Search Results for: laura Baigert

Heartbeat Bill Passes State House Committee Overwhelmingly With A 15-4 Vote Along Party Lines

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – In front of a standing room only committee room, the House Health Committee passed the Heartbeat Bill by an overwhelming majority of 15 for and 4 against, straight along party lines. The bill, sponsored in the Tennessee House by Representative Micah Van Huss (R-Van Huss) as HB 0077, establishes the viability of a pregnancy when a fetal heartbeat is detected and bans an abortion once the fetal heartbeat is detected. The bill passed through the House Health Subcommittee last week, moving on to the full House Health Committee Tuesday. The hearing of Van Huss’s HB 0077 in the House Health Committee coincided with a previously scheduled Planned Parenthood Day on the Hill, complete with a bus from Knoxville. Pro-life grassroots advocates showed up as well, so that the room appeared to be about equally split, based on outward displays, between those representing two sides of the issue. Despite 14 of the 19 House Health Committee members having signed on to the bill as co-sponsors prior to the meeting, making it fairly obvious the bill would pass, discussion on the bill lasted nearly three-quarters of an hour before a roll call vote was eventually taken. Discussions went back…

Read the full story

Tennessee Star EXCLUSIVE: Country Music’s Stokes Nielson Launches a New Initiative ‘Stokes for Tennessee Freedom’

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Stokes Nielson granted The Tennessee Star an exclusive sit-down in the shadow of the State Capitol to talk about the new venture he is initiating called Stokes For Tennessee Freedom. Stokes will be recognized for his country music career as an award-winning songwriter with the band The Lost Trailers, originally named Stokes Nielson and The Lost Trailers. The twice-nominated band for the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Vocal Group is probably best known for their “Holler Back” single that reached #9 on the country music charts. Stokes, energized and passionate about his new mission, didn’t dwell on his country music career other than to say that he has a background in the business and that he is involved with that community or how it relates to his new initiative. The meeting with The Star, arranged confidentially by a third party without revealing the name of the interviewee, eliminated any potential distracting interview questions about Stokes’ country music life, and allowed the focus to be on his Stokes For Tennessee Freedom effort and what lead him to it. Almost immediately after the introductions, Stokes presented a photocopy of a hand-written letter, currently housed in the National Archives,…

Read the full story

Planned Parenthood Tennessee in Partnership with Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC)

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – During welcome comments made to attendees of Planned Parenthood “Takes the Hill” day at the Tennessee legislature, Tennessee Advocates of Planned Parenthood Executive Director Francie Hunt said the organization is in partnership with Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC). Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood (TAPP) arranged for a free bus Tuesday, February 19, so that advocates from Memphis and Jackson could join “a day of legislative skills training, meeting with your legislators, and attending committee hearings on behalf of Planned Parenthood.” The same day, a group of about 50 pro-life grassroots advocates visited the Capitol to show their support for the Heartbeat Bill, as reported by The Tennessee Star. Hunt told the group of about 30 that met in a Senate Hearing Room on the first floor of the Cordell Hull Building that “The timing of you being here could not be better.” Hunt was referring to the fact that “two bills that we don’t like” would be heard in the House Public Health Subcommittee the following day, saying that “We’ll have some lead time to persuade them as much as possible.” The first of the two bills they oppose, which Hunt said were talked about…

Read the full story

Taxpayer-Funded Tennessee School Board Association Lobbies State Legislature for More Money and Greater Control

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The Tennessee School Board Association, funded through membership dues paid with tax dollars allocated for school systems, lobbies the Tennessee General Assembly on various issues many of which work against taxpayers’ interests. This week, the Tennessee School Board Association (TSBA) held their annual Day on the Hill with approximately 250 attendees primarily made up of school board members from the organization’s 141 member boards around the state, although superintendents are also permitted to attend. The registration fee was $100 per person, and a block of rooms were made available at the DoubleTree Nashville Downtown at a rate of $219 per night, plus tax. The event, which started Monday evening with a program on this year’s proposed legislation and a reception, continued with Tuesday’s “Call to Action: Conquering the Hill,” during which attending school board members and superintendents broke out to meet with their legislators and attend legislative committee meetings. The packet provided to attending school board members, in addition to general logistical information like an agenda, area map and a list of legislators, included more than 20 pages of materials detailing bills that TSBA supports or opposes, TSBA’s 2019 legislative agenda and an issue brief on each…

Read the full story

Tennessee Pro-Life Grassroots Activists Turn Out In Support Of Heartbeat Bill

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – A group of middle Tennessee pro-life grassroots activists rallying behind the bill that would ban abortions in the state after a fetal Heartbeat is detected spent a day on Capitol Hill talking with legislators. As reported by The Tennessee Star, a bill sponsored by Representative Micah Van Huss (R-Jonesborough) as HB 0077 is scheduled to be heard in the House Public Health Subcommittee on Wednesday. A less-than-conservative publication, The Atlantic, suggests that Democrats may have overplayed their hand on abortion, giving the pro-life movement an opportunity. Specifically, The Atlantic discusses two recent events. First, in New York the signing of a bill providing the legal right to abort fetuses that could survive outside the womb was cheered and celebrated by lighting up the city’s Freedom Tower. Then, in Virginia, the state’s Governor, Ralph Northam, defended a state lawmaker’s bill by explaining that after a baby was delivered it would be kept comfortable, resuscitated, “if that’s what the other and family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.” In stark contrast, pro-life advocates in Tennessee wanted to show their support of Van Huss’s Heartbeat Bill, so that legislators would hear a voice…

Read the full story

Proposed Reforms of Civil Asset Forfeiture in Tennessee to Be Heard This Week in House Subcommittee

Laura Baigert

A bill that will make several changes to Tennessee’s civil asset forfeiture procedures will be heard in the Civil Justice Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. House Bill HB 0340, sponsored by Representative Martin Daniel (R-Knoxville), is yet another attempt by the legislator to make the State’s laws more protective of the due process of law and the rights of innocent property owners when it comes to civil asset forfeiture. Daniels sponsored HB 0421 in 2017 where it passed out of the House Civil Justice Committee, but not getting out of the House Criminal Justice Committee, continued into 2018 before its progress was halted by being “taken off notice.” Civil asset forfeiture is a law enforcement tool that permits private property to be seized and retained if it is suspect that it may have been involved in criminal activity without the requirement of a conviction or even criminal charges. In a statement to The Tennessee Star, Representative Daniels said his bill as it stands now will do three things: Require the local district attorney general to examine the facts underlying each seizure and, if the facts do not reveal that the property was taken per probable cause to…

