[0:02] >> mr. Sergeant of arms, invite

[0:04] the members into the chamber.

[0:07] the 114th

[0:09] legislature of the state of tennessee

[0:10] now an extraordinary session.

[0:13] remain standing through the pledge

[0:14] of allegiance. Representative martin

[0:16] will serve as chaplain.

[0:19] >> thank you mr. Speaker. Members,

[0:20] first and foremost, today

[0:22] is national day of prayer, it is an

[0:23] honor to stand

[0:24] before you guys. I want to thank each

[0:25] and everyone of you guys for

[0:27] your willingness to serve and be here

[0:28] today. As I

[0:31] think back, core memories

[0:34] that stand out to us, one of those

[0:37] in my mind was growing up

[0:43] ,

[0:45] every sunday, the martin family would load

[0:46] up the car and go to grandma's

[0:47] house for lunch after church period

[0:49] every sunday you would open the door

[0:50] and walk

[0:51] in and there would sit grandpa in

[0:52] his chair, with a cigarette and a

[0:53] diet coke

[0:54] and his yankees hat. You sat on that

[0:55] porch with grandpa and he talked about

[0:58] three things. God, family

[1:19] , and the new york yankees. But every

[1:20] time he talked

[1:21] about god, what he would relate back

[1:22] to, continually, was the book of james.

[1:23] he always

[1:24] talked about how practical the book

[1:25] of james was. He would always talk

[1:26] about how

[1:27] you could learn just about everything

[1:28] you need to know by the book of

[1:30] james. It is only five chapters. Anyone

[1:31] can start with the book of james.

[1:32] they

[1:33] made it easy. I was praying over this

[1:34] as I knew I would be

[1:36] leaving us today and james came out

[1:37] to me, there's three lessons I want

[1:38] to talk

[1:39] about here that I think relate to

[1:40] us in this moment in time as

[1:41] legislators as we leave this great

[1:43] state. As we turn to those words,

[1:44] the first

[1:45] one is embracing trials. James tells

[1:46] us my brother and, count all joy when

[1:47] you

[1:48] fall into various trials, knowing

[1:49] that testing your faith produces

[1:55] patience. Let patience have its perfect

[1:56] work that you may

[1:57] be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

[1:58] each of us deal with trials every

[1:59] day and

[2:00] god never said in this book that we would

[2:02] not have trials, he just gave

[2:03] us a map of how to handle and address

[2:05] those trials. Number two, controlling your

[2:06] emotions. In a legislative world,

[2:07] he tells us, in james one, 19 through

[2:08] 20, he

[2:11] tells us

[2:16] beloved brethren, let every man be

[2:17] swift to hear, slow

[2:18] to speak, and slow to wrath. For the

[2:20] wrath of man does not produce the

[2:21] righteousness of god. Finally, third,

[2:23] jesus in james, they talk about

[2:26] seeking wisdom and remaining humble.

[2:29] james 1:5 tells us,

[2:34] if any of you lack wisdom let him ask of

[2:35] god, who gives all generously

[2:36] and without reproach. It will be given

[2:38] to him.

[2:41] and finally,

[2:44] james 4:the 6.

[2:49] god resists the proud, but gives grace

[2:50] to

[2:53] the humble. Let us pray.

[2:56] lord, how great you are. We come

[2:57] to you today, standing shoulder to

[2:59] shoulder with a room

[3:00] full of sinners, a room full of men

[3:02] and women who are just trying

[3:04] the best we can. We know that only

[3:05] through you and for your

[3:08] grace are we allowed to do

[3:09] the things we do and we thank you,

[3:11] lord, for the many blessings you

[3:14] give us.

[3:16] we are thankful to live in a state

[3:17] where we

[3:18] can profess your name from the schoolhouse

[3:19] to the wonderful capital here today.

[3:20] we thank

[3:21] you for the men and women who are

[3:23] serving this great

[3:24] country and state. We thank you for

[3:26] the 99 men and women who stand here

[3:27] today. Lord, we thank you so much

[3:29] for the grace and the generosity

[3:35] , and the things that you give us

[3:36] that we do not deserve, lord. We pray

[3:38] that you continue to lead us and

[3:41] direct our ways , as we think of

[3:44] you, lord . Thank you

[3:45] again for your son, in christ's name

[3:47] we pray, amen.

