Tea Party 2009

April Legislative Update

From REPRESENTATIVE VANCE DENNIS
TN District 71
4-10-2009

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STATE REP SWEEPS THROUGH MCNAIRY COUNTY

State Representative Vance Dennis was, quite literally, sweeping through McNairy County during March. County officials and Arts in McNairy board members presented a handmade broom to the district 71 representative at a gathering in Selmer. The broom will be displayed at his Nashville office.

Why a broom? Mr. Dennis has expressed a desire to do something more than just decorate his new office in the usual fashion. "Lots of people from across the state and country come to my office at the Capitol throughout the year," he said, "and I intend to use this aspect of my position to promote the benefits of our community to the greatest extent possible."


STATE REP VANCE DENNIS HONORS HARDIN COUNTY GIRLS BOWLING TEAM

Representative Vance Dennis honored the Hardin County Girls Bowling Team during March in a ceremony on the House floor. The HCHS Girls Bowling Team captured the 2009 TSSAA Division 1 State Championship. Representative Dennis said the high schoolers deserved the honor, not only for winning the championship this year, but for making it to the state tournament every year since the team’s inception in 2002.

“This high school team and their coaches have done an outstanding job, and I’m honored to be able to represent young people like these,” said Rep. Dennis. “They have worked hard, and they deserve this recognition.”

GOVERNOR PRESENTS BUDGET

The Governor presented his initial budget proposal on March 23, 2009, to a Joint Convention of the House and Senate. Because of the unprecedented economic situation facing Tennessee, the Governor is proposing a multi-year approach, and laying out possibilities for the next four years. He explained that much of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) money, which totals approximately $5 billion over two years for Tennessee, comes with many strings attached.

Stimulus funds will foot much of the TennCare bill
More than a billion dollars of the ARRA funds will be used to temporarily foot the bill for TennCare—the state’s Medicaid program— in order to free up the state dollars to fund programs elsewhere. While other states will be required to use this money to plug holes in their Medicaid programs, TennCare is in a stable position. Additionally, TennCare had approximately $500 million in their reserve account at the beginning of the year.

Higher Education may dodge a bullet
Although large reductions were expected in higher education, the ARRA dedicates $500 million specifically to higher education, meaning that the anticipated cuts are no longer necessary. Reductions that had already taken place will now be restored to the tune of $100 million this year.
The budget proposal stipulates that higher education will be fully funded for the next 21 months from stimulus funds. However, the possible $180 million shortfall when the stimulus funds are no longer provided has caused concern for many legislators.

Unemployment Insurance
One of the Administration’s priorities is focused on keeping the state’s Unemployment Trust Fund solvent. Although the Governor considered turning down the unemployment portion of the federal stimulus package, citing as a concern the obligation to continue higher spending when the federal money runs out in two years, he has decided to accept the $141 million injection to the Unemployment Trust Fund.

Accepting the money will mean that Tennessee has to adopt three federal mandates at a projected outflow of $30 million annually. A part-time worker definition, alternative wage base calculations and dependents allowance must be adopted by the General Assembly in order to qualify for the stimulus funds. If these measures are adopted, there will likely be a need to end these mandated benefits once the federal monies are exhausted to sustain the fund in the future.

For more information about the ARRA, go to visit http://www.tnrecovery.gov/.

LEGISLATION PENDING

In addition to the State budget, a wide variety of legislation is moving through the house. Lawmakers have been debating several pieces of gun legislation in recent weeks, including House Bill 716, which will allow licensed carry permit holders to possess their firearms within the boundaries of any state park, and within the boundaries of local parks if approved by the local legislative body.

In the same vein, House Bill 1778 would prohibit lawfully possessed firearms from being confiscated during periods of martial rule, and House Bill 233 would allow permit holders to carry in restaurants that serve alcohol.

House Joint Resolution 149, a constitutional amendment which guarantees Tennesseans the right to hunt and fish, is also working its way through the General Assembly and, if it passes in the legislature with a 2/3 majority vote, it will appear on the ballot in 2010 in a voter referendum.