Read the full story

The Tennessee Education Association Teachers Union Spent More Than $500,000 on 2018 State Elections

Laura Baigert

The Tennessee Education Association, the teachers union in the state, spent more than $500,000 between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018 on political activities, according to its filings with the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, most of which went to candidates for state offices. The Tennessee Education Association (TEA) is the state affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), the largest teachers union in the country with a reported three million members. TEA membership is a fractional one percent of NEA’s total membership with about 30,000 members according to the organization’s most recent Form 990 filing with the IRS available through Foundation Center. A review of all the filings of the Tennessee Education Association Fund for Children & Publication Political Action Committee (PAC) with the TBECF revealed that the organization spent $529,000 during this two year period, the majority of which was spent on direct financial contributions to state political party organizations,  state legislative candidates and gubernatorial candidates. The breakdown by category is: $274,000 was donated to or on behalf of state legislative candidates and state gubernatorial candidates $138,000 was donated to state political parties or political action committees associated with state political parties $73,000 was spent…

Read the full story

Tennessee Star EXCLUSIVE: State Rep. Micah Van Huss Introduces Bill to Protect the Unborn through a ‘Heartbeat’ Abortion Ban

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – State Representative Micah Van Huss (R-Jonesborough) is bringing forward a bill that will protect the unborn by banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected. Van Huss told The Tennessee Star that his bill, HB 0077 – carried by Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) in the Senate as SB 1236 – defines a viable pregnancy as opposed to a viable fetus. According to Van Huss’s amendment that makes the bill, the terms “viable” and “viability” mean the presence of an intrauterine fetus with a heartbeat. Van Huss explained to The Star, “After a viable pregnancy, there cannot be an abortion, and a viable pregnancy is after the heartbeat is detected.” As the sponsor of the bill, Van Huss said he believes the bill to be constitutional and added that the Supreme Court has only ever heard and argued a viable fetus – being able to live outside the womb – not a viable pregnancy. Should it be challenged after the bill passes, Van Huss said he is hopeful that the court “will err on the side of life, that they will see the rights that our unborn have.” Van Huss brought a Heartbeat Bill during the 110th Tennessee General Assembly…

Read the full story

Tennessee Star EXCLUSIVE: Governor Bill Lee Makes Special Guest Appearance At Conservative Grassroots Gathering

Laura Baigert

LEBANON, Tennessee – As conservative grassroots leaders gathered from across the state for a bi-annual meeting, Governor Bill Lee took time between speaking engagements to attend as an unannounced special guest. The all-day Tennessee Alliance of Liberty Groups’ summit was an invitation-only, no-media event, but this reporter from The Tennessee Star was allowed exclusive access. The group of about 75 conservative leaders and influencers came to middle Tennessee from as far as Mountain City and Somerville. While Alliance summit attendance varies in who comes and in what numbers, the core group of grassroots conservative leaders has been going strong and consistently since 2009. The announced program for the day-long summit included two segments on Islam from renowned expert on political Islam Dr. Bill Warner as well as author of the 2009 book “Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That’s Conspiring to Islamize America,” Chris Gaubatz. State Representative Bryan Terry (R-Murfreesboro) gave an hour-long presentation on proposed legislation dealing with medical cannabis. In addition, there were presentations on the Heartbeat Bill sponsored by State Representative Micah Van Huss (R-Jonesborough) and Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon), with the Senator joining the meeting for a good part of the day, as well as the…

Read the full story

State Rep. Timothy Hill: Medicaid Block Grants Are the Conservative Way to Expand TennCare Coverage

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – State Representative Timothy Hill is sponsoring HB 1280, which is the first step in the process of requesting Medicaid block grants for the funding of TennCare. The main reason Representative T. Hill is bringing the legislation, he told The Tennessee Star, is that block grants are the conservative way to expand the coverage that TennCare provides. Senator Paul Bailey (R-Sparta) is sponsoring the companion bill SB 1428 in the State Senate, where the measure already has 22 Republican co-sponsors, including Lt. Governor McNally, of the potential 25 Republican State Senators. Representative T. Hill explained that, in doing research, “we found the block grant concept is not new – President Reagan tried it in 1981, Newt Gingrich in the 90’s and was almost successful, and now President Trump has expressed interest for this concept.” “So, Senator Bailey and I feel like it’s the right time to try it again and to try it from the State’s perspective,” continued Hill. Hill doesn’t know how many other states are attempting to take the block grant approach, which is “a fundamental shift in how you pay for the program,” as he put it. Hill said that with Tennessee being a very…

Read the full story

State Representative Bruce Griffey Appears Fox News’ ‘Ingraham Angle’ to Discuss Border Wall Funding

Laura Baigert

Friday night’s episode of Laura Ingraham’s The Ingraham Angle on Fox News Channel featured a segment with Tennessee Representative Bruce Griffey (R-Paris) regarding his bill to fund President Trump’s southern border wall. Laura Ingraham’s television interview with the freshman legislator came two days after she tweeted about the bill, as reported by The Tennessee Star. Griffey’s bill HB 0562 is being sponsored in the Tennessee Senate by Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) as SB 1504. In her introduction prior to the break, Ingraham said, “We have highlighted a number of inventive funding ideas to help build that wall over the last several months. Well, up next is a Tennessee lawmaker who says that he’s figured it out.” Ingraham continued after the break, “Tennessee Representative Bruce Griffey filed legislation earlier this week that would establish a fee imposed on customers for transmitting money through certain entities. Well, that’s a mouthful.” Explaining further, Ingraham said “Basically, what this does is require a levy on money transfers from Tennessee to Mexico and then set aside those fees collected for the border wall.” Ingraham noted that Arizona, Montana and West Virginia are currently or have previously considered similar proposals. Ingraham asked Griffey if his proposal could…

Read the full story

Bill Lee Joins ‘Career Technical Education Day’ Celebration in Sumner County

Laura Baigert

GALLATIN, Tennessee – Governor Bill Lee came to Sumner County to celebrate Career Technical Education Day, part of the larger recognition of the national CTE month of February. The event was held at the Bagsby Ranch, where Lee held a town hall on July 25, 2018, when there were still three days of early voting in the Republican primary before the August 2 election day. Reflecting on that day with its big crowd, the Governor said, “As we pulled in here today, I said it sure does feel different. A whole level of peace and calm,” adding, with a bit of levity, “I don’t gotta talk y’all into anything.” Attendees of the CTE Day event included Director of Sumner County Schools Del Phillips, several school board members, State Representatives William Lamberth (R-Cottontown) and Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville), Compass (Community Outreach Making Partnerships At Sumner Schools) members, several elected officials as well as Sumner County Schools CTE educators and students. As Governor Lee was introduced, he was presented with two gifts made by students of local CTE programs. While the Governor said he talks a lot about CTE, he painted a broader picture when he said he also talks about vocational technical…

