It seems a small cadre of Tennessee legislators will not permit the will of the people to become law if they can help it. Respect for the will of the people expressed in the public votes of their representatives seems lost on these few. They use technicalities and procedural minutia to prevent votes from being held or to reverse the outcome of votes already held.
Most infamous was 2008′s coup d’etat by Jimmy Naifeh, Gary Odom and Kent Williams. Williams, a Republican, was nominated for Speaker and elected by House Democrats. His own vote for himself as Speaker was the lone GOP vote. For his perfidy, Williams was thrown out of the state GOP and remains a relative pariah.
In the session just completed, Republican Jimmy Eldridge torpedoed GOP legislation to curb collective bargaining by unions with the State. At the last minute Eldridge filed a motion which sent the bill back to a committee which had already adjourned. House Speaker Beth Harwell, also a Republican, personally went to bat for the bill for the third time and reopened the committee which addressed the changes and the bill returned to the House where it passed.
Now a story is breaking that a House member has secretly worked to block the enacting of a piece of legislation. The legislature voted to withhold State funds from Planned Parenthood in Tennessee. That was done openly by legislators who understood their responsibility to Tennesseans for their actions. However, the final budget bill was changed surreptitiously and without notice. Language was added to waive funds going to Planned Parenthood from a legislative ban. The Knoxville News-Sentinel reports:
[An] amendment to the budget, which is designated as Section 78 of the appropriations bill, declares that funds allocated for women’s health services “shall be used fully” by government-run health agencies and none “shall be paid to third-party providers or private organizations or entities.”
Planned Parenthood contracts with the state to provide services – not involving abortion – to women in Davidson and Shelby counties.
The mystery amendment declares “Section 78 of this act shall not be construed to supersede applicable provisions of federal and state law.” Under various provisions of the complicated laws involved, the mystery amendment at least throws legal doubt on the validity of the Campfield amendment and perhaps invalidates it entirely.”
Doug Himes, an attorney responsible for bill language, said that staff did not change the bill. He noted they would only do so if instructed to by a legislator. A House member is said to have ordered the change. Which member is unknown and attorneys are refusing to name him citing attorney/client privilege.
I don’t expect this defense to last long given that it is always known who introduces legislation and amendments. I’m confident the legislator will be quickly identified. The Governor should immediately use his line item veto power to strike the offending proviso from the bill. The question is, what then?
Regardless of position or party, the consequences should be the same. The offending legislator should be publicly shamed and disavowed. He should be removed from the legislature. He should return all monies paid to him for his 2010/2011 “service” to Tennessee. He should be held liable for all costs involved with resolving this situation. He should be required to explain his actions on camera and the video should be made public. He should be investigated, fined and jailed as permitted by law. If no law provides for punishing this sort of behavior, one should be passed next year and it should bear his name. In short, heads should roll.
These actions constitute a direct assault on a legislative process which must remain inviolate at all cost. If ever the People lose confidence in this process, the Republic and the States are doomed.I need not like all the decisions of the legislature to know we must trust the process which results in them. Men like Naifeh, Eldridge and the Representative in this latest outrage are enemies of our political process, not its champions.
This will be a defining moment for the GOP. Whether the offender turns out to be one of theirs or a Democrat, how they deal with him will be telling. But deal with him they must. This cannot be left unaddressed. Stay tuned …
Senator Stacey Campfield is reporting at his blog that the legislator who ordered the budget bill be altered is a Senator and not a House Representative as reported in the News-Sentinel. Additionally, I missed the KNS report that the alteration was caught before the bill was passed and removed. It was later RE-ADDED in a different location in the budget. Hard to spin that as anything but deliberate …
UPDATED 5/26 @ 19:50
I have heard independently and from two separate sources that the altering of the budget was, indeed, deliberate. However, the explanation seems to be that those making the changes did so to protect the state of Tennessee from a potential lawsuit by Planned Parenthood. Unsaid is why the party making the alterations did not simply notify House and Senate leadership of the concern and let it be addressed openly and fully. Also unsaid was who made the changes. I’m hoping the leadership of the House and the Senate speak up quickly to identify the parties involved and indicate what they intend to do moving forward …
UPDATE: 5/26 @ 21:30
Word is that the GOP leadership in the House and the Senate are working on determining what happened and who was involved and why things were done the way they were done. We’re waiting for some sort of official statement and the names of those involved. I’m wondering if there are not criminal charges possible for the actions in question. According to Section 6b of Appendix B of the Ethics Provisions Provided by Stature, the TCA views “the unauthorized exercise of official power [and] acts exceeding one’s official power” as Class E felonies. As I noted above, this is a very serious matter. As caucus leadership considers how to address this, I would remind them of the lesson of Watergate. It was not the break-in that caused trouble for Nixon – it was the cover up …
UPDATE: 05/27 @ 16:30
Lt Governor Ron Ramsey and Speaker of the House Beth Harwell released a joint statement today on the matter of the secret changes to the budget last week. It is a disappointing statement given that it only addresses how defunding Planned Parenthood will be fixed and completely ignores who made the unauthorized and secret budget changes, why those changes were made and what is to be done with the person who did this. I hope the leadership takes these matters up as well and quickly …
UPDATE 5/30 @ 17:30
I’ll be on the Ralph Bristol show tomorrow morning (Tuesday 5/31) at 7AM to talk about the secret changing of Tennessee’s State Budget. Listen in at Super Talk 99.7 FM in Middle Tennessee or on the web.
