Winners and losers in the General Assembly’s fundraising sweepstakes
The state Capitol was closed to visitors on March 16, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
The final fundraising disclosures are in before Thursday’s primary election. We’ve dug through the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance disclosures to aggregate how much each candidate for the House and Senate has raised so far through this election cycle.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) leads the way with $359,200, followed by freshman Rep. Bob Freeman (D-Nashville) with $290,700. Sen. Paul Rose (R-Covington) is next on the list with $226,500, though his numbers are a bit inflated by having stood for a special election during the cycle.
On the other end of the spectrum are incumbents who have raised the least. They are Reps. G.A. Hardaway (D-Memphis) with $2,900, Mike Carter (R-Ooltewah) with $3,900, and former House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin) with $6,450.
These totals are for candidates only, meaning they don’t include any of their political action committees.
A couple caveats about the way the Registry keeps these numbers: They include outside donations and direct contributions from the candidates themselves, but not loans. For example, while Rep. Rick Tillis’ challenger Todd Warner in District 92 is listed as raising $2,950, that figure doesn’t include the eye-popping $127,100 he has loaned himself. The figures also don’t include unitemized contributions, which for some candidates can be substantial.
So with all that being said, the full list follows. Challengers and candidates in open races are listed in italics.
Coming soon to a store (or keyboard) near you: Two sales tax holidays
The House meets at the state Capitol in Nashville on June 1, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
As part of a late-session compromise between the House and Senate, lawmakers agreed to double to the cap on the price of clothing, computers, and back-to-school items for the annual sales tax holiday. And then they decided to hold it on consecutive weekends. Gone in the legislative deal was a House proposal to also hold a sales tax holiday for automobiles, which would have been a far pricier proposition.
Here’s a release from the state Revenue Department about the sales tax holiday weekends starting July 31 and Aug. 7:
NASHVILLE — Mark your calendars. For 2020 only, the Tennessee General Assembly has approved two sales tax holiday weekends to help Tennesseans save money and support the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first tax-free holiday weekend focuses on clothing and other back-to-school items. It begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 31, and ends Sunday, August 2, at 11:59 p.m. During this time, consumers may purchase clothing, school supplies, and computers and other qualifying electronic devices without paying sales tax. Certain price restrictions apply. For school supplies and clothing, the threshold for qualifying items is $200 or less. For computers and other electronics, the price threshold is $3,000 or less. Download our list of tax-exempt items here.
Exempt items sold online are also eligible. Consumers must purchase items for personal use, not business or trade.
The second sales tax holiday weekend focuses on restaurant sales. It begins at 12:01 a.m. on August 7 and ends Sunday, August 9, at 11:59 p.m. During this time the retail sale of food and drink by restaurants and limited service restaurants, as defined in Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-4-102, is exempt from sales tax.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense economic strain on Tennessee families. These sales tax holidays will allow them to keep more of their hard-earned money and support Tennessee businesses,” said Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.
“We want to remind everyone about these opportunities for tax relief,” Revenue Commissioner David Gerregano said. “It’s a good opportunity to save money during these difficult times.”
For more information about the sales tax holiday weekends, visit www.tntaxholiday.com. You can also read our frequently asked questions, as well as this important notice.
The Department of Revenue is responsible for the administration of state tax laws and motor vehicle title and registration laws, as well as the collection of taxes and fees associated with those laws. The Department collects around 87 percent of total state revenue. During the 2019 fiscal year, it collected $15.3 billion in state taxes and fees and more than $3 billion in taxes and fees for local governments. To learn more about the Department, visit www.tn.gov/revenue.
Carmack statue might have to return unless law is changed
The House returns into session on June 1, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
The state may have no choice but to return the toppled statue of segregationist newspaper editor Edward Ward Carmack under a state law enacted to make it harder to replace historical markers and statues.
