NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Rep. Aftyn Behn, a Nashville Democrat, and Rep. Todd Warner, a Chapel Hill Republican, are the first to admit this doesn't happen often — a ruby-red Republican and a true blue Democrat joining forces on a serious topic.
"I know this is gotta be a shock to all the media around Nashville and across the state. Standing here with Rep. Behn," said Rep. Warner.
"You can have two different individuals with disparate ideologies, but we both believe in transparency and accountability," said Rep. Behn.
They want to completely re-imagine how the Tennessee General Assembly receives and investigates sexual harassment claims.
"Remove the sexual harassment policy from the Tennessee General Assembly and put it into the third party, which we’re recommending as the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office," said Rep. Behn.
Under the current policy, two Republicans and two Democrats on a House Ethics Subcommittee are tasked with investigating a claim. But what the subcommittee discovers, at least most of the time, remains shrouded in secrecy.
In fact, last year, if it wasn't for NewsChannel 5 Investigates, the public may have never known about harassment allegations against Rep. Scotty Campbell, a Republican from Mountain City. Phil Williams' report about Campbell, which led to his resignation just six hours later, was evidently news to Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton, too.
"The first time I learned about that is when you actually reported it," Sexton told Williams in 2023. "Anything that happened, I am not privy to."
Under Behn and Warner's proposal, if the accused party is a member of the legislature, a final version of the investigative report would be shared with the appropriate chamber's ethics committee. That's a big change compared to the current policy.
"It would create transparency. It would create a fair process for the accused, but most of all, it will protect the victim," said Warner.
But the bill faces a steep climb up Tennessee's Capitol Hill. Technically, the amendment isn't timely filed meaning lawmakers don't technically have to even consider the measure.
"We’re going to see if we can get the chairman to hopefully move on with the amendment," said Warner.
But they're hopeful they get special approval, considering this special opportunity for bipartisanship.
"At the end of the day, I’m going to do what I think is best for the taxpayers of Tennessee," said Warner. "When it’s good legislation, I can work with anybody."
If the amendment is added, it would be during the House Public Service Subcommittee Tuesday at 4:30 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
