The Legislature adjourns. What passed and what failed.

Unfortunately, wine-in-grocery stores failed. Unfortunately, appointing a State charter school authorizer failed. The bill that would have required welfare parents of failing students to attend parent-teacher conferences or lose some of their welfare benefits failed.

Thankfully, that nutty nullification bill sponsored by Rep. Joe Carr and Sen. Mae Beavers that would  require local police to arrest federal agents carrying out any new federal gun laws failed. A very modest bill allowing local school boards to allow some teachers under certain circumstances to carry guns in school passed. Gun permits records were sealed. A very modest version of the guns-in-parking lots passed that really doesn't change much.

 An animal cruelty reporting bill, some called the “Ag Gag” bill, which would require anyone taking pictures of animal cruelty to report it to authorities within 48 hours barely passed. This does seem like a bill designed to inhibit investigative reporting of animal abuse and I hope the Governor will veto it.

 A bill to amend the state Constitution to ban a state income tax passed and will go to the public for a vote in November 2014. Legislators who live within 50 miles of Nashville, lost their $107 a day lodging per diem (no word yet on whether or not Sherry Jones will resign).

 A proposal to permit for-profit entities to operate charter schools unfortunately failed. A plan to expand the number of charter schools failed.  A voucher plan failed, due to in-party fighting over how big the voucher plan should be, so we got no voucher plan.

A proposal to have nominees for US Senate chosen by the party caucuses of the legislature instead of by voters in a state primary, as they are now chosen, failed.  A plan to redraw judicial lines and reduce the number of districts failed. A bill to ban annexation without approval of those being annexed failed but a 13-month month moratorium on cities annexing residential or agricultural land passed.

A $32.7 billion budget  that cut the death tax, cut the sales tax on groceries from 5.5% to 5.25%, and increased the fund balance in the "rainy day" fund by $100 million passed. 


For other reports on the end of legislative session follow this link, this link, and this. To see Senate Majority leader Mark Norris saying this session is "not the end of education reform," follow this link to a YouTube video.

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Legislative Session Comes to Another Successful Conclusion Under Republican Leadership

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The General Assembly today adjourned the first session of the 108^th General Assembly. The conclusion of the session comes in a mere 33 legislative days—the earliest adjournment since 1990. 

A number of Tennessee’s top priorities are on their way to becoming law thanks to the leadership of Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey (R—Blountville) and Speaker of the House Beth Harwell (R—Nashville). They include: 

• Cutting taxes for all Tennesseans with reductions to the grocery tax, death tax, and Hall tax.
• Adding $100 million to the state’s rainy day fund for future emergencies.
• Placing a permanent ban on the state income tax before voters.
• Reforming the state’s antiquated worker’s compensation laws to provide certainty for businesses while protecting the rights of workers.
• Rejection of federal takeover of Tennessee’s health care system.
• New laws addressing gang violence, prescription drug abuse, repeat domestic violence offenders, and synthetic drugs
• Reducing government by placing a limit on the number of bills each Member of the House can file.

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Chris Devaney congratulated the GOP Members of the General Assembly and remarked, “Tennesseans expect their elected officials to meet, conduct business in an orderly and efficient manner, and then return home instead of wasting valuable taxpayer dollars. That is exactly what Lieutenant Governor Ramsey, Speaker Harwell, and all the legislative Republicans have done. Tennessee is cementing its reputation as a land of opportunity for every citizen to succeed and prosper because of their hard work.”

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The Tennessean reports on "State looking at Metro elections."

State looking at Metro elections

by Michael Cass, The Tennessean, Apr. 19, 2013- State officials are reviewing the Davidson County Election Commission’s management of last year’s elections — apparently an unprecedented move — and the county election administrator said he’s hired his own attorney to help him respond.
.....
Tieche said a draft of the state’s report frequently focuses on him. He declined to make it available to The Tennessean, saying it’s not a public record until he and the commission have a chance to respond. He said he didn’t think the state has ever examined any county in that way. (read more)

For background information on this attempt by certain Republicans and left wing activist to get Albert Tieche follow this link.

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Ronald Buchanan to chair Davidson Election Commission

Ronald Buchanan, one of three new Republican appointees was elected to serve as chairman of the Davidson County Election Commission for the next two years.

Below is his profile lifted from the website of Buchanan and Schreiber:

 Ronald B. Buchanan received his Bachelor’s Degree with honors from Vanderbilt University in 1968. In 1974, he received his Doctorate of Jurisprudence from The Nashville School of Law, where he graduated first in his class. He is licensed to practice law before all state courts in Tennessee, the federal district court of Middle Tennessee and the U.S. Supreme Court.