[3:50] >>

[3:54] representative martin, the pledge of

[3:55] allegiance.

[3:56] >> attention, salute, pledge.

[3:58] I pledge allegiance, to the flag,

[3:59] of the

[4:00] united states of america, and to the

[4:02] republic for which it stands

[4:07] , one nation, under god, indivisible,

[4:08] with liberty and justice

[4:11] for all.

[4:14] >> gallery, this is your warning.

[4:15] if

[4:17] you shout out, if you make

[4:19] any gesture that disrupts this proceeding,

[4:20] if we cannot identify

[4:23] you, we

[4:25] will clear you all out but that is

[4:26] your one warning.

[4:27] we do not do that. Mr. Clerk please

[4:29] take role.

[4:30] >> roll call.

[4:44] >> mr. Clerk, please

[4:47] take the role.

[4:48] >> 96 members

[4:50] present.

[4:51] >>

[4:52] representative hicks of hawken and

[4:53] representative brecon are excused.

[4:54] >>

[4:56] mr. Lambert, your

[4:59] recognized.

[5:00] >> in place of the consent

[5:02] calendar referred to the appropriate

[5:03] standing committee.

[5:04] >> without objections

[5:05] ordered.

[5:06] >>

[5:08] representative lamberth?

[5:09] >>

[5:17] pursuant

[5:18] to rule number 17 in place of the

[5:19] consent calendar.

[5:20] >> so ordered. >>

[5:21] next order?

[5:22] >> representative lamberth? >> referred

[5:23] to the appropriate standing committee.

[5:24] >> so

[5:26] ordered.

[5:27] >> consideration has bills

[5:28] on second, standing committee support

[5:30] select committees outside consent

[5:32] calendar.

[5:33] >>

[5:46] chair moody?

[5:47] >> I move the passage of

[5:48] the consent

[5:49] calendar on third and final consideration.

[5:50] in keeping with rule 50.

[5:51] >> moves a

[5:52] passage of

[5:53] the consent calendar broadly seconded.

[5:54] mr. Clerk, any objections?

[5:55] >> esther

[5:56] speaker, no objections filed.

[5:57] >> mayor lambert? >> thank you since

[5:58] last we gathered one of our

[5:59] members passed. A true giant of a

[6:00] representative. His

[6:01] son has since been appointed this

[6:02] morning to fill his role. With consultation

[6:03] from the minority leader, I will gladly humbly

[6:05] ask that all members

[6:08] vote in the affirmative as

[6:11] co-prime sponsors on

[6:12] hjr 7017 to memorialize the death

[6:14] of our friend, representative hardly.

[6:17] >>

[6:20] anyone

[6:23] else on the consent calendar?

[6:26] see none.

[6:31] all right. We are voting. All those

[6:32] in favor of the

[6:33] consent calendar, vote yes when the

[6:35] bell rings because

[6:38] every member voted? Does any member

[6:39] wish to change

[6:41] their vote?

[6:43] >> mr. Clerk, please take the vote.

[6:53] >> receiving a

[6:56] constitutional majority , the

[6:58] recent mission is tabled. Next order

[6:59] mr. Clerk?

[7:00] >>

[7:02] mr. Speaker the house

[7:03] has a regular calendar brickhouse

[7:05] resolution one,

[7:08] honoring mcwilliams for example a

[7:09] service to

[7:11] the state of tennessee.

[7:20] >>

[7:24] chairman speaker your recognized.

[7:26] >> thank you mr. Speaker. Of adoption

[7:27] of house

[7:28] resolution 7001.

[7:29] >> mr. Clerk, any amendments?

[7:32] >> thank you

[7:34] mr. Speaker. I renew my motion.

[7:35] >>

[7:36] any discussion?

[7:37] we are just voting. All those in favor,

[7:38] house resolution

[7:41] 7001. Has

[7:43] every member voted? Does any member

[7:44] wish to

[7:47] change their vote?

[7:53] >> mr. Clerk, please take the vote.

