►
Description
112th General Assembly- 3rd Legislative Day- 3rd Extraordinary Session
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
Mr
sergeant
of
arms
invite
the
members
into
the
chamber
and
closed
doors,
I'm
here
by
declaring
house
representatives
of
the
112th
general
assembly
of
state
tennessee,
now
an
extraordinary
session
with
members.
Please
stand
with
the
visitors
in
the
gallery.
Please
stand
and
remain
standing
through.
The
pledge
of
allegiance
representative
hicks
of
washington
will
serve
as
chaplain
of
the
day.
Representative
hicks.
You
are
recognized.
B
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
Members.
Do
you
ever
feel
stuck?
Do
you
ever
feel
like
you're
caught
between
a
rock
and
a
hard
place
stuck
in
a
job
you
hate
stuck
in
an
environment?
You
can't
change
stuck
with
a
problem.
You
just
can't
seem
to
solve
or
stuck
with
an
addiction
that
you
can't
seem
to
overcome.
B
Sometimes
our
greatest
problems
in
life
is
finding
a
way
to
move
forward.
When
we
are
stuck
and
unable
to
change.
Do
you
ever
feel
stuck
the
man
near
the
pool
of
bethesda
didn't
use
the
word
stuck,
but
he
could
have
for
38
years
he
had
been
stuck
frozen
in
a
place.
Just
him
and
a
mat
he's
absolutely
comfortable
with
the
excuses
that
he
makes.
B
B
B
It's
it
tricks
us
into
living
and
as
soon
as
life,
you
must.
You
must
know
what
that
is
like
we
say
as
soon
as
I
graduate
get
a
job
get
a
better
job
as
soon
as
I
have
more
time,
more
money,
a
better
house
as
soon
as
he
changes
the
way
he
acts
as
soon
as
she
apologizes
you
can
fill
in
the
blanks
with
almost
anything
the
problem
is,
there
will
always
be
another
pool
of
bethesda.
B
A
D
E
E
C
G
A
G
G
A
C
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
I
apologize.
I
was
out
of
order
earlier
in
consultation
with
vote
leaders.
I
would
like
to
move
that
all
members
voting
in
the
affirmative
on
house
joint
resolution
9019,
which
recognizes
the
passing
of
sarah
stowers,
be
added
as
co-sponsors
with
pr
priority
given
to
the
knox
county
delegation
with.
E
E
A
A
C
E
E
C
They
are
filled
with
gratitude
for
the
many
who
risk
their
lives
to
prevent
further
damage
and
to
save
the
lives
of
those
in
danger
and
whereas
they
are
also
grateful
for
and
overwhelmed
by,
the
humanitarian
efforts
of
the
many
businesses,
charitable
and
civic
organizations,
churches,
government
agencies
and
individuals
who
responded
promptly
and
gave
generously
to
their
resources
to
help
the
good
people
of
waverly
in
their
time
of
dire
need.
And
whereas
it
has
been
said
that
the
human
race
is
at
its
best
when
circumstances
are
at
their
worst.
E
H
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
I
don't
live
in
pumpkins
county
now.
I
don't
represented
it,
but
I
was
raised
there
so
the
devastation
that
came
into
humphreys
county
there
are
no
words
to
describe
it,
but
the
devastation
that
is
still
there
after
months
of
the
the
flood,
there's
still
no
words
to
describe
the
devastation.
That
is
there,
but
most
of
all,
it's
the
people
that
came
out
to
help
and
are
still
helping,
humphreys
county
will
suffer
for
years
because
they
have
to
be
on
new
schools.
H
They
have
to
build
new
homes,
and
I
have
friends
that
still
have
not
been
able
because
of
their
affection,
their
feelings.
They
still
have
not
been
able
to
bulldoze
down
their
homes.
They
still
go
sit
on
the
porch
and
think
my
house
is
still
here,
but
I
cannot
live
in
it.
So
we're
just
thankful
that
we
live,
we
weren't
touched
by
it,
but
they
are
still
living
that
horror
that
came
through
in
that
flood.
So
let's
keep
them
in
our
prayers
and
the
people
that
came
to
help
there's
no.
H
There
there's
just
no
words
for
that
either
because
they
came
from
all
over
the
united
states,
but
the
surrounding
counties
were
just
amazing
and
they're
still
amazing.
So
we
have
good
people.
Tennessee
is
a
great
a
great
state
and
the
whole
united
states
did
help,
but
tennessee
is
the
volunteer
state.
So
thank
you.
E
E
E
It's
it's
really
tough,
to
understand
the
scope
of
the
damage
that
was
there,
but
but
the
thing
that
really
warmed.
My
heart
was
when
we
were
there
dropping
off
supplies.
They
had
too
many
supplies.
They
had
too
many
cans
of
food
too
many
old
sets
of
shoes
for
people
to
wear
so
tennessee
really
made
good
on
on
the
name,
the
volunteer
state
and
really
stepped
up.
So
thank
you
again
sponsor
for
bringing
something
that
both
recognizes
the
disaster,
but
also
recognizes
the
great
work
that
people
around
our
state
did.
E
E
E
E
Yeah,
thank
you,
mr
speaker
yeah,
and
I
I
just
like
me
and
several
of
my
colleagues
went
down
there
and
we
took
several
loads
of
supplies.
I
just
want
to
specifically
thank
the
home
depot
corporation,
especially
the
management
and
people
at
the
bellevue
home
depot.
