Archive for March 2019
Ban on abortion after six weeks passes House, focus moves to Tenn. Senate
The Tennessee House of Representatives approved a ban on abortion after a heart beat can be detected — roughly six weeks of pregnancy. The legislation still must be heard by the full Tennessee Senate. The legislation, HB0077, sponsored by Rep. James “Micah” Van Huss, R-Gray, District 6, is one of Republican’s most aggressive attempts to restrict…
Read MoreNo food for you: Conservatives vote against providing lunch to students with a meal debt
Republicans voted 4-2 to defeat The Tennessee Hunger-Free Students Act—a bill with three measures to ensure students can eat school lunches and not be punished when parents fail to pay meal fees or a meal debt. The bill sponsor Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, District 55, said the bill would stop school employees from throwing…
Read MoreExpanded voting by mail killed by GOP House subcommittee
Republican lawmakers shot down an effort to allow every Tennessee voter to vote by mail. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, District 55, would have expanded Tennessee’s absentee voter rules, which currently limit voting by mail to 14 separate and somewhat random qualifications. The Republican-controlled subcommittee would not even allow the bill…
Read MoreRepublican bill undercuts companies paying higher wages, more benefits and fostering inclusive workplaces
Republican members of the General Assembly struggled vocally to comprehend legislation that legally undermines companies paying higher wages, offering better benefits and fostering more inclusive workplaces than business peers. House Bill 0563, sponsored by Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, District 14, eliminates “internal business policies” as factors that can be considered by local governments seeking to…
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