, the committee decided to hold the vote for one week.

A process for the bust’s removal is set in motion. When the Tennessee Capitol Commission meets on February 20th, they could vote to ask for a waiver to remove the bust from the Tennessee Historical Society. The resolution would not change anything about the process, but Staples told committee members Tuesday it was important.

“I strongly believe that is the Capitol Commission does not have a resolution urging them to make a move or a direction, they will not do it when they meet,” Staples said. “They will not do it and pass on it. Then, we’ll have to do this again.”

Minutes before Nathan Bedford Forrest’s statue was removed from Health Sciences Park

Holt said a resolution was not the only way for committee members to tell Capitol Commission members they want the bust removed. He said they should “approach those members with the Capitol Commission personally, and express your disgust, anger, or concerns.” He said “the most logical thing to do” would be to delay a vote on the resolution to the last committee calendar of the year.

Rep. Bo Mitchell (D-Nashville) said he felt ‘no pressure of political correctness” over the vote. But it was one of “historical correctness.” He called testimony from witnesses last week “a recreation of fictional history” about Forrest.

Crowds gathered in Health Sciences Park to support the removal of the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue.

“It’s been made very clear that the man was in command of a massacre,” Mitchell said of Forrest’s command of Confederate troops at nearby Fort Pillow, where some 277 mostly African-American Union troops were killed after they had surrendered.

Rep. Jerry Sexton (R-Bean Station) said that no one in the committee room could “know our history is 100 percent correct.” He said last week’s witnesses gave “very different accounts of this” and that some committee members were “trying to tie this man (Forrest) to something that may or may not be true.”

“We know this is about political correctness and I can’t be part of something like that,” Sexton said.

The committee voted 13-4 to move the bill’s consideration to the end of its legislative calendar.

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CannaBeat: Akbari Files Recreational Cannabis Bill

Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) wants to legalize it.

Akbari filed a bill in the state legislature on Friday that would decriminalize low-level possession offenses and legalize the sale of marijuana for recreational purposes. Akbari’s bill is modeled after Colorado’s laws.

If approved, the legislation would put a 12 percent tax on the sale of marijuana. Half of the taxes generated would be applied to public school funding, roughly a third would apply to road and bridge projects, and 20 percent would be returned to the state’s general fund.

“This legislation makes criminal justice more fair, creates thousands of Tennessee jobs, and invests real money in our students and teachers,” Akbari said. “With marijuana now available closer and closer to our state, it’s time for Tennesseans to have a real discussion about repealing outdated penalties for low-level possession and investing in our economic future and public schools through legalization.”

Tennessee General Assembly

Sen. Raumesh Akbari

The bill is not finalized, but Akbari said the goal is to “stop wasting tax dollars on a failed drug policies and to start creating economic and educational opportunities for Tennessee families” and address concerns related to potential drug use.

“Tennessee’s tough-on-crime possession laws have trapped too many of our citizens in cycles of poverty, and they haven’t actually stopped anyone from obtaining marijuana,” Akbari said. “The enforcement of these laws in particular [has] cost our state billions, contributed to a black market that funds criminal organizations, and accelerated the growth of incarceration in Tennessee’s jails and prisons. Tennesseans deserve better.”

In the draft of the bill, state regulators would be responsible for developing policies related to commercial sales of marijuana here. The legislation is not yet scheduled for debate.

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Lee Signs ‘Shameful’ Anti-LGBTQ Bill Into Law

Memphis Pride Fest

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed into law Friday a bill that will allow adoption agencies to discriminate against the LGBTQ community.

State senators passed the bill last week, its first major move since the 111th Tennessee General Assembly reconvened earlier this month.

The bill would shelter faith-based adoption agencies from lawsuits by any group claiming discrimination. It prohibits faith-based groups from participating “in any child placement for foster care or adoption that would violate the agency’s written religious or moral convictions.”

Governor Lee

Some senators warned passing the bill could hinder business in the state, with companies and conventions passing over Tennessee for more gay-friendly states.

However, Lee said he’d sign the bill immediately after its passage. The bill was sent to Lee’s office Tuesday and was signed on Friday.

Several organizations criticized the move. The Campaign for Southern Equality called the bill “the first anti-LGBTQ legislation to pass in 2020.”
[pullquote-2] “We strongly oppose Gov. Lee’s decision and urge him to deeply and prayerfully consider the damage and harm of this bill, which could do a colossal disservice to the many children in Tennessee waiting to be adopted by safe and loving families,” said Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality. “It opens the door to taxpayer-funded adoption agencies turning away potential parents just because of who they are. It’s bad for kids, bad for LGBTQ people, and bad for the state overall.”

The Human Rights Council (HRC) called the move “shameful.”
[pullquote-1] “It’s disturbing that Governor Bill Lee signed legislation that will harm children in Tennessee,” said HRC president Alphonso David. “Elected officials should protect all of their constituents, not just some. Now, Tennessee has the shameful distinction of being the first state to pass an anti-LGBTQ bill into law this year.

