Image Credit: Adelia Kirchner / The Tennessee Conservative
The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
At a recent town hall meeting organized by Tennessee Stands, conservative lawmakers Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood-District 61) and Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill-District 92) shared some exciting information about their plans for the current legislative session.
The “Tennessee Reduction of Unlawful Migrant Placement (TRUMP) Act”
“It is obviously on everyone’s top of mind,” Rep. Bulso began, “to go ahead and deal with illegal immigration. That was one of the clear mandates coming out of the election this November.”
According to Rep. Bulso, HB0145 or the TRUMP Act does three things.
First, it gives a solid definition throughout all Tennessee state law for the term “resident of the state” which will be defined as someone who is a U.S. citizen or an alien who is lawfully in the country.
“We have too many gaps in our law where someone could read a particular provision as providing a right or a benefit to someone who is not in the state lawfully,” said Bulso.
Second, the legislation requires verification of the lawful immigration status of anyone who seeks to send, wire, or otherwise transfer funds out of the country.
“What happens so often is that folks come into the country illegally, they work illegally, then they go to Western Union or some other financial service organization to send money back out of the country,” Rep. Bulso explained.
Third, this legislation would start charging tuition for illegal immigrant children who enroll in Tennessee’s public school system.
“This is probably gonna be the most controversial because it could result in the overturning of a U.S. Supreme Court decision,” Rep. Bulso said referencing Plyler v. Doe (1982).
This U.S. Supreme Court decision interpreted the Equal Protection Clause to hold that a state “cannot prevent children of undocumented immigrants from attending public school unless a substantial state interest is involved.”
Rep. Bulso believes that a “substantial state interest” can be proven by the State of Tennessee.
“If you are not a legal resident, then you will be charged tuition at the same rate that an out of county student would be charged,” he stated. “Who could possibly argue that we would charge less to somebody who is in the country illegally to attend a school, than we charge a lawful family in the neighboring county?”
Rep. Bulso noted that he hoped to bring the Trump Act into Tennessee’s special session on school vouchers, flood relief, and illegal immigration, which begins on Monday, January 27th, 2025.
The “Veterans Assistance for Livelihood, Opportunity, and Relief (VALOR) Act”
HB0052 or the VALOR Act would exempt disabled veterans who have 100% permanent and total service-related disability from the payment of certain taxes and fees.
“If you’ve given everything except your life in service and been disabled in combat, then we are not gonna accept a dime from you for any type of fishing license, or hunting license, or professional license,” said Rep. Bulso.
Additionally, he noted that under this legislation, 100% disabled veterans would be rebated any property taxes they pay for owning property in Tennessee and would not have to pay to license an automobile in the state.
“Just as a way of saying thank you to our veterans and saying ‘You’ve already given as much as you can to your country and we’re gonna give something a little bit back to you that we can afford to do,’” he said.
The “Unborn Child Protection Act”
“We know that abortion pill manufacturers and distributors are marketing for sale, their products, to young ladies in Tennessee who are in crisis pregnancies,” Rep. Bulso stated. “We’re gonna do something about it on the civil side.”
HB0026 or the “Unborn Child Protection Act” provides a strict liability, wrongful death cause of action, to anybody who is next of kin to an unborn child who is killed by abortion pills mailed into the state.
“If you are in a family where that’s happened, you will have an automatic right to sue whoever brought the abortion pills or sent the abortion pills into the state, strict liability, five million dollars, for the loss of an unborn child.”
Under this legislation, the mother who took the abortion pills is also allowed to bring a civil case.
“Regardless of who actually kills the child, we want abortion pill manufacturers shut down from sending pills into the state,” explained Rep. Bulso. “So the first time that they do that and they get popped with five million dollars […] maybe we’ll be able to stop them.”
The “Tennessee Illegal Immigration Act”
Introduced back in November, HB0010 or the “Tennessee Illegal Immigration Act” sponsored by Rep. Warner, would require law enforcement agencies with illegals in custody to request immigration detainers and require that agency, “to transport such individuals not taken into federal custody to a sanctuary city.”
On Thursday night, Rep. Warner explained the process by which this legislation would apply.
If an officer pulled an individual over and that individual could not provide education, the officer would arrest and take them to jail.
The officer would then request an ICE detainer. If the individual is determined to be an illegal immigrant and ICE does not pick them up within 48 hours, the local law enforcement would transport that illegal immigrant to a sanctuary city up to 700 miles away.
“After we transport them to that sanctuary city, the county or city that does the transportation will send a bill to the State of Tennessee for that cost,” said Rep. Warner. “After the Department of Revenue gets that bill, they would in return bill the federal government and the Department of Treasury.”
“After 30 days, if the Department of Treasury hasn’t paid the bill, the state then in return will deduct that money from the federal gas tax that we collect and send to Washington every month,” he continued.
The “Trump International Airport Act”
“Our committees were announced today,” Rep. Warner told town hall attendees. “It’s my third term. I’ve never gotten a committee that I wanted to be on. I’ve always been assigned to education.”
The conservative lawmaker explained that as a result of his choice to speak out against school vouchers last year, he was removed from the House education committees and placed on the new Naming and Designating Committee.
The room, full of conservative Williamson County residents, overflowed with anticipation as Warner teased a bill he planned to file that would fall under “naming and designating.”
Finally, he chose to let the cat out of the bag.
HB0217 or the “Trump International Airport Act” was filed by Warner the very next day.
Nashville’s BNA is currently named after Colonel Harry S. Berry, the first administrator of the international airport.
This legislation would officially establish a process for renaming the airport as “Trump International Airport.”
Rep. Warner stated that he initially wanted to file the bill on Inauguration Day, but since it happens to fall on MLK Jr. Day he couldn’t, due to state offices being closed.
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. Adelia is The Tennessee Conservative’s on-site reporter for the Tennessee General Assembly. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