The legislature is also considering legislation that would create a “wine at retail food store license,” which would allow the sale of wine at grocery stores. The license would be issued by the Alcoholic Beverage Commission and only in a county or municipality that has authorized the sale of alcoholic beverages. Businesses who obtain the license would still be subject to rules and regulations governing current liquor and beer laws, and would also be subject to the “Responsible Vendors Act,” which requires mandatory carding.

There is also a great deal of debate about the method that Tennessee uses to select its appellate and Supreme Court judges. Tennessee currently uses a merit-based selection process whereby the Tennessee Judicial Selection Commission, a panel composed of 17 members, interviews applicants and offers the Governor a slate of three candidates to fill a vacancy on the court. The Governor then picks one of the three candidates, or rejects the entire slate. If the Governor rejects all three candidates on the first slate, he can request another. If this occurs, the Governor must then make a selection from the second slate of candidates. After being appointed, judges are subject to “yes/no” retention votes every eight years. Many legislators have expressed support for a change in this system that would require these judges to be selected by statewide election.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about these or any other bills that are being considered by out state legislature.

State Representative Vance Dennis
Capitol Address
105 War Memorial Building
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone: 615-741-2190
Fax: 615-253-0377


District Address:
55 Court Street, Suite B
Savannah, TN 38372
Phone 731-925-1025

New Website for Representative Dennis

Our State Representative, Vance Dennis, has his new website up and running. Click here to visit vancedennis.com.

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Sen. Corker on the Auto Industry

March 31, 2009

Leadership Forum

Yesterday Republicans from the 26th Senatorial District met in Chester County for a Leadership Forum. Senator Dolores Gresham was the speaker.Jonathan visits with Sen. GreshamShirley Curry, Sen. Gresham, and Rep. Steve McDaniel

Huck PAC Phone Banks Are Open

Gov. Huckabee is urging his supporters to make at least 5 calls for Jim Tedisco, who is running for Kirsten Gillibrand's vacated Congressional seat in New York. (Gillibrand was appointed to fill Hillary Clinton's Senate seat.) The special election is next Tuesday, March 31.

The phone banks at Huck PAC are easy to use and the calls take about a minute each. If you want more information about Jim Tedisco, you can click here to visit his web site, or here to read his biography on Wikipedia.

Put Conservatism Into Practice

From today's Washington Times

by Mike Huckabee

Enough already of the hand-wringing and night sweats about the demise of the conservative movement!

Conservatives aren't challenged because of the basic principles that define us, but by the failure of the principles being translated into policy and practice.

Gandhi once said, "If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today."

I would be so brazen to say that if conservatives would really live according to the principles of classic conservatism, all of America would be conservative today. The crisis is not one over the precepts, but the practice. It's not that we've failed in our doctrine, but our "doing."

Conservatives believe that the best government is the most local government possible and that the 10th Amendment means something and should be followed. Yet, the supposedly conservative Republican Party has been a drum major for the expanded role of the federal government.

Our founders feared a highly centralized and endowed federal government, instead preferring a system of strong and virtually independent states so that no one person, party, or power broker would exercise a great deal of control.

The inherent danger of allowing too much power in the hands of the few was the heart of the major dispute between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson won, believing that the dispersing of power among the states would by design keep the federal government from becoming too consuming and powerful in its approach to governing. The genius of the 10th Amendment, as is true of all of the Bill of Rights, was that it deliberately limited what the government could do - not what the individual could do.

The 10th Amendment defines the limits of the federal government in 28 words: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Over the past few years, Republicans have been either acquiescing in or encouraging the acquisition of more power and control by the federal government - in policy shifts in education, health care, and even how a driver's license looks.

During my 10 years as a governor, a constant battle raged with my own federal government over such programs as "Real I. D.," which was a federally conceived idea to force states to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to re-format the look of a state-issued drivers license so it would become the equivalent of a federal ID card.