SEE ALSO:
Several recent posts by Stacey Campfield @ Camp4U;
Unknown Legislator Changes Wording of Budget on Planned Barrenhood Funding by David Oatney @ The TN Statehouse Examiner;
Defunding of Planned Parenthood Upended With Secret Amendment in Tennessee Budget Work by Warner Todd Huston @ Publius’ Forum;
Attorney/client privilege?! That's outrageous. You don't get to hide behind your lawyer for things you do, you merely are free not to disclose things you tell him/her in confidence. Besides, I'd like to hear them elaborate upon this implication that these attorneys work for individual legislators, as opposed to the voters of the State.
Attorney client privilege? Umm … legislators are the representatives of the PEOPLE, so the CLIENT is the PEOPLE!
Here, here! I am sick and tired of this stance by those who are the supposed servants of our government. We got this dribble from AG Cooper last year (on the Health Care Freedom Act)….he "does not answer to us, does not work for us." The Federal Government (via the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches) have all run amok. This is why we at TTP are focused on state level issues. AS IF! Our representatives need to get this….we are tenacious and we will not for a second go away. Do your housekeeping! DO YOU WANT US TO DO IT?
[...] minutia to prevent votes from being held or to reverse the outcome of votes already held. Read The Full Story Comments closed | Trackback [...]
[...] staff attorney into rigging the documents was in it to force his/her view point at whatever cost. Tennessee Legislator Secretly Alters Final State Budget Bill | Blue Collar Muse "It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen [...]
[...] despite the political wrangling, the public debate, and the will of the voters having been heard, some abortion-loving pol took it upon himself to throw out all that democracy business and put his own will right into the [...]
[...] just received an official statement on the matter of the changes to the Tennessee State budget made in secret a few days ago. While I appreciate the statement and the information it conveys, it is more notable [...]
THIS is one they will NOT get away with.
What happens to a bank robber who suddenly gives all the money back? Do we just say, "Thats ok, just dont do it again" or… do we demand full prosecution ?>?
@Bob –
I like the analogy. It matters not at all what happens afterwards, even regret and remorse. The deed is the crux of the matter. While remorse might count for something when it comes to sentencing and the like, the commission of the deed speaks for itself …
Great comment.
This one has really got me going. I think you have seen the email I sent out on the subject.
Or… a drunk driver who kills a family while driving drunk can sure express remorse… but.. do we not prosecute him ?
Was Doug Heim's action criminal?
According to the TCA's it sure is.
Read the text of Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-16-402, Section 6B
b. Official misconduct under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-16-402
pertains to acts related to a public servant's office or employment committed with an intent to obtain a benefit or to harm another. Acts constituting an offense include the unauthorized exercise of official power, acts exceeding one's official power, failure to perform a duty required by law, and receiving a benefit
not authorized by law. Offenses under this section constitute a Class E felony.
I don't know . . . what's the evidence that someone acted "with an intent to obtain a benefit or to harm another"?
It seems to me that this is an example of legislators voting on something based on an assurance from another legislator (or someone else) that a bill says a given thing. I think this probably happens more than we realize, and too often, when it happens everybody conveniently has plausible deniability.
