Reposted from The Family Action Council Newsletter - Please
CALL these senators and urge them to vote YES next week on Senate Bill
127 that would protect private businesses from having cities and liberal
elected officials meddle in their personnel and employee benefit
policies. The state should not allow liberal
elected officials or liberal cities to discriminate against a business
owner because he or she does not provide abortion coverage to employees
or provide special legal rights based on sexual orientation/gender
identity!
Chairman Ken Yager - (615) 741-1449
Senator Richard Briggs - (615) 741-1766
Senator Ed Jackson – (615) 741-1810
Senator Paul Bailey – (615) 741-3978
Senator Todd Gardenhire – (615) 741-6682
Senator Jack Johnson – (615) 741-2495
Senator Bill Ketron – (615) 741-6853
Senator Mark Norris – (615) 741-1967
Senate Bill 127 would
prohibit a state or local government official or a city from
discriminating against conservative business owners because they don't
like their personnel and employee benefit policies (which still must
comply with state and federal law). For example, there is nothing to
prevent a liberal city council or even a rogue state official from
discounting a business' bid on state or local jobs (like paving roads,
A/C service, etc.) because the business doesn't cover abortifacients in
their group health insurance policy.
Things
like this are already happening in Louisiana and Virginia, and
Nashville is already trying to circumvent other state laws. We
need to be proactive in stopping this kind of discrimination against
conservative business owners before it happens in Tennessee.
Furthermore,
allowing cities to essentially require more than what state law
requires exposes businesses to potentially inconsistent requirements on
personnel and benefits matters. If a business' personnel and employee
benefits policies comply with state and federal law, then it doesn't
need cities finding "creative ways" to put additional mandates on it.
Joel Ebert , USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee , WBIR -Former Tennessee Economic
Randy Boyd
Development Commissioner Randy Boyd says he's "heavily leaning" toward announcing his plans to run for governor in 2018 as he believes that no other candidate will top his campaign war chest.
In a telephone interview Friday, the wealthy Knoxville native said since exiting his job as commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development last month he's traveled to slightly more than a dozen counties, including Hamilton, Sullivan, Shelby and Davidson. (link)
I am in favor of the United States getting control of our borders and fixing our broken immigration system, but there is a demonization of immigrants that is occurring that is simply not supported by the facts. One, is that immigrants are a horde of criminals. Another myth is that immigrants are all on welfare. This piece published in Foundation for Education debunks that myth.
Welfare-Dependent Immigrants Are a Myth
The notion that immigrants come to the United States to access public programs has become something of a popular myth.
Low-income immigrants are less likely to access public benefits than their native-born counterparts.
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), better known as welfare reform, introduced a five-year ban on lawful immigrants using public benefits with very few exceptions, like refugees and asylees. This helps ensure new immigrants are net fiscal contributors to the US Treasury — a fact which empirical studies consistentlyconfirm. Undocumented immigrants are ineligible for public benefits.
Yet some myths are harder to correct than others. Indeed, members of the current White House appear to hold the same misconceptions, as revealed most recently in a draft executive order from January 2017 which claims “households headed by aliens are much more likely than those headed by citizens to use Federal means-tested public benefits.” No citation is provided.
In a new report, my colleague Robert Orr and I demonstrate that low-income immigrants are less likely to access public benefits than their native-born counterparts. This is even true when they are otherwise fully eligible. For example, under current rules for SNAP, noncitizens can bypass the five-year ban if they have children under the age of 18, are blind or disabled, have a military connection, or have worked for 40 qualifying quarters.
Nevertheless, only 35.1% of low-income noncitizen children are members of a low-income household receiving SNAP, compared to 46.8% for the native-born.
Citizen children of noncitizen parents also tend to participate in SNAP at a lower rate.
This report follows up on the report we released Friday on the redefinition of “public charge,” which can be found here.
