NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — NewsChannel 5 Political Analyst Pat Nolan sat down with Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton recently ahead of the 113th Tennessee General Assembly which returns on Tuesday, Jan. 9.
Watch this episode of Inside Politics in the player above.
Sexton and Nolan discussed the issues that lie ahead for lawmakers and what remains on their agenda from last year's session.
Augusts special session was one of chaos and drama, but the purpose of it being held was due to The Covenant School mass shooting
No real significant change was made in the state gun laws, but there was some bills passed focusing on public safety. Many, including Sexton, were not very happy with the outcome of the session
"There's bills we passed on the house floor that we're gonna reintroduce and hopefully have the senate work with us on those bills and hopefully get those things passed."
Since the special session, there have been several polls, including a Vanderbilt Poll released in December, that show bipartisan support for some sort of possible gun reforms, stating "76% of all respondents are somewhat or very supportive of laws requiring gun owners to ensure that firearms stored in vehicles are secured."
The recent Vanderbilt poll also showed that voters are butting heads with the positions of Tennessee lawmakers.
Nolan asked Sexton if there was more support for some sort of gun reform or changes with gun ownership, or ownership responsibility, to which Sexton replied there would not be anything of this sort this session.
"No, we're not gonna infringe on someone's second amendment rights, there's a difference between a criminal and there's a difference between a citizen who is not a criminal," Sexton said.
In reference to the Vanderbilt Poll itself, Sexton referred to it as leaning "more left-leaning than they normally do."
"Red-flag laws are not going to pass in the state of Tennessee," Sexton added.
Continuing on the topic of gun violence in schools, Nolan asked if there would be more conversations regarding school safety.
"What we passed back in special session and back in regular session last year is there's SRO's in every school in the state now, public and we put money in to have privates to hire SROs if they want," Sexton responded. "We also put money into enhance safety protocol and safety procedures at the schools."
Sexton added that they've put more behavioral health liaisons in schools and that he believes the Governor will propose more behavioral health liaisons for schools.
In addition to behavioral health in schools, a major topic of discussion has been "school choice" and the school voucher program. Sexton originally voted against this program in 2019, but has shown support for the current bill.
"This is not a voucher program, this is not an ESA program, this is a scholarship outside the K-12 funding so that's different than the previous one," Sexton explained. "This does not affect K through 12 funding."
Sexton said he found that there's a lot of parents that want to have the ability of providing for their child and giving them the education they think they need to fit the needs of their student.
"We should not be afraid to let parents make that decision for themselves," Sexton said.
Nolan at one point referenced the joint committee appointed by Sexton and the Lieutenant Governor that would study whether the state should refuse receiving $1.2 billion in federal education funds.
"No other state in the country has ever decided that's a good idea," Nolan stated. "Why is it a good idea for Tennessee?"
Sexton referred to the national debt which is set to hit $34 trillion by 2050 stating that at some point the state will be faced with the consequence of an "overrun overspent federal government that's going to impose things on our state."
"Why should we not be there to, to look at the money that we're receiving, what those restrictions are, what the regulations are, what they're requiring us to do." Sexton continued. "What is our exposure? And if we can fund it ourselves, we're not saying that we're not gonna fund the $1.2 billion. But if we can fund it with state dollars instead of federal dollars, why should we simply take federal dollars if it comes with different strings that are attached?"
Inside Politics with Pat Nolan can be watched on 5+ on Fridays at 7 p.m.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
