Tag: summer study

Family-Owned Business Owner Reveals How Lobbyists Derailed Passage of Bill That Would Prohibit Online Payment Systems from Freezing Users’ Funds

Kaitlin Housler
Your American Flag Store

James Staake, founder and CEO of Your American Flag Store, recently testified in front of the Tennessee House Commerce Committee in support of HB 0846, a bill that would prohibit online payment systems from freezing a user’s funds without prior warning.

The bill, according to its text, would “prohibit an online payment system from freezing the funds of a user without first providing the user with a 90-day written notice of the online payment system’s intent to freeze the user’s funds,” designating a violation as an unfair or deceptive act or practice pursuant to the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977.

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Tennessee Senate Killed ‘Anti-Riot’ Bill Protecting Drivers Who Unintentionally Hit Protestors Blocking Roads

Corinne Murdock

After passage in the House, the Tennessee Senate killed a bill protecting drivers who hit protestors unintentionally and heightening charges for protestors blocking roads. The Senate deferred the bill to summer study last Tuesday. Prior to that, the legislation struggled to move forward in the Senate after action was deferred or delayed several times in committee.

The Tennessee Star reported in early March that State Representative Ron Gant (R-Rossville), the bill sponsor, called the legislation an “anti-riot” bill.

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Senate Judiciary Committee Members Comment on the Heartbeat Bill Summer Study

Laura Baigert

  With the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Summer Study on the Heartbeat Bill just three weeks out, every committee member was contacted by The Tennessee Star, confirming their attendance and offering an opportunity for them to comment on their expectations of the two-day meeting. The Judiciary Committee, a standing committee of the State Senate, is comprised of nine members, seven Republicans and two Democrats: Chairman Mike Bell (R-Riceville), 1st Vice-Chair Jon Lundberg (R-Bristol), 2nd Vice-Chair Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro) and members Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma), Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga), Sara Kyle (D-Memphis), Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield), Katrina Robinson (D-Memphis) and John Stevens (R-Huntingdon). The Judiciary Committee is responsible for all legal, law enforcement, judicial and court-related matters, as well as all other matters not covered by any other standing committee, according to the Tennessee General Assembly website. The Heartbeat Bill Summer Study is being undertaken by the Senate Judiciary Committee as an outcome of the only Senate hearing on the bill during the first half of the 111th General Assembly, which was held on April 9. After a reading a prepared statement, as reported by The Star, Chairman Bell made the motion, a move he said was rare for him as Chairman, to send the…

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COUNTDOWN: Three Weeks Until the Heartbeat Bill Summer Study

Laura Baigert

  In three weeks, the State Senate Judiciary Committee will undertake the much anticipated two-day Summer Study on the legislation known as the Heartbeat Bill. The Heartbeat Bill seeks to protect the life of unborn children from the point that their heartbeat is detected, usually at about six weeks after conception. The legislation was sponsored by Representative Micah Van Huss (R-Jonesborough) and Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) during the first half of the 111th Tennessee General Assembly as HB 0077 and SB 1236, respectively. The House version essentially sailed through the committee process, which passed its first stop at the Public Health Subcommittee on February 20, and was voted on by the entire chamber on March 7. With 65 Ayes, 21 Noes and 7 Present and Not Voting, it was only Democrats who opposed the measure, although two voted in favor of it. Meanwhile, all 7 Present and Not Voting were Republicans. The bill experienced a completely different fate in the State Senate, where it sat on notice for two months before being placed on the Senate Judiciary Committee calendar. As reported by The Tennessee Star, testimony and a question-and-answer period from expert witnesses lasted about one and a half hours,…

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Andy Schlafly: It’s Terrible to See Such a Misuse of the ‘Right To Life’ Name

Laura Baigert

  “It’s terrible to see such a misuse of the Right To Life name,” says conservative activist Andy Schlafly, attorney and son of Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly, in regards to organizations that, instead of being strongly pro-life, interfere with strong pro-life legislation. Andy Schlafly is the fifth child of John Fred and Phyllis Schlafly, who was politically active for decades before she took on the fight against the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972, which was narrowly defeated after five states rescinded their ratification. Mrs. Schlafly is widely recognized as a key player in the defeat of the ERA. The younger Schlafly graduated from Harvard Law School after receiving an engineering degree from Princeton University. As the organization’s General Counsel, Schlafly represented the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc. – “a voice for private physicians since 1943” – in a 2010 lawsuit against ObamaCare. Schlafly also founded Conservapedia, an alternative to the left-leaning online encyclopedia Wikipedia and is a political columnist and commentator. In a telephone interview, Schlafly told The Tennessee Star that it is “unfortunate and surprising to some people that organizations with the [Right To Life] name and appear that they will be strongly pro-life, but are there…

