Day: April 12, 2017

Letter to the Editor: Haslam’s ‘Tax Cut Act of 2017’ Straight Out of Orwell’s 1984

Admin
Tennessee Star

  Dear Tennessee Star, In George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece 1984, the unfortunate character Winston is battling desperately to grasp objective truth. Meanwhile the power mongers ruling the Ministry of Truth tell him, “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” Orwell thought he was writing satire; too bad he couldn’t witness our Tennessee General Assembly, where a tax increase is hawked as a tax cut. Gone is the IMPROVE Act; now we have the “Tax Cut Act of 2017.” Same steaming cowpie, just an added dash of Haslamian perfume. We must assume our politicians dreamed this up supposing that average Tennesseans are complete imbeciles who salivate at the mere mention of tax cuts. Well, tax cut for whom, you may ask? Good question. Short answer – it ain’t us. Longer answer – the bulk of the tax cuts are specifically in the Franchise and Excise tax, targeted to save some of Tennessee’s largest corporations about $113 million. Most conservatives might be fine with reasonable corporate tax reductions as the state runs a $2 billion surplus, but not in the same bill that seeks to slam average Tennesseans with a huge increase in fuel taxes. The Governor and his political…

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State Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver: School Bus Seat Belts a Bad Idea

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  State Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver on Wednesday called a bill that would require seat belts on Tennessee school buses “emotionally-driven” and  “bad policy.” Weaver (R-Lancaster) made her comments when the proposed legislation was brought before the House Education Administration and Planning Committee. The bill is sponsored in the House by Rep. JoAnne Favors (D-Chattanooga) and in the Senate by Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga). It comes in the aftermath of a Chattanooga school bus crash in November in which six children were killed and others 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. Weaver said requiring seat belts could lead to more deaths as a result of little children not being able to work themselves out of their restraints, especially if a bus caught fire or ended up in water. “This is a very dangerous bill,” Weaver said. The bill originally called for any bus purchased starting July 2018 to be equipped with a restraint system and required any bus currently in use to have seat belts by July 2023. The bill was later amended to require only buses purchased starting July 2019 to have seat…

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BREAKING: Mark White’s Second Bill That Would Have Granted In-State Tuition to Illegal Immigrants Fails

Chris Alto

Rep. Mark White’s (R-Memphis) second bill, HB660, that if left unamended, would have allowed the governing boards of state colleges and universities to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrant students, failed in the House Education committee for lack of a majority on a 6-6 vote. During committee testimony, the TN Board of Regents lobbyist explained that for their institutions, this bill was about revenue – filling seats in their schools and being able to make their own rules about border state recruiting.  The UT lobbyist explained that flexibility in being able to offer in-state tuition as part of the universities’ business model could be more beneficial than the revenue generated by out-of-state tuition. In sponsoring this bill, Rep. White wanted to uniformly expand the authority of the new school governing boards that were created by the Governor’s FOCUS Act, but White also used the bill as an opportunity to have a second bite at the apple to give illegal immigrant students access to in-state tuition should his other bill, HB863 fail to pass.  That bill was defeated in the House Education committee yesterday. During an earlier House Education subcommittee hearing, concern was raised by Chairman Harry Brooks, as to whether…

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BREAKING: Majority of House Republicans Oppose Gas Tax Increase in ‘Secret’ Whip Vote, 37 to 30

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

  Earlier this week the House Republican Caucus Chair Rep. Ryan Williams (R-Cookeville) conducted a secret poll of the House GOP Caucus members to gauge support for the Haslam IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017.” Williams distributed popsicle sticks to members of the Caucus for them to cast their votes in favor or opposition to the bill as it currently stands. The Tennessee Star has obtained a copy of the Williams vote tally, which shows a clear majority of the Caucus poised to vote against the IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017” that was passed out of the Finance Committee yesterday by voice vote. The “secret” vote among the Republican Caucus members revealed that there are currently 37 “no” votes, 30 “yes” votes, 2 “present and not voting”, and 4 popsicle sticks that were not returned. The GOP Caucus is currently comprised of a total of 73 House Members. Passage of the IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017” on the House Floor will require 50 votes. Therefore, if the numbers revealed in the secret vote tally hold, Governor Haslam will have to secure the votes of almost the entire Democratic Party Caucus to pass his tax plan,…