We
walked
in
there
and
they
said
well,
we're
gonna
get
you
guys
a
grant
and
they
they
made
sure
we
we
got
x
number
of
supplies
and
then
they
doubled
that.
So
I
appreciate
all
the
home
depot
corporation
did
to
assist
in
this.
Thank
you.
A
A
D
I
A
C
J
Thank
you
speaker.
The
amendment
simply
brings
the
control
of
critical
decisions
back
to
the
local
folks.
That's
as
plain
and
simple,
as
I
can
put
it,
the
local
legislative
bodies
need
to
be
the
determiners
of
what
it
is.
That's
in
the
best
interest
of
the
the
constituents
in
that
county.
I
think
we've
gone
way
too
far
too
many
times
in
trying
to
dictate
the
details
of
what
is
in
the
best
interest
of
our
local
folks.
J
A
A
D
D
D
G
Thank
you,
mr
speaker,
and
thank
you
sponsor.
I
just
have
one
question
in
the
first
section
there
in
the
first
sentence,
it
says
the
commissioner
of
health
has
the
sole
authority
to
determine
quarantine
guidelines
for
a
person.
If
the
person
tests
positive
for
coba
19.,
there
are
over
6.9
million
tennesseans
according
to
the
latest
census.
How
is
the
commissioner
of
health
could
have
the
capacity
to
determine
the
quarantine
status
for
every
individual
in
the
state
of
tennessee.
D
Representative,
I
believe
that
I
know
that
the
commissioner
of
health
didn't
set
forward,
didn't
call
me
and
say:
hey
kevin,
how
you
feeling.
I
think
you
need
to
stay
at
home
today,
but
due
to
the
infectious
nature
of
this,
and
as
they
are
tracking
data,
then
I
would
assume,
then,
that
it's
not
on
an
individual
basis.
G
G
Thank
you,
mr
speaker
and
chairman
vaughn.
Thank
you
for
bringing
the
legislation
as
a
representative
from
knox
county.
I
know
one
of
our
frustrations
throughout
this
has
been
the
inconsistency
throughout
the
state
we
have
89
counties
that
have
operated
with
consistency
and
tennesseans
knew
what
to
expect
in
those
89
counties.
G
But
then
you
had
six
other
counties
with
independent
health
departments
that
literally
marched
to
the
beat
of
their
own
drum,
and
so
we
had
metro
areas
throughout
our
state
where
there
was
just
inconsistency
across
the
board
in
the
response
to
cope
and
it
put
an
extreme
burden
on
tennessee
and
continues
to
do
that
today.
So
this
piece
of
legislation
only
related
to
covet
19
brings
that
consistency
and
as
though,
as
a
representative
of
knox
county
appreciate
you
bringing
the
legislation.
D
D
They'll
understand
why
they
have
to
do
certain
things
in
different
areas
that,
hopefully
all
the
the
requirements
will
be
the
same,
and
we
don't
have
to
figure
out
where
you
are
geographically
to
figure
out
what
requirement
for
travel,
whether
it
be
for
school
quarantining,
whether
it
be
for
any
number
of
things.
So.
K
E
D
The
county,
the
county
health
officer,
is
empowered
to
order
the
quarantine
of
any
place
or
person.
If
the
county
health
officer
finds
that
quarantine
is
necessary
to
protect
the
public
health
from
an
epidemic,
the
closure,
the
county
health
officer,
is
empowered
to
order
the
closure
of
any
public
establishment
facility
or
building.
If
the
county
health
officer
finds
unsanitary
conditions
of
such
a
nature
and
extent
to
significantly
threaten
the
public
health,
those
two
items
are
still
will
still
be
in
the
code.
The
third
is,
the
county.
D
D
Except
during
a
declared
state
of
emergency
for
a
covet,
19
pandemic
rules
and
regulations,
as
are
necessary
or
appropriate,
to
protect
the
general
health
and
safety
of
the
county,
so
what
we're
doing
is
is
we're
taking
that
section,
and
it
is
only
during
this
period
that
we're
under
executive
orders
for
the
covet
19..
Our
committee
yesterday
had
some
discussions
with
regards
to
the
previous
languages.
When
does
the
pandemic
start?
D
K
Do
we
feel
that
that
are
we
running
this
legislation,
because
we
feel
that
our
state
just
did
did
not
do
a
good
job
in
mitigating
the
emergency
in
regards
to
the
pandemic?
Is
that
why
we're
running
this
legislation
do
we
feel,
like
the
governor
didn't
do
a
good
job?
Who,
why
are
we?
Why
are
we
making
these
changes
and
bringing
this
stuff
up
here
to
state
government
who
state
government
hadn't
did
well
in
most
things
education
pandemic,
and
so
we're
going
to
give
them
more
power
when
it
comes
to
the
rest
of
this
pandemic?
D
Chairman
we're
adding
consistency
and,
and
you
know,
I
think
that
this
isn't
a
performance
review
of
any
department,
whether
it
be
local
or
state,
but
I
would
say
that
it
seems
as
if
the
state
commissioner
of
health
has
done
a
fine
job
as
well
as
anyone
could
do
in
89
counties,
so
why
six
counties
should
not
be
treated.
The
same
is
something
that
we're
cleaning
up
the
language
on,
and
so
I
understand
that
our
commissioner
of
health
and
our
governor
have
been
in
constant
contact.
D
I
know
that
the
city
of
memphis
resources
were
deployed,
so
it's
not
as
if
the
commissioner
of
health
will
be
directing
from
here
in
nashville,
without
input
from
people
who
are
locally
on
the
ground
and
locally
dealing
with
this
on
a
daily
basis.
