In a rare occurrence of bipartisanship at the state legislature, Rep. Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) and Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) have introduced legislation that would move sexual harassment proceedings within the legislature to an outside party — in this case, the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office.
The bill is set to be heard in the House Public Service Subcommittee as well as the Senate State and Local Government Committee Tuesday. Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) will carry the bill (HB2533/SB238) in the Senate.
During a Monday press conference, the pair of legislators said the bill was not inspired by a particular event, but that there has been at least one case of sexual harassment every year for the past 10 years, Warner estimated.
Former Rep. Scotty Campbell resigned in April after an investigation found he sexually harassed at least one intern. Earlier this year, Campbell sued the General Assembly’s Office of Legislative Administration, alleging that he was forced to resign to shield another legislature member from a separate sexual harassment complaint.
In the House of Representatives, sexual harassment claims are heard within an ethics subcommittee after allegations are brought to the legislative director, Behn explained.
Behn said multiple women who work in the building brought her concerns about the process.
Rep. Aftyn Behn and Rep. Todd Warner
Under the bill, at the end of an investigation, a report would be given to both the House and Senate ethics committees, as well as to the legislature’s human resources director. It would also appoint a legislative liaison who would work with the accused and the victim.
“I understand that when the process was created that there was initial interest in making it impartial," said Behn. "But unfortunately, it’s being weaponized to force some to be quiet and others to exit this assembly. We’re just asking for it to be transparent and impartial, because that’s what victims and the accused deserve.”
While the bill would require that the attorney general keep records for up to 10 years, it’s unclear whether the records at the AG’s office would be public. Behn and Warner said they had communicated with the attorney general’s office, which was amenable to the change.
The duo said the bill was prompted because they spoke on a podcast, Climbing the Charts.
“It will put the process into unbiased hands and out of reach of politics,” Warner said. “This isn’t a partisan issue. It’s an issue that we should all care about.”
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