Ned – if you read what you just wrote, I think you'll find the answer to your question about the evidence that someone acted with an intent to obtain a benefit. Perhaps you are confusing an intent to obtain a benefit with an intent to obtain a personal benefit. While I can question the personal benefit the legislator may gain from furtively inserting language into the budget that a) goes against the grain of what the GOP caucus clearly intended to do, and b) was already removed once for its intent to reverse that intent – I do not, therefore, believe there was no benefit to be had by the action.
Planned Parenthood gets another year of funding to the tune of over $1 Million in taxpayer money. That's a benefit. The GOP is currently getting a lot of heat from its base and allies. That's a benefit. The GOP has the chance to be criticized by its enemies, as well. That's a benefit. Need I go on?
Since we do not yet know who the offending legislator is, we have no way to investigate other more tangible benefits. Were there payoffs? Were there campaign contributions? Were there lobbying or contractual perks? We may need to identify the individual who has done this and see if there is enough evidence to proceed with a criminal investigation.
Still, whether or not this rises to the level of a criminal matter, as a moral and ethical matter, the level of proof needed to "convict" was surpassed the moment the language was reinserted into the budget after being removed. Whoever this person is is not worthy of serving the public if his notion of public service includes this sort of behavior …
Ned – if you read what you just wrote, I think you'll find the answer to your question about the evidence that someone acted with an intent to obtain a benefit. Perhaps you are confusing an intent to obtain a benefit with an intent to obtain a personal benefit. While I can question the personal benefit the legislator may gain from furtively inserting language into the budget that a) goes against the grain of what the GOP caucus clearly intended to do, and b) was already removed once for its intent to reverse that intent – I do not, therefore, believe there was no benefit to be had by the action.
Planned Parenthood gets another year of funding to the tune of over $1 Million in taxpayer money. That's a benefit. The GOP is currently getting a lot of heat from its base and allies. That's a benefit. The GOP has the chance to be criticized by its enemies, as well. That's a benefit. Need I go on?
Since we do not yet know who the offending legislator is, we have no way to investigate other more tangible benefits. Were there payoffs? Were there campaign contributions? Were there lobbying or contractual perks? We may need to identify the individual who has done this and see if there is enough evidence to proceed with a criminal investigation.
Still, whether or not this rises to the level of a criminal matter, as a moral and ethical matter, the level of proof needed to "convict" was surpassed the moment the language was reinserted into the budget after being removed. Whoever this person is is not worthy of serving the public if his notion of public service includes this sort of behavior …
[...] Humphrey at The Knoxville News Sentinel also picked up the story on 5/24/11 and David Oatney and I began blogging about it on 5/26/11. To date, I have not found original coverage in any Tennessee media outside of the four [...]
[...] during The Knoxville News Sentinel also picked adult a story on 5/24/11 and David Oatney and I began blogging about it on 5/26/11. To date, we have not found strange coverage in any Tennessee media outward of a 4 [...]
[...] Humphrey at The Knoxville News Sentinel also picked up the story on 5/24/11 and David Oatney and I began blogging about it on 5/26/11. To date, I have not found original coverage in any Tennessee media outside of the four [...]
Our illustrious leader Governor Haslam has finally started sending out a ‘form’ letter of response. I fail to see any need to remain PC as I mostly did in my original letter requesting a criminal investigation. A copy of my response to the Gov demanding action is available from the same email addy as above.
[...] Doug Himes was asked who ordered the language change, he refused to answer citing ACP. Citizens were incredulous. Yet, Himes might be [...]
[...] Doug Himes was asked who ordered the language change, he refused to answer citing ACP. Citizens were incredulous. Yet, Himes might be [...]
[...] Collar Muse’s piece on the alteration of the [...]
[...] has now been 3 weeks since the story broke that a state legislator secretly changed the language of Tennessee’s state budget just before it was sent to the Legislature for a vote. Despite it now being generally accepted the [...]
[...] despite the political wrangling, the public debate, and the will of the voters having been heard, some abortion-loving pol took it upon himself to throw out all that democracy business and put his own will right into the [...]
[...] = 'wpp-259'; var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true,"ui_508_compliant":true};Recently, the story of the secret Senator and the furtive altering of the Tennessee state budget came up. A friend, who knows I have been writing about it, looked at me and said simply, [...]
[...] Ramsey Finally Speaks Out About the Secret Senator- Recently, the story of the secret Senator and the furtive altering of the Tennessee state budget came up. A friend, who knows I have been writing about it, looked at me and said simply, “It’s [...]
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