 Mr. Buchanan has been actively engaged in the private practice of law since 1974. Beginning in 1995, he has limited his practice to the areas of business law, commercial real estate, estate planning, probate and litigation involving one of these areas.

In 2010, Mr. Buchanan completed forty hours of study to become listed as a Rule 31 General Civil Mediator by the Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Mr. Buchanan has also completed a two-year course of study in financial planning presented by David Lipscomb University and certified by the College for Financial Planning. He completed courses in estate planning, income taxation, retirement planning, insurance and investment planning.

Mr. Buchanan’s law office is located in Hendersonville, Tennessee. He is active in the Sumner County Bar Association where he has served as President by a vote of his colleagues. He is also a member of the Nashville Bar Association and the Tennessee Bar Association. He has served as a special judge on numerous occasions.

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What is wrong with the Internet Sales Tax

From the Heritage Foundation

Beware the Internet Sales Tax

The Internet sales tax is back, and it could be the next big vote in the Senate.
The proposed law would enable states to force businesses to collect sales tax from customers who live in their state—even when the businesses have no connection to that state.

As Heritage President Jim DeMint has said, this violates the classic American principle of “no taxation without representation” Retailers would be forced to act as tax collectors for states in which they have no voice.

Under current law, retailers are required to collect sales taxes only in states where they have a physical presence. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is pushing for a vote on a new Internet sales tax that would hit all online businesses—no matter where they’re located.
DeMint says:

Consider the absurdity of such a law. When a customer buys a product in a store, does the cashier ask for the customer’s home address? Of course not. The store simply charges the state and local sales taxes applicable for its physical location, no questions asked.

“Brick-and-mortar” stores like Wal-Mart are in favor of the Internet sales tax, because they see these online retailers as competitors. But the other big proponents of the tax are state governments, which would be able to reach into other states for revenue.

States are struggling with their own budgets—but they should have to make the hard decisions to manage their budgets, rather than trying to collect taxes from citizens of other states to help cover their expenses. As DeMint said.

Politicians want this bill passed to raise new tax revenue for broken state governments facing budget shortfalls. But legislators in state capitals don’t want to make the hard decisions to cut spending or raise taxes on their constituents—they fear the voter backlash. So they’d like their allies in Washington to make it legal for them to tax people who can’t vote against them.

This taxation without representation might boost some state tax collections, but it wouldn’t help the economy. Heritage legal expert David Addington has written that “hobbling out-of-state businesses that sell through the Internet or mail order catalogs does not help the national economy .”
Instead, the Internet sales tax would “increase the amount of tax dollars millions of Americans pay, encourage states to increase the size and scope of their governments, favor some states over others in granting federal authority, and discourage free-market competition in interstate commerce,” Addington wrote.

It’s simply another bad idea coming out of Washington at a time when consumers and businesses are struggling to get by.

My comment: 
I oppose this Internet sales tax and am disappointed that it is being sponsored by our own Senator Lamar Alexander.  He has been pushing this initiative for several years. 

Now, if I was to drive to Kentucky and buy groceries, I would not have to pay Tennessee sales tax but I would pay the Kentucky sales tax. If I buy something on-line from a vendor in Kentucky, why should I pay Tennessee sales tax?

While the principle of taxation without representation is most persuasive, there are practical reasons to oppose this bill also. It will place big burden on online vendors who will have to calculate 50 different tax rates and have the expense of accounting for and remitting the collected taxes. Looking further down the road, if the states are successful in requiring the vendor to collect state sales tax, then it is very likely that cities could also require vendors to collect local sales tax. A vendor would have to calculate thousands of different taxes and remit money to thousands of different cities. This bill could cripple Internet commerce and slow this growing sector of the economy.

One of the arguments in favor of this bill is that it creates fairness for brick and mortar store merchants. Brick and mortar stores result in a cost to the government jurisdiction in which they are located and sales tax collections cover these cost. Brick and mortar stores result in a need for police protection, road maintenance, traffic and parking management and numerous other government services; Internet sales do not require these services of local government.

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Gov. Haslam explains voucher plan in WSJ

Tennessee Is Moving Ahead on Effective School Reform  

Regarding your April 15 editorial "Tennessee Voucher Fiasco" (April 15): I am an avid supporter of school choice. After passing the largest expansion of our state's charter-schools law during my first year in office, we began working to help design a voucher program that would fit best into Tennessee's overall education reform efforts.
.....
Your claim that the School Boards Association or teachers unions influenced this decision in any way is just plain wrong. Both groups oppose vouchers in any form and never supported my bill. In fact, the union ran television ads attacking vouchers. However, at the end of the day, it was infighting among advocates and not the opposition's efforts that derailed vouchers in Tennessee this year.

