Rep. Susan Lynn, Week 10 Recap

From Rep. Susan Lynn, March 22, 2024- 

Rep. Susan Lynn Lab Grown Meat Bill Sent to Summer Study

On Tuesday, HB2860 was sent to summer study. A summer study is organized by the Speaker of the House. He will appoint a committee and schedule a time for the summer study to occur. Open Meetings Act Bill is Set to be heard in the State Government Committee Next Week Rep. Lynn is pleased to inform you that HB2176 is up in committee on Wednesday, March 27. This office will update you as the bill moves through the committee process. To watch the stream, please click here. State Rep. Susan Lynn pushes for textbook accommodations in Tennessee schools Every student learns differently and legislation sponsored by State Rep. Susan Lynn, R-Mount Juliet, aims at providing students reasonable access to the materials they need to succeed in the classroom. House Bill 2177 requires schools that provide electronic textbooks and instructional materials to provide a student reasonable access to a printed version of the material if the student or their parent requests it. The request must be written and submitted to the student’s principal for the accommodations. “Every child is unique in their learning style. While most students are used to technology in the classroom, some students struggle reading on a computer or tablet. This legislation ensures that they have the option for a printed version if they need it,” Lynn said. This will not burden school districts with additional costs as most electronic textbook and instructional material subscriptions cost the same as the physical textbooks. “At the beginning of the year, school districts can estimate how many physical textbooks they may need and purchase those for these select students and the rest can go towards the subscriptions,” Lynn said. House Bill 2177 advanced out of the Education Instruction Committee on Tuesday. The bill now heads to the House floor next week.   Governor Lee, Commissioner McWhorter Announce Bridgetown Natural Foods, LLC to Establish Manufacturing and Distribution Operations in Wilson County   Innovative and sustainable food producer to expand West Coast operations, create nearly 220 new jobs in Lebanon    LEBANON, Tenn. – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter and Bridgetown Natural Foods officials announced today the company will invest $78.3 million to expand its Oregon-based operations by locating a manufacturing and distribution facility in Lebanon, Tennessee.    The Wilson County facility will be Bridgetown’s second location outside of its West Coast headquarters and 219 new jobs will be created as a result of the project.    Bridgetown’s new facility will house multiple manufacturing lines, which will produce nearly 100 million pounds of the company’s all-natural, organic and gluten-free snack brands annually and optimize distribution to the East Coast by shortening delivery times and decreasing shipping costs.   Bridgetown Natural Foods, LLC is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The company specializes in manufacturing and distributing its innovative and sustainable food products to customers across the U.S. Upon completion, Bridgetown will employ more than 600 people across its Oregon and Tennessee plants.     Since 2020, TNECD has supported nearly 20 economic development projects in Wilson County, resulting in approximately 6,300 job commitments and $1.2 billion in capital investment.   “I’m proud to welcome Bridgetown to Tennessee. This is a significant investment into Wilson County that will create more than 200 new jobs and greatly benefit the local economy. I thank the company for choosing our community and I look forward to its successful operations here.” – Rep. Susan Lynn (R-Mount Juliet) Safeguarding Tax Dollars from Gender Reassignment Surgeries for Inmates The House Corrections Subcommittee this week advanced legislation to protect Tennessee tax dollars from being used to pay for gender reassignment surgeries for inmates. House Bill 2619, sponsored by State Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, would prohibit the Department of Corrections from using state funds to pay for the procedures or any new hormone replacement therapy for incarcerated individuals. “We currently have 89 inmates in our state prisons that are getting hormone replacement therapy in preparation for a sex change,” Ragan said Tuesday. “This bill says that the taxpayer should not be the one to foot a bill for (these procedures).” The proposed legislation would not prevent an inmate from using private funds to pay for gender surgeries or hormone replacement therapy. House Bill 2619 is scheduled to be heard in the State Government Committee on March 27.

Towing Bill Provides Protections for Drivers Against Booting Legislation that streamlines Tennessee’s towing laws and provide protections for drivers against car booting advanced out of the Commerce Committee this week. House Bill 1731, also known as the Modernization of Towing, Immobilization and Oversight Normalization (MOTION) Act, restricts commercial parking lot owners from unnecessarily booting vehicles. It also caps removal fees at $75 and offers drivers other guarantees against unfair booting and towing.  “With regard to towing, we’ve had more than just a few bad apples in this sector,” said bill sponsor State Rep. Jake McCalmon, R-Franklin. “We’re essentially prohibiting booting except on commercial parking lots with employees there… being the only ones able to put boots on those vehicles.”  The MOTION Act prohibits commercial parking lot owners from booting vehicles if the vehicle is not abandoned, immobile or unattended. It also prohibits lot owners from the use automatic license plate readers as an enforcement mechanism and from charging penalties for non-payment of parking fees if certain conditions have been met.  The legislation also includes several other consumer protections such as preventing a vehicle in most cases from being towed without authorization from the owner until 12 hours after first being identified as abandoned, immobile or unattended. Additionally, it would ensure tow operators release a vehicle if the driver pays a release fee before the car in question leaves the lot.  House Bill 1731 will now go to the Government Operations Committee for additional consideration.

Top Stories