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Fetal Heartbeat Bill Summer Study Schedule Set

Laura Baigert

  The schedule for the Senate Judiciary Committee summer study of the Heartbeat Bill was announced Thursday via email to committee members and staff. The scheduled dates just announced – Monday and Tuesday, August 12 and 13 – are changed from the original dates set during the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on April 9 when the bill was sent to summer study. Originally, the dates set by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Mike Bell (R-Riceville) for the summer study were Tuesday and Wednesday, August 13 and 14. However, those dates created a conflict with the 46th American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) 2019 Annual Meeting scheduled for August 14 through 16 in Austin, Texas, which is attended by many members of the Tennessee General Assembly. The email, sent by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Research Analyst stated that the summer study meeting on SB 1236 has been scheduled for 1:00 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, August 12, and from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon on Tuesday, August 13, although it may go into the afternoon if more time is needed.  A specific location, while assumed to be within the Cordell Hull Building, was not identified. The Fetal Heartbeat Bill, which prohibits abortions…

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West Fayette Republican Club Calls for Renewed Support for Heartbeat Bill and Seeks to Call Out Senators Who Did Not Announce Support

Jason M. Reynolds

  The West Fayette Republican Club has cried foul against the “deceptive” defeat of the Heartbeat Bill in the Tennessee Senate and called for a number of steps to correct that error. The group unanimously passed a resolution regarding the Heartbeat Bill on Thursday, Hal Rounds, the president, said in a statement. The club has called upon Republican senators to “return to the aggressive support of the Heartbeat Bill” and extend the legislative session or call a special session, and that stage agencies should record the number of abortions during the time the bill has not been approved. Furthermore, the West Fayette Republican Party asks that volunteers portray the number of such abortions with crosses posted on the Legislative Plaza along with a list of senators who did not have their names listed as voting in favor of bringing the Heartbeat Bill to a full Senate vote. On April 22, a majority of the State Senate voted to table the motion to reconsider the Heartbeat Bill through a recall, putting an end to any further action on the measure during the legislative session, The Tennessee Star reported. The Senate version of the Heartbeat Bill was sent to “summer study” by…

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State Senate Committee Votes to Send the ‘Heartbeat Bill’ to Summer Study

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The State Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Tuesday to send the heartbeat bill, which would ban abortions in the state of Tennessee after a fetal heartbeat is detected, to summer study. After hearing about an hour and half of testimony and questions and answers from expert witnesses, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Mike Bell (R-Riceville) made the unusual move to make a motion to send the bill to summer study which passed by a vote of 5 Ayes, 3 Noes and 1 Pass. Even for the late hour that the meeting went to – after 7 p.m. – there were still more than two dozen people in the audience, primarily pro-life supporters. The move appeared to take pro-life committee members, testifying witnesses and those in the audience by complete surprise. After meeting for nearly three hours on other bills, Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) came to the podium to present the Heartbeat Bill under SB 1236. In introducing SB 1236 bill, Sen. Pody said that in the nine years he had been in the legislature, “This is probably the most important piece of legislation I’ve brought this far.” To demonstrate the gravity of the situation, Sen. Pody listed the…

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State Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform, Sent For Summer Study, Now Dead For This Year

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The civil asset forfeiture reform bill was sent for summer study, thereby ending any further discussion or action this year by the Tennessee General Assembly. The bill’s sponsor, Representative Martin Daniel (R-Knoxville) had been working the bill for weeks, which was set to culminate on Tuesday at the bill’s first stop in the House Civil Justice Subcommittee with witnesses to testify on the matter. By the time the HB 0340 was set to be heard, it had 36 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House, including 14 of the 26 House Democrats. In addition, the Nashville Metro Council approved a resolution opposing civil asset forfeiture without a criminal conviction, as reported by The Tennessee Star. The resolution was sent to the Davidson County delegation of the Tennessee General Assembly. However, law enforcement and the Department of Safety had been lobbying hard against the bill. This despite the concerns expressed about the “Civil Rights Implications of Tennessee’s Civil Asset Forfeiture Laws and Practices,” as reported on in February 2018 by the Tennessee Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The Commission found, “Tennessee’s civil asset forfeiture law lacks many procedure safeguards that are commonplace in other states,” and,…

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