For the second straight day, members of the Tennessee State Senate continued to table the vast majority of bills they’ve filed in the special session on public safety.
Members of the Senate Education, Health and Welfare, and State and Local Government Committees tabled every bill on their agenda Wednesday.
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee meeting was so short Senator Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, took his irritation with the process to Twitter, posting that he barely made it to his seat before the Republicans on the committee ended the meeting.
Senators have only moved three bills, plus funding legislation, during the entire special session. That includes Wednesday unanimous vote for Senate Bill 7086 to ensure court clerks file information for background checks electronically within 72 business hours and Senate Bill 7088 that requires the TBI to submit an annual report on child and human trafficking crimes and trends.
Senators additionally passed Senate Bill 7085 on a 28 to 1 vote Wednesday. It would require handgun safety courses to contain instruction on safe firearms storage, expand a program to provide free firearm locks to Tennessee residents, create a campaign to encourage gun lock use, and exempt firearm safes and firearm safety devices from sales taxes.
“The majority of the weapons used in violent crimes and offenses are stolen weapons and so this bill seeks to empower the public in securing their firearms to protect both against theft and accidents,” said Senator Adam Lowe, R-Calhoun.
Following the passage of all three bills spectators in the gallery above voiced their frustration at the Senate by chanting, “You’ve done nothing.”
Different Approach in the House
Members of the Tennessee State House have been approaching the special session differently. Representatives have advanced legislation from multiple committees and some members have begun to publicly express frustration with their Senate counterparts.
“There are thirty-seven bills that are still moving through the House,” said Representative William Lamberth, R-Portland. “Those bills are sponsored by members of the House and as far as I’m concerned, every single one of those bills should continue moving forward. There are apparently only three that I’ve been told by someone in the Senate. Someone somewhere decided that only three would be moving forward there. In my humble opinion that is not unacceptable.”
The companion House legislation for all three Senate bills were among those advancing from House committees Wednesday, though Senate Bill 7085’s provision for free gun locks did face some pushback from Representative Chris Todd, R-Madison County.
The state has an existing supply of gun locks and estimates expanding the free gun lock program would cost less than $10 thousand, but Representative Todd expressed concern about using general state funds to buy these locks on a long-term recuring basis.
“I am not in favor of us spending taxpayer dollars to provide devices to individuals in the private sector. I don’t think that’s part of the government’s role to do handouts like that,“ said Todd “It’s using taxpayer dollars to provide something that individuals should be providing for themselves.”
