A bill scheduled to be heard by the House Commerce Committee on Tuesday would enter Tennessee into an interstate compact with Arkansas and Mississippi for the greater Memphis region, creating a quasi-governmental and public entity of unelected commissioners that will be vested with very broad powers, including eminent domain and condemnation of any and all rights or property.
If enacted, the legislation would create the RegionSmart Development District (District) and the RegionSmart Development Agency of the Greater Memphis Region (RegionSmart Development).
The district will include the Tennessee counties of Shelby, Fayette and Tipton; Arkansas counties of Crittenden, Craighead and Mississippi; and the Mississippi county of DeSoto.
RegionSmart Development shall be governed by a 15-member unelected commission which resides in the district, and consist of five members from each state appointed by the mayors of the respective cities or counties within the district who will serve staggered three-year terms.
According to SB1915 / HB 1989, sponsored by State Senator Page Walley (R-Bolivar) and State Representative Kevin Vaughan (R-Collierville), respectively, the commission will operate virtually autonomously and have very broad powers that include but are not limited to:
– employment of individuals in capacities appropriate to fulfilling the mission, including a president or other executive officer
– contracting with individuals as well as governmental and non-governmental entities to provide services to each other and to RegionSmart Development
– applying for grants and funding from governmental and non-governmental sources
– owning and operating facilities as well as charging and collecting fees for use of those facilities
– receiving funds from governmental or non-governmental entities, including the federal government
– disbursing funds
– making plans for streets, highways, parkways, parking areas, terminals, water supply, sewage, disposal works, recreational and conservation facilities, land-use pattern and development of the district
– petitioning any number of commissions or governmental authorities having jurisdiction in the premises and intervening in any proceeding affecting the commerce of the district
– the disposal or acquisition, planning, construction, operation and maintenance of roads, airports, wharves, docks, harbors and industrial parks adjacent to and necessary and convenient to critical infrastructure and disposal of refuse or waste
– issue bonds and borrow money
– eminent domain and condemnation over any and all rights or property, of any kind or character
– own and operate facilities and collect revenues for the use of the facilities
– develop and implement marketing and communication strategies
The commission would be required to:
– inform themselves of matters necessary to fulfill their duties and attend meetings
– be subject to conflicts of interest policies
– not take action unless three commissioners from each state are present and majority from each state vote in favor of the action
– exercising the powers of eminent domain or condemnation of property must be by unanimous vote of the commissioners in the state of the subject property
– adopt bylaws as well as policies related to open records, employment and procurement
The District and Development Agency is purportedly being established to improve the quality of life, promote economic development, stimulate economic growth, minimize unemployment and promote the general welfare for the benefit of the citizens of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee, according to the bill.
HB1989 was presented by its sponsor Vaughan to the Business & Utilities Subcommittee of the House Commerce Committee last week, during which he explained to his fellow committee members, “What this tri-state compact will allow us to do is to seek opportunity for funding for projects that affect a multi-state region.”
Getting to the crux of the matter which was related to accessing additional federal funding, Vaughan continued, “The federal government recognizes multi-state compacts particularly in the latest infrastructure bill and in that there were 38 separate pots of money or opportunity funds that an organization like this could secure.”
Vaughan did not say the project would have been eligible for federal funding if this interstate compact were in place, but mentioned the replacement bridge across the Mississippi River which closed a portion of I-40 for about three months during the middle of 2021.
Following Vaughan’s presentation of the bill no questions were asked about the constitutional limit of the General Assembly to delegate powers belonging to the legislative branch, about what happens if one of the two other states that are not as fiscally sound as Tennessee are unable to pay any accrued debt, and whether “the powers of eminent domain and condemnation over any and all property, of any kind of character” extend to historical properties.
Taking only about two minutes and 10 seconds between the presentation of the bill and the customary voice vote in House committees and subcommittees, HB1989 advanced to the full House Commerce Committee calendar for Tuesday, February 22.
The companion SB1915 was scheduled to be taken up by the Senate Government Operations Committee on February 16, but was deferred to March 2.
The fiscal impact of the legislation at the state and local level “cannot be reasonably determined,” due to multiple unknown variables, including “which entities will provide funding, the rate and timing of any fees charged, the amount of any funds to be disbursed, the amount of money to be borrowed, or the timing in which this may become effective,” according to the fiscal note.
If the measure receives approval of the majority of both the Tennessee House and Senate and is signed into law or allowed to go into effect after 10 days by Governor Bill Lee, the compact will go into effect upon passage of similar legislation by either Arkansas or Mississippi.
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Laura Baigert is a senior reporter at The Star News Network, where she covers stories for The Tennessee Star and The Georgia Star News.
Photo “Memphis Skyline” by Thomas R Machnitzki. CC BY 3.0.
Granting unelected busybodies the power of eminent domain to steal land? Well, now we all know where the first batch of Biden’s crack-pipes went! Directly to the TN legislature!
[…] https://tennesseestar.com/2022/02/22/proposed-legislation-would-enter-tennessee-into-an-interstate-c… […]
Ah, the siren song of utopia just ahead! Sweet dreams of rejoicing that everyone will have a high-paying job and an uncrowded highway to travel back and forth. The images of plush neighborhoods with swimming pools in every yard and ultimate security from scruffy outsiders. Yes, it is a legislator’s dream to make such a beautiful dream come true. Don’t ruin the moment by asking about costs and the loss of freedom. Haven’t such dreams always worked out? Everywhere?
