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Stockard on the Stump: Fetal remains overload landfills?
In one of the most bizarre legislative meetings in memory, women described how they pieced together the arms, legs and heads of aborted babies (fetuses) as they spoke this week in favor of the Unborn Child Dignity Act. One of the women, who said she was the former healthcare manager of the largest Planned Parenthood […]
Bill to stop lawmakers’ legislative consulting hits hurdle
House Speaker Cameron Sexton’s bill designed to stop lawmakers from doing consulting business for fellow legislators ran into a wall Thursday because of concerns it would allow 112th General Assembly members with state contracts to continue “in perpetuity.” Sexton, a Crossville Republican, and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, sponsored the legislation after […]
Privacy Protection Act criticized as conduit for “dark money”
Sponsors call it a method to protect the identity of donors to nonprofits such as Habitat for Humanity. Critics say it could open the pathway for out-of-state “dark money” to flow into political campaigns. Gaining momentum in the General Assembly, the Personal Privacy Protection Act would prohibit the release of information for all 501(c) organizations, […]
Tennessee could wind up subsidizing coal mining, environmental group claims
Innocuous legislation enabling the state to take over regulation of the coal mining industry would cost Tennessee more money and could create environmental problems, according to the Sierra Club. House Bill 90 carried by Rep. Dennis Powers, R-Jacksboro, and Senate Bill 742, co-sponsored by Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, is designed to clean up legislation passed […]
Governor renews $250M for K-12 mental health trust fund
A year after putting the program on hold as the COVID-19 pandemic started, Gov. Bill Lee injected $250 million into his fiscal 2022 spending plan for a K-12 mental health trust fund. Lee and other state officials cited increased pressure on young people and the difficulty of the pandemic in renewing the program for a […]
House approves Bible resolution, but lieutenant governor opposes making it state book
The General Assembly is replaying a decision on making the Bible Tennessee’s official state book, and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally intends to maintain the opposition he held five years ago. The House passed the resolution 55-28 Monday evening as Rep. Jerry Sexton, a minister from Bean Station in East Tennessee, said he wants to elevate […]
Stockard on the Stump: Schwinn-anigans abound
Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn does not disappoint when it comes to getting a tad off track, incidents increasingly becoming known as Schwinn-anigans, in the halls of power. Not only did the General Assembly change its textbook approval process in 2020 to keep her out of the loop because of concerns about favoritism, legislators put an […]
McNally, Sexton part ways on Medicaid expansion
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said Thursday the state’s modified block grant should stay in place before he would support a move to accept the Biden Administration’s Medicaid expansion funds. But regardless, the measure doesn’t appear to have any hope in the House, based on Speaker Cameron Sexton’s comments Thursday when he said, “I’m not willing […]
Lieutenant governor willing to consider Biden’s Medicaid expansion
Republican Lt. Gov. Randy McNally is opening the door to President Joe Biden’s plan to offer states more money for coverage of the working uninsured. A McNally spokesman said Tuesday the lieutenant governor believes the proposal within the American Recovery Act, which would increase Medicaid payments by 5 percentage points and bring $1.2 billion extra […]
Lee shifts stance away from China economic recruiting, education
Just months after actively seeking Asian investment in Tennessee, including China, Gov. Bill Lee’s administration is taking a hard stand against the communist country, forcing closure of already-defunct Confucius Institutes at Tennessee universities and shutting down the state’s investment office there. Lee recently introduced legislation to require more transparency on foreign investments in the state’s […]
Education commissioner runs into possible conflict with $8M contract
Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn signed a multimillion-dollar deal in March with a New York-based company as part of the state’s reading initiative, a move lawmakers say creates a potential conflict of interest because her husband works for the vendor. As part of the state’s plan to help students rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, Schwinn […]
Stockard on the Stump: Akbari, Towns would stamp out “fake history” of slavery
In 2022, Volunteer State voters could be deciding the fate of a constitutional amendment banning all vestiges of slavery from the state Constitution. First, though, they have to figure out whether it’s “fake history,” at least according to one Republican lawmaker. In one of the head-scratchers of the 112th General Assembly, Sen. Brian Kelsey of […]