“This bill does nothing to improve the outcomes for children in care, shrinks the pool of prospective parents and is a blatant attempt to discriminate against LGBTQ Tennesseans. With many months ahead in the Tennessee legislative session, Tennesseans should make their voices heard — loudly — to ensure that the legislature and Gov. Lee do not continue to target LGBTQ Tennesseans.”

Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project said, “As this bill becomes law, Tennessee’s LGBTQ community is worried about the introduction of even more discriminatory bills. The governor and the legislature must put a stop to this kind of demeaning public policy.”

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Lawmakers Take First Step Into Possible Criminal Justice Reform

Tennessee’s incarnation rate is 10 percent higher than the national average, its female prison population rate has exploded, spending on corrections has surpassed $1 billion, and the state has the fourth-highest violent-crime rate in the country.

That’s all according to researchers with the Crime and Justice Institute (CJI), who presented their findings Wednesday to members of the Tennessee House Judiciary Committee. Those researchers were tapped to join a task force last year and charged by Gov. Bill Lee to review the state’s criminal justice system.

The task force released its findings in an interim report in December. That report recommended lawmakers review criminal sentencing, reduce sentencing times for some parole violations, and more.

State Capitol building

CJI staffers Maura McNamara and Alison Silveira presented some of the information to lawmakers during what could be a two-year overhaul of some of the state’s criminal justice policies meant to reduce the prison population.

The presentation and hearing was one of the first times legislators were able to dig into the data and ask questions about the study.

The researchers said the state incarcerates around 13,000 people each year. Admissions to prison have declined overall by 14 percent, they said, since 2009. However, while admissions have fallen in West and Middle Tennessee, admissions rose in East Tennessee by 500 from 2018 to 2019. (West Tennessee admissions fell from about 4,500 in 2009 to about 2,900 in 2018.)
Crime and Justice Institute

The bulk of incarcerations (74 percent) last year were from what researchers called “non-person” offenses like drug and property crime, and vehicular offenses. The rest (26 percent) were violent crimes and sex offenses.

In all categories, the average length of time served by felons in Tennessee rose by 11 months over the last 10 years, from 48 months to 59 months, Silveira said.

“People released in 2019 are serving nearly a year longer behind bars than those in 2009,” she said.

The large amount of non-violent incarcerations drew the ire of Rep. Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis), who called the figure “an indictment to us who sit on this committee.” He also noted that “I think our policies are causing some of these — if not all of these numbers — to be in the place that they are.”

However, Rep. Andrew Farmer (R-Sevierville) reminded the committee members that “all of these crimes are crimes against society.”

“We make laws up here not because we want to see people in jail, we don’t,” Farmer said. “We don’t make laws up here because we want to waste taxpayer dollars. We don’t make laws up here just to keep people in jail.

“We make laws up here to see those who violate out laws here in the state of Tennessee are pushed appropriately. We want them to become rehabilitated and we are doing the very best we can to do that.”

Lee said last year the task force’s main aim to reduce recidivism, the act of people being re-arrested after they’ve been released from prison. McNamara said nearly half (47 percent) of those released from custody here over the last 10 years, were rearrested within three years.

However, 40 percent of those are rearrested because they broke their parole on technical violations, not on new crimes, Silveira said. They’ll go backup prison because they moved and didn’t tell their parole officer, failed to pay a monthly fee, or failed to appear at a meeting or hearing.

Google Maps

Riverbend Maximum Security Prison in Nashville is home to Tennessee’s death row.

“The reason a person usually goes back to jail has more to do with the challenges of returning home than a sign of criminal conduct,” Silveira said.

Rep. Joe Townsend (D-Memphis) wanted financial data, noting “the state is spending extraordinarily large sums of money to re-incarcerate people for technical violations.” He said if the state locks up about 13,000 people each year, and their length of stay has risen by about a year, “that’s like an additional 13,000 years.”

The state’s female prison population grew 41 percent over the last 10 years, from 2,364 in 2009 to 3,481 in 2019, the researchers said. Female felony offenses mainly involved drugs and property, they said, though didn’t offer detailed insight as to why the female prison population was surging.

Rep. G.A. Hardaway (D-Memphis) wants to learn more. “I am so disgusted that we are evidently not doing what we need to do to keep our women from choosing a life of crime and from being incarcerated,” Hardaway said. “I don’t know what the answer is. But I sure would like to find out and do something about it very quickly.”  Crime and Justice Institute

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LGBTQ Adoption Discrimination Bill Passed by Senate

CREDIT: Bianca Phillips

State Capitol building

A bill that discriminates against the LGBTQ+ community and one “that we don’t really need in this state,” according to its sponsor, passed overwhelmingly in the state Senate Tuesday.

In its first major act of business this year, the state Senate voted Tuesday to allow some private adoption agencies to discriminate against gay couples. The bill was yanked from a Senate floor vote at the end of last year’s legislative session. It had already been approved in the House. Senators approved the bill Tuesday in a 20-6 vote.