So
what
all
this
does?
Is
it
merely
makes
sure
that
the
the
rules
and
regulations
of
a
tennessee
and
who
lives
in
one
county
is
going
to
be
consistent
with
the
rules
and
regulations
that
are
applied
to
another
county.
K
Thank
you,
mr
speaker,
and
to
your
point,
thank
you
for
that
explanation,
mr
sponsor,
to
your
point,
I
wonder
if
that
consistency
could
have
been
achieved
during
the
pandemic,
if
just
those
decisions
to
be
consistent
were
were
were
made,
you
know.
Ultimately,
the
governor
is
the
governor
and
he
could
have
made
decisions
to
you
know
for
the
same
rules
to
apply
everywhere
else.
However,
in
the
county
that
you
and
I
live
in,
you
know,
things
were
different.
Our
situation
was
not
the
same
as
the
other
89
counties
that
were
dealing
with
the
pandemic.
K
In
the
beginning,
there
was
not
a
big
hit
in
the
eastern
part
of
the
state,
as
it
was
in
shelby
county,
so
things
had
to
be
different
and,
and
we
needed
those
individuals
on
the
ground
locally
to
help
mitigate
and
help
get
through
that
that
emergency.
That's,
why
we
had
it
that
way,
but
the
governor
could
have
made
a
decision
through
an
executive
order
or
whatever
he
could
have
made
a
decision
for
it
to
have
a
blanket
application
across
the
entire
state.
So
is
this
bill
an
indictment
on
the
governor
and
his
lack
of
decision-making?
K
K
Okay,
thank
you,
mr
speaker.
Well
we're
on
the
record,
so
I'm
sure
he's
listening,
maybe
he'll
send
me
something
saying
why
he
didn't
do
that,
but
but
I
think
he
could
have-
and
I
honestly
feel
that
you
know
with
all
of
this
movement
and
things
that
are
happening
here.
I
think
we're
indicting
the
governor
on
on
saying
he
had
it
was
a
bad
performance
and
I
don't
agree
with
that.
K
Necessarily
you
know
because
we
shelby
county
was
allowed
to
make
decisions
and
right
now
our
covenant
numbers
are
way
way
down
compared
to
everywhere
else
in
the
state,
and
so
why
are
we
adjusting?
Why
are
we
fixing
something?
That's
not
broke,
and
thank
you,
mr
speaker.
Thank
you,
mr
sponsor.
I
appreciate
you.
L
A
D
D
L
L
D
Chairman,
the
intention
is
to
provide
consistency
in
a
single
source
of
regulatory
actions
throughout
the
state,
so
that,
if
let's
say
that
we
found
out
that
a
car,
I
can't
even
contemplate
a
situation
to
where
a
whole
class
of
businesses.
I
think
that
we
could
see
something
more
along
the
lines
of
geographical
differences
than
we
would
types
of
businesses
or
activities
within
a
business.
But
again
that
would
be
base.
That
would
be
a
decision
based
upon
data
that
the
commissioner
of
health
would
be
reviewing
and
providing.
L
From
zintot,
thank
you,
mr
speaker,
and,
and
I
guess
what
I'm
getting
at
is
the
concerns
that
many
of
our
constituents
have
had
for
the
last
18
months
and
how,
for
a
period
of
time,
many
classes
of
businesses
were
closed,
deemed
in
unessential
or
non-essential,
and
that's
what
concerns
me.
I
want
to
make
sure
that
this
is
crafted
in
such
a
way
that
the
department
has
the
flexibility.
L
D
D
D
And
for
those
who
who
have
fallen
prey
to
the
rhetoric
that
think
that
that
we're
being
reckless
or
careless
or
not
watching
science,
we're
not
concerned
about
that
we've
all
known
victims
we've
all
many
of
us
have
had
it.
Many
of
us
have
struggled,
and
so
the
serious
nature
of
covet
19
is
not
what
we're
here
to
debate.
We're
not
we're
not
here
to
cast
any
dispersions
on
what
people
try
to
do
to
mitigate
it.
D
But
yet,
on
another
side
of
the
bridge,
I
have
to
adhere
to
to
different
set
of
rules
and
guidelines,
because
viruses
and
bacteria,
they
don't
know
political
subdivisions,
and
so
what
this
does
is.
This
gives
us
the
ability
to
consistently
fight
this
disease
with
one
voice
with
one
consistent
set
of
actions
and
guidelines,
and
if
the
department
of
health
believes
that
quarantining
a
business
is
the
appropriate
action
to
take,
then
I'm
not
trying
to
deter
that
in
any
in
any
shape,
form
or
fashion,
and
so
that's.
D
L
Todd-
and
I
appreciate
that
that
clarification-
I
certainly
agree
with
your
concerns
and
and
what
we
need
to
do
in
this
legislation,
because
we've
all
been
experiencing
this
for
for
so
long
now,
but
I
still
want
to
make
sure
that
we're
not
continuing
a
situation
where
even
a
commissioner
of
health
can
close
a
set
of
private
businesses
across
the
state.
If
there's
an
outbreak
at
a
certain
location,
a
certain
business,
then
okay,
I
understand
that.
But
what
we
experienced
was
the
closing
by
a
lot
of
local
decisions
of
swaths
of
businesses.
L
People
responded
to
the
pandemic.
They
responded
to
accurate
information
when
we
left
here
almost
18
months
ago
in
march
folks-
and
this
this
place
was
like
a
ghost
town
and
there
were
no
mandates.
