Greetings Fabulous Folks of the Fortieth,
Finally, after a month and half since the second installment of the 109th has resumed, I pause and present to you a bit of a catch-up through the lens of and the heart of this State Rep.
The pace, is furiously fast, which has its consequences. Like bill numbers being assigned to the wrong language, oh well, we are only human! Thank goodness my bill is not highly controversial.
Chairing Transportation Sub, we are averaging 18 bills per committee to debate and to question, some of which are just plain hard to decide. For instance, do we make it illegal to have a cell phone in your hand while driving? Far too many fatalities on our Tennessee roads are caused by distracted driving, but then what would be the next citation? Eating an Egg McMuffin enroute to work? Drinking coffee while trucking down I-40? Where do you draw the line? HB1566 will be heard in full committee in order to give more voice to this piece of legislation.
Every session has its, umm, main topic, at least to me it does. This year, it’s as if our Constitution has a target on its back and in the crosshairs of those who seek to destroy what has endured for more than two centuries. Instead of respecting and obeying the framers’ original intent, a new threat, seeking to radically alter the “blessings of liberty” for all Americans looks to destroy it by introducing an Article V convention. Sadly, SJR67 passed 59-31 to which many of my colleagues favored a Convention, opening up a Pandora’s box and putting the U.S. Constitution in mortal danger, ending any hope to return to limited government, free markets and responsible federalism. Indeed, we have a challenge before us to restore our Constitutional Republic.
SJR467 passed out of Finance on the Senate side, was adopted by the Senate, and sent to the House. Concerned over the menace of our overgrown federal government, its oppressive regulations, incredible debt, unbalanced budget, unfunded mandates, EPA and its intrusive abuse in state affairs, every major concern is the result of constitutional violations, not of a defective Constitution. As a State Representative, it is my duty to fulfill my oath to protect the citizenry and sovereignty of the State of Tennessee. Ignoring the 10th Amendment puts both at risk! SJR467 begins legal proceedings for declaratory relief in light of Federal Government failure to consult regarding relocation of Refugees in Tennessee AND the mandatory expenditures of state funds under the federal program to which the state has formally withdrawn. In other words, it doesn’t matter what you think, Tennessee, you have no say and you must pick up the tab for it. The appropriations for RRP are extremely ambiguous, at best, and we are required to pass a budget to which the cost of the Refugee Resettlement Program cannot even be tracked. So we are asking for clarity in a very otherwise vague situation. The NFIB v Sebelius 2012 SCOTUS ruling: “A State can not be compelled or coerced to participate in a federal program for which it has chosen NOT to participate in.” It is essential we assert our rights as states and act like Sovereign States!
HB1728, National Popular Vote, would diminish the voice of small states and rural areas and elevate populated cities. This scheme strikes to the heart of the Founders’ view of Federalism and a representative republic that balances popular sovereignty. It is an unconstitutional attempt to remove the Electoral College. If this passes, all of Tennessee’s electoral votes will go to the winner of the national popular vote! So in the last election, all of TN’s electoral votes would have been awarded to Obama!! Follow the money! Talk about opening a can of worms with more fraud, lawsuits, and conflicts over the result of presidential elections! Again, we must restore the 12th Amendment to which it requires TN’s electoral votes be divided up proportionately among the presidential candidates on the votes they received. This bill shall not pass!!!!!!!
Record tax Revenues were reported by Commissioner Martin at $1.3 billion, which is $45.6 million more than budgeted, making this the strongest second quarter growth since 2006. Indeed, folks will spend strongly when taxpayers have more money in their pockets to spend. Low taxes insure a strong economy.