Forfeiture of Assets in a policy that allows the police to seize assets upon a mere suspicion that one has assets that may be involved in criminal activity. One has to prove he is innocent of using the assets for criminal activity to get them returned. The idea behind this concept is that if one in found in procession of large sums of cash, one may be involved in drug dealing or other criminal activity. Sometimes if can take years to get one's confiscated assets returned. It should not be crime to carry cash. The following is from The Tennessee Eagle Forum newsletter.
FORFEITURE OF ASSETS: SB 0316by *Gardenhire,(HB 0421) by *Daniel Forfeiture
of Assets - As introduced, establishes a new procedure for the seizure
and forfeiture of assets as the result of criminal activity; requires
conviction for the underlying criminal conviction before forfeiture can
occur; requires clear and convincing evidence that the property is
subject to forfeiture; and provides that all forfeited or abandoned
money be deposited in state general fund and all property forfeitures be
sold and the proceeds go into state general fund.
NOTE: This is a very important bill and we have seen serious situations
here in Middle TN. This article from the Beacon Center explains the
details: Tennessee’s civil asset forfeiture system: Unfair and broken STATUS: HB 421 will be in Civil Justice Subcommittee for March 1. ACTION: You will want to encourage the members of this committee to vote for this proposal.
From Senator Jack Johnson - Senate Committees worked at
“full steam” this week as state senators examined the budgets of 11
agencies and departments of state government and approved a number of
important bills. The budget hearings, which will continue through March
16, are part of the process of reviewing how taxpayer dollars are spent
to examine whether taxpayer money is being used efficiently and
effectively to meet the state’s goals. They also provide lawmakers with
an opportunity to talk with state officials about a wide variety of
important state issues.
Among agencies appearing before Senate committees this week were the
Tennessee Division of Health Care Finance and Administration, which
administers the state’s TennCare program, and the Department of Commerce
and Insurance, which regulates the state’s health insurance industry.
Both agencies talked about the changing national landscape as Congress
and President Donald Trump consider measures to revise, repeal and
replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which is also known as
Obamacare.
The federal government has steadily increased requirements on states in
regard to populations and services that must be covered by TennCare,
which serves the state’s Medicaid population. These federal regulations
block or severely limit a state’s ability to innovate and make changes
designed to control costs or promote personal responsibility.
Tennessee Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Julie McPeak told members
of the Senate’s Commerce and Labor Committee that Congress should return
as much flexibility as possible to the states to address their
respective marketplace needs as they consider revisions to the ACA. In
the meantime, she stressed the need to stabilize the state’s individual
markets by focusing on key areas that can provide immediate assistance
like rating factors, essential health benefits, special enrollment
periods and grace periods.
As President-elect of the National Association of Insurance
Commissioners, McPeak could weigh in on proposals pending in Congress as
she recently testified before the U.S. Committee on Health, Education
Labor and Pensions.
McPeak also stressed the need for Congress to remain transparent and to
engage stakeholders to minimize surprises in the regulatory system. She
said markets need clarity so that carriers do not exit markets in mass
because they do not have an idea of what to expect in terms of
regulation over the next several years.
Tennessee has seen rates steadily increase since Obamacare was
implemented. Approved rate increases ranged from seven to 19 percent in
2015, up to 36 percent in 2016 and have increased substantially for
2017. In addition, a Co-op that provided coverage from 2014 to 2015 had
to be placed in receivership due to its instability to provide health
coverage to enrollees.
Even with rate increases, Tennessee’s individual insurance market
continues to struggle, McPeak said. Presently, the state has three
insurance carriers, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Cigna, and
Humana, offering policies on our Federally Facilitated Marketplace
(FFM). However, the future of Humana is in question after the insurer
announced last week that it plans to stop selling insurance on the FFM
in 2018. The move particularly impacts the greater Knoxville area where
no other insurers are present on the exchange. McPeak said she is
continuing talks with Humana in an effort to get the company to continue
coverage.
In 73 of Tennessee’s 95 counties, particularly the more rural areas of
the State, Tennesseans only have one insurer option. This is down from
2016 when the state had two carriers offering policies in all Tennessee
counties.
The highlighting in the above is that of the editor.