Read the full story

New Poll Shows Tennesseans Overwhelmingly Support Education Savings Accounts

Laura Baigert

A new statewide poll released Thursday by the Tennessee Federation for Children shows that when voters receive information about Education Savings Accounts, they are overwhelmingly supportive of a program being passed by the Tennessee Legislature. The poll by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. of 625 registered Tennessee voters was conducted between January 31 and February 4, and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent. Six survey questions were asked during the telephone interview, in addition to participant demographics such as the region of the state, sex, age, race and party identification. The initial question presented to interviewees, “Education Savings Accounts, also known as E-S-A-s, allows parents to use their education tax dollars to customize their child’s learning and development. Approved ESA expenses include technical training, K-12 school tuition, or even special needs therapies from an array of providers, including public and private schools or tutors. Knowing this, would you support or oppose the Legislature passing an ESA program in Tennessee? “ An overwhelming 78 percent of respondents statewide said they support ESAs, of which 54 percent said they “strongly support” the Legislature passing an ESA program. The highest support came from East Tennessee, where 57 percent “strongly support”…

Read the full story

Deadline Passes for Filing of Bills to Be Considered This Year in the Tennessee General Assembly

Laura Baigert

Thursday marked the end of a hectic week for Tennessee lawmakers as the deadline for filing bills to be heard in the first session of the 111th General Assembly approached. The two houses of the General Assembly had their own respective deadline, with the House being on Wednesday and the Senate being Thursday by 3:30 p.m. each day. State Representatives are limited to a maximum of 15 bills each, with the exception of committee chairs, who are allotted an additional five bills each, provided that they pertain to the subject of the committee they chair. There are no limits as to the number of bills a member of the State Senate may carry. By end of business Thursday, the index of legislation on the Tennessee General Assembly website showed that House bills filed numbered through 1499 (HB 1499) and Senate bills filed numbered through 1508 (SB 1508). With bill submission deadlines strictly adhered to, any bill sponsor from either house who was unable to find a sponsor in the other house of the General Assembly, thereby lacking the required companion bill, will not have their bill heard this year. In addition to the bills that were filed, House Joint Resolutions…

Read the full story

Two Proposed Amendments to the Tennessee Constitution Passed the First Hurdle in the Senate

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Two proposed amendments to the Constitution of The State of Tennessee easily passed the first hurdle in the Senate on Tuesday. The Senate State and Local Government Committee voted to advance two resolutions, which is the initial step in the Constitutional Amendment process, SJR0001 by Senator Ken Yager (R-Kingston) and SJR0003 by Senator Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains). Senator Yager’s resolution will amend Article VI, Section 5 of the Tennessee Constitution such that the selection of the State’s Attorney General and Reporter would be nominated by the Supreme Court and confirmed by the General Assembly. As currently provided for in the State Constitution, the Attorney General and Reporter is appointed by the judges of the Supreme Court. As Senator Yager explained to the Committee, his Amendment would provide more transparency by having the Attorney General and Reporter nominated by the Supreme Court in an open court with a recorded vote. Following the Supreme Court’s nomination, the Tennessee General Assembly would have 60 days to confirm. The confirmation must be in both the Senate and the House, separately and with a majority vote. In the event, the General Assembly is not in session when a nomination is made, the…

Read the full story

State Representative Bruce Griffey Makes Official Statement On Congressman Steve Cohen’s Boycott of State of The Union Address

Laura Baigert

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee — On Tuesday, newly-elected State Representative Bruce Griffey (R-Paris) made an official statement to The Tennessee Star in response to Democrat U.S. Representative Steve Cohen’s (TN-09) boycott of President Trump’s State of the Union address scheduled for that evening. As reported by several news outlets on Monday, Cohen was the third Democrat to make such an announcement, telling The Hill, “I will not attend the State of the Union once again this year.” Cohen continued, “I’ll come to the House Chamber for the State of the Union the next time I can hear from a president who will tell the truth about the State of the Union.” In response to Cohen’s boycott announcement, Griffey told The Star, “I’m thrilled, elated, excited and happy for all Tennesseans, because I think Steve Cohen would be an embarrassment to Tennessee.” Not only did he boycott President Trump’s State of the Union address last year, but in November 2017 Cohen filed articles of impeachment against President Trump. Griffey is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump. His conclusion about Cohen, “He’s an embarrassment currently for Tennesseans.” — Laura Baigert is a senior reporter with The Tennessee Star.        …

Read the full story

Paying More Than Asking Price, Sumner County Executive Anthony Holt Spends $654,500 with Campaign Donor to Expand Parking for Communications Center

Laura Baigert

Sumner County’s Executive Anthony Holt executed a deal in which he spent $654,500 to purchase – from a campaign contributor – additional parking for the County’s Emergency Communications Center, which has been in the news over the past several months for ongoing operational problems. Sumner’s Emergency Communications Center (ECC) is a consolidation of the 9-1-1 dispatch services for police, fire and medical services that were previously handled separately by the County as well the cities of Gallatin, Hendersonville, Millersville, Portland and Westmoreland, which opened in July 2017. The ECC project has been beset with problems from its outset, including cost overruns and delays in the construction phase of the project. The problems – most recently reported on in The Portland Sun – are related to the daily operations of the center including high turnover of dispatchers and the resignation of the director and deputy director. The functional result of these issues is that the various emergency service agencies, fire, law enforcement and ambulance, are not getting the information they need to respond appropriately to Sumner County residents’ calls. According to the meeting minutes of December 2018 and January 2019 ECC Executive Committee, comprised of all of the city mayors, the county…

Read the full story

General Assembly to Consider Bill That Seeks to Restore Founders’ Intent for Electing U.S. Senators in Tennessee