Of course, no member of Congress wanted to come out and advocate an actual federal ID card, so forcing the states to make the driver's license the substitute seemed brilliant to Washington.
What they didn't really think about or seem to care the least about, despite the numerous attempts by governors, Democrat and Republican to explain, was that a state driver's license is just what it claims to be - a license to drive a motor vehicle. It is not proof of citizenship, good behavior or church attendance, and the people who work the counter at the state Department of Motor Vehicles are not trained law enforcement officers, immigration officials, CIA agents or detectives. They are typically entry-level state employees who do their best, but are hardly the choice front line of defense to catch a potential terrorist by discovering their true identity.
Ditto that for reforming the Medicaid program.

Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner - now Sen. Warner - and I spent many frustrating days on Capitol Hill trying to convince House and Senate members that the Medicaid program was out of control, financially unsustainable, and needed flexibility at the state level. Thanks primarily to Congressmen Joe L. Barton of Texas and Nathan Deal of Georgia, we finally were able to convince Congress that some of the decisions for the program could be made better if made closer to the people being served.

Perhaps no other example is more glaring than having painfully watched so-called Washington conservatives abandon the most fundamental principle of conservatism - fiscal restraint. A Republican administration pushed for and got the authority to spend $700 billion that we had to borrow from our grandchildren's future so we could do what government has no business doing - picking out winners and losers in the private sector marketplace.

It was especially disgusting to me to watch some of the very leaders who had smugly dismissed my candidacy for president because I had the audacity to speak out against the excesses of Wall Street and Washington as early as February 2007 now stand up and flop-sweat as they explained why they were about to support the government taking off the striped shirts of the referee and put on the jersey of a team to play the game for one team against another all in the name of "saving the markets."

By abandoning our bedrock conservative principles, and those of our founding fathers, they risked ruining our country to save the markets.

What gives me hope is my belief that the party of Reagan will reunite behind the consistent conservative policies that have made our country great - policies that empower individuals, families, and entrepreneurs, not government, to shape our own destinies. If we do that, we will not fail.

We don't need so much to redefine conservatism. Just practice the real thing.

Governor Huckabee's CPAC Speech 2009

February Legislative Update

From REPRESENTATIVE VANCE DENNIS

TN District 71

2-23-2009

The Tennessee State Legislature reconvened on Monday, February 9, 2009, to begin the 2009 regular session. There are a number of important issues facing our state in the coming months.

STATE BUDGET SHORTFALL

According to the most recent figures provided by the Tennessee Department of Revenue, January revenues were down $114 million, with Sales tax revenues, including those from Christmas, down $68 million. Because 62 percent of Tennessee's overall revenues come from the sales tax, this accounts for a large part of the budget hole. The total tax collection is $522 million below the budgeted estimate for the fiscal year, and Tennessee could very well be on path to having over a one billion dollar loss in year over year revenues. The next largest source of revenue, franchise and excise taxes, were down about 24 percent and are proving to be more volatile than ever before.

The recently passed Federal stimulus bill is anticipated to help our state through this budget crisis, but significant reductions in state government spending are still going to be required. I will be working diligently in the coming months to make sure that any negative impacts on our community and our State as a result of these reductions are kept to a minimum.

PENDING LEGISLATION

Almost two thousand bills have been filed for consideration so far this year. Most of these bills propose the creation of new laws or the modification or elimination of existing laws. A copy of each bill is filed in both the State House and the State Senate. Each bill is first assigned to a committee of legislators that reviews bills dealing with certain subject matter. The committee reviews each bill assigned to it and votes on whether or not the bill should become law. Bills often have to be approved by two or more different committees because they can affect different areas of the law. If a bill is approved by all of the necessary committees, it is presented to the entire House and the entire Senate. If it gets a majority vote in both the House and the Senate, it is then sent to the Governor for his approval. If the Governor approves the bill (or if the governor rejects the bill and the legislature then votes to override his rejection), it finally becomes law.