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Next Bill That Could Grant In-State Tuition to Illegal Immigrant Students on Education Calendar Today

Chris Alto

  Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) and Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) have sponsored two bills this session that would grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrant students. HB863 failed in the House Education committee Tuesday on a 7-6 vote but Rep. White’s other bill, HB660, looks like it will be the first bill considered by the committee on Wednesday morning. This White/Gardenhire bill would authorize the new college and university governing boards to decide which students are eligible to pay in-state tuition rates. “The bill is designed to allow each local community and institution to do what is best for their institution” is how Rep. White’s office described the bill in an email to the Tennessee Star. Importantly, however, HB660 “exempts the extension of in-state tuition that this amendment provides from the definition of ‘state or local public benefit’ under the ‘Eligibility Verification for Entitlements Act’” according to an earlier email statement from Paul Marsh in Rep. White’s office. Last year, the Tennessee legislature passed Governor Haslam’s FOCUS Act enabling the six universities in the Board of Regents system, including Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State University and MTSU to have their own boards that among other duties, will oversee tuition. When White’s HB660…

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Bill Would Make Payroll Deductions Easier For Teachers In Professional Organizations Other Than TEA

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

A bill advancing in the Tennessee state legislature would ensure that school districts that allow payroll deductions for union dues would also allow payroll deductions for membership in any professional employee organization. The bill is backed by Professional Educators of Tennessee (ProEd), an association that is not a union and does not endorse political candidates. The Tennessee Education Association (TEA), the dominate union in Tennessee that is an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), has had a “virtual monopoly” on payroll deductions for more than 30 years, according to ProEd. Some districts do allow deductions for other organizations but overall policies are “inconsistent and arbitrary,” with other districts coming up with various reasons for why organizations other than TEA can’t be accommodated, said Audrey Shores, chief operating officer for ProEd. The bill goes before the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee on Wednesday. Automatic payroll deduction is easy and convenient because it allows teachers to spread out payment for their dues over the entire year, according to ProEd. Some districts don’t do payroll deductions for any group, Shores said. The proposed legislation leaves it up for districts to decide whether they want to do payroll deductions, but says that if…

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Constitution Series: The Separation of Powers

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

    This is the third part of the second of twenty-five weekly articles in The Tennessee Star’s Constitution Series. Students in grades 8 through 12 can sign up here to participate in The Tennessee Star’s Constitution Bee, which will be held on September 23.   The Separation of Powers between three equal branches of the national government–legislative, executive, and judicial– along with Federalism are the two foundational concepts of the Constitution of the United States that protect the freedoms and liberties guaranteed to individual citizens. Both foundational concepts are the practical implementation of the Founding Fathers’ belief in the need for checks and balances to prevent the rise of uncontrolled abuses of power within one branch of government. “It is safe to say that a respect for the principle of separation of powers is deeply ingrained in every American,” the National Archives website says: The nation subscribes to the original premise of the framers of the Constitution that the way to safeguard against tyranny is to separate the powers of government among three branches so that each branch checks the other two. Even when this system thwarts the public will and paralyzes the processes of government, Americans have rallied to its defense. One Founding Father,…

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Tommy Vallejos Will Run For Mark Green’s State Senate Seat