According to the Heritage Protection Act:
A public entity having responsibility for maintaining a memorial, or a nonprofit entity acting with permission of the public entity, shall have the authority to take proper and appropriate measures, and exercise proper and appropriate means, for the care, preservation, protection, repair, and restoration of the memorial.
State attorneys interpret that last part about the repair and restoration of the monument to mean that governments are required to fix any damage. That means the statue knocked over in last weekend’s protests could have to be brought back to its former place of prominence outside the southern entrance of the state Capitol. That’s unless lawmakers decide to seek a waiver or pass a law affecting that particular monument.
Gallery: Back in session, though some distance more than others
The Senate convenes on June 1, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
The Tennessee General Assembly has officially returned into session after a 75-day hiatus during the coronavirus outbreak.
The House GOP held a caucus meeting on Monday afternoon in which a small minority of members wore masks. Some vigorously shook hands and joked that the weekend protests around the state indicate that social distancing is no longer important.
The Senate spaced desks in the chamber to provide maximum distance between the members. The House installed plexiglass shields between lawmakers’ seats.
Here are some photos of Monday’s proceedings:
House members are divided by plexiglas shields on June 1, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
House Speaker Cameron Sexton addresses the House Republican Caucus on June 1, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Senate Speaker Randy McNally presides over a floor session on June 1, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
The House holds a floor session on June 1, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Rep. Curtis Halford, center, attends a floor session June 1, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Reps. Matthew Hill and William Lamberth, standing right, confer during a floors sesion on June 1, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Rep. Jerry Sexton attends a House floor session on June 1, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Rep. David Hawk, left, confers with Rep. Kent Calfee on June 1, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Speaker Cameron Sexton presides over a floor session on June 1, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
House scheduled to hear 391 bills this week, Senate none
Rep. Jim Coley (R-Bartlett) presides of the House Higher Education Subcommittee on May 26, 2020. (Screengrab: Tennessee General Assembly)
The full slate of 20 state House committees meeting this week have 391 bills on their calendars, according to a count by The Tennessean. By contrast, the Senate has none.
The two chamber are at odds about how wide the scope of their return into session should be. The upper chamber wants to focus on COVID-19 related legislation, the budget, and “time-sensitive” measures. The House wants to throw the doors open to any remaining bills, including controversial measures such as making the Bible the state’s official book, banning most abortions, and getting rid of training and background check requirements to carry handguns in public.
The lower chamber is allowing limited access to lobbyists and the public, while the Senate will remain on lockdown for all but lawmakers, staff, and the media.
The Finance Committee is the panel meeting on the Senate side this week.
Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) speaks during a House subcommittee meeting in on May 26, 2020 (Screengrab: Tennessee General Assembly)
Rep. Andy Holt says he won’t run for re-election
Rep. Andy Holt (R-Dresden), left, attends a meeting at the state Capitol in Nashville on Jan. 8, 2019. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Rep. Andy Holt (R-Dresden) has announced he won’t seek another term in the state House this year.
Holt tells Thunderbolt Broadcasting he wants to spend more time with his family and on his agritourism business.
State Representative Andy Holt: I Will Not Seek Another Term
House District 76 comprises all of Weakley and parts of Obion and Carroll counties. Holt was first elected to the seat in 2010.
Day 1 of the ‘coronasession’ in pictures
Lawmakers attend a House floor session in Nashville on March 16, 2020. Watching from the gallery are, from left, Reps. Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville), Bob Freeman (D-Nashville), and Bill Beck (D-Nashville). (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Here are some images from the first day of what has been dubbed the “coronasession.”