Former Davidson County Administrator of Elections Albert Tieche says that while we do not have proof that massive voter fraud exist, there is massive opportunity for it to occur. To read his insightful and well-documented essay on the topic follow this link.
by Anita Wadhwani , USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee - A report by the Tennessee Comptroller detailed hundreds of thousands of
dollars in questionable spending for food programs intended to feed
low-income children under the oversight of the Department of Human
Services. (Read more)
The big news from this council meeting is that protestors disrupt the meeting protesting the police shooting of an armed convicted criminal almost two weeks ago. The victim was Black and the Police Officer was White. The city has appropriately responded to the shooting and the Attorney General invited the FBI to conduct the investigation into the shooting.
The Council disturbance starts at about timestamp 10:00 in the video. The camera stays focused on the front of the chamber and the sound is off so you really can't tell much about what transpired from the video. At timestamp 21:00 Vice Mayor Briley takes control and calls the meeting back to order and recognizes Councilman Karen Johnson who moves to allow a twenty minute comment period by the protestors at the conclusion of regular business.
The protestors who commandeered the meeting are given the podium at timestamp 1:28:35.The worst comment of the evening was when a speaker wearing a clerical collar called Councilman Hastings a "house nigger" and an "uncle Tom." I am pleased to see Vice Mayor Briley come to the defense of Councilman Hastings and say that those comments were inappropriate.
The "Reverend" calls Councilman Hastings
a "House Nigger."
Some may have felt that Vice Mayor Briley should have taken a much stronger stand and had the protestors physically removed from the chamber. I do not join those in that criticism. I think it was better to deescalate the tension and let the protestors have a forum rather than the alternative. I think this was handled in about the best way possible. There are legitimate questions as to what transpired and I tend to think it better to listen to people and let people vent rather than use force to restore order, within reason. Several of the speakers sound somewhat reasonable. Others however are very radical.
There is not a lot of legislation of interest or controversy on the agenda. This is a meeting where you don't really need an agenda or agenda analysis to watch the meeting but if you want to read the agenda and analysis and my commentary on the agenda, follow this link. Appointees are confirmed unanimously as is the norm and all bills on First Reading are approved as is the norm. The only Resolution not on the Consent agenda is RESOLUTION NO. RS2017-566 by Scott Davis which expresses support for the Medical Cannabis Access Act currently pending before the Tennessee General Assembly. It is deferred one meeting. To see the sponsors comment on the resolutions see timestamp 30:53.
In what appears to be a subtle slam at President Trump for his temporary ban on immigrants from dysfunctional countries that produce lots of terrorist and for his resuming enforcement of our nations immigration laws, the Council passes RESOLUTION NO. RS2017-568, recognizing February 19, 2017 as a Day of Remembrance, commemorating the historical significance of Executive Order 9066. That was the Executive Order signed by Democrat President Franklin Roosevelt that imprisoned Japanese immigrants and Americans of Japaneses decent following the outbreak of World War II. I support the resolution condemning that shameful chapter in American history. I fully expected this resolution to pass and I would have obviously voted for it, if I served in the Council. I expected it to pass on Consent without ceremony or grandstanding as do other resolutions on Consent, however. It's passage draws audience applause. To see the Council floor action on this resolution see timestamp 32:45-36:30.
Ryman renderings of major water park at Opryland
Bills on Second Reading BILL NO. BL2017-589 is the bill that would grant a $13.7 million incentive package for Opryland Hotel to build a water park. This water park would be for the use of hotel guest only and not the general public. The argument for this type of crony capitalism is that it has an economic impact, including increased sales tax revenue and employment. Councilmen John Cooper, Colby Sledge and Jim Shulman were the only votes in opposition. To see the discussion see timestamp 44:12-104:48. To see The Tennessean coverage of this issue follow this link.
Bills on Third Reading BLL NO. BL2016-492 clarifies and modifies Short-term rental (STRP) rules. This passes on a voice vote without discussion. For a lot of background and links to other stories on this topic follow this link. This bill is really pretty simple and just tweaks what already exist. It does not include a moratorium or ban on Short Term Property Rentals.
