The Good News & The Bad News

We experienced quite a roller coaster of news this week at the Capitol. Let's get the bad news out of the way first. Unfortunately, HB 1145 (Casada)/SB 890 (Kelsey) will be heard in both the House State Government Committee and the Senate State & Local Government Committee next week. This BAD bill deals with dues deductions to state employee organizations. The Senate will take up this piece of legislation on Monday at 1 p.m., and the House will hear it on Tuesday at noon. As we often ask, please contact these two committees, and ask the legislators to vote "no" on HB 1145/SB 890! For more specifics on this bill, please give A.J. or Jerry a call at (615) 269-7111. 

Enough negativity...let's talk about some good news! HB 603 (Durham)/SB 123 (Kelsey) has been assigned to general subcommittee in the Senate. That means that this VERY BAD bill is gone for 2015! However, it also means that this piece of legislation is essentially guaranteed to come back next year. We thank all of you for doing your part to fight this bill, because we'll need that same energy and determination in 2016! It'll be very important to keep our friendly legislators opposed to HB 603/SB 123, because their "no" votes will be needed once again! 

One more brief note: HB 997 (Durham)/SB 721 (Green) (Workers' Comp Opt Out) passed out of the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee this week. However, it is not scheduled to be heard in the Senate Finance, Ways & Means Committee next week. If we become aware of any changes to that schedule, we will be sure to let all of you know as soon as possible. 
What's on our Radar? 

As always, the bills are broken down by the day (Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday) on which they'll be heard. By clicking on the bill number (which will be highlighted like this), you'll be able to access the entire piece of legislation, its current status, and much more. As always, please contact our office if you have any questions or need more information. 
Monday, April 6th

Senate State & Local Government Committee, 1 p.m., LP 12
- Senate Bill 890 (HB 1145): This BAD bill (mentioned above) deals with dues deductions to state employee organizations.
This bill will also be heard in the House State Government Committee on Tuesday at noon in LP 29.   

Tuesday, April 7th

House State Government Committee, noon, LP 29
-House Bill 1145 (SB 890): This BAD bill (mentioned above) deals with dues deductions to state employee organizations.

Senate Judiciary Committee, 1 p.m., LP 12
-Senate Bill 798 (HB 1286): This piece of legislation deals with blocking public highways and other passageways.
NOTE: This is VERY similar to one of the picketing bills sponsored by Representative Jeremy Durham last year. While the caption makes this bill sound low-key, it's in fact a very BAD bill! 

Wednesday, April 8th

The House and Senate both have floor sessions scheduled for today, as well as several committee meetings. If anything comes across our radar that needs to be noted, we will let you know! 
Contact:
Alyssa Hansen, Communications Director
1901 Lindell Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203  |  615.269.7111