The Tennessee House of Representatives voted 68-20 on Monday to pass the largest business tax cut bill in state history.
The House’s bill version, SB 2103/HB 1893, would refund $713.6 million or one year of franchise tax.
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Tennessee State Representative William Lamberth (R-Portland) filed a resolution on Tuesday condemning neo-Nazism and the National Socialist Movement in the Volunteer State.
“God is the creator of all humans and races,” the resolution reads. “Racism and hatred in any form are repugnant and sinful…There is an intentional effort by neo-Nazis to ignite racial animosity and divide neighbors, friends, and communities by promoting a message of hatred and ethnic cleansing…Neo-Nazis wish to further spread a dangerous ideology rooted in Holocaust Era fascist movements and socialism through their affiliation with the National Socialist Movement.”
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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee did not include a grocery tax holiday in this year’s budget proposal, but a proposed bill would begin allowing counties and municipalities to cut or remove grocery tax.
Senate Bill 2520 was set to be heard Tuesday in the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Revenue Subcommittee but was instead delayed two weeks to March 5.
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The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition (TNFFC) released a statement commending the passage of a bill in the Tennessee House of Representatives which addresses child and human trafficking.
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The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition (TNFFC) Board of Directors released a statement applauding a bill filed by Tennessee House Minority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) which addresses child and human trafficking.
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Tennessee House Minority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) filed a bill for the upcoming special session of the General Assembly which would make the autopsies of “victims of violent crime who are minors” confidential.
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During a special meeting called on Monday, the Nashville Metro City Council unanimously voted to reinstate State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) to the Tennessee House of Representatives after he and another Democrat representative were expelled last week.
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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed two bills Thursday, one that prohibits minors from receiving puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and transgender surgeries, and another that outlaws drag shows in public spaces and restricts them to age-appropriate venues.
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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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Author and journalist Matt Walsh released an updated list of speakers who will be attending the ‘Rally to End Child Mutilation’ Friday at the Tennessee State Capitol.
As previously reported by The Tennessee Star, Walsh announced the rally to “end child mutilation, sterilization, and abuse in Tennessee hospitals and beyond” earlier this month after he broke the story on how Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) was caught providing transgender surgeries to minors.
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Tennessee State House of Representatives Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland), and House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) all reacted to the news that former Speaker of the Tennessee House Glen Casada and his former chief of staff Cade Cothren were indicted by a federal grand jury on Monday and arrested early Tuesday morning by the FBI by issuing public statements.
Sexton said on Tuesday that Tennessee will not “tolerate public corruption, defrauding our state, or bribery at any level.”
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The Tennessee House Select Committee on Redistricting held its first of many meetings on Wednesday, starting the process of refitting the Volunteer State’s legislative districts to correspond to population changes.
“Over the course of the next several months, this committee will work together to develop a fair and constitutional redistricting plan for the state House, Senate and Congress,” committee Chair Curtis Johnson (R-TN-Clarksville) said.
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U.S. Senate candidate Bill Hagerty on Wednesday announced more than 1,000 endorsements from government officials, business leaders, law enforcement officers, and community leaders across all of Tennessee’s 95 counties.
This, according to a press release that members of Hagerty’s campaign posted on his website.
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State Rep. William Lamberth (R-Portland) and State Sen. Mike Bell (R-Riceville) have put forward a bill that would make government entities provide more information to the public on upcoming government meetings.
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Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee and other officials announced Thursday they will submit pro-life legislation to the Tennessee General Assembly durable enough to survive a court challenge and even a left-leaning judge.
