Craig Fitzhugh Waits A Week To Endorse Karl Dean After Getting Crushed In Primary

Craig Fitzhugh, Karl Dean

State Rep. Craig Fitzhugh on Friday endorsed Karl Dean, the candidate who crushed him in the Democratic primary for the governor’s race last week, trying to show they are now best buds. Former Nashville Mayor Dean took 75.1 percent of the vote to the outgoing Democratic House minority leader’s 19.5 percent, Ballotpedia reported. Fitzhugh (D-TN-82) must have decided one week and one day was enough time to heal all wounds, as he tweeted his endorsement on Friday: “I’m all in for @KarlFDean and you should be, too. For more #jobs, higher wages, for #educators & #MedicaidExpansion—there’s only one choice. #TeamDean” A Republican leader pointed out the brittle Democratic coalition. Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden said in a statement, “More than a week after the primary elections, Tennessee Democrats have just now managed to get their two candidates on the same stage. Their delay stands in stark contrast to the quick unity shown by the Republican party, where all four of gubernatorial candidates came together in a strong show of support for Bill Lee just two days after his nomination. While Dean and Fitzhugh scramble to bring their supporters together, Bill Lee continues to energize Tennesseans from all walks of…

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Chaos at the Capitol: Democrats’ Quid Pro Quo Education Money for Gas Tax Votes Passes, But Budget in Limbo

Tennessee Star

Thursday on the House floor, between recesses where Republicans were presumably working out their differences over parts of the budget, and working their way through a pile of amendments to HB511, Democrat Rep. Craig Fitzhugh, the House Minority Leader, went to bat for a third time to secure a pot of recurring education money to be used at the discretion of local school districts. Fitzhugh opened his remarks by acknowledging a “rumor” that the Democrats had cut a deal with Governor – gas tax votes for the education slush fund, but he denied that there was any quid pro quo agreement. The starting bid for Fitzhugh’s proposed K-12 Block Grant Act was $500 million which he admitted was “ambitious.” It was then reduced to $250 million which he admitted was also “too much.” The new amount introduced in Amendment #7 to the budget, was further reduced to $150 million, money that Fitzhugh said would go to all the state’s public schools, poor and rich alike. Appealing to his House colleagues to pass his amendment, Fitzhugh said that approving the block grant funds that would be held in a trust fund would help get around the Copeland Cap problem. Fitzhugh closed…

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School Bus Seat Belt Legislation Passes House Committee

Tennessee Star

  A bill that would require seat belts on Tennessee public school buses passed a House panel Tuesday morning. The Education Administration and Planning Committee passed the proposed legislation on a voice vote. Supporters attending the meeting clapped after the vote was taken. The measure is in response to a school bus crash in Chattanooga in November in which six children were killed and dozens injured. Bus driver Johnthony Walker was charged with vehicular homicide. Police say Walker was speeding when the bus crashed into a tree and flipped over. The seat belt bill is sponsored by two Chattanooga legislators, JoAnne Favors, a Democrat in the House, and Todd Gardenhire, a Republican in the Senate. The amended bill would require buses purchased starting July 2019 to have seat belts. During a discussion before the vote Tuesday, Rep. Craig Fitzhugh (D-Ripley) said the bill is “a long time coming.” “We are buckled up everywhere,” he said, adding that school buses should be no different. Downplaying concerns that young children might not be able to unfasten their seat belts in an emergency, Fitzhugh said his three-year-old grandson can work himself out of his car seat restraints in “a New York second.” But opponents…

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In-State Tuition For Illegal Immigrants Fails in House Committee

Tennessee Star

  A Tennessee bill that would have offered in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants died in a House committee Tuesday morning, effectively ending its path forward this legislative session. The Education Administration and Planning Committee shot down the bill in a close and emotional 6-7 vote. The bill was sponsored in the House by Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) and has been sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga). Both are Republicans. “I cannot pass the burden onto the taxpayers of Tennessee,” said Rep. Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro) during a discussion before the vote. She said Tennessee would become a magnet for illegal immigrant families who would want their children to be able to take advantage of in-state tuition. The influx would create a need for more schools at the K-12 level and raise property taxes at time when some schools already have a number of portable classrooms, she said. Similar legislation passed in the Senate in 2015 but failed by just one vote in the House. Rep. Mark White, the House bill sponsor, was overcome with emotion Tuesday and seemed near tears as he asked for support for the bill. He said young people brought to the U.S. through no…

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