There
were
no
official
closures
of
anything
when
we
left,
but
people
responded
people
retracted
based
on
the
information
and
the
concern
they
had
for
their
own
personal
safety.
L
So
if
you
give
folks
that
kind
of
information,
accurate
information,
consistent
information,
they
will
respond
appropriately.
So
I
just
don't
want
to
see
a
situation
where
we've
got
one
authority
that
closes
a
whole
swath
of
businesses.
So
that's
why
I'm
asking
for
clarification,
because
it
says
a
business
in
multiple
places
here,
so
I
want
to
make
sure
we're
referring
to
single
businesses
that
the
commissioner
would
address
if
those
outbreaks
occurred.
D
I
I
understand
that
this.
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
This
does
not
quite
this
does
not
quantify
that
or
does
not
delineate
the
set
of
circumstances,
but
it
says
that
the
closing
of
a
business
for
quarantined
purposes,
it
doesn't
say
a
closing
of
10
businesses.
It
doesn't
say
a
closing
of,
however,
because
everybody
everybody's
business
ownership
is
personal
them.
You
know.
I
appreciate
my
my
competitors
and
colleagues,
but
really
my
business
is
what
feeds
my
family.
D
So
with
this
legislation,
any
quarantine
has
to
be
directed
by
the
commissioner
of
health.
There's,
not
an
intent.
If
you're
wondering
what
the
intent
is,
it's
not
to
enable
the
determination
or
label
of
essential
versus
non-essential
that
we're
not
addressing
that.
But
what
we
are
saying
is
is
that
if
we,
a
determination
needs
to
be
made
about
the
quarantining
of
a
business,
this
is
how
it's
done.
These
are
the
standards
that
are
put
forward
and
as
well,
it's
going
to
be
up
to
the
commissioner
of
health.
D
D
The
commissioner
may
only
establish
quarantine
guidelines
by
rules
promulgated
pursuant
to
the
uniform
administrative
procedures,
act
comply
compiled
in
title
four
chapter
five,
so
rules
are
going
to
be
promulgated
by
the
joint
government
operations
committee
dealing
with
the
quarantining
of
businesses.
So
from
that
standpoint,
issues
that
you
that
you've
brought
up.
That
would
be
the
point
in
which
their
that
type
of
information
is
fleshed
out.
F
I
just
have
a
simple
question:
I
mean:
is
there
any
metric
where
my
county
davidson
county
hasn't
done
better
with
covid
than
the
state
as
a
whole?
I
mean
what
is
it
that
was
done
in
davidson
county
that
affected
the
any
aspect
of
covid
response
that
was
less
effective
than
the
state
as
a
whole
such
that
we
now
have
to
step
in
and
substitute
our
judgment
for
that
of
the
health
board.
Here.
D
I'm
not
a
medical
expert.
Frankly,
I
was
pre-med
for
one
semester
the,
but
I
do
know
my
fair
share
of
mathematics
and
when
you,
when
you
look
at
the
data,
the
curves,
showing
the
case
count
case,
load
everything
else,
they're
remarkably
similar
from
all
parts
of
the
state.
They
may
lag
a
little
bit
in
time.
D
F
Yeah
that
wasn't
my
question.
My
question.
I
just
wanted
to
give
you
the
opportunity
to
identify
a
single,
a
single
aspect
of
covid
response
that
the
davidson
county
health
board
did
worse
in
the
state
as
a
whole
and,
as
we
know,
davidson
county
is
different
from
other
counties
in
the
state.
Some
counties
are
more
urban.
Some
counties
are
more
rural,
they
have
different
needs.
They
have
different
challenges.
F
I
thought
based
on
your
law,
there
must
be
some
evidence
somewhere
that
suggests
that
davidson
county
or
shelby
county
that
these
boards
of
health
have
not
done
a
good
job,
but
I
look
and
I
find
by
every
metric
they've
done
a
better
job
than
the
state
as
a
whole.
I
mean
take
vaccination
rates,
which
every
scientist
in
the
world
recognizes
essential
to
covet
response.
F
You
know.
Davidson
county
has
a
63
percent
vaccination
rate
as
opposed
to
the
state
which
is
well
under
50
percent.
So
here
we've
got
a
higher
performing
body.
Why
are
we
trying
to
handcuff
them
and
is
there
any
actual,
specific,
factual
information
that
supports
this
bill?
I
just
wanted
to
give
you
the
opportunity
to
articulate
it
now
because
we're
hearing
all
this
vague
stuff
about
I'm
traveling
and
I'm
you
know
worried
about
being
imposed
upon
by
a
local
official.
F
D
I'm
surprised,
though,
speaking
of
the
davidson
county
board
of
health,
that
they've
only
got
a
63
vaccination
rate
among
their
members,
because
I
would
have
thought
that
they
would
have
had
more,
because
I'm
not
sure
that
their
health
department
is
mandating
vaccination
for
an
entire
county
or
either
that
must
have
been
some
vagary
that
didn't
apply
to
what
this
bill
deals
with.
So
I'm
I'm
somewhat
surprised
by
that.
D
I
declare
I
might
need
it
clarified,
but
the
this
has
nothing
to
do
with
vaccination,
which,
by
the
way,
I
fully
support,
I
hope
everybody
out
there.
After
consulting
with
your
medical
team,
if
you
feel
needed
to
be
vaccinated,
I
encourage
you
to
do
so.
So
from
that
standpoint,
this
isn't
about
vaccination.
