The House and the Senate have passed different versions (HB1893/SB2103) of Gov. Bill Lee’s franchise tax legislation that would cut state revenue by $400 million annually.
“This is one of the largest tax cuts to business that this state has ever seen or has ever been on this House floor,” House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) said last week.
The bill has been placed back on the House message calendar for Monday’s 2 p.m. House floor session. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee also meets at noon for more budget discussions, while the legislation that may have one of the largest impacts to the budget continues to be debated.
The two chambers have passed legislation that would effectively cut the tax going forward by repealing the portion of the law that would require a company to pay taxes on the amount of property it owns in the state. Currently, a company pays the franchise tax on either that property or its net worth, whichever is greater.
The Senate version would create a fund for businesses seeking a rebate, meaning a business previously paid based on its property rather than net worth, for up to three years prior. The House adopted the Senate version but passed an amendment that would allow rebates for only one year and require transparency for those records. The Senate did not concur when the amendment was brought to the floor on Thursday.
The talk around the legislation itself has evolved. The change to remove the property tax portion of the law was originally presented by the governor as a resolution to a potential legal issue. Lamberth said several times during discussion on the House floor last week that changing the franchise tax was not due to any legal issues but rather a matter of policy discussion.
Sen. Jeff Yarbro and Rep. John Ray Clemmons, both Nashville Democrats, have tried to present amendments in their respective chambers that would solve the potential legal issue with little to no impact on state funds, according to the amendments’ fiscal note. But given both chambers' Republican supermajorities, the amendments were ultimately disregarded.
As the bill makes its way through the legislature, Democrat Aftyn Behn calls it ‘a harbinger of even worse things to come’
Abortion
The “abortion trafficking” bill (HB1895/SB1971), which would make it illegal for an adult to help a minor who is not that adult's biological child obtain an abortion, passed the Senate on Wednesday. Adults could also be held liable for “the wrongful death of an unborn child that was aborted.” The Tennessee bill is similar to a 2023-passed Idaho law that has been blocked by a federal judge.
Recently passed legislation requires law enforcement agencies to report undocumented individuals to federal authorities
Immigration
On Thursday, Gov. Bill Lee signed SB2576/HB2124 into law. It aims to require that local police work with ICE whenever an undocumented person is detained. The law was the subject of a recent protest from the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. (Read more here. Coverage also available in Spanish)
Children’s services
The Tennessee Foster and Adoptive Parent Protection Act was signed into law on Thursday. The law prevents the Department of Children’s Services from requiring foster parents to support LGBTQ rights, meaning the parents in question wouldn’t have to accept a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity to become the caregiver.
Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill (HB1726/SB2359) into law on Thursday that prohibits the Department of Children’s Services from requiring an immunization for foster parents. Before this change, families had to be vaccinated against the flu and whooping cough in an effort to protect medically fragile children and infants.
Vaccines
HB2861/SB2151 passed the House April 8 but is awaiting next action in the Senate. The bill is aimed at health care providers giving vaccines to infants and toddlers, with those providers potentially to face punishment for coercing people to vaccinate their children, misrepresenting state vaccine requirements or misrepresenting state requirements for a newborn screening test. The providers could lose their medical licenses under the bill.
A bill that would allow school staff to carry concealed firearms passed in the state Senate Tuesday
Guns
The Senate passed a bill (SB1325/HB1202) on Tuesday. The bill would allow teachers to carry a concealed handgun at school.
Gun safety advocates, including some parents of Covenant School students who experienced a mass shooting last year, were in the gallery during the discussion of the bill. Protesters of the bill were vocal, and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) ordered the gallery to be cleared after his warnings were not followed.
Tensions remained high between Republicans and Democrats as discussion on the bill continued, but it ultimately passed along a party-line vote. The bill is set to be taken up by the House on Wednesday, April 17.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
