Day: February 15, 2017

BREAKING: Protesters Shout Down State Rep. Mark Pody and Sen. Mae Beavers Press Conference

Christina Botteri

An outbreak of protesters first disrupted, and then caused the cancellation of Mark Pody’s (R-Lebanon) and Sen. Mae Beavers’ (R-Mount Julie) joint press conference address Tennessee’s “Bathroom Bill” and Defense of Natural Marriage Act. Local NewChannel5 reporter Brandon Marshall recorded a portion of the disruption: Seconds after Rep. Pody started speaking about the proposed marriage bill, people in the audience repeated "pull the bill" @NC5 pic.twitter.com/58IdJ8OlGU — Brandon Marshall (@NC5_BMarshall) February 15, 2017   Via Humphrey of the Hill: A press conference State Rep. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, and Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mount Juliet, was first disrupted by protesters, then cancelled on Wednesday afternoon. Some of the protesters then followed the legislators into a Legislative Plaza hallway, confronting them with slogans and critical commentary, until Beavers and Pody were escorted from the Plaza by state troopers. The Wilson County lawmakers had announced in an email to media they would “discuss HB888/SB771 (Bathroom Bill) and HB892/SB752 (Defense of Natural Marriage Act)” at the news conference. The “bathroom bill” would requires transgender persons to use the rest room designated for their birth gender. The “Defense of Natural Marriage Act, according to the summary on the legislative website, “states the policy of Tennessee to defend natural marriage…

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State Senator Jim Tracy Introduces Bill to Voluntarily Put Photo IDs on EBT Cards

Tennessee Star Staff

State Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) has proposed legislation to put photo IDs on Electronic Benefit Transfer cards. The bill, SB 0411, “authorizes a voluntary photo identification electronic benefit card (EBT) program for the food stamp program” and makes “trafficking in EBT cards” an offense, according to the summary provided at the Tennessee General Assembly website.   “EBT cards enable eligible people to receive cash assistance, which is stored online in a computer database and accessed electronically at stores by reusable plastic cards. Legislation would require the state to set up the program,” the Murfreesboro Post reports:   Not only will the use of photo IDs improve “integrity” for the assistance program, Tracy says, “It protects benefits for those who are legally and legitimately receiving them. At the same time, it helps detect criminal activity in EBT trafficking cases where cards are sold for cash or drugs, or when multiple cards are in the possession of an individual illegally. Tennessee has more than a million SNAP recipients, costing about $2 billion in federal funds each year. The legislation, which is modeled after laws passed in Maine and Massachusetts, would inform benefit recipients of the program when benefits are recertified. “[H]aving the…

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Tennessee Watchdog: Eleven Tennessee Utilities Squander Taxpayer Money on Broadband

Tennessee Star Staff

This article is reprinted with permission from the Tennessee Watchdog. By Chris Butler February 13, 2017 More than 200 municipal broadband networks in the U.S. have placed taxpayer money in jeopardy, and 11 of those networks are in Tennessee, a new report from the Taxpayers Protection Alliance says. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit unveiled a graphic this week pinpointing the locations of those networks. “Government-owned (i.e. taxpayer-funded) network projects have needlessly reduced resources available to help more pressing needs such as improving education, infrastructure and public safety,” according to a TPA press release. “These networks also unfairly compete against private businesses. Worst of all, these projects have proven to put taxpayer dollars at risk, leaving hardworking constituents to foot the bill, often at a steep cost.” Among the networks listed in Tennessee: • Memphis Networx, which, the TPA said, Memphis Light, Gas and Water created in 1999 and “was a financial drain on taxpayers.” “In 2007, with the Internet experiment on the verge of bankruptcy, Memphis Networx was sold off for $11.5 million,” the TPA said. That, the TPA added, was a loss of $20.5 million on the city’s $32 million total investment in the project. • E Plus Broadband, created…

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Former Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey: Appearance on WWTN Gas Tax Town Hall ‘Perfectly Acceptable Under All Tennessee Laws’

Tennessee Star Staff

“My appearance on the WWTN Gas Tax Town Hall program, and my statements and comments during the program, were perfectly acceptable under all Tennessee laws and in complete conformance with the rules and regulations of the Tennessee Ethics Commission,” former Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey tells The Tennessee Star in an emailed statement on Tuesday. Last week The Star broke the news that Ramsey is a paid consultant to the Tennessee Coalition on Transportation, a group that supports Gov. Haslam’s proposed gas tax. Here’s the full statement from former Lt. Gov. Ramsey:   I am more than completely confident that I have followed all the rules regarding a retired elected official in Tennessee. I have consulted with legal counsel, who advised me in great detail regarding the limitations in Tennessee’s ethics laws on my activities and my right to speak my mind as protected by the free speech protections in the Tennessee and U.S. Constitutions – the same rights enjoyed by every other person in this great state and wonderful nation. I have followed the laws and rules to the letter. I have said publicly many times that repairing our outdated transportation infrastructure funding formula was about the only important piece…

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Bradley County Commissioner Proposes Resolution of Disapproval for Gov. Haslam’s Gas Tax Increase

Tennessee Star Staff

“Bradley County Commissioner Dan Rawls is proposing a resolution that would express the Commission’s disapproval of Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposed gas tax hike,” the Cleveland Banner reports:   Rawls’ resolution says the increase would be “a further tax burden on Bradley County residents that can least afford the additional tax.” “I always think it’s a better idea to cut spending than to raise taxes,” Rawls said. “The state hasn’t done that great a job. Gov. Haslam has overseen the largest increase in the size of government of any Tennessee governor.” He said although the state is portraying “a big problem with roads,” the state “thought it was a good idea” to spend $123 million on a new state library. “I don’t see how that’s good fiscal policy,” Rawls said. Not all Bradley County Commissioners think passing a resolution opposing the gas tax increase is the right action for the County Commission to undertake. “Commissioner Milan Blake said he had been talking to state legislators who are telling him ‘to wait on something like this [passing a resolution opposing the gas tax increase] right now,’ ” the Banner reported. “Vice Chairman Jeff Yarber said he agreed with opposing the increase, but…

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