Laura Baigert

A bill to be considered by the 111th Tennessee General Assembly will take a major step toward restoring the founding fathers’ intent for how U.S. senators would be elected in the state, which was circumvented by the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The bill, sponsored by Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) in the Senate and Ryan Williams (R-Cookeville) in the House, as SB 0027 and HB 0021, respectively, changes the nomination process for candidates for U. S. Senate. As Senator Niceley explained when he presented a similar bill to the Senate State and Local Government Committee of the 110th Tennessee General Assembly, “Our founding fathers wanted the U.S. House of Representatives to be elected directly by the people. They wanted the U.S. Senate to be elected by the state legislatures. That’s why they called it the states’ house and the people’s house.” Election by state legislatures is how U.S. Senators came into office for more than a century, until the passage of the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1913. As Senator Niceley put it, the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed in a wave of Progressivism. Senator Niceley also made the point in his 2018 presentation of…

Read the full story

House Subcommittee Chairman Issues Warning to Colleagues About Bureaucrats Undermining the Legislative Process

Laura Baigert

The chairman of a State House Subcommittee issued a letter warning his colleagues that the undermining of the legislative process by unelected bureaucrats in Tennessee is a reality. Representative Micah Van Huss (R-Jonesborough) wrote the letter dated January 30, 2019. Van Huss is a member of the House Health Committee, Judiciary Committee and Public Health Committee and is the Chairman of the newly-formed Constitutional Protections and Sentencing Subcommittee. It was as the chairman of that subcommittee that Van Huss found himself in a meeting with a department director, after which he felt compelled to issue his written warning. Van Huss explained, “a department director met with me to discuss how they could be of service to me and our Constitutional Protections and Sentencing Committee this year.” “One of the very first things this person said to me was that they would be of great help this year and that if there is a bad bill they will be able to put a big fiscal note on it,” he wrote. “During the course of the meeting,” Van Huss added, “a similar statement was made a second time.” Van Huss chose not to mention the bureaucrat by name, but did state that…

Read the full story

Governor Bill Lee: Request For Budget Cuts Means Finding Efficiencies So Funding Can Be Redirected Towards Things That Are Really Important

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – In the second of four days of cabinet budget meetings for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, Governor Bill Lee explained that his request for budget cuts  is a signal that what they are looking in his new administration is ways to find efficiencies, so that funding can be redirected towards things that are really important. Lee went into the budget process in his first week as the 50th Governor of Tennessee with meetings scheduled with 25 departments between Friday, January 25, and Wednesday, January 30, and a request for departments to cut two percent from their budgets. Joining him for the budget presentations was his Chief Operating Officer, Butch Eley; Commissioner of Finance and Administration, Stuart McWhorter; as well as Finance and Administration’s David Thurman. After hearing from nine departments on Monday, which represents more than half of the state’s appropriations, Governor Lee clarified for the press that the cuts are not to cut services. Rather, “It’s to be better stewards of the taxpayer money itself.” The cuts from inefficiencies would then be applied to “the places that are really important.” Governor Lee said that the budget process “allows us to think through what we need versus what…

Read the full story

During National School Choice Week, Speaker Pro Tem Bill Dunn Receives Award for School Choice Efforts

Laura Baigert

In celebration of National School Choice Week, Tennessee Federation for Children sponsored a Champions of Choice event at the state capitol to present Representative Bill Dunn with the 2019 Champion award. Standing beside Tennessee Speaker of the House Glen Casada (R-Franklin), Shaka Mitchell, Tennessee’s State Director of American Federation for Children, said that as National School Choice Week is being celebrated this week, they wanted to come together to recognize one of the state’s leaders in education and strong advocate for students, Speaker Pro Tem Bill Dunn (R-Knoxville). American Federation for Children (AFC) is a Washington, D.C. headquartered non-profit organization that seeks to “empower families, especially lower-income families with the freedom to choose the best K-12 education for their children.” The event was held in the Legislative Library located at the state capitol with as many as 100 in attendance including legislators and members of Governor Bill Lee’s staff. AFC’s partner organizations in the effort including Beacon Center of Tennessee, Americans for Prosperity-Tennessee and Tennessee CAN (The Tennessee Campaign for Achievement Now) were also there. AFC’s Mitchell started off by speaking about the quality of education in Tennessee, “The reality is we still have a long way to go,” after…

Read the full story

Parents Group Calls for Resignation or Termination of Sumner County School Director Del Phillips Over School Rezoning

Laura Baigert

GALLATIN, Tennessee – Dozens of parents attended Tuesday evening’s Sumner County Board of Education meeting in opposition to the rezoning plan of Sumner County Schools (SCS) Director of Schools Del Phillips and called for his resignation or termination by the board. The major point of contention for the parents, several of whom wore shirts displaying a Stop Stage 1 logo, is that some elementary and middle school students will be temporarily re-zoned from their current schools for the 2019-2020 school year before being permanently rezoned to newly constructed schools for the 2021-2022 school year. The temporary and permanent series of zone changes have been named by Director Phillips as Stage 1 and Stage 2, respectively. The group of parents organized on October 23, 2018, the same day the rezoning plan was introduced by Director Phillips in a non-voting “retreat” of the school board. The goal of the group, named “Stop Stage 1 – Better Solutions for SCSC Temporary Rezoning,” is to stop the temporary or transitional rezoning of students. Stop Stage 1 is not against the permanent rezoning to the new three-school campus, and in fact, has specifically stated their support for the building of it. Per the school system’s…

Read the full story

Tennessee House And Senate Committees Undergo Major Shakeups

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – On the third day of the 111th Tennessee General Assembly, leadership announced committee assignments in the House and Senate, upsetting the status quo before recessing from their organizational sessions until January 18. During the House Republican caucus elections in November, Glen Casada (R-Franklin) made a commitment that, as Speaker, he would restructure the subcommittee system to expand up on it as well as use the composition to capitalize on subject matter experts. After his election as Speaker earlier this week, Casada, who garnered votes from Democrat Representatives John DeBerry (Memphis), Johnny Shaw (Bolivar) and John Mark Windle (Livingston), promised partnership rather than partisanship. In the final moments of the two-hour floor session of the 3rd organizational day of the House during which the House Permanent Rules of Order for the 111th General Assembly were debated and voted on and mandatory Ethics and Workplace Discrimination & Harassment training were conducted, Speaker Casada announced the House committees, committee members and subcommittee chairs. Keeping to his previous promises, Speaker Casada increased the House standing committees and subcommittees to a total of 43, from the previous 28. All but two committees had one subcommittee previously, but with Speaker Casada’s restructuring, some…