Important announcement regarding short term rental. There are three new bills addressing Short Term Rental Property that have been filed scheduled for public hearing on March 7th. The three bills will be delayed for public hearing until April 4th. One of these bills would ban all new non-owner-occupied STRP, one would impose a 36-month moratorium on them and one would impose a 12-month moratorium. To hear the announcements see time stamp 1:25:33. Those who care about this issue may want to listen to the announcement. Be aware that between now and then their will be Planning Commission consideration of these bills also. If you care about this issue then you may want to get involved.
Press release, Nashville, Tennessee
- Latinos for Tennessee, a non-partisan organization committed to
protecting and promoting faith, family, freedom and fiscal
responsibility issued a statement in support of President Trump's latest
immigration announcement that includes enforcing existing immigration
laws while accommodating young adults that were brought to this country
illegally, at no fault of their own, in a federal program commonly known
as DACA.
"President Trump demonstrated good judgment and
compassion in his most recent immigration order while also following
through on his promise to enforce existing immigration laws. The reality
is that if we are to remain free and prosperous, no one can be above
the law. What's more, to rebuild trust with the American people to push
for a permanent immigration solution, our government needs to
immediately expel those that have come here to our country to commit
crime and be a burden on society," said Lopez.
Lopez continued, "It
is also important to note that President Trump is simply doing what
prior administrations have previously done by enforcing existing
immigration laws, including former President Barack Obama, who was
described by National Council of La Raza's Executive Director, Janet
Murguía, as the 'Deporter in Chief' after deporting millions during his
administration."
The Executive Director of Latinos for Tennessee concluded: "Latinos
for Tennessee has always been, and remains, supportive of immigrants,
and of our immigrant community here in the great state of Tennessee and
around our country. But to do this, we must discourage continued illegal
immigration and work to improve the legal avenues for legal
immigration. We are confident that President Trump understands this and
we support him and his administration for doing what is necessary to
ensure that we remain a country of laws, and also a country of
immigrants."
Latinos for Tennessee has a presence in Nashville,
Memphis and Chattanooga and is the only ideologically conservative
Latino organization in the state of Tennessee. For more information, visit http://latinosfortn.com.
Time to push back against the left and make our voices heard!
We strongly support President Trump in his effort to put America First
and we are holding rallies to show support for President Trump’s
policies
There was a spontaneous uprising of grassroots
activists that voted for President Trump to find a way to let people
know that we support his agenda. Unlike those protesting against
President Trump’s vision, we are a diverse coalition that are the heart
and soul of America that wants our nation to fulfill our potential, as
the greatest nation on God’s green earth!
The rallies will be positive, patriotic, uplifting, and open to anyone that supports an America First agenda.
A couple dozen protestors interrupted the Council meeting Tuesday night shortly after the meeting started. The were protesting the shooting of armed convicted criminal Jocques Clemmons by police officer Joshua Lippert. After about a twenty-minute interruption the council agreed to give the protestors time at the end of the meeting to address the council and present their demands. For more on this follow this link,this link, and this one.
As soon as the video of the meeting is available, I will post it. About the only item of any controversy or interest on the agenda was that the Council voted 33-3 on Second Reading to advance a $13.7 million incentive package for Opryland Hotel to build a water park (link.).
New Chairman Tres Wittum elected with Young Republicans
Participating at Historic Levels
Press release, Nashville – This Saturday at the Millennium Maxwell House
Hotel, the Davidson County Republican Party held its biennial county convention
and caucus to elect a County Chairman and Executive Board.
Over 200 local Republicans attended to participate in the
election of the seven-member board, who will serve through the 2018 election
cycle. Outgoing Chairman Bob Ries selected local Republican activist Mark
Rogers to Chair the convention, assisted by A.E. Graham who served as
Parliamentarian for the proceedings.
In the first and longest election of the day, Tres Wittum was
elected Chairman after a runoff election. Mr. Wittum is an analyst with
the Finance, Ways and Means Committee of the Tennessee State Senate, and served
as President of the Tennessee College Republicans from 2009-2011.
