NASHVILLE, Tenn. - One of the hottest topics from the August Davidson County election was in the spotlight once again. A state senator has been lobbying to repeal the local-hire amendment that was approved by voters.
Sen. Jack Johnson, a Republican from Williamson County, filed legislation to stop local government from enacting any ordinances which requires a company bidding on a public construction project to employ individuals who live within their jurisdiction.
This came after Davidson County voters passed Amendment 3 by a 58 to 42 percent margin during the Aug. 6 election. The Amendment mandated that all public projects over $100,000 in the city hire at least 40 percent of the workforce from within Davidson County.
“I understand people who supported the amendment want to protect jobs,” said Sen. Johnson. “This charter amendment would do the complete opposite. It’s effectively a right to discriminate against employees and businesses outside of Davidson County and we can’t have that in the state of Tennessee.”
Sen. Johnson added the amendment would not only negatively impact businesses, but increase costs for taxpayers, and hurt the economy overall.
However, Ashford Hughes, with Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH) said the Amendment would boost the local economy by providing jobs to low income residents.
“We have 16,000 men ages 18-44 who are unemployed or under employed and are capable of doing ths work,” said Hughes. “This is a way to give individuals access to local jobs that we as taxpayers are funding.”
Hughes said he was hopeful both sides could work together to find a compromise that would benefit both business leaders and the community.
The next legislative session was set to get underway Jan. 12th, and Sen. Johnson said the bill would be considered early in the session.