Read the full story

Tennessee State Comptroller and Treasurer Re-Elected To Their Posts

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – On the second day of the 111th Tennessee General Assembly in a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives, the state’s Comptroller and Treasurer were re-elected to additional two-year terms. Justin P. Wilson, Comptroller of the Treasury, and David H. Lillard, Jr., Treasurer, were both unanimously re-elected by voice vote to their respective posts, after having served in them since 2009. The offices of Secretary of State, Comptroller and Treasurer are called for in the Constitution of the State of Tennessee and are elected by the General Assembly. The Comptroller and Treasurer are elected every two years and the Secretary of State, a position held by Tre Hargett also since 2009, is elected every four years. Hargett is currently in the middle of his third term. According to the December 2018 Guide to the Office of the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, the General Assembly approved legislation in January 1836 to create the office for the purpose of ensuring state and local financial integrity, as well as bringing a sense of order to the state’s finances. In 1870, the position was added to the state’s Constitution as a constitutional officer voted on by both houses…

Read the full story

Beth Harwell Hands the Gavel to New Speaker of the Tennessee House Glen Casada As 28 New State Representatives Are Sworn In

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – In the first phase of new leadership in the State of Tennessee, 28 new Representatives were sworn in to the 111th Tennessee General Assembly and the speaker’s gavel was handed from the first female Speaker, Beth Harwell, to Glen Casada. Tennessee’s leadership transition will be complete when Governor-elect Bill Lee is inaugurated on January 19. In front of a capacity crowd on the floor and in the galleries consisting largely of their families, the duly elected state representatives made their oath of office. The next order of business was to elect a new Speaker of the House, which started with a motion by House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Cottontown) nominating Republican Speaker-elect Glen Casada (R-Franklin). Karen Camper (D-Memphis) was the Democrat nominee for Speaker. A roll-call vote resulted in 75 votes for Casada to Camper’s 22 with one “present not voting” and one representative absent. In his acceptance speech which he began near tears, Casada recognized former House Speakers Bill Jenkins, Kent Williams and Jimmy Naifeh. Casada also expressed his appreciation for his immediate predecessor, Beth Harwell, calling her “a woman of character” and a “true class act,” which was punctuated by a standing ovation. With Harwell…

Read the full story

Tennessee’s Freshmen U.S. Representatives Host Swearing-In Events For Supporters in D.C.

Laura Baigert

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tennessee’s three freshman congressman held a variety of events for supporters who made their way to Washington, D.C. for their inaugural swearing in to the 116th Congress on January 3rd. Republicans Tim Burchett (TN-02), Mark Green (TN-07) and John Rose (TN-06) were all sworn into their first term as U.S. Representatives with their families surrounding them and later posed for pictures with the re-elected Democrat Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (CA-12). After making their way through U.S. Capitol Police security in a line that extended outside the building, visitors on the day of the swearing in found themselves navigating crowded hallways and slow-moving elevators to arrive at legislators’ offices. With space being limited on the House floor for the actual swearing-in ceremony, additional invited supporters and guests joined staffers in the representatives’ congressional offices, viewing the events on monitors tuned to C-SPAN. U.S. Representatives are housed in one of the three House Office Buildings (HOB) located on Independence Avenue adjacent to the Capitol: Cannon House Office Building, Longworth House Office Building or Rayburn House Office Building. While the offices of both Burchett and Rose are in Longworth, Green is located in Cannon, the oldest of the…

Read the full story

Governor-Elect Bill Lee Joins Christmas Celebrations of Middle Tennessee Grassroots Conservatives

Laura Baigert

MURFREESBORO and NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Governor-Elect Bill Lee joined middle Tennessee grassroots conservatives, his base, at Christmas celebrations of groups with their hubs in Murfreesboro and Nashville. The two groups called “Sentinels,” originally organized around the Heritage Action for America (HAFA) model of activism. Personal relationships with federal legislators are leveraged with tools like calls to Congress, Twitter and letters to the editor, using data and solutions from Heritage Foundation, so that Sentinels can hold their representatives accountable. “Action” being an integral part of the groups’ very existence, Sentinel activities extend deeper into state and local arenas as well. With 2018 being an election year, for one, and a number of other issues arising, it was a particularly busy year for Sentinels. While the Murfreesboro and Nashville Sentinel groups are separate, they are not so much distinct as there is a fair amount of overlap, and the Nashville group could be considered a more recent extension of the more established and longstanding Murfreesboro group. As independent thinkers and activists, it was not a group decision to endorse a particular candidate for governor in the August 2018 Republican primary. Without any obvious exceptions, however, Sentinels were behind Bill Lee and demonstrated…

Read the full story

Sumner County Executive’s Email Rant Signals Major Property Tax Increase for County In 2019

Laura Baigert

In an email sent to dozens of local elected officials ranting about a political rival, Sumner County Executive Anthony Holt, while seemingly trying to conceal a significant property tax increase in 2019, may have actually revealed that intention. County Executive Holt’s email directed to Sumner County’s County Commission members, other constitutional officers and Gallatin City Council members was under the heading of “Information Regarding County Courthouse Project,” referencing the new, greater than $110 million facsimile of Rutherford County’s new courthouse Sumner County is currently pushing along. The $110 million price tag does not address the identified need of a parking garage, which cost Rutherford County $7 million in 2014 dollars and did not include the land purchase. The courthouse project is running in parallel to the first phase of a new K-12 school campus on the 265 acres purchased in 2015 in the Upper Station Camp area, approved in a special-called Sumner County School Board meeting on October 30. A special-called joint meeting of the Education, Budget and Financial Management Committees held on election eve, November 5, expedited the approval of $103 million in debt to advance the school project on to the regularly scheduled full County Commission meeting November…

Read the full story

Tennessee Lures Amazon to Nashville With $102 Million In Taxpayer-Funded Incentives

Laura Baigert

Nashville won’t be getting Amazon’s new HQ2, but in a surprise announcement Tuesday the city will get Amazon’s new Operations Center of Excellence in exchange for $102 million in taxpayer-funded performance-based incentives. A press conference held at the State Capital with outgoing Governor Bill Haslam, Economic Community Development (ECD) Commissioner Bob Rolfe, and Nashville Mayor David Briley appeared with Amazon’s Holly Sullivan to make the announcement. While Nashville was considered to be in the hunt as one of the top 20 for Amazon’s HQ2, that distinction was awarded to New York and Virginia. Being a finalist “opened the opportunity for Nashville to be chosen for this significant operation,” according to Ralph Schulz, President and CEO of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. The new operation promises 5,000 new jobs with average salaries of $150,000 per year, Haslam said during the press conference. While Amazon’s investment to establish the operation is sited as $230 million, the announcement didn’t address the $102 million in incentives as the trade-off. Incentives from the State include a $65 million grant for capital expenses and allows Amazon seven years to create the 5,000 jobs. A tax credit from the State of Tennessee worth $21.7 million is…