I will be serving on the Judiciary Committee, the Health and Human Resources Committee, the Civil Practice Subcommittee, and the Public Health Subcommittee for the next two years. However, I am always available to address your concerns about any topic facing our community or our state. I can be reached by email at vance@vancedennis.com or by telephone at 615-741-2190.

The Tennessee Legislature has created a new website, http://www.capitol.tn.gov/, that provides a wealth of information about our legislative branch of government, including easy access to all pending legislation, contact information for all legislators, and live video of all committee and floor sessions. Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts and suggestions about any pending legislation of interest to you.

Nashville Address

105 War Memorial Bldg.

Nashville TN 37243

Phone: (615) 741-2190

Fax: (615) 253-0377

rep.vance.dennis@capitol.tn.gov

Kent Williams will be kicked out of the TN GOP today

From Tennessee GOP Chairman Robin Smith:

Members of the State Executive Committee:

As you know, I have announced that I will be making the results of my deliberations on the Williams matter public today.

It is my first duty as Chairman to keep you informed of the activities of the TRP and wanted you to know the result I will announce before it is made public.

I have reviewed documentation presented by members of the Legislature, members of this Committee and Mr. Williams’ comments, both public and private, in the course of coming to this decision. It has been my intention to move deliberately to gain an idea of the course Mr. Williams intends to take. With you, I have watched his actions.

We have watched during the last 28 days to see if Kent Williams would assign the 13 Committee Chairmanships to the Republican Majority. He did not.

We watched to see how Rep. Williams would assign office space and staff to the Republican Majority. He has crammed 49 of his colleagues in 46 offices.

We have watched Rep. Williams maintain the same wage practices with Democrat staff earning more than the Republican staff, even as democrat staffers are assigned to fewer representatives.

We have learned that Mr. Williams has met with Governor Bredesen as the “Republican Representative” on the critical issue of the budget. Mr. Williams has withheld all of this information from the Republican Caucus encumbering their policy statements and decisions.

We have been repeatedly informed that Rep. Williams refuses to caucus with the Republicans.

We requested that members of the Caucus provide the TRP with specific examples of assistance that Rep. Williams has given to our candidates, caucus or party. None could.

So it is with regret that I inform you of my decision to remove Kent Williams’ status as a bona fide Republican. In the end, I must do what I believe to be right in this matter and not just what might be the politically or strategically expedient response. The principles we value must be placed above mere political calculation.

With this decision, we send a message that Tennessee Republicans expect better. Our party is not the tool to achieve personal power. The grassroots members who work so hard will not have their dedication sold to the highest bidder. Ours will be the Party of principle standing on integrity and honor.

It is now time to move forward. My staff and I are already out recruiting candidates, raising money and preparing for 2010. Next year we will elect a Republican governor and strengthen our majority in the legislature. I am honored to have you along on our journey.

Sincerely,

Robin T. Smith
Chairman
Tennessee Republican Party

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The video lost a lot of quality when we uploaded it to YouTube...sorry!

Huckabee Schools Ann Coulter On His Show

Mike Huckabee Blogs About President Obama's Inauguration

As of this morning, we have a new President. I had hoped that the 44th President would be a guy named Huckabee, but that didn’t happen. I don’t lament the results of the election, I celebrate the process of our great Republic that gives us the privilege and responsibility of voting and choosing our leaders.

I have stated repeatedly that I will pray for the new President in the same way that I would have desired for my fellow citizens to pray for me had I been successful.

I know that some, even on this blog (HuckPac), have been hesitant to commit to pray for and support the new President. I believe that it is my Christian duty to respect the office, to honor the process that led to the selection of the President, and to seek to put my country and its best interest above that of my party or even myself. I might find myself in disagreement in some of the policies that President Obama puts forth, but I will express my disagreement in the spirit of respect and civility that I wish had met President Bush when his critics disagreed with him.

Today, I am above all an American. A proud one. Proud that we have transitioned power without soldiers, bayonets, or bloodshed. I celebrate America. Now, the task is to stand more firm than ever in the conviction that life is precious and is the basis of liberty. I will work to elect good men and women to help shape this nation. It will be a long journey. I hope you’re ready to join me.