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As the chief officer of the Republican Party in the House, Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) told The Tennessee Star that he will not run for the role of Speaker after Glen Casada (R-Franklin) steps down. Casada, who was elected into the role of Speaker of the House in January 2019, became embroiled in a media frenzy that started in the last days of the first session of the 111th General Assembly and lasted about three weeks. After several private texts with racial and sexual content with his chief of staff were released, the chief of staff was accused of altering the date of an email to frame a regular protestor at the Capitol, allegations of surveilling committee rooms and wrongdoing on the vote to pass the Education Savings Account, the House Republican Caucus held a private meeting that resulted in a vote of no confidence in Casada as Speaker. “I’m not interested in running as Speaker at this time,” Lamberth told The Star. He further elaborated, “I ran for State Representative for a two year term – and that’s a blessing. I love serving my community.” “I also ran to serve as Majority Leader for a two-year term,”…
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Legislators have put off a bill designed to ward off people who supposedly make one too many open records requests, according to the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government. The legislation, Senate Bill 590 and House Bill 626, permits people who work for Tennessee government entities to seek an injunction against anyone who seeks public records requests “in a manner that would cause a reasonable person, including a records custodian or any staff of the public entity in control of the public records, to be seriously abused, intimidated, threatened, or harassed.” “The bills’ sponsors, Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, and Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, offered different amendments to their bills before asking to defer committee action until the first calendars of 2020,” according to the TCOG’s website. “Both said they filed the bills at the request of the city of Gallatin who had been overwhelmed by requests to inspect records from one particular public records requester.” As the TCOG went on to say, an amendment made exceptions for journalists and anyone who wanted to gather government information for mass audiences. That activity does not constitute harassment. Government entities would also have to file a report with the state’s Office of Open Records…
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House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) said in a statement released late Friday afternoon he wants Tennessee’s state and local governments to make more public records available online for the sake of what he called “greater government transparency.” The statement released by his office continued: I am calling on both state departments and local governments to evaluate all records that may be placed online and to explore ways to increase availability,” said Leader Lamberth. “Republicans in the legislature stand for more transparency for our citizens,” said Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin). “I am fully supportive of Leader Lamberth’s efforts, and I appreciate his desire to lead on this issue.” Lamberth is currently working with all interested parties and constituents on an amendment to House Bill 626 in efforts to streamline the process of open records requests, protect record custodians, increase online accessibility, and to enhance government transparency. “In this day and age with all of our technology, we should be able to fulfill open records requests online,” added Lamberth. Some people who were angry with him Friday morning might never have guessed he’d say such a thing later in the day. After all, these were the same folks who took to social media…
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If government officials accuse you of filing one too many public records requests, then they could use the courts to penalize you under a proposed bill at this year’s Tennessee General Assembly. State Rep. William Lamberth (R-Cottontown) introduced the bill this session. As written, a government official could seek an injunction to keep people “from making records requests that constitute harassment.” If an injunction goes through, then the person requesting government records could make no further requests for one year, according to the bill. That person, though, could ask a court to reverse the decision – but only if he or she shows “the public records request does not constitute harassment.” “Harassment” means three or more public records requests within a period of one year that are made in a manner that would cause a reasonable person, including a records custodian or any staff of the public entity in control of the public records, to be seriously abused, intimidated, threatened, or harassed,” according to the bill, as currently written. “For which the conduct in fact seriously abuses, intimidates, threatens, or harasses the person; and that are not made in good faith or for any legitimate purpose, or are made maliciously.”…
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On the November 9 deadline for Republican members to declare an intention to run for a State House leadership position, the Majority Leader selection just turned from a two-way into a three-way race. As The Tennessee Star reported, the Tennessee House leadership selections will be held this year on November 20, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving as required by the House Republican Caucus Bylaws. The most important and Constitutional positions in the House, Speaker and Speaker Pro-Tempore, will be selected by the Republican Caucus members and voted on by the entire House of Representatives at a January organizational meeting. As the chief officer of the Republican Party in the State House, it is the most important Caucus leadership role. The duties of the Republican (Majority) Leader are largely related to coordinating, negotiating and representing the legislative interests of the House Caucus to the Senate and Executive Branch and vice versa. As with any election, the candidates appeal to the electorate for their vote. In this case, the candidates ask for votes from their fellow Republican House members. The candidates for House Majority (Republican) Leader are William Lamberth (Cottontown), Jerry Sexton (Bean Station) and Ryan Williams (Cookeville), with Sexton the latest to…
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