Do Your Part to Get Good Legislation

DO YOUR PART TO GET GOOD LEGISLATION
If you are willing to take a few minutes (or a longer time) to use your influence on the outcome of bills in the Tennessee legislature, here are some things you can do in May. The legislative offices opened May 4 and committees will function the week of May 25. When the Legislature reconvenes June 1, legislators will rush through many bills and abandon many in their effort to adjourn and start working toward elections. The time to stop legislation is when it is in committees. Be sure to observe politeness, brevity, clarity, and conciseness. Always include your zip code - if not full address.

The most effect you can have is on your OWN two legislators. Personal letters and phone calls rate high, form letters less high, emails seem to be the usual method, and they enable you to copy the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and House Speaker and if you put some effort into it, to the proper committee chairs and even committee members. Find your legislators (and much more) at capitol.tn.gov.

If you want to contact ALL 132 Tennessee legislators, Americans United is providing a cut-and-paste list of just the email addresses. This probably would require you to do three separate identical emails because of frequent limitations on how many you can send - and the possibility of some going to a spam file. Download, then copy and paste the email column into blind copy. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-vQiGPLHTxRJp4XDdcJRYlmfG-ccmGqQEKpkhdhw56Jya-x97lO7x4VdDivPVX2nkYNy3w-R-y4PTTA-/pub?output=xlsx
You should add to this list the Governor: bill.lee@tn.gov
Which bills should you communicate about? Where do your interests lie? Education is an important one. TPEC (the Tennessee Public Education Coalition) and Americans United can usually assist. Justice, equality, ecology, Medicaid, LGBT issues etc. are often at stake in bills. You may see information on issues from the media or from publications you receive. Having the bill number is of importance. You may wish to put your effort on bills that might pass or fail because of public comment.

We ask your support for the following bill to eliminate the voucher law and not spend about $40 million dollars the first year and much more in the future. A judge has ruled the ESA voucher law unconstitutional, but Gov. Lee is appealing.

The bill would completely eradicate the ESA (Education Savings Account) voucher law. If passed it would make moot Governor Lee's appeal, ensuring that the ESA would GO AWAY! Because the ESA voucher bill vote was tied in the House last year, and the only way it passed was from arm twisting, there might be enough Republican opposition to the law to pass this bill. Keep in mind that Republicans claim fiscal responsibility - except when it comes to about $40 million for private (mostly religious) schools. In this tight year, it seems likely some Republicans would like to put that money to better use, like funding public schools. There is a chance of passage, even if it is sponsored by Democrats.

SB1787 by Kyle, HB1550 by Mitchell. The Senate Education Committee has SB1787. Communicate with your Senator, copy sen.dolores.gresham@capitol.tn.gov The House bill is in the subcommittee of the Curriculum, Testing and Innovation Committee. Communicate with your Representative and copy rep.Debra.Moody@capitol.tn.gov SUPPORT
Copies also to: Bill.Lee@tn.gov lt.gov.randy.mcnally@capitol.tn.gov Speaker.Cameron.Sexton@capitol.tn.gov
Other committee members’ emails are available on request.

SB2096 by Pody, HB2778 by Sexton. This would make the Bible the state book of Tennessee. ACLU thinks we might defeat this, so please use your influence. On House calendar for June 1. In Senate State & Local Government Committee. We don't have Gov. Haslem to veto it.

SB2473 by Yager, HB2542 by Powers. Regardless of whether the local board of education has a policy, this would authorize release of students from school for one hour per day for religious instruction. Local boards of education may provide transportation if reimbursed. Passed Senate with no opposition; in House Education Committee.

SB2196 / HB2263 is a "caption bill," meaning that the summary does not reflect the contents. It is Governor Lee's anti-abortion bill, which is the most restrictive in the U.S. The governor and state legislators say they are committed to passing the strictest law in the country with the hopes that it will end up at the United States Supreme Court.

SB2089 by Haile, HB2135 by Smith. Sex education provisions but permits no mention of abortion. Passed Senate; in House Education Committee.

SB1736 by Hensley, HB1689 by Cepicky Excludes transgender students from high school sports. It has multiple House sponsors from the House Republican leadership and it is well along in the process, having passed subcommittee. In Education committees. TEP asks you to oppose. (What about the 14th Amendment?)

SB2896 by Hensley, HB2721 by Holt. Sets up Parental Oversight of Public Libraries with an elected five-member committee for each library and harsh penalties for allowing sexual content which might be age-inappropriate. In Senate State & Local Government Committee; in House Cities & Counties Subcommittee.

SB364 by Rose, HB563 by Zachary. The government may not take discriminatory action against a business based on that business's internal policies. Passed in House 68 to 22; in Senate State & Local Government Committee.

THERE ARE SO MANY MORE! You don't have to get a driver's license if you have a religious belief. Doctors have to lie to women. Even worse discrimination against transgender people than the bill above. Special censuses to include unborn children. Thirty-three pages of a bill reportedly emanating from the Family Action Council of Tennessee (David Fowler) to eliminate abortion. Don't legislators have more important things to consider? Who elects these people?

To view summaries and actual bills, go to capitol.tn.gov. For assistance, email sumner7540@bellsouth.net or Diana.Page@comcast.net.


CHARLES SUMNER, President Emeritus, Nashville Chapter Americans United for Separation of Church and State and member Tennessee Public Education Coalition (TPEC)