This week at the Capitol was marked by heated debate and protests related to a bill targeting undocumented students, along with health care and tourism legislation making its way through the General Assembly.
At the top of the week, Priscilla Presley was given the state’s highest civilian honor — Colonel Aide de Camp — by Gov. Bill Lee and members of the General Assembly for her work preserving music history in Memphis. Her late ex-husband Elvis Presley received the same honor in 1961. While at the Capitol Monday, she spoke in favor of the expansion of the Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum.
Protesters react to discussion of HB 793, March 11, 2025
Education
A highly contentious bill that would allow school boards to prohibit undocumented students from enrolling in public schools passed the House K-12 Subcommittee this week. The legislation caused hundreds of protesters to roll into the Capitol and shut down the committee, which was scheduled to hear more than 20 other bills. HB 793/SB 836 is a Republican-backed bill that has narrowly passed its committees so far, with some Republicans crossing party lines to vote against the bill. The legislation could create a challenge to Plyler v. Doe, a 1982 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court guaranteeing the right to public education to children regardless of their immigration status. The bill was referred to the House Education Committee and is also set to be heard before the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee on March 18.
Protests stall House subcommittee
Another proposed bill that would require local school boards to create free breakfast and lunch programs, with schools to be reimbursed by the state, failed 2-4 in the House Education Administration Subcommittee on March 11. The bill is sponsored by Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) and Sen. Sara Kyle (D-Memphis). It was referred to the Senate Education Committee in January, but has not been placed on the calendar.
An additional divisive bill sponsored by Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) and Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) would require any educational institutions housing minors overnight to segregate restrooms, changing areas and showers “by immutable biological sex.” Democrats and LGBTQ advocacy groups have argued that the bill will lead to the harassment and violence of transgender people and allows broad government control in private spaces. The legislation will be heard on the House floor on March 17.
Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood)
Health
A bill that raises concern about forcible organ harvesting in China is making its way to the governor’s desk, in an effort to “prevent residents of this State from unknowingly involving themselves in forced organ harvesting,” according to bill language.
“What is currently happening or is of concern is that foreign adversaries through gene sequencing data collection are creating a gene bank for surveillance and military purposes,” said Rep. Bryan Terry (R- Murfreesboro) on the House floor Monday.
In China in 2020 several people, including doctors, were jailed for illegally harvesting organs from people who had died in accidents. In March 2024, the federal bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), held a hearing examining the issue.
Rep. Yusuf Hakeem (D-Chattanooga)
An effort by Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) and Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) to enshrine access to contraception failed in the Senate this week. A similar effort failed in 2024.
A bill that targets the World Health Organization is on its way to the governor’s desk. Brought by Rep. Justin Lafferty (R-Knoxville) and Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis), HB 1226/SB 669 requires a pandemic to be declared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rather than the World Health Organization. President Trump has spoken out against the WHO, and recently issued an executive order seeking to withdraw the United States from the organization. Another bill targeting the WHO is still making its way through the legislature.
Tourism Budget
The state Department of Tourist Development presented its budget requests to the Senate Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday.
Native American healer and lecturer Marilyn Youngbird of the Mandau, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation in Bismark, N.D., who gave the opening prayer during the March 13 House floor session
The department faces a 60 percent reduction in budget due to the expiration of federal funds from the American Rescue Plan and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Acts over the past five years. Now it is requesting more state dollars to make up for that change. The state has provided between $20 million and $30 million each year with federal dollars nearly matching that to make up the department's more than $50 million total budget. The department is seeking a $25 million increase in state funding to make up a total $48 million appropriation from the state this year.
Commissioner Mark Ezell said direct visitor spending is up $500 million dollars annually since five years ago. In Fiscal Year 2024, 27 percent of all new sales tax dollars (or $70 million) and 14 percent of all sales tax (or $2 billion) came from leisure and hospitality taxes.
The state has seen 11 percent in hotel growth over those past five years, while the U.S. average is 4 percent. Ezell also said the state expects to have more hotel rooms in the pipeline than any other state by 2028.
Bill gets bipartisan support to help victims of unlawful photography
When it comes to air travel, Ezell said 2.1 million more people are flying into the state from new markets that have been added since 2018. He said during his presentation that Canadian budget airline Flair Airlines recently announced it would cancel its 18,000 flights to Nashville for the rest of the year. In answering questions from legislators, Ezell said a domestic traveler is worth about $208 per day while an international traveler is worth five times as much at around $1,176 per day. About $750 million comes from international tourism, and the department is trying to increase that to about $1 billion, which would be 3 percent of the total dollars coming from tourists. He cited the importance of two new BNA flights coming later this year — to Dublin and to Reykjavik.
“They just spend so much money, and they stay so long,” Ezell said of international tourists. “We are certainly looking at all the jump places that you can get to from Iceland. So that puts our Germany market, our France market, our London market in play for greater visitation, because they’ve got another way to get there inexpensively, and that’s what we’ll concentrate on. … We’re doubling down on international.”