This
is
about
the
administration
of
rules
and
regulations
imposed
upon
communities
and
why
it
should
be
different
for
one
set
than
another.
This
is
about
consistency.
F
Well,
I
wrap
this
up
you're
just
wrong,
actually
vaccination
rates
and
I
just
look
for
any
statistic.
I
gave
you
the
opportunity
to
pick
your
own
and
I
still
haven't
heard
any
any
basis,
in
fact,
justifying
the
state
superimposing
its
its
health
care
authority
over
these
boards
that
have
done
such
a
good
job.
F
That
was
just
my
choice,
but,
as
you
know,
vaccination
since
you
asked
that's
just
one
of
the
many
areas
where
our
health
departments
have
excelled
in
terms
of
promoting
and
facilitating
this,
and
my
point
was-
I
was
just
looking
because
you
chose
not
to
give
me
any
particular
information
anyway.
I've,
given
you
three
chances.
I
haven't
heard
a
single
factual
statement
from
you
that
would
justify
interfering
with
these
health
boards,
which,
at
every
level,
outperformed
the
state
department
of
health.
We
need
to
keep
these
boards.
F
J
D
J
M
I
won't
cut
you
deep
today.
I
I
will
not
cut
you
today.
I
I
I've
heard
the
conversation,
but
I'm
still
trying
to
wrap
myself
around
the
idea
of
how
do
we
effectively
across
the
whole
state
of
tennessee,
given
the
nature
of
this
virus
and
how
how
it
has
affected
many
communities
in
different
ways
and,
most
of
the
time
the
end
results
has
been
death.
D
D
If
we
have,
if
we
have
a
an
authority
to
go
to
on
in
this
matter,
then
that
is
that
is
understands,
what's
happening
all
across
the
state
and
all
the
different
varying
conditions
that
may
apply,
then
a
unified
con
approach
to
resolving
and
mitigating
the
problems
is.
What
I
personally
feel
is
is
the
way
to
go
as
opposed
again
to
the
analogy
of
one
general
and
five
kernels
and
they're,
not
they're,
not
talking
or
they're,
not,
they
don't
have
to
necessarily
follow
each
other's
guidelines.
M
I
I
I
get
that,
but
but
I'm
trying
I'm
looking
at
the
nature
of
the
virus
and
how
it
has
rampantly
moved
across
this,
not
just
tennessee,
but
this
whole
united
states,
and
that
in
many
cases,
there's
no
time
to
make
a
phone
call.
There's
no
time
to
decide
if
the
commission
or
whoever's
in
charge
can
give
an
executive
order.
M
I
I
I
just
don't
see
how
we
hem
it
up
to.
I
understand
what
you're
doing,
and
I
think
I
know
why,
but
I
don't
see
how
we
do
that
effectively
without
having
some
local
authority
at
the
moment
to
make
a
decision
about
what
needs
to
be
done
and
along
the
lines
of
my
colleague
about
the
closing
the
businesses.
M
Are
we
at
a
point
where
every
business
in
town
needs
to
close,
or
are
we
at
a
point
where
only
shaw's
broadcasting
down
the
street
need
to
close?
That
is
what
I
can't
get
my
arms
wrapped
around
in
terms
of
what
your
legislation
is
doing,
so
I
believe
you
mean
well.
I
think
you
want
to
do
the
right
thing,
but
I'm
just
not
for
sure
the
way
this
is
drafted.
M
D
Why
that
business
would
be
closed
with
regards
to
the
other
in
the
ability
to
handle
situations
again,
we're
asking
that
that
we
raise
the
89
they're
already
doing
this
for
89
counties,
we're
asking
for
that
number
to
change
to
95..
That's
that's
what
we're
doing
with
this
bill.
So
I
understand
I
understand
people's
arguments.
A
A
C
E
A
E
Yeah.
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
I
moved
for
consideration
of
amendment
number
two
in
doing
so.
The
goal
of
having
non-partisan
elections
is
not
to
remove
all
politics
from
governing,
but
rather
to
remove
a
conflict
point
that
keeps
the
school
board
from
doing
its
job.
It
comes
down
to
conflict.
Conflict
on
a
governing
board
is
productive
when
it
leads
to
informed
debate
and
reasoned
decision-making.
E
Conflict
is
destructive
when
it
becomes
entrenched
or
predictable.
Regardless
of
the
issue
being
discussed
to
return
to
the
topic
of
mass
mass
policy,
a
productive
debate
would
focus
on
disagreements
regarding
risk
calculation
and
mass
mandates
for
schools.
While
a
destructive
debate
would
be
used
for
making
masking
policy
just
another
symbol
of
our
cultural
and
political
divides,
compromise
becomes
impossible
when
every
substantive
debate
becomes
into
a
partisan
bickering
match.
A
A
O
Mr
speaker
and
I
say
to
the
members
of
this
body
a
question:
do
you
not
think
that
we're
partisan
enough
everything,
not
just
in
this
body
in
this
nation
now?
What
we
want
to
do
is
to
make
education
partisan,
think
about
that.
How
asinine?
How
ridiculous
does
that
even
sound?
We
want
to
make
education
in
this
state
partisan.
C
A
P
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
I
make
a
motion
for
consideration
of
amendment
3
by
myself
and
you
know
there
are
there's
a
myriad
of
things.
That's
just
flat
wrong
about
this
one.
We
shouldn't
even
be
hearing
it
at
this
point.
It's
it's
totally
out
of
order,
but
also
when
we're
talking
about
a
school
board.
