Image Credit: TN General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
Though it was placed behind the budget by the House Finance, Ways, & Means Committee, a party affiliation bill to help close Tennessee primaries is still alive and well, and the sponsor feels confident there will be enough money to see it through to the finish line.
HB0886 by Rep. Chris Todd (R- Madison County-District 73) will require new and already registered voters to select a party affiliation and allow individuals wishing to change their affiliation after their initial registration to do so no later than 30 days before a primary election. Additionally, the party with whom the individual registers must match the party for which the individual requests a primary ballot.
Those registering to vote for the first time would make their affiliation choice while applying for registration while those already registered would select their affiliation at the first primary election for which they pull a ballot after the law takes effect. An individual who fails to make a selection or chooses to do so will be marked as “Unaffiliated” and cannot vote in a party primary election.
Majority of bills with any kind of cost or savings, big or small, must be considered within the confines of the state budget before they can be heard on the House floor. Since the budget has yet to be considered and approved, these bills are placed “behind the budget” until they can be discussed within the parameters of remaining state funds.
And while this is a death sentence for many pieces of legislation as the sponsors are often not be able to procure the funding needed to satisfy their fiscal notes, Rep. Todd told The Tennessee Conservative he does not believe this will be the case with HB0886 and is confident it will be covered in the budget.
He also sees the bill’s placement behind the budget as a positive scenario because it represents the next necessary step the legislation had to take before advancing to the House floor after waiting for a year to be able to push the bill onwards.
In the Senate, companion bill SB0777 has also cleared a major hurdle, passing the Senate State and Local Government Committee at the end of March.
It now awaits a date before the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee where it will be determined if the bill can proceed directly to a floor vote due to a “sweeper” provision which allows bills with fiscal notes to be approved for the vote if they are under a specified amount.
If SB0777 does not meet the criteria under the sweeper provision, it will continue to be discussed after all the budget issues have been approved and settled.
Those supporting HB0886/SB0777 can continue to track the bill’s progress and then resume contacting lawmakers after the bill is pulled from behind the budget or moves to the Senate floor for a vote.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