Read the full story

Lamberth, Sexton and Williams Are the Three Declared Candidates to Become the Next State House Majority Leader

Laura Baigert

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…

Read the full story

Republicans Retain Super Majority In The Tennessee General Assembly

Laura Baigert

While there will be plenty of new faces as the Tennessee legislature enters into its 111th general assembly, the total number of seats held by Republicans is reduced by one, but still carries the super majority status of both chambers through a volatile mid-term election. All 99 seats in the State House of Representatives, consisting of 74 Republicans and 25 Democrats, were up for election during Tuesday’s mid-term elections. There were a total of 24 House seats vacated prior to the primaries, several of whom ran for other elected positions at the local, state or national level. Additionally and quite remarkably, two House Committee Chairmen, Barry Doss (R-Leoma) and Tim Wirgau (R-Buchanan) were defeated in the August Republican primaries by first-time conservative candidates Clay Doggett (R-Pulaski) and Bruce Griffey (R-Paris) in Districts 70 and 75, respectively.  Both Doss and Wirgau voted for the gas tax increasing IMPROVE Act, which was a major factor in both races. It’s not as though Republicans didn’t have a fight on their hands, since just eight House Republican candidates went unchallenged by a Democrat in Tuesday’s elections, while nine had to battle both a Democrat and an Independent opponent. Meanwhile, House Democratic candidates got off…

Read the full story

Republicans in State Senate Did Not Support Bill To Secure Tennessee Voting Machines With Paper Ballot Audit Trail

Laura Baigert
Yarbro

When Democrat Senator Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) sponsored a bill earlier this year that would provide greater vote security by requiring that before January 1, 2020, electronic voting machines have the capability to create a voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) for each ballot cast and that the VVPATs be preserved as paper ballots, the bill failed to advance because no Republican on the committee seconded the sponsor’s motion on the proposed legislation. Background The issue of election integrity continues to receive attention since the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2017 notified 21 states that were targeted by hackers during the 2016 election, and the 2018 mid-term elections are viewed as targets for Russian interference. In February, it was reported that Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats testified before the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, “There should be no doubt that Russia perceives that its past efforts as successful and views the 2018 U.S. midterm elections as a potential target for Russian influence operations.” A “Report on Cyber Vulnerabilities in U.S. Election Equipment, Databases and Infrastructure” was an outcome of the 25th annual DEF CON hacker conference held in July 2017 in Las Vegas and, for the first time, featured a…

Read the full story

Tennessee Star Constitution Bee Will Be Held in Franklin Tomorrow

Tennessee Star Staff

FRANKLIN, Tennessee–The second Tennessee Star Constitution Bee, sponsored by the Polk Foundation, will be held in Franklin, Tennessee tomorrow, Saturday April 28 at the Main Auditorium of the Williamson County Administrative Complex. The doors open at 8 a.m., and the competition will begin at 9 a.m., and is expected to wrap up around noon. Participating secondary school contestants are encouraged to arrive by 8:30 a.m. so they can receive their contestant number and have their pictures taken. Students who have not yet signed up online to compete will be allowed to participate if they sign up on site between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. The event is open to the public, which is invited to attend. All Tennessee secondary school students in grades 8 through 12 are eligible to participate. Questions will be based on the book, The Tennessee Star Guide to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for Secondary School Students, which is available free of charge. The winner of the individual competition will be awarded a $3,000 scholarship from the Andrew Woodfin Miller Foundation and will win a free trip for two (themselves and a parent) to Washington, D.C. In addition to the individual championship, at least…

Read the full story

Tennessee Star Editor-in-Chief to Guest Host for Michael DelGiorno on WTN Today

Tennessee Star Staff

Tennessee Star Editor-in-chief Michael Patrick Leahy will be guest hosting for Michael DelGiorno on Nashville’s dominant talk radio station, WTN 99.7 FM, from 9 a.m. to noon today. The 9 a.m. hour will focus on the candidates in the race for the Republican nomination in the 6th Congressional District. State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) is the scheduled guest in the first half hour (see image left), and former Tennessee Chancery Court Judge Bob Corlew (see image below) is the scheduled guest for the second half hour. Former Tennessee Commissioner of Agriculture John Rose was also invited for a separate interview, but was unable to make it due to scheduling issues. In the 10 a.m. hour, a new and surprising twist in the ongoing story about Mayor Megan Barry’s extramarital affair with bodyguard Sgt. Rob Forrest will be the topic of discussion in the first half hour. “You can’t make this stuff up,” Leahy said of the surprising new twist. The Star’s own Laura Baigert will provide an update on the 2018 session of the Tennessee General Assembly in the second half hour. In the 11 a.m. the pros and cons of  Mayor Barry’s $9.2 billion transit plan, which faces a May 1 public…

Read the full story

WSMV: ‘Questions Raised About Nashville Mayor’s Relationship With Officer in Charge of Security Detail’

Tennessee Star Staff

UPDATE 4:49 pm:  The Scene has confirmed that Barry administration staffers are confirming to council members that the mayor had a relationship with a member of her security detail and that she is not resigning. https://t.co/dpsHnZX2C6 — Nashville Scene (@NashvilleScene) January 31, 2018   WSMV is reporting that “The News 4 I-Team has uncovered questions of the relationship between Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and her head of security.” In a story that broke at 2:48 pm but added a significant update at 4:02 pm, WSMV reported: News 4 reported on Tuesday night that Sgt. Rob Forrest had abruptly resigned his position. The News 4 I-Team has heard from multiple sources – Metro Council members, former Council members and lawyers – that Forrest’s resignation from the police force after 31 years was tied to his relationship with Barry. News 4 contacted Penny Forrest, Rob Forrest’s wife, on Wednesday afternoon. She referred questions to her attorney. When asked whether her husband had a relationship with Barry, she responded, ‘You need to ask that question to Mayor Barry.” The News 4 I-Team has reached out to the Mayor’s office for several hours on Wednesday. The only response has been that she is set…

Read the full story

John Rose Declines To Participate in 6th Congressional District Public Forums With Opponent State Rep. Judd Matheny