I
remember,
I
guess,
senator
baker
at
the
time
when
he
talks
about
of
any
of
the
positions
he
was
elected.
A
A
C
N
Thank
you,
mr
chairman
members.
This
is
the
amendment
that
changes
this
bill
from
the
must
position.
It's
into
a
may
position
that
it
will
be
in
this
aligns
with
what
the
senate
is
trying
to
do
so
this
that's
all
it
does.
The
only
change
in
the
bill
is
from
musta
may
it
makes
it
a
permissive
bill
to
our
local
entities.
They
can
choose
whether
or
not
to
do
this
or
not
that's
what
the
bill
is.
Mr
speaker
move
to
consider.
A
A
A
C
J
J
A
A
A
J
J
N
J
N
Currently,
I
understand
is
yes
that
is
correct.
This
bill,
this
bill
is
permissive,
which
will
add
this
to
the
already
list
of
of
those
positions
that
a
local
party
could
partisan,
such
as
mayor
county,
commission
trustee
road
superintendent
sheriff.
This
would
just
be
a
permissive
bill
that
now
would
include
school
board
members.
J
Representative
hardaway,
let
me
be
a
little
clearer
because
we've
seen
this
in
other
cases
where
the
individual
parties
may
choose
to
or
not
to
run
a
primary.
However,
a
party
may
choose
to
simply
endorse
a
slate
of
candidates,
so
aren't
they
capable
of
doing
that
now
with
the
school
boards
chairman.
N
N
No
sir,
that's
that
there
are
99
members
here
who
have
different
different
parts
of
the
democrat
and
republican
party
that
they
believe
in,
but
they
identify
as
a
democrat
and
republican,
which
means
when
your
voters
go
to
the
voter
booth.
If
they
have
a
d
and
I
or
an
r
and
they
haven't,
had
the
opportunity
to
meet
that
person
running
for
the
school
board.
It
would
give
them
some
kind
of
comfort
to
understand
what
values
that
those
candidates
may
possibly
possibly
represent
in
votes
on
the
school
board.
N
J
J
Most
of
the
folks
who
are
looking
at
this
now
haven't
seen
the
final
language.
Never
will
have
an
opportunity
for
input
on
this.
So
the
the
transparency
argument-
I
I
don't
think
it's
relevant,
but
when
it
comes
to
individuals
who
are
offering
themselves
for
office
some
way,
somehow
they
find
a
way
the
successful
ones
find
a
way
to
identify
their
values
for
the
voters,
and
I
dare
say,
the
more
individual.
J
The
individuals
are
the
more
likely
we
are
to
come
up
here
on
capitol
hill
or
go
into
the
school
board
or
go
into
the
city
council
and
accounting
commission
and
make
decisions
in
the
best
interests
of
the
constituents
in
the
best
interests
of
the
public.
As
opposed
to
partisan
politics,
I
strongly
oppose
putting
our
children
our
babies
in
the
middle
of
partisan
politics.
G
Thank
you,
mr
speaker,
and
this
is
not
a
question,
the
sport
of
a
statement.
I
just
sincerely
hope
with
this
process.
We
don't
turn
these
elections
into
exactly
what
some
of
my
colleagues
have
said.
I
will
support
this
piece
of
legislation,
because
there's
parts
of
it,
I
think,
are
good.
However,
you
know
there's
a
couple
places
where
we've
always
not
really
talked
about
politics.
One
was
a
dinner
table
church
and
a
lot
of
times
it's
been
at
school
as
well.
G
G
Q
Cheryl,
thank
you,
mr
speaker,
and
sponsor
the
bill.
I
appreciate
you
bringing
this
bill
just
a
question
to
ask.
I
have
a
number
of
people
back
home
in
the
43rd
district
and
across
state
of
tennessee.
That
has
contacted
me
and
asked
me
about
superintendent
of
schools
about
the
opportunity
to
elect
their
superintendent
school
instead
of
appointing
their
superintendent
school.
Q
My
question
is:
will
this
affect
the
bill
that
I'm
carrying
that
as
far
as
having
the
opportunity
to
present
a
bill
that
we'd
have
an
option
in
the
state
of
tennessee
to
bring
a
bill
where
our
superintendent
schools
could
be
elected
or
they
could
be
continue
being
appointed?
And
we
have
a
lot
of
good
superintendent
schools,
but
we
have
problems
with
some
superintendents.
Q
O
O
N
Members,
I
want
to
make
sure
we
are
clear
about
what
we're
considering
right
now,
because
what
was
just
said
is
inaccurate.
This
bill.
Let
me
tell
you
exactly
what
this
bill
does,
and
this
is
exactly
what
you're
considering
this
bill
simply
adds
school
board
members
to
those
elected
positions
already
allowed
to
have
partisan
races
at
the
local
level
if
the
local
party
so
decides
so
the
local
party
in
each
one
of
your
counties
will
decide
whether
they
want
to
do
this
or
not.
N
If
a
party
does
not
want
to
participate,
they
do
not
have
to
be
involved,
but,
most
importantly,
this
legislation
will
bring
greater
transparency
to
the
ballot
box
for
people
when
they
go
to
vote
for
school
board.
Members
like
they
would
be
going
if
it
was.
If
it
was
a
partisan
election,
they
would
have
greater
knowledge
of
a
county
mayor,
a
county
commission,
but
the
thing
that
everybody
seems
to
neglect
here
that
I'm
hearing
from
certain
groups
over
here
is
the
importance
that
school
board
plays
in
the
future
of
tennessee.