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

Montgomery County Commissioner Tommy Vallejos says he plans to run for state Sen. Mark Green’s vacated seat. Green (R-Clarksville) was recently nominated by President Trump to become secretary of the army. There will be a special election to replace Green once he is confirmed. Vallejos, a county commissioner since first getting elected in 2010, also serves as board chairman for Latinos For Tennessee, a group that promotes conservative values and policies. A retired army veteran, he is an associate pastor at Faith Outreach Church in Clarksville and has been involved in prison ministries and gang awareness and prevention. Vallejos told The Tennessee Star he wouldn’t run as a Republican but then legislate as a liberal once at the Capitol. “We have too many RINOs there now,” he said, referring to the moniker Republicans in Name Only. “I don’t want to be one of those. You’ve got to stand on principles.” Vallejos, 54, lives in Clarksville and has been married almost 35 years. He and his wife have four children and seven grandchildren. He is a native of New Mexico. Early in the 2016 presidential election cycle, Vallejos campaigned for Ted Cruz but later stood by Trump after he became the Republican…

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Steve Gill Commentary: Gaming the System

Steve Gill
Tennessee Star

How the Teachers Union Has Manipulated the State into Subsidizing Political Action For over three decades the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) has held a privileged position in regard to payroll deduction of membership dues for Tennessee teachers. It is a virtual monopoly that is inherently unfair to both educators and taxpayers. The primary purpose is retaining political power rather than promoting professional growth for the members. Tennessee has clearly established that teachers should have the right to join the professional association of their choosing, so it follows that we should establish a process that makes the payment of their dues to their chosen organization fair, honest and simple. Many of the districts who currently offer payroll deductions to support the TEA are not allowing the choice of other organizations, or they impose barriers to equal access to the teachers in the system in order to create an almost insurmountable obstacle to competition. With the union’s unified dues structure, this means school districts are not only collecting local and TEA dues, but NATIONAL Education Association (NEA) dues as well. FUNDING POLITICAL ACTIVITIES Determining political activity has never been fully vetted or explained. In Tennessee the Attorney General confirmed last June (AG…

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Letter to the Editor: Mandatory Union Dues Fund Leftist Causes at the Expense of Conservative Union Members

Admin
Tennessee Star

  Dear Tennessee Star, It really is simple the more members who pay union dues affords greater political clout for that union and feed the union bureaucracy. Most people still have a lot to learn about unions, especially in education. Many have likened unions to being an ATM to left-wing politicians and causes. Too many people vaguely equate the union with that classroom teacher whom they know and respect, not with the hard-as-nails political entity that dictates bad school policy. It makes little sense for teachers to contribute their hard-earned dollars to political and ideological causes they oppose. For example, a teacher union’s goal, of course, is political power, not education. This means of course they funnel union money to politicians who support their agenda. So how do the government unions, whose leaders run to the left of the average worker, get away with spending dues dollars on candidates and causes that so many of its members revile? The answer very simply is because its members let them. In fact, in all elections since 1989, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has given $76,446,797 to Democrats and liberals and just $363,000 to Republicans and conservatives. In other words, less than…

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Gas Tax Increase Passes House Finance Committee on a Voice Vote

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

  Rep. Charles Sargent (R-Franklin), chairman of the House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee, presided over a voice vote on Tuesday that advanced the controversial IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017” to the Calendar and Rules Committee, where it awaits scheduling for a vote on the floor of the full House. Rep. Barry Doss (R-Leoma), as sponsor of the bill, once again presented the features of the  IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017.” Doss unexpectedly made a point of saying that the renaming of the bill last week to include The Tax Cut Act of 2017 was something that was not important to him, but it was to its sponsor, Rep. Gerald McCormick (R-Chattanooga). Chairman Sargent allowed a leisurely-paced question and answer period from Committee members to Rep. Doss, which came primarily from Democrat members of the Committee. Rep. Mike Carter (R-Ooltewah) pointed out that while he wished it wasn’t included in the IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017”, he wouldn’t vote for a bill that didn’t include the change from the franchise and excise tax to the single sales factor due to the loss of Polaris from his district to the state of Alabama. Rep. David Hawk (R- Greeneville)…

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