Tagged: tennessee general assembly

A proposal preventing Tennessee students from being discriminated against for expressing religious beliefs is headed for a state House floor vote.  The measure sponsored by Republican Representative Andy Holt passed the House Education Committee on a voice vote Tuesday.  The companion bill is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Education Committee today.  Holt says he proposed the legislation after talking with a concerned school board member in his district.

A proposal to repeal Tennessee's estate tax is advancing in the state House.  The measure passed the House Finance Subcommittee Wednesday. The companion bill is awaiting a vote in the Senate’s finance committee.  Under the proposal, the tax - also called the "death tax" - would be gradually phased out over the next four years.  Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell says the proposal is beneficial because the tax, in her words, "drives people, capital and jobs out of the state."

The Republican sponsor of a proposal letting workers in Tennessee store firearms in vehicles parked on their employers' lots says he's listened to GOP leaders and plans to amend the legislation so that it's not so broad.  The original bill was up in the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, but Senator Mike Faulk decided to delay it a week.  The measure would apply to any legally owned firearm regardless of whether the owner had a state-issued handgun carry permit.

A proposal to allow people to cast early votes in Tennessee without a photo ID has failed in the state House.  The measure sponsored by Democratic House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh sets up a system for photographing voters at the polling place instead of requiring them to provide government-issued photo identification.  The measure failed Tuesday in the House State and Local Government Committee by one vote.  A separate measure seeking to do away with the state's new photo ID law altogether was delayed for a week.