Image Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection / Facebook & capitol.tn.gov
The Tennessee Conservative [By Kelly M. Jackson] –
This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee killed another bill that would have worked toward impacting the unmitigated flow of illegal aliens into the state of Tennessee.
Senate Judiciary Chairman, Todd Gardenhire (R-D10-Chattanooga) took the bill off notice before it’s sponsor, had the opportunity to present it in committee for discussion and a vote.
The bill was sent to the ‘General Subcommittee’ of the Senate Judiciary Committee. This action, that legislators refer to as ‘general subbed’, is way that a bill can be killed during a session without committee members being exposed to the transparency that comes with an actual vote.
The bill, Senate Bill 2034 (SB2034), sponsored by Senator Frank Nicely (R-Strawberry Plains-District 8), is strikingly similar to a bill that was very recently shot down by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
SB2034 “As introduced, increases, from $1,000 to $5,000, the fine for transporting into the state, for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain, an individual who the person knows or should have known has illegally entered or remained in the United States, as determined by the bureau of immigration and customs enforcement of the United States department of homeland security. – Amends TCA Title 4; Title 12; Title 39; Title 50 and Title 67.”
The House companion bill (HB2432) is sponsored by Representative Andrew Farmer (R-Sevierville-District 17).
It has been assigned to the House Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee but had not been slated on their calendar, and now will not be scheduled as the legislative process for this bill has come to an abrupt end.
Representative Bryan Richey (R-Maryville-District 20) and Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald-District 28) sponsored a very similar bill, but it did not make it past committee considerations. That bill would have also increased penalties for the transportation of illegal aliens into the state by amending a current statute and raising the fine from $1,000 to $5,000 per individual.
In the hearing for Sen. Hensley’s bill (SB2802) at the end of March, when presented to the committee by Hensley, Senator Gardenhire expressed his exasperation, seemingly, at his constituents, as his remarks reflect, for “demanding that we make it so draconian and punish these people so bad, that I figured well that sounds reasonable, so the amendment that I have offered for this bill says that violations of this section is a Class A Felony”.
A class A felony in the state of Tennessee carries a criminal penalty of imprisonment for a period of 15 to 60 years and a requirement to pay a fine of up to $50,000.
While there may be some that would still have supported this type of penalty, the severity of it being applied to anyone that may not have a choice but to transport individuals into Tennessee because it is a function of their employment, caused the bill to lose enough support that it died in committee.
Gardenhire has served in his capacity as state senator since 2012, making it hard to imagine that with that amount of experience, he would not have anticipated what the inclusion of his amendment would have produced.
This week, Gardenhire dispensed with any such fastidiousness, and simply took SB2034 off notice, removing it from the agenda all together before the meeting even got started.
Since this is likely the last week of committee hearings, and the fate of all the bills that are left to be heard will be decided this week, any other efforts to try and do something substantial about the illegal immigration problem in Tennessee will have to be taken up next year.
For those who have questions or concerns for Representative Gardenhire and the rest of the Senate Judiciary Committee, you can find their contact information below.
Todd Gardenhire (R) – sen.todd.gardenhire@capitol.tn.gov – (615)7 41-6682
Sara Kyle (D) – sen.sara.kyle@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4167
London Lamar (D) – sen.london.lamar@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2509
Jon Lundberg (R) – sen.jon.lundberg@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-5761
Kerry Roberts (R) – sen.kerry.roberts@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4499
Paul Rose (R) – sen.paul.rose@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1967
John Stevens (R) – sen.john.stevens@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4576
Brent Taylor (R) – sen.brent.taylor@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3036
Dawn White (R) – sen.dawn.white@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6853
sen.todd.gardenhire@capitol.tn.gov, sen.sara.kyle@capitol.tn.gov, sen.london.lamar@capitol.tn.gov, sen.jon.lundberg@capitol.tn.gov, sen.kerry.roberts@capitol.tn.gov, sen.paul.rose@capitol.tn.gov, sen.john.stevens@capitol.tn.gov, sen.brent.taylor@capitol.tn.gov, sen.dawn.white@capitol.tn.gov
About the Author: Kelly Jackson is a recent escapee from corporate America, and a California refugee to Tennessee. Christ follower, Wife and Mom of three amazing teenagers. She has a BA in Comm from Point Loma Nazarene University, and has a background in law enforcement and human resources. Since the summer of 2020, she has spent any and all free time in the trenches with local grassroots orgs, including Mom’s for Liberty Williamson County and Tennessee Stands as a core member. Outspoken advocate for parents rights, medical freedom, and individual liberty. Kelly can be reached at kelly@tennesseeconservativenews.com.