Gov. Bill Haslam (read it all)

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The Tennessean reposts "Election commission gets good marks in audit"

Election commission gets good marks in audit 

The Davidson County Election Commission has controls in place to ensure the integrity of elections, though several problems “aggravated” customer service in November, a Metro audit found.(read more)

To read the full 34-page audit, follow this link:Metro audit .

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Ken Jakes says, "tell the truth." Farmers maket is not self supporting.

From: Ken Jake
To: Ms. Yockey
CC: Nancy Wittemore, Members of Council, and others
RE: Information on website not accurate

Ms. Yockey, It is my understanding that you maintain the web site of the Nashville Farmers Market. If that is incorrect please inform me who the staff is that maintains the web site. I am copying and pasting from the web site below:

How is the market supported? NFM is supported by merchant fees, venue rental fees & grants. The Market operates on a small budget that must support a large array of operating expenses that includes facility care & maintenance, insurance, permits, licenses, signage, utilities, disposal, site improvements, marketing, a 6-person staff and more. We meet these needs largely through merchant rental fees. 

I believe this  to be totally false. Your are omitting that NFM is supported heavily by the taxpayers. It has been on the back of the taxpayers for years. The web site indicates it is self supporting, which is in my opinion totally false. Please update to correct it or leave it as a lie; but the truth is the truth.

Thank you,
Ken Jakes

I agree.  Rod

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The Tennessean reports on Williamson County textbook controversy

A parent's group led by anti-Murfressboro mosque crusader Laurie Cardoza-Moore has alleged the Williamson County schools are using a text book that promotes antisemitism. The evidence of this is the way the book challenges students to think about the difference between political violence and terrorism by asking this question: If a Palestinian suicide bomber kills several dozen Israeli teenagers in a Jerusalem restaurant, is that an act of terrorism or wartime retaliation against Israeli government policies and army actions?

This is a college level text book used in an advanced placement class. Assistant Superintendent Tim Gaddis says the question is taken out of cotext.

I am not outraged over this myself. This is a book used to teach smart college-bound kids. Soon they will be in college and be challenged to question and think about many complex issues. Anyway, I would not follow a leader who does not believe the First Amendment also applies to Muslims and who believes that local government should get to decide which religions are allowed to build houses of worship.

Below is the Tennessean's reporting.

Williamson parents say textbook promotes bias 

School officials say state-adopted text is not anti-Semitic 

The Tennessean, Apr. 18, 2013, FRANKLIN — After testifying before the Williamson County school board this week, a parent says she wants to meet with Director of Schools Mike Looney and hopes to lobby legislators to establish a board to vet curriculum used in Tennessee schools for anti-Semitic content.
.....
Cardoza-Moore, president of pro-Israel group Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, said this is an example of a new kind of anti-Semitism that is being subtly woven into information given students. The goal is to delegitimize the Jewish right to the land, she said.

She also compares the subtle nuances to hateful propaganda disseminated about Jews as Hitler came to power in Germany, ultimately leading to the extermination of millions. This type of disinformation historically leads to violence against Jews, she said. “The Holocaust did not happen in a vacuum.(read more)

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Good news! I thought wine-in-grocery-stores was dead for this session but it is still advancing.

Dear Red White and Food Members:
  
Last night the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee voted to pass the wine in retail food stores referendum bill. Read a statement from Jarron Springer, Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association president, about the outcome of the vote:

“We are glad to see the wine in retail food stores referendum bill regain its momentum in the Senate. The Finance, Ways and Means Committee’s passing the legislation today puts us another step closer to Tennesseans’ having the right to vote on where they buy wine in their communities.

“The adopted amendments on the bill will help create a level playing field for all parties, and we look forward to this bill’s being heard by the full Senate in next year’s legislative session.

“Again, I want to express my appreciation to Lt. Gov. Ramsey, Speaker Harwell, and our bill sponsors Sen. Ketron and Rep. Lundberg for their support and commitment to making this a comprehensive piece of legislation.

“We’re hearing from our customers that they’re still very excited by the possibility of voting on wine in retail food stores for their communities, and we believe this public support will lead to the bill’s eventual passage by the full Tennessee General Assembly.”

Please take a moment to thank the senators who voted to give their constituents, and other Tennesseans, the right to decide where they buy wine in their communities.