Prayerfully,
Mike Huckabee

Video From the House Floor

Ashley Dennis took this video as Kent Williams voted for himself and was sworn in as Speaker.

Victory Turns to Mourning

Yesterday we had the opportunity to go to Nashville for the swearing-in of our new State Representative, Vance Dennis. Since the Republicans have the majority in the House for the first time in years, we were also looking forward to seeing a Republican elected as Speaker of the House. All 50 Republican House members had pledged to vote for Rep. Jason Mumpower as Speaker, but Rep. Kent Williams broke his word and, along with the 49 Democrats, voted for himself. What was expected to have been a wonderful day for Tennessee Republicans turned out to be just the opposite.

Vance and Ashley Dennis chartered this bus for their supporters to ride to the State Capitol. The bus left Savannah at 6 a.m.

Before getting on the busArriving at the Legislative Plaza The first person we saw was Vance Dennis, who was already in Nashville.The House Republican Caucus provided breakfast for the legislators, staff, families and guestsDaddy and McNairy County Mayor Jai TempletonVance and Ashley with Jai and Allison TempletonMelissa and Congressman Zach Wamp, candidate for Governor of TennesseeVance's office doorThe empty House ChamberRep. Dennis at the door of the House ChamberThe members of the House of RepresentativesOur new State Senator, Dolores Gresham, was also getting sworn in.Senator Gresham's deskAshley, Walker and Vance Dennis in the galleryWalker at his daddy's desk Ashley and her mother Walker gives Rep. Jimmy Eldridge a high five. Rep. and Mrs. EldridgeWe found seats in the galleries around 9:00. Even though the session didn't begin until noon, the seats were already filled by 10:00. Some of our family sat on each side. The floor was buzzing with activity.Vance Dennis' desk Peggy Daniel and Cody Miller, fellow McNairy Countians who rode on the bus with usThe full gallery on the right side of the chamberThe gallery on the left sideSarahAnna and JonathanEveryone was really anxious for the session to start.The Representatives finally started to take their seats......and Speaker Jimmy Naifeh called the session to order.The Pledge of AllegianceThe Oath of OfficeFrom left to right, Rep. Stacey Campfield, Rep. Vance Dennis, Rep. Glen Casada, and Rep. Jason Mumpower Immediately following the oath, the Democrats called for a recess. The Republicans objected. Here Minority leader Gary Odom and Majority leader Jason Mumpower are arguing their points with Speaker Naifeh.Voting to table Odom's motion to recessUnfortunately, the Democrats got their recess, and we had to wait for 30 more minutes.The Republicans coming back from their caucus meetingRep. Sargent nominates Jason Mumpower for Speaker. Gary Odom shocks everyone by nominating moderate Republican Kent Williams for Speaker. We found out afterwards that the bargain had been in place since November, though only solidified the night before, and the 30-minute recess was so they could inform all of their members of the plot. The voteThe Democrats voted first, and all 49 voted for "Republican" Rep. Kent Williams. Then the Republicans voted. Jason Mumpower received the first 49 Republican votes, but the last Republican to vote, Kent Williams, broke his pledge and voted for himself, winning by 50-49 votes.

Kent Williams not only pledged to vote for the Republican nominees for Speaker and Speaker pro tem, he also promised several times, to several different people, that he would vote for Mumpower. He even caucused with Republicans up until the moment he betrayed them. His deceit and trickery were what angered everyone the most.

Here is Rep. Williams' response when asked why he violated his pledge - "No comment."

By this time we were all feeling pretty sick. Williams is sworn in amidst loud boos and shouts from the galleries. He voted with the Democrats on everything else.Leaving the Capitol Vance and AshleyAfter we were all on the bus Vance stopped by to thank everyone for their support.
Sarah and Walker on the way home

Here are some video highlights of the session, compiled by Ben Cunningham.

News Channel 5 coverage

News 12 coverage: