The World According to Oatney

Naifeh's In a Big Hurry

The Tennessee General Assembly could adjourn as early as today. One source inside the Capitol informs me that because some of the proposals at hand (including House Bill 3019, which essentially exempts churches from being considered schools when used for educational activities for the purposes of fire codes-a handy tool used to harass home-schoolers under present Tennessee law) are controversial. There could be over 75 bills on the calendar by the end of the day.

What is most interesting about this apparent marathon that is taking place in the House today is that under normal circumstances, Jimmy Naifeh would be in no hurry to adjourn the House in an election year-if he can find some parliamentary device with which to extend the session, he would normally so so, because early adjournment and terminus of a sitting General Assembly would tend to help Republicans, as it gives them more time to campaign (readers may or may not know that Tennessee legislative custom, unlike the federal government, is that the two Houses may operate independently and might not adjourn at the same time when a session ends).

Jimmy Naifeh seems to be in a major hurry to get done today-are there some Democrats in swing districts in trouble?

Labels: Tennessee politics

posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 11:09 AM