Capitol Hill Week: Firearms “carry” law tops agenda

Pace quickens on Capitol Hill with approval of wide variety of bills. Second Amendment Rights legislation begins to move in Senate Judiciary’s Firearms and Ammunition Subcommittee

NASHVILLE, TN:  The pace quickened on Capitol Hill this week as the State Senate acted on a wide variety of bills, including key environmental legislation and several bills protecting our citizens’ second amendment rights. Meanwhile, the General Assembly awaits details of the governor’s budget, which will be presented to a joint session of the House and Senate on Monday night.

The governor is expected to take a four-year approach to the state budget, which will include his plans for spending over $4.5 billion in federal stimulus money that will flow into Tennessee over the next two years.  The governor plans to cut approximately $1 billion from the budget adopted by the General Assembly last year.  However, his speech Monday will not likely include plans to make the massive layoffs in state employees that were once feared. [Read more]

GOP Week in Review

Senate State and Local Government Committee approves election integrity bill and legislation honoring Republican Majority on State Election Commission

NASHVILLE, TN:  Legislation protecting the integrity of elections in Tennessee overcame its first hurdle towards passage this week with approval by the Senate State and Local Government Committee.   The bill requires voters to provide photo identification to guard against fraud and assure only U.S. citizens vote.

“Unfortunately, we know that voter fraud exists and that there are people who try to be dishonest in an election,” said Senator Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro), Chairman of the Committee and sponsor of the bill.  “This bill aims to curtail such abuse by making sure those persons voting are who they say they are.” [Read more]