Tennessee Star Poll: As Gas Prices Rise So Does Opposition to Tennessee Fuel Tax Increase

Aaron Shane anti-Susan Lynn gas tax

Gasoline prices across Tennessee continue to nudge towards $3 a gallon. As those prices rise Tennessee voter opposition to the fuel tax increase included in the IMPROVE Act is increasing as well. Despite the state having two billion dollars in surplus and recurring revenues, Governor Bill Haslam and Republican legislative leadership jammed through a $330 million a year fuel tax increase last year, which is phased in over three years.  The latest phased increase went into effect on July 1. A new Tennessee Star statewide poll of 1,040 likely Republican Primary voters conducted by Triton Polling from June 25-28, 2018 indicates that voters are not supportive of the fuel tax increase. The poll asked: “Last year, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill, signed into law by Gov. Haslam, to increase the gas tax by 6 cents per gallon and the diesel tax by 10 cents per gallon, to fund road construction. Do you support this gas tax increase?” 35.4 percent of likely GOP primary voters support the tax increase while 51.3 percent oppose the increase. 13.3 percent were not sure of had no opinion. A year ago, the Tennessee Star Poll conducted at that time indicated that 48.1 percent of…

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Bill to Allow Armed Teachers in Entire State, Not Just Rural Counties, Passes House Subcommittee

A bill sponsored by State Rep. David Byrd (R-Waynesboro) that seeks to expand the authorization of an employee to carry concealed weapons on school property beyond distressed rural counties to the entire state, HB 2208, passed its first stop in the House, the Civil Justice Subcommittee on Wednesday by a vote of 5 to 2. In the wake of the Parkland, Florida high school shooting, calls for allowing trained teachers and school employees to conceal carry, thereby enabling a more immediate life-saving response in the case of a shooter on what are currently “soft targets,” have come from multiple sources including the National Rifle Association and President Donald Trump. Byrd, a teacher and coach for decades also served as a principal in Wayne County high schools for ten years before retiring and joining the Tennessee General Assembly in 2015, has now gained 44 House co-sponsors for the bill. For three years, Byrd has been fighting to obtain funding of School Resource Officers (SROs) through a budget appropriation from the governor’s office. According to Byrd’s office, every school in Tennessee should have an SRO, but approximately 60 percent of students in Tennessee are currently not protected by SROs. With an estimated…

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Tennessee House Candidate Aaron Shane Puts Up $150,000 Of His Own Money To Oppose Representative Susan Lynn

Local businessman and first-time candidate for the Tennessee House 57th District, Aaron Shane, announced this week that he is putting $150,000 into his campaign to oppose Representative Susan Lynn in the August 2 Republican primary. Shane made the announcement of his significant personal financial commitment after beginning his campaign just two weeks prior on a “mission to protect the families of District 57 and repeal the gas tax increase.” Shane is the owner of Shane Electric located in Mt. Juliet, which is a multi-year winner of the Best of Mt. Juliet award. Now a legal citizen, Shane originates from Canada, where he became an “admirer and student of how our Founding Fathers enumerated our God-given rights in the Constitution,” a stark contrast to “the excessive taxation and government overreach” he witnessed in Canada. “I wouldn’t move back to Canada, if you paid me,” Shane emphatically tells The Tennessee Star. A staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, member of the Tennessee Firearms Association and the National Rifle Association, Shane relays that in Canada if you legally own a gun and your house is broken into, you are still expected to call law enforcement and hope they arrive in time. On his…

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