"I'm honored to have the confidence of my friends
and colleagues, and I am absolutely thrilled with the team they have put
together. Nashville is a growing and diverse city, and our board reflects that.
We are strongly positioned to spread the conservative message of limited
government and personal freedom as we grow the party in 2018 and beyond."
Mr. Wittum will be taking the helm along withMelissa
Smithson, who was elected to 1st Vice-Chairman. Ms. Smithson has
been a fixture in local Republican politics, most recently as a candidate for
Council District 28. Prior to that, she was a strong voice in the effort to
save the State Fairgrounds and defeat the AMP proposal.
Heather Sczepczenski, currently on staff with State
Treasurer David Lillard, was elected to 2nd Vice Chairman. Ms. Sczepczenski
formerly served as Chairman of the Davidson County Young Republicans.
Others elected to the executive board include:
Communications Secretary: Erin Rogus (policy
assistant to Senator Bill Frist)
Treasurer: Nashville City Councilman Steve Glover
Assistant Treasurer: Aaron Snodderly (former staffer
for Ted Cruz for President, and past Chairman of the Tennessee Young
Republicans)
Recording Secretary: Evann Freeman (field
representative for Senator Lamar Alexander)
he Metro Council will meet Tuesday, February 21st, 2017 at 6:30 PM in
the
Council chamber at the Metro Courthouse. Council meetings are really boring and I watch them so you can be a
well-informed citizen of our city and still not have to watch them.
If, however,
you are going to watch the council meeting, you really need the agenda and the Council staff analysis,
otherwise you will be clueless about what is going on. Follow the
highlighted
links above to view the agenda and staff analysis. This ought to be a short meeting. There is almost nothing of controversy on the agenda.
There are twelve appointment to Boards and Commissions on the agenda and you can expect all to be approved unanimously.
There is one resolution on public hearing to grant an exemption
to the minimum distance requirements for obtaining a beer permit. These are usually routinely approved. There are no bills on public hearing this meeting.
There are 17 resolutions on the consent agenda. Resolutions
on "consent" are passed by a single vote of the council instead of being
voted on individually. If a resolution has any negative votes in
committee it is taken off
of consent. Also any council member may ask to have an item taken off
of consent or to have his abstention or dissenting vote recorded. None of these appear particularly controversial.
Here are the resolutions of interest:
RESOLUTION NO. RS2017-517 request Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency to revise its
official Tax Increment Financing development priorities for the Downtown Core to prioritize green space and public space and deprioritize parking
space. I agree with this. Market forces will optimize the correct number of parking spaces and the city also builds public parking garages, the bonds paid for with parking fees. With parking off Broadway running $20 I seldom drive downtown. I can take Uber to and from Broadway for less than $12. We need more green space instead of more parking downtown.
RESOLUTION NO. RS2017-555 accepts an Enhancing Savings Outcomes for Financial Counseling Grant from the Cities for Financial Empowerment. This would be a grant to help fund the city's Empowerment Center to specifically teach saving skills and train counselors in how to teach these skills. Ideally this would not be necessary. These would be skills that people learn from their parents and that just come naturally, but so many people live in a world of "I deserve it" and "I want it now," that saving and planning ahead is a foreign concept. I know that behavior can be changed and learning self discipline can change a persons life. I am critical of most anti-poverty programs, but those aimed at teaching people to change their behaviors and values that cause them to be poor, I support.
RESOLUTION NO. RS2017-566 by Scott Davis expresses support for the Medical Cannabis Access Act currently pending before the Tennessee General Assembly. I strongly support this memorializing resolutions.
There are only five bills on First Reading. First Reading is a formality
that gets bills on the agenda. They are not discussed by committee
until after First Reading. Almost always, bills on First Reading are
lumped together and pass by a single vote. I do usually not examine bills on
First Reading.
Bills on Second Reading. There are 14 bills on Second Reading and none of them are of particular interest and I do not expect any of them to be controversial. Some existing programs are extended or tweaked and there are a couple of minor animal protection bills, but nothing that should cause controversy.
