Tuesday in the State Senate: Third-Grade Reading and Guns (but Not Gun Control)

Tuesday afternoon on Capitol Hill wasn’t quite as eventful as Monday night. Protests did not take place until the evening. And while there was some action in House committees, the full House did not meet for a floor session. 

That said, a few significant pieces of legislation passed on the Senate floor, with changes to the controversial third-grade retention bill and a bill to provide tax breaks for FedEx taking up the most debate time. A bill that would overhaul tax breaks for corporations and provide a three-month grocery tax holiday later this year was rolled to Wednesday.

Third-Grade Reading

Parents and teachers across the state have been voicing concerns about a law that could hold back third-graders who don't pass the English language arts portion of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program. Currently, students who don't pass would have to attend summer school or receive tutoring to be promoted to the fourth grade. Senate Bill 300 from Sen. Jon Lundberg (R-Bristol) would address some of those concerns by allowing a state benchmark test to be considered alongside the TCAP when considering promotion eligibility. Standardized testing can of course be stressful for students, and some lawmakers pointed out that a student who typically gets good grades could do poorly on standardized tests. Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) argued that rather than actually fix the problem, this bill will instead push students from public to private schools, where they do not have the same standards. The bill passed 26-4, and is scheduled to be heard in the House on Wednesday.

Guns?

A couple of firearm-related bills passed on the Senate floor, neither of them geared toward the kinds of reform protesters have been calling for at the Capitol this month. The first, Senate Bill 360 from Sen. Becky Massey (R-Knoxville), creates a voucher program to offset the costs of a person taking a handgun safety course. Up until 2021’s permitless carry bill, such courses were required in Tennessee. The idea is that this bill would encourage more gun owners to take an optional class. The bill passed unanimously, and is on the House calendar for Thursday.

Next up, a bill from Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) faced some bipartisan opposition. House Bill 1189 protects gun manufacturers, dealers and sellers from lawsuits in relation to illegal activity carried out with the products they sell. Multiple Democratic legislators argued against the bill, pointing out that protesters at the Capitol have been asking for laws to protect them from guns, and the legislature is instead passing legislation to protect the manufacturers and sellers of guns. Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) voiced concern, pointing to the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, in which the ammo used was made illegally. Sen. Art Swann (R-Maryville) also spoke against the bill, saying that — even as someone who said he likely owns more guns than anyone else in the room — he feels gun manufacturers and sellers should hold some responsibility. The bill passed 19-9, and passed the House in March.

Trickle-Down Economics

In recent years, the state legislature has continually lowered the cap on how much corporations like FedEx have to pay in jet fuel taxes. Fuel tax revenue goes toward supporting airports, and with the decrease in that revenue the legislature has had to use money from the general fund to fill the gap. Senate Bill 626 permanently caps the amount of money any one entity has to pay in jet fuel taxes at $1 million, placing the burden on the general fund. 

Advocates said the bill would incentivize businesses to come to Tennessee and ultimately benefit Tennesseans. But some lawmakers stood in opposition to the bill, with Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) calling it corporate welfare, and Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) saying he thinks airlines should be contributing more to maintain the airports they’re using. Despite the long debate, the bill passed 29-4, with Democratic Sens. Yarbro, Akbari and Sara Kyle (D-Memphis) joining the Republican supermajority. The bill passed the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tuesday and awaits scheduling in the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee.

Meanwhile in the House

The House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee met Tuesday and effectively killed House Bill 104. The bill from Rep. Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis) would have required the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to test all rape kits within 30 days of receipt. While rape kit availability has gone up over the past few years, it can still take a long time for those kits to be tested due to a backlog. But after it was decided in committee that Parkinson’s bill would not be included in the budget, it was taken off notice.