The bill is broad, though, and would allow those agencies to discriminate against any group, as long the group has stated their objection to them in writing. The bill would shelter faith-based adoption agencies from lawsuits by any group claiming discrimination. It prohibits faith-based groups from participating “in any child placement for foster care or adoption that would violate the agency’s written religious or moral convictions.”
Tennessee General Assembly

Rep. Tim Rudd

The bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Tim Rudd (R-Murfreesboro), said last year he brought the bill after reading newsletters from National Right to Life and the Heritage Foundation. Adoption agencies, especially by Catholic Charities, were forced out of business after facing discrimination lawsuits, suits Rudd said can cost hundreds or even millions of dollars.

At the end of the first part of the 111th General Assembly last year, many Senators questioned the need for such a specific bill. Many — including House Speaker Randy McNally — brought the question again on the Senate floor Monday.

“I don’t think (the bill is necessary) and the protections already exist,” McNally said.

Those protections exist, some Republican Senators said Tuesday, in 2009’s Tennessee Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
Tennessee General Assembly

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally

“The language in this bill seems duplicative in many ways,” said Sen. Jon Lundberg (R-Brsitol). “The legislature has done a solid job over the last decade of protecting religious freedoms. I think we’re covered.”

Sen. Paul Rose (R-Tipton and part of Shelby County), the bill’s sponsor, said early in Tuesday’s debate that his bill “codifies what we already do” and that “we don’t really need this bill in the state” because of RFRA.

However, he also said the bill was a proactive move to prevent the closure of adoption agencies, as has happened in Pennsylvania, New York, California, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia. Eight other states, like Virginia and Alabama, have passed similar legislation to the one he carried.  Tennessee General Assembly

Sen. Steven Dickerson

In a fiery exchange, Sen. Steve Dickerson (D-Nashville), asked Rose what kinds of people could these agencies deny a child in their care. He said any combination outside of the traditional, married mother-and-father structure he said, “anything outside of that, whatever that is. It’s called freedom.”

Pressed further by Dickerson, Rose said that the legislation — though, he was not a lawyer — would allow, say, an Episcopalian group to deny adoption to a Muslim family and vice versa. “It is my understanding that this bill would allow it,” Rose said. 
Tennessee General Assembly

Sen. Jeff Yarbro

Early in the debate, Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Davidson County) proposed an amendment to the bill that excluded any agency from these protections if they had state contracts, took state grant funding, or took any kind of public money.

When these firms take government money, “they are no longer acting as a private actor, they are public actors using public dollars, for public functions,” Yarbro said.

Rose called the amendment “insidious” and “hostile” and “totally wipes out the intent of this bill.”  The amendment was defeated on voice vote.

Sen. Raumesh Akbari, the only female and African American to speak during the debate, said a friend of hers grew up in the foster case system and was “exposed to sexual violence and physical abuse.” The friend later grew up to be in a same-sex relationship and she and her partner have adopted two children “in a very loving home.” Putting children in a loving home, Akbari said, “puts them on the correct path and changes the trajectory of their life.”  Tennessee General Assembly

Sen. Raumesh Akbari

“What is best for children?” Akbari asked. “For me, this boils down to children being safe and happy and for them to be free from abuse and to feel like they belong.”

Dickerson said the bill could have significant financial impacts here.

“In the last six months, a number of conventions have inquired about this bill and said if passed they would not book future conventions in our state,” Dickerson said.

He said the bill would put the state out of the running for future events by the NFL, NHL, and NCAA. Other businesses, too, would “be less likely to relocate and open here as a direct result of this bill.”
Tennessee General Assembly

Sen. Paul Rose

However, Rose told Senators the bill “was about the right to choose.”

“If you believe in freedom, you’ll put aside the issues thrown at you from the business community and look to the roots of this nation,” Rose said.

The bill passed, with four Republicans, including  McNally, voting present but not voting.

The bill now heads to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for approval.

REPSONSES:

Before the floor vote Monday, groups were calling for the bill’s defeat.

Bianca Phillips

Flags fly over OUTMemphis.

Currey Cook, counsel and director of the Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project for Lambda Legal, said the bill “would deny children in foster care in Tennessee a much-needed family simply because agencies want to put their beliefs above the best of interests of the children.”

“Tennessee risks joining the roster of states who have passed similarly harmful bills that allow government-funded discrimination and we urge state senators of conscience to resist this effort that sends a message to LGBTQ families that they are not welcome,” Cook said in a statement. “To deny qualified parents eager to foster or adopt children in need of loving homes because of their sexual orientation or gender-identity or particular religious belief – criteria wholly unrelated to their ability to parent – is not only wrong, but turns the entire child welfare system on its head by prioritizing a provider’s interests over those of children.”

Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the ACLU of Tennessee said: ”Turning away good families, as (the bill) would allow, simply because they don’t satisfy an agency’s religious preferences would deny thousands of Tennessee children access to the families they urgently want and need.”