N
All
we're
doing
to
try
all
we're
trying
to
do
here
is
provide
greater
transparency
for
those
voters
when
they
go
to
the
voters
box
that
they
can
hopefully
identify
with
somebody
when,
if
otherwise,
everybody's
running
undeclared-
and
if
you
don't
know
any
of
those
people
running
undeclared,
you
have
no
idea
what
values
or
beliefs
those
people
have,
and
this
is
a
bill.
That's
going
to
try
to
provide
greater
transparency
and
greater
information
for
those
people
running
for
school
board.
N
I
I
think,
by
doing
this,
that
we
are
implementing
or
putting
in
place
another
hurdle
for
potential
school
board
candidates
to
cross
it's
difficult.
I
think
we
all
want
good
school
board
members.
That's
that's
all
our
desire,
because
good
school
board
members
are
going
to
make
for
good
schools,
but
when
we
do
a
partisan
election,
then
that
requires
those
folks
to
not
only
deal
with
the
general
election
raising
money
for
that,
but
also
a
primary.
The
last
school
board
election
in
my
county
cost
over
forty
thousand
dollars
per
candidate.
I
So
you
add
a
primary
to
that
and
if
we
want
young
parents
who
have
the
most
at
stake
in
the
schools
to
be
a
part
of
that
school
board,
then
we're
again
putting
another
hurdle
in
front
of
them:
they're
the
ones
with
limited
time
they
have
young
children
at
home.
They
have
a
job,
they
probably
have
limited
resources
again
because
they're
young
in
their
careers
and
they
have
children
to
take
care
of.
So
my
concern
is
just
that
we
would
be
closing
the
door
to
potentially
good
candidates.
I
Who
would
be
out
there
who
could
bring
a
lot
to
the
discussion
of
the
school
board?
I
think
it's
even
more
important
because
we
have
seen
across
our
state
and
across
the
country
how
difficult
some
school
board
meetings
are.
It's
it's
going
to
be
harder
and
harder
to
get
good
candidates
to
even
consider
running
and
when
we
add
the
partisanship
piece
to
it,
I
think
that
further
limits
the
pool
of
good
candidates.
For
that
reason,
I
can't
support
this
bill.
Thank
you.
N
R
We
say
it
all
the
time
when
we're
celebrating
our
victories
here
and
ultimately,
what
what
we
mean
by
that
is
a
public
official's
philosophy
of
government
matters.
That's
a
universal
principle.
It
matters
here.
It
matters
at
the
local
school
board.
It
matters
on
the
county
commission.
That
is
an
absolute
universal
principle.
R
You
know
some
try
to
argue
that
school
boards
are
somehow
apolitical
because
they
don't
have
an
r
or
a
d
beside
their
names.
That's
nonsense!
Every
year,
right
now
we
receive
countless
resolutions
from
school
boards
across
the
state
asking
us
to
vote
in
favor
or
in
opposition
to
any
number
of
issues.
R
R
When
you
have
a
body
making
a
decision
over
that
large
amount
of
your
taxpayer
funds,
that's
a
political
position
and
their
philosophy
of
government
matters.
It
matters
when
they're
making
financial
decisions
it
matters
when
they're
making
decisions.
We
know
now
for
sure,
on
curriculum
and
on
student
codes
of
conduct.
We
know
that
that's
political,
the
politics
are
already
there.
This
is
just
shedding
light
on
what
politics
are
there.
A
R
R
A
E
And
in
my
district
we
really
don't,
to
my
knowledge,
have
any
problem
with
our
school
boards
currently,
and
I
was
asked
a
question
recently
that
I
would
like
to
try
to
get
you
to
clear
up
for
me.
One
of
my
really
good
school
board
members,
in
fact,
chairman
of
the
school
board
in
one
of
my
counties,
works
for
the
federal
government
in
huntsville,
alabama
and
he's
concerned
that
if
we
pass
this
bill
setting
up
partisan
elections
that
he
will
not
be
able
to
participate
to
run
or
to
support
or
anything.
E
If
we
do
this,
and
so
I
would
just
like
to.
I
think
we
have
a
lot
of
districts
that
have
a
lot
of
federal
workers
in
oak
ridge
and
in
nashville
and
fort
campbell
and
a
lot
of
places.
We
we
might
be
banning
a
lot
of
good
candidates
that
are
already
school
board
members
or
want
to
be
in
in
the
future.
So
I'd
just
like
to
ask
would
that
prohibit
federal
employees
from
running
in
partisan
elections?
Chairman
speaking.
N
To
answer
your
question:
according
to
the
hatch
act,
as
I've
been
instructed,
if
it
is
a
partisan
election
and
that
person
is
a
federal
employee,
they
are
prohibited
from
from
being
able
to
run
in
that
election.
However,
I
don't
know
if
your
if
your
county
has
partisan
elections
to
begin
with,
because
this
bill
is
now
permissive
if
they
choose
not
to
have
the
partisan
elected
and
he's
not
affected
at
all.
F
F
I
Thank
you,
mr
speaker,
and
I
want
to
just
on
behalf
of
hamilton
county.
I
know
that
our
number
one
budget
item
in
hamilton
county
is
education.
The
number
one
budget
item
in
the
state
of
tennessee
is
education
and,
and
since
our
colleague
did
bring
up
critical
race
theory,
since
we
are
seeing
parents
being
labeled
as
domestic
terrorists,
as
we
are
seeing
some
of
these
more
inflammatory
issues
being
brought
forward,
it's
important
to
understand
what
the
ideology
is
of
those
individuals
appropriating
that
money.