Admin

HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee – John Rose declined to participate in a public forum here at VFW Post 9851 on Thursday with State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma), his opponent for the Republican nomination in the 6th Congressional District race in 2018 to succeed Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06), who is running for governor. The Hendersonville event was one of four similar forums around the district that Rose will not be attending. In a letter dated October 31 and received on the day of the first forum, Rose declined participating in any of the upcoming forums, as he is “currently focused on meeting and listening to the voters of Tennessee’s Sixth Congressional District,” adding that “there will be a time for forums and debates,” and At the appropriate time, I look forward to a forum sponsored by a well-established, independent, reputable organization. Rose’s letter declining the invitation did not elaborate on what he considered to be a “reputable organization.” The forum was organized by a group of long-time middle Tennessee activists, led by Katherine Hudgins of the 4th Congressional District ; well-known taxpayer advocate and Nashville Tea Party founder Ben Cunningham; founding member of Sumner United for Responsible Government, Ruth Fennel; as well as Kevin…

Read the full story

The Tennessee Star Tops 1 Million Website Visits in Less Than 4 Months

Admin
Tennessee Star

  FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE (Tuesday, May 23) — Today The Tennessee Star announced its online news site has had ONE MILLION visits since its launch February 6. “The Tennessee Star is the only consistently conservative media outlet in the state of Tennessee. This is a conservative state, and Tennesseans have wanted a fact-based news site with a conservative perspective for many years. That’s what we offer, and that’s why we’ve seen such tremendous traffic,” said Managing Editor Christina Botteri. “People are smart and they want to be informed and not preached at or dictated to, and I believe that is a big part of why we are growing at such a substantial rate – especially compared to other area news outlets,” she said. Judson Phillips, a long-time conservative activist and Tea Party Nation founder agreed. “I am not shocked at the excellent performance of The Tennessee Star.  While the Gannett-owned papers read like newsletters for the Tennessee Democrat Party, The Star goes after important stories that the liberal media will not touch,” Phillips said. While the raw viewership of The Tennessee Star is remarkable, media experts also recognize the impact and influence the upstart news outlet is already having at Legislative Plaza. “Attracting one…

Read the full story

More Than 100 Conservative Leaders Urge Mark Green to Resume Campaign for Governor of Tennessee

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee–More than one hundred conservative leaders from across Tennessee are urging State Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville) to resume his campaign for the Tennessee Republican Gubernatorial nomination in 2018. Green was considered the conservative front runner for the nomination, though he had not officially announced, when President Trump nominated the former Army doctor to serve as Secretary of the Army. Green withdrew from consideration after LGBT and Islamic activists criticized some of his past statements and the White House did not actively jump to his defense. The letter released by the 2018 Coalition of more than one hundred conservative leaders across the state urges Green to resume his campaign for Governor and says he “can count on the enthusiastic support of all of us – and thousands of conservatives across Tennessee – should he resume his campaign.” You can see the complete letter on the 2018 Coalition website and read it, as well as the names of all the signators, here below: 2018 Coalition Fellow Tennesseans: As conservative leaders representing thousands of Tennesseans across the state, we are deeply disappointed that Senator Mark Green will not serve our nation as the next Secretary of the Army. A West Point…

Read the full story

The 962 Road Construction Projects Costing $10.5 Billion in The Gas Tax Increase Bill Can Be ‘Modified’ by TDOT

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

Governor Haslam and other administration officials have stated since announcing the IMPROVE Act , now the “Tax Cut Act of 2017,” on January 18 that the purpose of the gas and diesel tax increases included in the bill is to fund 962 needed road construction projects in all 95 counties for a price tag of $10.5 billion.

These projects, however are the seventh in priority in a list of seven things for which the additional funds raised in the bill can be used.

Read the full story

Rep. Judd Matheny and Conservative Majority Caucus Denounce In-State Tuition for Illegal Immigrant Students

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee–State Representative Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma), joined by more than a dozen conservative state house members, held a press conference Monday to voice their strong opposition to the push by Governor Haslam and the Republican leadership to extent in-state tuition privileges to illegal immigrant students. “We are standing up because believe the hard-working families and small businesses that make up our great state need an advocate in Nashville who will put them first. We will stand up for the rights of Tennesseans when legislators fail to hear their constituents,” Matheny said. Tennessee Star cameras were rolling: The Star has covered the developments surrounding the in-state tuition push closely, from state Senators White and Gardenhire’s repeated bill proposals to the Tennessee Farm Bureau’s outspoken support. “Today, our goal is to shine the light of truth on a bill that will give in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants. We believe HB 863/SB 1014 is unconstitutional and it will cost Tennessee taxpayers dearly. It will make us a magnet for illegal immigrants – which will further strain our public education system,” Matheny said. “Our position regarding this bill is simple. Our state cannot afford to subsidize public college tuition for illegal aliens, nor should it.…

Read the full story

Jeremy Hayes to Challenge State Rep. Susan Lynn in GOP Primary Over Her Support of Gas Tax

Tennessee Star Staff

In an exclusive interview with The Tennessee Star, Jeremy Hayes says he will challenge State Rep. Susan Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet) in the 2018 Republican primary because of her support for Gov. Haslam’s gas tax increase proposal. “I think it’s absolutely ridiculous. It’s the dumbest bill,” Hayes, the former co-chairman of the Trump campaign in Wilson County, told The Star’s Laura Baigert when asked his position on the governor’s IMPROVE Act, which raises the price of gas by 7 cents per gallon and the price of diesel fuel by 12 cents per gallon. “You do not need a math degree to understand that this thing does not make sense,” Hayes said: One, they’re telling us that they’re going to save half a cent in the grocery store, on your food tax. Well then, proposing raising the fuel tax 7 cents the first year, the diesel tax 12 cents the first year. What’s that going to do? . . . They’re going to pass that tax on to the consumer. “In addition they want to put it an index,” Hayes added, citing another feature of the governor’s gas tax proposal he opposes. Hayes also noted that the gas tax increase is unnecessary,…

Read the full story

More Unanswered Questions at Gov. Haslam’s Sumner County Gas Tax Town Hall

Laura Baigert

On Wednesday evening, Governor Haslam spoke about his proposed 7 cent gas tax and 12 cent diesel tax increase at Sumner County’s Station Camp High School to a group of about 300 people, around 100 of whom received a personal email invitation from County Executive Anthony Holt. The governor, joined by Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer on a stage with local elected officials, delivered an abbreviated and less energetic version of his state of the state address that he had delivered at his previous town hall style meetings. These events have afforded the opportunity to fact-check the claims the governor has been making since the launch of his IMPROVE Act at a press conference on January 18, and Wednesday’s Sumner County Town Hall showed that the number of unanswered questions has not diminished as his tour of the state has gone on. According to the governor, Tennessee does not use bond debt to fund roads, but his budgets for 2016-17 and 2017-18 included $88 million and $80 million in bond debt, respectively. The Tennessee Star’s Laura Baigert pressed the governor on claims that this year’s budget, like past budgets, keeps various funds separate. How, she asked, did the governor…

