June 5, 2007 @ 12:01 AM with Past Updates from June 4, 2007 @ 9:30 PM on
House Republican Filibuster Fizzles
House Passes Tobacco Tax
The Tennessee House of Representatives passed the Senate version, Senate Bill 2326, of the Tobacco Tax increase at 42 cents per pack with votes to spare in a 59-35 vote after some members of the House Republican Caucus gave up their lockstep approach to gridlock. House Votes on SB2326 show the bipartisan support for the bill since there are only 53 Democrats in the House.
This development came after hours of wrangling and maneuvering during the course of the day Monday (June 4, 2007) after the House Republican Caucus attempted a filibuster which started last Thursday (May 31, 2007).
SB 2326 now goes to the Governor for his signature.
SB 2326 had passed the Senate Thursday (May 31, 2007) in a straight party-line vote of 16 Democrats with 1 Independent in favor and 16 Republicans against it. A number of Senate Republicans said they favored a tax hike on tobacco, just not 40 or 42 cents of a tax hike. Senate Votes on SB 2326
In the House, the fight was not so much over the Tobacco Tax per se but over spending surplus lottery money. The House had previously amended one of the Administration's education bills to allow spending $150 million for K-12 Capital Outlay. The Senate stripped that amendment off and the House, under major protest, went along with the Senate version.
Pirate Booty
Lottery Money Means Treasure for Some
In late afternoon and early evening Monday, the Senate attempted to carry out a plan to add $100 million of the $150 million back in under another bill, Senate Bill 1133. During a recess, the Senate Education Committee reopened to hear SB 1133 in an effort to end the House Republican Caucus filibuster which began last Thursday (May 31, 2007).
The House Democratic Caucus had also met during this time and decided not to play at the pirate game. Nevertheless, Senate Republicans continued on with an attempt to help their fellow House Republicans.
Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) filed Amendment 2 to SB 1133 to allow $100 million to be spent from excess Tennessee Education Lottery funds for K-12 Capital Outlay projects.
Speaker Ramsey in Room as Confusion Ensues
After considerable discussion, the Tracy Amendment underwent a minor 2nd Degree Amendment and then came up for a vote. A roll call vote was requested by Senator Joe Haynes (D-Nashville), the Senate Democratic Caucus Chairman.
Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville) had been sitting in the Senate Hearing Room, indicating that the vote might be close. Under Senate Rule 75 of the Temporary Rules of the 105th General Assembly, the Speaker is "an ex-officio member of all standing legislative committees but [the Speaker] shall not have the right to vote except in case of a tie."
When Senator Jamie Woodson (R-Knoxville) called the roll, she must have expected a tie because she called on Speaker Ramsey who voted aye. The only problem was the vote was not the expected 4-4 tie but 4 ayes, cast by the four Republicans on the committee, to 3 noes, cast by three Democrats with Senator Charlotte Burks (D-Monterey) and Senator Mike Williams (I-Maynardville) both passing.
The amendment passed, but confusion set in over the vote. Ultimately, it became clear that the Speaker's vote did not count and amendments only require a majority vote.
The same 4-3-2 vote was cast for the bill itself and the bill failed and stayed in the 9-member committee. Senate Rule 83(11)(a) requires a bill to have at least five votes, "a majority of the membership of the committee to which it is entitled, exclusive of any ex-officio members."
Source of filibuster
Had the bill passed with Tracy's Amendment, it would have replaced the $150 million which was stripped out of the BEP 2.0 Bill last Thursday by the Senate which angered House Republicans still trying to show they are not "the least effective Caucus" in the Tennessee General Assembly as they were tagged in a recent column by Knoxville News-Sentinel Nashville Bureau Chief Tom Humphrey, dean of the Capitol Hill Press Corps.
A number of Democrats had originally supported the $150 million Amendment placed on the Administration's BEP bill by Rep. David Hawk (R-Greeneville). But when the bill returned from the Senate in a different form last Thursday, House Democrats were convinced to go along with the Senate version which stripped the $150 million back out of the bill.
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