SB 650 Tentatively Scheduled for Monday's Floor Calendar, Ask Senators to Vote "NO"
Following the horrific mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville at the beginning of the week, the House and Senate gaveled in briefly on Monday afternoon but did not vote on any legislation. That means that Senate Bill 650 was originally moved to yesterday's floor calendar.
Along with quite a few other pieces of legislation (and potentially due to the massive, powerful rally for stronger gun laws that drew thousands to the Capitol during session), SB 650 was moved to THIS MONDAY'S (April 3rd) floor calendar for a tentative final vote. Please note that we say "tentative" only because we are at the point in session where things can change very quickly and with little-to-no warning. We'll continue to keep you updated on our social media pages and via e-mail.
Click here and ask your senator to vote "NO" on SB 650!
For the second year in a row, the supermajority wants to tie the hands of businesses that may want to locate in Tennessee in the future by making them ineligible to receive state monies or be required to return them if any votes on worker representation are not held by a secret ballot election.
Lawmakers have no right to manage private businesses and their employees, and there's a very real chance that SB 650 could jeopardize future investments in our state.
We are so grateful to each and every one of you who have contacted your legislators for the past month and a half and asked them to vote against this bad bill. Thank you for your ongoing advocacy and outreach!
If you have taken action, we encourage you to ask a friend to do the same. Keep in mind that the companion bill (HB 1342) has already passed in the House.
The bottom line is this: discussions about worker representation should be left up to employers and employees without outside influence from politicians.
Tell your senator: stop trying to manage private businesses and their employees!
A Brief Look at Some of the Additional Legislation That We're Watching Next Week
Note: Many committees and subcommittees are now closed or hearing their final calendars. We're continuing to watch numerous caption bills closely for any late-filed amendments that impact working families. Budget discussions are also scheduled to begin in the Senate next week.
-HB 329/SB 281: Another example of a bad (caption) bill that's filed almost every year, this would eliminate automatic payroll dues deduction for professional educators' organizations (like the Tennessee Education Association) and create an unnecessary financial burden. This year, however, a pay raise is deliberately included in the same bill. An effort by a bipartisan group of senators to split the bill into two parts was unfortunately unsuccessful.
Note: This bill has already passed in the Senate. We encourage you to watch the video of the discussion here to see what several lawmakers REALLY think about our hard-working, selfless teachers.
-HB 1176/SB 1326: An attempt by the legislature to exert more control over Nashville, this would overhaul appointments to the Metro Nashville Airport Authority; the governor, the speaker of the House, and the speaker of the Senate would be allowed to appoint all members, while the mayor would serve as a voting ex officio commissioner.
Note: This bill has already passed in the Senate.
-HB 747/SB 1511: A good bill, this would enact the "CEO Pay Disparity Tax Act" and impose a pay disparity surcharge on each company whose top executive is paid at least 100 times more than the average income of their employees.
-SB 276/HB 324: After promising to enact a paid family leave program for state employees in his State of the State Address in February, this caption would enact Governor Lee's proposal. Those who are eligible would be given 12 weeks of paid leave. While other legislators are sponsoring similar measures, this one is the most likely to pass, simply because it's an administration bill.
Note: This bill has already passed in the Senate.
-HB 712/SB 108: This bill raises the wages of preferred service employees in the Department of Correction by 15%.
-HB 433/SB 12: Continuing to have a negative impact on public education across the state, this piece of legislation would expand Tennessee's school voucher program to include Hamilton County schools.
Note: This bill has already passed in the Senate.
-HB 1060/SB 1285: Yet another sneaky caption bill and only a couple of years after the legislature chose to cut the amount of time that someone could receive unemployment benefits, this would add to the work search requirements needed to keep those benefits.
-HB 1336/SB 1053: A good bill, this would enact the "Workers Need Child Care Act."
-HB 317/SB 269: Rather than classifying it as a day of special observance, this bill would make Juneteenth a legal holiday in Tennessee.
Note: This bill has already passed in the Senate.