The Tennessee House voted Monday night to approve a bill to cut the Metro Nashville council from 40 to 20 members. The bill caps all cities and metro governments at 20 voting members, a rule that only currently applies to Nashville.
A fiscal note on House Bill 48 says that it will save Nashville $510,000 annually if the bill goes into full effect.
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Matt Walsh left speechless a Tennessee Democrat representative who failed to catch Walsh in a supposed contradiction when the conservative author asked the lawmaker a simple question during a State House Committee meeting covering a bill that would ban life-altering transgender medical treatments for minors.
State Representative Caleb Hemmer (D-Nashville) attempted to confront Walsh with a statement he supposedly made about 16-year-olds getting married, when, as the conservative author noted, he was a radio host “13 or 14 years ago and in my early 20s,” and leftist Media Matters subsequently did a “hit piece” on him using an inaccurate version of his statement.
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Tennessee lawmakers will reportedly consider whether to add “exceptions” to the state’s abortion ban, including the “health of the mother,” a phrase that pro-life leaders say has been used by abortionists and their supporters for decades to prop up the entire abortion industry.
Tennessee’s “trigger” law that bans abortion, titled the Human Life Protection Act, took effect August 25, two months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
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Far-left Democrat State Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) joined other Tennessee liberals demanding gun control in the state.
“Yes, I have every intention of bringing back my red flag bill, as well as my safe storage legislation in January,” she tweeted on Wednesday.
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Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton threw cold water on “grandstanding” State Representative John Ray Clemmons’ (D-West Nashville) call for a special session to push gun control in Tennessee, demonstrating that there is little support for the idea.
In a press conference that NewsChannel5 reported on, Clemmons said, “Let’s pass mental health care laws. Let’s repeal bad laws that have facilitated this. Let’s use the indicators we see in domestic violence to limit people’s access to firearms. Let’s repeal the open carry law and guns in trunk law. Let’s take legislative action now. Not later, now. Not after another shooting, not after more deaths. Now.”
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UPDATES – Nashville Mayoral election results as they become available…
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A group of Hermitage neighbors interfered with an attempt by ICE on Monday morning to apprehend an undocumented immigrant man and a 12-year-old boy following a traffic stop, Fox 17 reported. Neighbors locked arms around a van the immigrants hid in while ICE agents tried to serve a civil warrant (detainer). Agents left after a standoff that lasted more than two hours when the immigrants went into a house, with their access secured by the neighbors. Metro Nashville Police Department officers were on scene but did not participate with ICE, the station said. On his official Twitter account, incumbent Mayor David Briley tweeted, “Every Nashville resident and family deserves to feel safe, regardless of immigration status. My statement on yesterday’s events.” His tweet was accompanied with the following statement: It is my job as Mayor to keep all Nashvillians safe. On Monday, ICE agents attempted to detain a Nashville resident. However, the agents did not end up detaining the resident, and no arrests were made. Our police officers do not actively participate in immigration enforcement efforts and only serve as peacekeepers. The officers were at the incident to keep neighbors safe and secure a perimeter. I am keenly aware…
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Metro Councilman John Cooper announced Monday that he will indeed run for mayor of Nashville, multiple media outlets report. Cooper will run against incumbent Mayor David Briley, retired Vanderbilt University professor Dr. Carol Swain and State Rep. John Ray Clemmons, NewsChannel 5 said. In February, Cooper said he would not run for mayor and may not run again for the Metro Nashville Council, The Tennessee Star reported. He said it is good to have a rotation of leaders in government. Cooper was denying his interest in running for mayor just last week, according to a story by the Nashville Scene, which has checked on his interest level since the qualifying deadline is May 16. While on the council, Cooper played a foil to former Mayor Megan Barry and to Briley, the Scene said. He questioned economic incentives and voted against the major league soccer stadium deal. Although Briley has been fundraising since last year, Cooper could provide his campaign some of his own money, as he did in 2015, the Scene said. Swain said she raised $118,000 in less than a month, The Star reported Saturday. The Swain campaign spent less than 7 percent of the money raised compared to incumbent…
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Metro Nashville Mayor David Briley announced a $750 million affordable housing program on Tuesday. The “Under One Roof 2029” program will create 10,000 new units of affordable housing in 10 years, Briley said, according to a story by WKRN. The city plans to contribute $500 million of the total $750 million. Briley asked for the private sector to chip in $250 million with such tools as a real estate investment trust, WKRN said. NewsChannel 5 quoted the mayor as saying, “Nashville is thriving in many ways, and that is a good thing as growth creates better-paying jobs and generates revenue for schools, roads, parks and libraries,” Mayor Briley said. “Yet the true measure of a great city is how it treats all of its citizens – making sure growth is balanced by continuing to invest in people. The Under One Roof 2029 initiative will help ensure we all move forward together.” Under the plan, Nashville will give Metro Development and Housing Agency $350 million for overhauling and adding units, the Nashville Post said. Nashville will give $150 million to the Barnes Fund to create a minimum of 5,000 units. Fox News 17 provided a Facebook video of the announcement, which is…
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