Gov. Bill Lee and aides arrive for a press conference on the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic on March 16, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Gov. Bill Lee speaks at a press conference on Tennessee’s coronavirus response in Nashville on March 16, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Reporters practice social distancing during Gov. Bill Lee’s press conference on Tennessee’s coronavirus response in Nashville on March 16, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Gov. Bill Lee speaks at a press conference on Tennessee’s coronavirus response in Nashville on March 16, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Gov. Bill Lee speaks at a press conference on Tennessee’s coronavirus response in Nashville on March 16, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Rep. Michael Curcio (R-Dickson) watches a briefing on the coronavirus pandemic from the House gallery in Nashville on March 16, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Rep. Tim Rudd (R-Murfreesboro) attends a briefing on the coronavirus pandemic in Nashville on March 16, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
From right, Reps. Kirk Haston (R-Lobelville), Mary Littleton (R-Dickson), Bud Hulsey (R-Kingsport), and Ryan Williams (R-Cookeville) attend a briefing on the coronavirus pandemic in Nashville on March 16, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Tennessee money cop Justin Wilson dons money suit
Comptroller Justin Wilson enters House budget hearings on Dec. 17, 2019 (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)State Comptroller Justin Wilson drew less attention at House budget hearings on Tuesday for what he said than for what he wore. Wilson and his deputy, former Rep. Justin Mumpower, donned matching suits with $100 prints on them.
Mumpower wore a tie with the same pattern on it, but the self-proclaimed “beloved comptroller” resorted to his old reliable Grinch tie.
‘Wildcat’ budget hearings hit 2nd week in House
House budget hearings head into their second week in Nashville on Dec. 16, 2019. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
The state House is holding its second round of pre-session budget hearings starting on Monday. The hearings are unusual because Gov. Bill Lee has yet to present his annual spending proposal to lawmakers. But the meetings give lawmakers a chance to rake in a couple of weeks worth of per-diems before Christmas and to bask in the spotlight of media coverage in what could otherwise be a slow pre-Christmas news week. Some statehouse wags have taken to calling them the “wildcat” budget hearings (a reference, perhaps, to wildcat strikes, or to the wildcat formation in football).
Everything should be live streamed on the General Assembly’s website. Here’s the schedule:
Monday, House Hearing Room I
- 9:30 AM – 10:00 AM General Services
- 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM Military
- 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM Veterans Services
- 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM Alcoholic Beverage Commission
- 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM Human Resources
- 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM TACIR
- 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM TN Human Rights Commission
- 2:30 PM – 3:00 PM TN State Museum
Tuesday, House Hearing Room I
- 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Correction
- 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM Board of Parole
- 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM TRICOR
- 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM Comptroller of the Treasury
- 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM Treasury
- 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM Secretary of State
- 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM Finance and Administration
- 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services
Wednesday, House Hearing Room III
- 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
- 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM Administrative Office of the Courts
- 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM Attorney General and Reporter
- 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM District Attorneys General Conference
- 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM District Public Defenders Conference
- 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM Office of Post-Conviction Defender
- 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Children’s Services
- 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM Public Utility Commission
Thursday, House Hearing Room III
- 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Transportation
- 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Human Services
- 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Safety and Homeland Security
- 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM TN Arts Commission
- 12:30 PM – 1:00 PM TN Housing Development Agency
- 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM Tennessee Corrections Institute
Former lawmaker, lobbyist Rufus Jones dies at 79
Rufus Jones, a former chairman of the House State and Local Government Committee, has died. He was 79.
Jones, a Memphis Democrat, was elected to the state House in 1981 and served in the chamber until 1996. He then embarked on a lobbying career until beginning treatment for lymphoma in 2006.
Jones’ lobbying clients included Tennessee Bankers Association, Memphis Light, Gas & Water, and Memphis Basketball Partners, a group pushing for funding for a new arena when the Vancouver Grizzlies were first mulling their move to Tennessee.
Jones challenged Riley Darnell for the secretary of state position in 2004, but lost a House Democratic Caucus nomination vote to the incumbent. Democrats at the time held a narrow 69-63 advantage over Republicans in the joint convention to elect constitutional officers and Darnell went on to win his fourth and final term.
Jones was succeeded in the House by Rep. Barbara Cooper (D-Memphis).
“Rep. Jones was a tireless public servant who always gave back and worked hard to open doors for the people of South Memphis,” she said in a statement. “He was a kind, easy-going person who loved his constituents and his community.”