Below is a list of the legislators in the Senate committee and how they voted on the referendum bill. Please take a minute to call or email these senators who voted “yes,” as well as Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, and thank them for looking out for Tennessee consumers.

• Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, lt.gov.ron.ramsey@capitol.tn.gov, (615) 741-4524
• Voted “yes”:
      o Sen. Steven Dickerson, sen.steven.dickerson@capitol.tn.gov, (615) 741-6679
      o Sen. Ferrell Haile, sen.ferrell.haile@capitol.tn.gov, (615) 741-1999
      o Sen. Douglas Henry, sen.douglas.henry@capitol.tn.gov, (615) 741-3291
      o Sen. Bill Ketron, sen.bill.ketron@capitol.tn.gov, (615) 741-6853 *Sen. Ketron is the bill’s sponsor in the Senate.
      o Sen. Randy McNally, sen.randy.mcnally@capitol.tn.gov, (615) 741-6806
      o Sen. Mark Norris, sen.mark.norris@capitol.tn.gov, (615) 741-1967
      o Sen. Bo Watson, sen.bo.watson@capitol.tn.gov, (615) 741-3227
• Voted “no”:
      o Sen. Lowe Finney
      o Sen. Joey Hensley
      o Sen. Jim Kyle
      o Sen. Doug Overbey

Thank you for your support.

Cheers,
The Red White and Food Team

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What happened in the Metro Council on April 16th

At only 35 minutes this is a very short Council meeting. To see my commentary on the agenda and a link to the meeting agenda and the metro council staff analysis follow this link. 

There are a couple resolutions that were apparently late resolutions because they are not on the printed agenda.

Resolution 666 is a resolution by Gilmore that asks MDHA not to implement a policy charging tenants for utilities that were previously included in the rent.  She withdraws it because MDHA has told her that they have chosen not to implement this new policy. This is a shame. Many years ago for a short time I worked in the public housing section of MDHA and would go to tenants homes in the dead of winter and find widows open when it was below freezing outside. When people get an unlimited amount of something for free they do not conserve. If we have a good conservative council member on the council or even one with a little common sense, they should come back with a resolution urging MDHA to implement the policy. Rent could be rolled back by the amount of rent now going to pay utilities and the tenants should pay their own utilities. Those on zero rent could still get it free, or give then an allowance for utilities and if they spend less, let them keep the money. We should give public housing tenants a little bit of decision making responsibility. Stop treating them like children or idiots! 

Councilman Ronnie Steine has a late memorializing resolution honoring the state of Israel's 55th anniversary.

A Resolution by Councilman Bedne asking TDOT to widen a portion of Nolensville Rd is defered indefinitely because TDOT has already put this project in the budget.

All other resolutions pass on the consent agenda and all bills on first reading pass.  Bill 423 on first reading is discussed however, which is very unusual. Bills do not go to committee until after first reading and are not analyzed by staff. First reading is just a formality to have the bill introduced. This is a bill that would swap some Metro land for some State land. The land that the School for the Arts sits on and the land that will be the site of the future STEM charter school located on the old Tennessee Preparatory School site would be swapped for the old Ben West Library site. Metro now
owns the library and the State owns the TPS site. No one makes a motion to kill it but Councilman Mitchell makes an argument against it. (see 15:42 to 23:20 in the video) He argues that it is an uneven swap but his real motivation seems to be to speak out against charter schools. There is some concern about tearing down the old library because some consider the building architecturally significant and there is also some concern that there is a deed restriction that requires the site to be used as library or revert back to the heirs.

There is no discussion of the bills that are on Second Reading.

Bills on Third Reading:
BILL NO. BL2012-292 would liberalize the policy on home recording studios gets a Planning and Zoning committee report of 6 for to 4 against a one meeting deferral.  It is deffered one meeting to allow more discussion.

The cable TV bills pass with no "no" votes or discussion.

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Firearms background check bill fails

After a lot of lobbying and debate the bill to expand firearms background checks failed. The bill needed 60 votes and only got 54. The bill would not have done much good or damage anyway, depending on how you look at it. It really didn't amount to much. It would have still exempted sale between most individuals. You could still have loaned a gun to someone or given a gun as a gift or inherited a gun without a background check.  If you would have posted a want ad in the newspaper to sale a gun or tried to sale one online on the internet, a background check would have been required. It would have closed the gun show loophole. Anyway, it failed.

Our two senators voted against it. The only Republicans voting in favor were McCain (AZ), Collins (ME), Toomey (PA), and Kirk (IL). Five Democrats including Harry Reid voted against it.

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