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Stockard on the Stump: Private-school voucher bill likely to wind up in conference committee • Tennessee Lookout [1]
['Sam Stockard', 'More From Author', 'March']
Date: 2024-03-01
The House and Senate started pushing their long-awaited, much-anticipated (not) versions of the voucher bill through committees this week, showing us one key thing.
What might ultimately pass ain’t gonna be what they took up this week, especially not the House version. Of the $400 million worth of goodies they put in the bill, some $260 million is to go toward public schools, and that isn’t likely to fly in the Senate.
Besides, if it’s all so good for public education, why wait until a voucher bill comes along before doing things such as cutting back on standardized testing?
The answer is: We thought those were good moves all along, but we were so tied up with making students and teachers look terrible we couldn’t think of anything else except privatizing public students. Besides, we need the votes.
Whatever the case, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally predicted Thursday the disparate Senate and House voucher bills will wind up in a conference committee. My prediction is most of the things public educators think are good will be stripped out and the money for vouchers will remain, about $144 million the first year and double or triple that the second year when it becomes universal.
It must be noted that conference committees aren’t exactly bastions of transparency, so if anyone is waiting for a fair hearing on the last day of the session in seven weeks or so —after the qualifying deadline for the 2024 election — don’t hold your breath.
My prediction for vouchers? Most of the things public educators think are good will be stripped out and the money for vouchers will remain, about $144 million the first year and double or triple that the second year.
The House K-12 Education Subcommittee got off to a roaring start Tuesday as Speaker Pro Tem Pat Marsh sat in to make sure the voucher bill passed its first hurdle. His vote wasn’t needed, but the speaker or his designee are allowed to attend any meeting to take names and vote.
A couple of Republicans abstained, including wildcard Rep. Bryan Richey of Maryville who said he’d hardly had time to look at the bill between Monday and Tuesday. The main amendment wasn’t filed on time, either, making it harder for those outside the sphere of influence to know what was happening.
Regardless of House leadership claims that lawmakers had plenty of time to review the bill, Richey said it changed dramatically from what he’d seen and heard previously as lawmakers parse disparate bills from the Senate, House and Gov. Bill Lee.
But while he was slightly irritated with the timing, Richey said, “The one thing I’m confident on is what we saw last night is not what’s going to end up passing into law, because of what’s happening with the three different bills.”
Republican Rep. Todd Warner of Chapel Hill was a bit more adamant, criticizing the transformation of private schools through public money and questioning Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds about where she sees the program heading. He received little to no response.
Speaker should know better
Despite voting against the governor’s first voucher bill in 2019, House Speaker Cameron Sexton is championing the new plan.
Talk surfaced this week, though, that Sexton agreed to support the new Education Freedom Scholarships in return for the governor’s backing of a blended sentencing bill that would send juvenile offenders who commit serious crimes straight to prison once they turn 19.
Sexton took a hard line for the state’s new “truth-in-sentencing” law, and this year he’s backing a bill for a constitutional amendment increasing the offenses for which judges can deny bail. He also supports the blended sentencing measure, which contains no provision for a new trial and has multiple problems, opponents say. The Senate version was passed last year, and the House bill likely will go to a conference committee this year to hash out differences.
Asked about an alleged deal with the governor Thursday, Sexton denied making one.
“That’s the most preposterous thing I’ve ever heard asked. … If you think that that’s what we do here, then you really need to go somewhere else and have conversations, because that’s not what we do. So for you to opine that that’s even the case is a ridiculous question to ask,” Sexton said.
What? No horse trading in the Legislature? How the heck do they get anything done?
The fact the voucher bills and blended sentencing are probably headed for a conference committee is a prime indication lawmakers will be cutting deals to get what they want. Every year, the House, Senate and factions within use either a bill or a big chunk of money to make deals.
Let’s not be naive and act as if a group the FBI has been investigating for at least five years straight and umpteen times over the last four decades is some governing utopia dreamed up by a group of rich white men 250 years ago.
Breaking it down
Nearly two months into the final session of the 113th General Assembly, lawmakers, mainly Republican controllers, are pouring half their energy into private school vouchers, 10% into the mundane yet important, and about 40% into regaining their street cred after being made to look like fools at the expulsion of Reps. Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson last year.
Nashville was the 2023 target for unconstitutional legislation after the Metro Council refused to go after the Republican National Convention. This year’s targets are the two freshmen lawmakers who returned after a Houster (House ouster for the uninitiated), and the questionable bills are flowing like craft beer at a Capitol Press Corps Christmas party.
In their zeal to protect the republic from two young, Black men, the House passed a bill Monday that would stop local governments from returning expelled lawmakers to the Legislature, even though one of their own attorneys advised them it would be illegal. Lt. Gov. McNally also questioned whether the bill could withstand constitutional muster.
Republican Rep. Gino Bulso, one of the House members who had his hat handed to him in the expulsion proceedings, passed a bill out of committee this week that would allow lawsuits against House rules to go only to U.S. District Court and possibly the state Supreme Court. In other words, if you don’t like how the House or Senate are treating you, get over it.
Apparently, Republicans involved in the haphazard expulsion are still sore over their failed scheme. They’re also peeved at a court defeat in which Chancellor Anne Martin ruled during last August’s not-so-special session that people could hold small signs during House meetings.
