Tag: Sen. Mike Bell

Proposed Legislation Would Eliminate State Court’s Deference to State Agencies in a Lawsuit

Laura Baigert

Legislation being considered by the Tennessee General Assembly would eliminate the current practice of state courts giving deference to state agencies in interpreting statutes or rules in a contested case. If passed, the law would require that state courts interpret the state or rule de novo or from the beginning or start.

Sen. Mike Bell (R-Riceville) presented the bill, SB2285, Wednesday to the Senate Government Operations Committee, of which he is a member. While committee members often present their bills from their usual chair, Bell told Chairman Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) he would be going to the podium, expecting he might be using his hands a bit.

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Report: Tennessee One of Four States Without Limits on Property Tax Increases

The Center Square

A new Beacon Center report shows while Tennessee’s truth-in-taxation law creates transparency in the process of property tax assessments, it lacks the power to prevent large property tax increases.

Tennessee was the first state with a truth in taxation requirement, but it is now one of four states without a cap on property tax increases.

Truth in taxation in Tennessee requires local governments to inform residents of any property tax rate increases and local entities to consider means that do not increase property taxes alongside rate or levy increases.

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State Rep. Jimmy Matlock Files Bill To End Taxpayer Assistance of Abortion Clinics

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE – In a press conference held the same day he filed a bill to put an end to Tennessee taxpayer dollars funding abortion clinics, State Rep. Jimmy Matlock (R-Lenoir City) appeared with Senate sponsor Mike Bell (R-Riceville), and debunked the narrative that Tennessee abortion providers are fully defunded. “The fact is,” Matlock said, accompanied by 20 legislators explained to members of the news media, “through the form of TennCare reimbursements, abortion providers still receive some state taxpayer money.” Through the required 90-10 federal-state match, over $1 million has been paid to these facilities over the past six years, according to Matlock. It’s “our money, [so] we should have a say where it goes,” he said. House Bill 2251 instructs the Commissioner of Finance & Administration “to seek a Medicaid waiver under the current TennCare II waiver to be able to exclude providers who perform elective abortions from receiving taxpayer dollars.” “We argue that these dollars do, in fact, support abortion clinics and, therefore, abortion.” As such, Matlock vowed, “We will see this bill through, and end taxpayer support of abortion facilities.” The House bill has 22 co-sponsors, including Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) who spoke of her long-standing pro-life position and support…

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Council on Islamic Education Worked with Textbook Publishers, Educational Organizations and Teachers to Erase ‘Miconceptions’

Chris Alto

Public school students across the country are receiving instruction about Islam from proselytizing Muslim speakers using the excuse of “correcting misconceptions” even though the Council on Islamic Education (CIE), worked for years with textbook publishers, provided teacher training and supplemental classroom resources for teaching about Islam consistent with state social studies standards. Shabbir Mansuri founded CIE in 1991, to: provide academic support and scholarly resources about Islam and Muslim history to K-12 textbook publishers, educators, and others. We went on to cultivate expertise in world history and teaching about world religions, producing assessments of national and history-social studies state standards, training thousands of teachers, publishing high-quality teaching materials, and reviewing numerous social studies textbooks. To that end, CIE sponsored multiple conferences focusing on textbook content and national standards related to teaching about Islam and Muslims. In 2007, CIE changed its name to the Institute on Religion and Civic Values. An article posted on SoundVision, an organization that promotes proselytizing Islam to students in public school, quoted Abigail Jungreis, Editorial Director for school social studies at Houghton Mifflin regarding CIE: We’ve had a really good relationship with them [the CIE] over the years. Their reviewers are knowledgeable, access to primary source materials. She gives Susan…

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Seven Republican State Lawmakers to Represent Tennessee at Balanced Budget Amendment Planning Convention

Wendy Wilson

  Seven Republican Tennessee state lawmakers will head to Phoenix next week for the Balanced Budget Amendment Planning Convention. The purpose of convention, which starts Tuesday and is expected to last through Thursday or Friday, is to lay the groundwork for an anticipated convention convened under Article V of the U.S. Constitution to propose a balanced budget amendment. The lawmakers include Sens. Mark Green (R-Clarksville), Mike Bell (R-Riceville), Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) and Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro), and Reps. Jay Reedy (R-Erin), Sheila Butt (R-Columbia) and Dennis Powers (R-Jacksboro). The national convention of the states next week is the first held since 1861, when states met to discuss an amendment they hoped would avert a civil war. A resolution submitted to the convention by the Tennessee delegation is the first draft of rules presented for consideration, according to a news release issued by the Tennessee Senate Republicans. “The resolution filed by our delegation will serve as a guide to the discussion to get the ball rolling on rules to govern an Article V convention to balance the federal budget,” said Sen. Bell. “Our nation’s founders, Mason and Madison, insisted there be a method to amend the Constitution, fearing that at some point in…

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Tennessee Motorists Going Past School Bus Stop Arms Would Face Fines Under Proposed Legislation

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  A bill that would allow schools districts to install cameras on buses to nab drivers who go past school bus stop sign arms earned a narrow approval by the state Senate Education Committee on Tuesday. Five senators voted in favor of the bill and four passed on voting. Concerns raised by those who declined to vote centered around a general dislike of traffic enforcement cameras. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Mike Bell (R-Riceville). It allows those cited to pay a fine out of court without a penalty to their driver’s license. School districts opting to use cameras would be responsible for the costs of purchasing and maintaining them but costs would be offset with money paid in fines. Twenty percent of the proceeds from fines would go to local law enforcement to help compensate for the time and expense of reviewing images. Ray Robinson, a lieutenant with the Tennessee Highway Patrol who overseas student transportation, told the committee Tuesday that “there are a lot of close calls” and that some students have been hit over the past few years though no one has been killed. The matter is a growing issue across the U.S., with some districts choosing to mount…

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