Read the full story

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: State Rep. Mark Pody: Protesters ‘Interested in Just Yelling for the Cameras’

Tennessee Star Staff

The Tennessee Star’s Laura Baigert sat down with State Rep. Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) for this exclusive interview on Capitol Hill Wednesday about the recent protest that disrupted a press conference he had scheduled with State Sen. Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet). Here’s the transcript: Baigert: We’re here with Rep. Pody from district 46, which is Wilson, DeKalb, and Cannon Counties. Rep. Pody, last week you were the subject of a protest, the beginning of it, that’s been going on the last week. Can you give us your take on what you’ve been seeing? State Rep. Pody: Absolutely. And it won’t even be the beginning of the protest, because I think there’s been a lot of protest going on. However, this has been maybe a focal point, with a lot of things happening with protesters. Now, they started protesting actually as soon as we got into session. So the very first day we were here they were protesting. And a couple times when we would go in to session they were protesting. It was ironic because sometimes when we got to the session, we got to actually sitting down at the desk and [State Rep.] Judd Matheny was sitting right with me…

Read the full story

State Rep. David Alexander Changes Mind on Gas Tax Increase After Dinner With the Governor

Tennessee Star Staff

A key member of the House Subcommittee on Transportation who has previously stated his opposition to Gov. Haslam’s gas tax increase proposal has changed his mind. In an exclusive interview with The Tennessee Star, State Rep. David Alexander (R-Winchester), who many thought would vote to kill the governor’s gas tax increase proposal in the Subcommittee on Transportation when it comes to a vote this week, now says that after having dinner with Gov. Haslam in Winchster Monday night he wants to see the bill brought to the full House for a vote by all 99 members. The Star’s Laura Baigert first asked Alexander how he thought Monday evening’s gas tax town hall in Franklin County went. You can watch the full interview below:   Alexander acknowledged that many of the questioners at the town hall opposed the gas tax increase, as The Star reported earlier on Tuesday. Alexander praised the governor’s answering of questions at the event. “For the last 15 or 18 months he’s been talking about the issue across the state of Tennessee so he’s got it well learned,” Alexander said. “It went on for about an hour,” Alexander said of the town hall meeting. “After it was…

Read the full story

EXCLUSIVE:  Rep. Sheila Butt:  Bill Focuses On The Success of Our Students

Laura Baigert

Rep. Sheila Butt (R-Columbia) told The Tennessee Star in an exclusive interview on Capitol Hill that HB 617, a bill she has sponsored in the current session of the Tennessee General Assembly, will improve options for high school testing in math and English language arts. “HB 617 is a bill which would allow local school districts to have the option of using the ACT or the SAT suite of testing in lieu of the end of course test, the TNReady test and the TCAP test, in the State of Tennessee,” Butt told The Star’s Laura Baigert. “This is a bill that focuses on the success of our students and this is a tried and true measurement of college readiness and college success.  And all of our districts should have the option of being able to use these tests for their students,” she added. “Local Education Agencies – As introduced, authorizes LEAs to use the ACT, ACT Aspire, or SAT suites of standardized assessments instead of the TCAP, TNReady, and end-of-course exams to test the subjects of math and English language arts for grades nine through 12,” the Tennessee General Assembly website says of HB 617 (introduced in the Senate as SB…

Read the full story

EXCLUSIVE: House Majority Leader Casada Supports Hawk Plan to Fund Roads With Existing Sales Tax

Tennessee Star Staff

In an exclusive interview with The Tennessee Star on Capitol Hill Tuesday, House Majority Leader State Rep. Glen Casada (R-Franklin) explained why he supports State Rep. David Hawk‘s (R-Greeneville) plan to fund road construction by reallocating one quarter of one percent (0.25) out of the 7  percent currently paid in sales tax on retail purchases that goes to the state’s general fund. (Tennessee residents pay an additional 2.25 per cent to 2.75 percent in sales tax on retail purchases to fund local governments.) Gov. Haslam has proposed a plan to pay for additional road construction by increasing the gas tax by 7 cents, from 21 cents per gallon to 28 cents per gallon, and the diesel tax by 12 cents, from 18 cents to 30 cents per gallon. The Star’s Laura Baigert interviewed State. Rep. Casada in his Capitol Hill offices. “First let me say, that the governor, I applaud him because he has identified there’s a need in the state, and that need is to build more roads,” Casada told Baigert. “The reason that has arisen, the reason the gas tax by itself is not sufficient is because of inflation, because of increased automobile gas mileage. We’re not collecting…

Read the full story

Former President Trump to Host Rally in Georgia

Cooper Moran

Former President Donald Trump will hold a rally in Perry, Georgia on Saturday, September 25th, his super PAC announced on Tuesday.

The event, which will span a large part of the day at the Georgia National Fairgrounds, is scheduled to host multiple forms of entertainment and speakers, in addition to Trump.

Read the full story

Georgia Secretary of State Candidate David Belle Isle Files Open Record Requests for Election Documents

Cooper Moran
David Belle Isle

David Belle Isle, former mayor of Alpharetta and candidate for Secretary of State in Georgia, filed multiple open records requests to examine documents related to the November 2020 election. 

According to his interview with Breitbart News, the requests cover a wide variety of concerns about the security of the election — including items such as signature complaints, chain of custody documents for drop boxes, and surveillance videos for drop boxes. Belle Isle is utilizing Georgia’s Open Records Act to bring more transparency to the election process.

Read the full story

Governor Lee Taps Ousted Democratic Representative John DeBerry to Become Cabinet Senior Advisor

Corinne Murdock

Governor Bill Lee tapped former Representative John DeBerry (D-TN-Memphis) to join his Cabinet as a senior advisor. Lee’s announcement came shortly after DeBerry lost his re-election.

The governor appears to hold high regard for the former representative, though their party alignments differ.

Read the full story

Ousted Democrat John DeBerry Loses House District 90 to Torrey Harris

Corinne Murdock

Incumbent John DeBerry lost Tennessee’s House District 90 to Democratic candidate Torrey Harris on Tuesday. DeBerry lost by nearly 55 points, or just over 11,000 votes.

Although DeBerry had served the office as a Democrat for the last 26 years, the Democratic Party removed him from the primary ballot over disagreements with his views on abortion and education. 

Read the full story