The Senate is starting to look as if it has no stomach for the House’s punishing pillories.
McNally joked Thursday that there are “plenty” of bills with nagging legal questions.
“We like to keep the three branches of government separate,” McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, added.
Sounding the death knell for yet another Bulso bill, McNally said a measure dealing with flags in schools could be “problematic” because the Pride flag and others were targeted on the House floor.
McNally noted he and Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti have concerns about the bill, and he’s waiting to hear back from the AG on it.
Rewriting the Constitution
Leaders have pointed out that if people don’t like Rep. Johnny Garrett’s expulsion restriction, a constitutional amendment stopping ousted lawmakers from being returned is available.
Richey passed the bill this week through the House State Government Subcommittee, a new rubber stamp for the culture war between the Justins and House Republican leadership. Under current law, you only have to be 21 and meet residency requirements to run for a House seat, a pretty low bar to meet, thus the large number of self-serving goofballs in the Legislature.
“This is just adding a requirement that if you’ve been expelled from either chamber, you’re not eligible for four years,” said Richey, who voted against expelling Reps. Pearson and Gloria Johnson last year but voted to oust Rep. Jones.
It’s the abuse and misuse of power that’s hurting our institution, and it’s hurting our democracy, and it’s hurting our constituents. – Rep. Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis
Speaker Sexton called Pearson to order Monday evening when he told the chamber he was tired of the “racist” retribution being hurled at him and Jones. Pearson continued to trash Bulso’s bill later in the week while railing about Republicans’ refusal to let Democrats present bills by using a procedural move requiring a motion and a second.
“It’s the abuse and misuse of power that’s hurting our institution, and it’s hurting our democracy, and it’s hurting our constituents,” Pearson said.
Pearson was wrong about one thing, though, when he called the House a “country club” while blasting the expulsion bill. He should know by now he’s working in a “frat house” and the “country club” is down the hall.
The good, the bad and the boring
Legislation putting a cap on county property tax increases is still up and walking around, onlookers say, but it could soon go on life support, mainly because of a groundswell of opposition from county officials.
Critics of the bill are most concerned it will rise up on the last day of the session, as often happens, and become a bargaining chip for the budget or, this year, for the private-school voucher bill.
Sen. John Stevens, R-Huntingdon, has two property tax cap bills, and Rep. Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville, has at least one of them. Republican presidential economic advisor Art Laffer is the driving force behind one of them, and no doubt he’ll keep pushing until the bitter end.
Meanwhile, an obscure measure backed by Comptroller Jason Mumpower is set to be heard in the Senate State and Local Government Committee next week, requiring counties to increase the frequency of property reappraisals.
Mumpower told the Lookout last year he wants to speed up the reappraisal schedule after 38 counties lost $100 million to $113 million the previous year in property tax collections. The losses stem from a sales ratio dealing with appraisals versus market values, which he said caused counties to sustain “extraordinary revenue loss.”
One of the sticking points in the bill, which made its way through one House subcommittee already, is the $100 million financial impact estimate attached to it. The Fiscal Review Office said local governments could gain that much in uncollected revenue if the bill passes, but the Comptroller’s Office contends the bill is “budget neutral.”
Technically, it is.
And no lawmaker in their right mind wants to be seen as supporting a bill enabling county governments to bring in more tax revenue. Heaven forbid.
Monday morning quarterbacking
U.S. Rep. Mark Green second-guessed himself back into re-election mode this week, saying he plans to run for the 7th Congressional District office again, two weeks after saying he wouldn’t seek another term.
Green, an Ashland City Republican who represents part of Davidson County, Clarksville and a large rural area, said he changed his mind after hearing from constituents and former President Donald Trump, who urged him to reconsider.
The former state senator said he has a duty to fulfill so he can be in office when Trump returns to the presidency so they can “end this border crisis once and for all.”
Good luck. We’ve only been trying to stop people from crossing the Rio Grande for nearly 200 years.
Broke into the old apartment
Rep. Caleb Hemmer went back on the warpath this week against Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds, presenting documents showing she’s holding on to her primary residence in Dallas, Texas through a tax document and remains a registered voter in that state.
Hemmer, D-Nashville, is still waiting for an opinion from the attorney general on whether she is qualified to be the commissioner since she isn’t eligible to teach and doesn’t meet other basic requirements to hold the job.
“It’s just been malpractice the whole time,” Hemmer said of the Reynolds hiring and her efforts to pass a voucher bill.
The Governor’s Office responded with the same statement they gave when Democrats said she was unqualified, saying her credentials and professional experience make her qualified to be the commissioner “and we’re proud of the work she’s doing to accelerate academic achievement and support all Tennessee students.”
That’s gov speak for we’re glad she’s helping us pass the voucher bill.
Oh well, apparently since Davy Crockett died at the Alamo in 1836, Tennessee and Texas have had reciprocal voting rights.
And one more thing: “All my exes live in Texas” too, which makes them eligible to be the Tennessee commissioner of education.
That’s a lie. I don’t have any ex-wives, ex-girlfriends or a garage. “You can call home and ask my wife.” *
(“Uneasy Rider,” Charlie Daniels.)
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