Bills on Third Reading: These are the only ones of interest.
BLL NO. BL2016-492 clarifies and modifies Short-term rental (STRP) rules. In October of 2016, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that Metro's
existing Short Term Rental Property rules were unconstitutionally vague. This bill attempts to
correct that defect and defines terms. It really doesn't do anything new. It clarifies and it incorporates recent
changes passed by the Council to the STRP regulations.
The bill identifies
three different type of STRP: Type 1, owner-occupied; Type 2, not
owner-occupied; and Type 3, not owner-occupied multifamily. The bill
sets limitation on the number of the
different types allowed per census tract and it sets occupancy limits.
It sits the minimum and maximum length of stay for an
STRP. Why if someone wanted to rent a STRP for more than thirty days,
they are not permitted to do so, I don't know. This bill requires that
the owners contact information be posted within the property and the
owner be available 24/7 to answer calls from renters. It spells out how
complaints are handled and says that if a permit is revoked a new permit
cannot be issued for that property for one year. It established a fine
of $50 a day for operating a STRP without a permit. It also does a lot
of other things.
The rules appears
overly restrictive and I do not like this bill and would like to see
less regulation. Much of what people complain about such as noise and
parking is already covered by other code previsions. Also, as some of
the thousands of planned hotels and motels rooms get build, I suspect
the demand for Airbnb lodging to level off.
Since any change to this bill is likely to impose more regulations
rather than less, if I were in the Council I would vote for this.
Sometimes as legislator one is faced with the choice of voting for
something he does not like in order to stop something from passing that
he would like even less.
On the street on which I live there is a STRP diagonally across
the street and another two doors down from me. I never have had a
problem with them. The owner of the properties has came by to visit with
me and gave me her phone number and told me to call her I ever have
reason to complain. I don't mind seeing the young girls in town for
bachelorette parties come and go and families playing touch football in
the front yard. Some people are just not happy if
other people are having fun.
This was on Public Hearing two meeting ago and there were a lot of people speaking in favor and a whole lot more
in opposition. Those in support were mostly short-term rental hosts
saying they support the revised ordinance. Those in opposition said
the bill does not go far enough. Some argue that STRP drive up local
rental rates by taking what would be rental units off the market. Others
complain of living next door to these units where people make excessive
noise and party all night. One speaker talks of orgies taking place. I
would have to see that to believe it, but that is what is was said.
Many of the speakers want type three STRP amended out of the bill and
prohibited. Some want type two and three taken out and a few want all
STRP banned. A lot of the opposition is organized. Among those in
opposition were neighborhood activist John Summers and John Stern.
Councilman sledge made arguments against the bill as did Councilman
Weiner, Elrod and Glover. I expected amendments to be offered to prohibit type two and
type three STRP but that has not happen. Those are coming however in separate bills not as amendments to this bill. To see the discussion at the public hearing see timestamp 38:14- 2:50:52 at this link. To see media coverage of this issue follow these links: WSMV, Nashville Airbnb fans, foes collide at Metro Council ... and The Tennessean, Nashville Airbnb fans, foes collide at MetroCouncil.
Since this does not include the bans or moratorium, I would support this bill. For much more on the issue see these links:
BILL NO. BL2016-496 would prohibit vehicles from parking in electric charging station spaces. I have
been tempted to park in those spaces myself but have not done so. I am
curious how much revenue the city is losing by having these reserved
spaces. I have never seen a car charging at them. I wonder how often
they are used. Instead of making it a penalty to park in these spaces, I
would think the charging station spaces should be turned back into
parking spaces.
To watch the Council meeting,
you can go to
the courthouse and watch the meeting in person, or you can watch the
broadcast live at Metro Nashville Network's Government TV on Nashville's Comcast Channel 3 and AT&T's U-verse 99 and it is streamed live at the Metro Nashville Network's livestream site. You can catch the meeting the next day (or the day after the next) on the Metro YouTube channel. If can stand the suspense and just wait I will post the video here and provide commentary.