Exactly doesnt matter that this bill just opened up the right to a company(S) allegedly “Blackrock” (how bout that name) to buy out your land or take it by eminate domain. Im sick of the radical climate change , WEF, do gooders that are totally buffalloing a dumbed down population that will gladly or blindly give up there rights as long as the can drink thier sugare fillled coffee, get their latest high tech leash and UGI. We are so screwed.
Ha yea our wonderful, safe, freedom filled area we call the mid south, not many even know how much turmoil a “private entity “ newly owned by blackrock ,( Bill and Hillary Clinton’s personal piggy bank in the 90’s ) will end up doing to their newly acquired owned area will be used by the world govt to keep humanity “penned into” area from traveling when the time comes though people ONLY when the time is ready ?!?!!!!
[…] By Laura Baigert | Tennessee Star […]
Let’s see . . . “Quasi-governmental”. So, not actually a government agency. And no government agency has lawful authority to grant non-elected officials the power to steal, whether it’s called eminent domain or police confiscation.
Which means we need to find out who in government, elected or bureaucrat, is attempting to defraud citizens of their property.
Then we need to place them in stocks. Or better.
Write your representatives immediately, this thing has opportunity for fraud written all over it!!! I just sent a text to each of mine,
Oh , well , that’d be our wonderful mayors signing without ever letting us know , very little in the news , IOW they snuck it by in private !
Another layer of Unelected Government with no accountability to we the People. This is an absolutely Horrible Idea.
The RegionSmart Development District already has a nice website, like it is a “done deal” as they say in the Nashville area. Looks like a bunch of developers with political cronies, looking for new ground to despoil. I’m surprised that Hardeman County isn’t involved. There’s some prime land just outside Bolivar on Highway 18 North (in the 23000’s) that could use some heavy industrial development…
I heard about this on news radio, it sounds unreal, then I went on the website and found two names behind this whole thing and looked them up, there is minimal funding it appears on the site at this point. The girl listed as the CEO of this thing is highly supportive of the Ukraine and really not much else is there, seems very off. Just the other day, I looked into something that is going on in Texas with a company touting to bring energy independence to Texas, etc. called Max Midstream, looked them up there is many controversies then find out the guy behind it is supposedly from the UK and his wife from Ukraine, sounded strange to me. Why all of this Ukraine involvement here? Then I find that George Soros, Clinton and others were in deep there in Ukraine bringing American involvement now we have Ukrainians setting up shop everywhere with odd business dealings the Max Midstream project is wrought with lawsuits and controversies and again was treated like a foregone conclusion, no accountability at all. What is going on? Elon Musk too just goes around doing what he wants with no interference it appears. These people don’t appear to have it together to me and are corrupt.
Soon, Putin will feel right at home in the USA and TN.
Legal right to steal anyone’s private property.
This is insane, right up bill lees’ alley .
Not satisfied w.taking one time federal public funds to expand Tennessee govt.
Now he’s planning to expand use of the govt/corporate kabal.
Swamp RINOs for the reset- you will own nothing, and you will be happy.
Hey, TN legislators, just say “Hell no!” To this. Take care of what is in TN borders, and that’s it! This bill has alarm bells ringing all over the place.
Unelected bureaucrats with eminent domain power? It doesn’t matter if all three commissioners have to be in agreeance. We all know how this plays out.
If this is the first step in cutting Memphis out of Tennessee then I’m all for it. If we have to lose Tipton and Fayette county to do it then so be it.
Oh dear.
This proposed legislation seems to me to be a BAD, BAD, BAD idea!
In a time when we have just witnessed what can happen to the people of our neighbor to the north—Canada—when the Federal Government there has decreed, in my opinion, unjustified draconian ‘emergency’ measures to impose nondemocratic ruling authority, and similarly, when onerous regulatory measures of petty authorities like school boards etc. have been summarily imposed because of the recent covid pandemic, the people of the State of Tennessee want their elected legislative representatives to ONLY enact legislation which will give ourselves MORE CONTROL over the governmental bodies ruling over us, NOT LESS.
Once these interstate agencies are created, how do we later rid ourselves of them if they become unresponsive and we are not satisfied with their actions? And who pays for these undemocratic bodies (we all know the answer to THAT question)?
It seems to me that we need LESS GOVERNMENT ruling over us, NOT MORE.
Let’s just keep legal control over Tennessee and Tennesseans in Nashville (i.e., our legislature and our Governor and in Tennessee courts), where it belongs, and not somewhere else.
There is a very communist back bone to much of this and come to find out there is a very real possibility that Justin Trudeau is the product of a love affair between his mother and Fidel Castro, photos of the two side by side are remarkably identical and Trudeau appears to be setting up these photo ops to look exactly like a young Castro as if he was groomed for this whole thing his whole life. It seems dark and sinister that these people hide in the shadows waiting for the right moment to reveal who they truly are. Now they are everywhere in government and business as though they have long been waiting to be activated for all of this.