How
we
govern
in
this
state
and
appropriate
money
for
education
is.
I
We
turn
that
over
to
the
lea,
and
it
is
important
to
know
the
ideology
of
those
individuals
and
just
as
a
parting
thought.
You
know
when
I
hear
all
this
rhetoric
about
non-partisan
elections-
that's
wonderful,
it
really
is,
but
in
reality
we
do
have
to
stake
a
claim
and
make
a
stand,
and-
and
I
want
to
ask
the
the
sponsor
of
the
bill
instead
of
did
you
speak
with
the
school
board
members?
Did
you
speak
with
parents
who
who
are
our
parents,
the
one
that
are
pushing
this
for
for
this
piece
of
legislation?
N
With
the
issues
that
we've
been
having
across
the
state
with
school
boards-
and
I
think
one
of
what
happened
was
with
our
students
being
sent
home,
moms
and
dads
were
sitting
in
their
homes,
listening
to
what
our
children
were
being
taught
and
the
great
awakening
took
place,
and
we
saw
that
played
out
in
our
school
boards
across
our
state
and
now
you're,
seeing
across
the
country
to
where
parents
are
sitting
there
saying.
How
is
this
being
taught
to
our
children?
N
G
G
Also
with
regards
to
the
sponsor's
last
answer
to
that
question,
the
state
establishes
the
curriculum
in
classrooms.
The
state
chooses
the
textbooks
that
our
children's
use,
not
school
boards.
That
answer
is
bogus
so
individual.
Ladies
and
gentlemen,
I
just
ask
that
you
vote
against
this.
We're
we're
gonna
have
a
chilling
effect
on
those
willing
to
enter
public
service.
G
N
State
law
says
that
a
your
local,
your
local
lease,
have
to
adopt
an
approved
textbook
and
adopt
an
approved
curriculum,
but
there's
nothing
that
says
they
have
to
purchase
it.
There
are
school
systems
across
the
state
right
now
that
look
for
supplemental
material
to
fill
those
voids
and
the
people
that
make
those
decisions
are
the
school
board.
Members.
N
A
A
A
C
A
Q
Q
Q
It
basically
gives
reduces
the
collateral
requirements
for
qualified
banks
from
100
collateral
down
to
90
percent
and
allows
banks
to
pledge
cash
or
like
cash
to
secure
those
deposits.
So
it
really
just
is
going
to
give
the
banking
community
the
willingness
to
accept
these
large
influx
of
monies
into
the
system.
So
it's
good
for
tennessee.
Q
J
A
A
C
K
S
S
The
the
circumstances
changed
very
very
quickly
during
that
60-day
period.
Yet
the
executive
order
was
not.
You
know
looked
at
again,
and
so
this
would
just
seek
to
sort
of
you
know.
Tighten
that
timetable.
I
think
we've
all
seen
how
you
know
as
we're
as
we're
following
the
science
and
as
as
numbers
are
going
down.
Unfortunately,
we're
slow
to
react
as
government,
sometimes,
and
so
we're
slow
to
unwind.
A
S
S
K
S
S
Chairman
kershaw,
thank
you,
mr
speaker.
No,
this
is
not
directed
at.
I
think
our
governor's
done
an
excellent
job,
the
best
in
the
country,
quite
frankly,
throughout
all
of
this,
but
this
is
just
an
acknowledgement
that
state
government
needs
to
be
a
little
bit
more
nimble.
We
can
re-look
at
these
things
at
45
instead
of
60.
K
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
State
government
needs
to
be
more
nimble.
The
person
that's
in
charge
of
the
being
more
nimble
on
the
executive
orders
is
the
governor.
So
I'm
listening
to
what
you're
not
saying,
apparently
the
governor
didn't.
Do
it
fast
enough
where
we
wouldn't
be
bringing
this
bill,
but
the
governor
has
the
ability
to
end
these
executive
orders
faster
or
we
wouldn't
be
bringing
this
bill.
Why
would
we
just
ask
the
governor
hey
governor?
Why
don't
you,
just
in
those
executive
orders
faster.
S
G
S
Kershaw,
yes,
sir,
that
is
correct.
It's
a
very
simple
bill.
It
just
changes
60
down
to
45..
We
have
considered
other
legislation
in
this
body
that
that
was
successful.
That
would
do
some
of
what
you're
describing
we've
already
passed
that,
but
this
this
is
a
simpler
bill
that
just
goes
from
60
to
45.,
representative
griffin,.
G
Thank
you
for
the
sponsor
doing
that
and
members
I,
while
it's
not
included
in
this
bill,
I
would
urge
us
to
consider
legislation
that
would
require
action
by
this
body.
Should
this
issue
come
up
again
and
it's
not
related
to
governor
lee,
I
think
governor
lee
has
done
a
great
job
with
the
pandemic.
My
concern
is
future
governors
who
may
not
be
a
governor
lee,
so
I
would
simply
do
that,
but
I
will
support
this
bill.
Thank
you
for
bringing
it.
E
S
A
A
C
E
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
C
Mr
speaker,
as
I
anticipate
that
the
house
is
about
to
break
the
schedule
for
the
rest
of
the
day
in
room,
one
at
2,
30
finance
ways
and
means
will
meet
that's
2,
30
room.
One
finance
ways
means
calendar
rules
room
one
immediately
following,
and
I
anticipate
that
there
will
be
a
recess
motion
until
3
30.