[7:59] >> 73-19. >> has resolution

[8:02] I hereby declare adopted

[8:05] without objection.

[8:07] >> house joint resolution 1 by representative

[8:08] kalman.

[8:09] >>

[8:11] thank you

[8:14] mr. Speaker. I move to withdraw hjr

[8:15] 1

[8:16] from the committee at house.

[8:17] >> without

[8:18] objection, withdrawn.

[8:23] next

[8:26] bill mr. Clerk?

[8:27] >> resolution 2. >>

[8:29] thank you mr.

[8:32] speaker. I move to withdraw hjr 2.

[8:33] >>

[8:35] withdrawn.

[8:36] >>

[8:38] house joint

[8:44] resolution 3.

[8:45] >> thank you mr. Speaker.

[8:46] moved

[8:47] to hold on the desk.

[8:48] >> without objection,

[8:49] hold on the desk.

[8:56] next bill mr.

[8:59] clerk?

[9:02] >> joint resolution 4

[9:05] retirement from the bench in the fourth

[9:06] judicial

[9:08] district.

[9:09] >>

[9:11] presented of ashley, you are recognized.

[9:13] >> thank you mr. Speaker. I move adoption

[9:15] of hjr 7004.

[9:16] >>

[9:17] seconded, mr. Clerk any minutes filed?

[9:22] representative ashley, your recognized.

[9:23] >> thank you mr. Speaker. I renew

[9:24] my

[9:27] motion.

[9:28] >>

[9:29] any objection to the question? See none,

[9:30] we are voting. All

[9:31] in favor of house resolution 7004?

[9:33] has every member voted? Has

[9:34] any member wish to change their vote?

[9:48] mr.

[9:50] clerk, please take about.

[9:51] >> 73-21.

[9:54] >> house

[9:57] joint resolution

[10:00] 7000 and

[10:01] for having received a constitutional

[10:02] majority I hereby declare adopted

[10:03] without objection.

[10:04] >>

[10:06] resolution honoring the

[10:07] franklin theater on the 50th anniversary of

[10:09] its opening.

[10:10] >>

[10:11] mr. Speaker, move adoption of hjr

[10:15] 7005.

[10:16] >> any minutes of

[10:18] been filed? Presented every is

[10:20] your recognized.

[10:21] >> discussion on

[10:22] the bill?

[10:24] we are

[10:25] voting for those in favor, has resolution 7005,

[10:31] those opposed, vote no. Has any member voted,

[10:33] does any member wish to change

[10:36] their vote?

[10:39] mr. Clerk, please take the vote.

[10:45] >>

[10:48] 73-22.

[10:50] >> having received a constitutional

[10:51] authority to declare adopted

[10:54] without objection.

[10:58] >> honoring james kenneth arrow in

[11:00] 50 years of the railroads

[11:02] in tennessee.

[11:03] >> I move adoption of

[11:04] hjr

[11:05] 7007.

[11:06] >> mr. Clerk, any amendments have

[11:09] been filed? Share your recognized.

[11:11] >> thank you. I renew my motion. >>

[11:15] and discussion on the bill? See none,

[11:16] objection to the question, we are

[11:17] voting. All those in favor of house

[11:18] joint

[11:19] resolution 7005, vote yes when the

[11:21] bell rings. Does

[11:23] any member wish to change their vote?

[11:36] please take the vote.

[11:37] >>

[11:39] 73-22.

[11:40] >>

[11:42] I declare adopted without objection

[11:45] .

[11:48] >> has

[11:51] bill 2,

[11:53] presented district.

[11:54] >> there has been

[11:55] a 34 minute

[11:57] time limit set on this bill.

[12:12] >>

[12:15] representative?

[12:16] >> mr. Speaker, I

[12:17] know

[12:18] I am out of order. However,

[12:23] I would like to recognize any member

[12:24] that is here this morning.

[12:26] representative hardaway . Let's all

[12:27] give a round of applause if

[12:30] we can.

[12:48] >>

[12:51] mr. Clerk?

[12:52] >> mr. Speaker, house

[12:54] bill two.

[12:55] >>

[12:57] lamberth

[12:58] your recognized.

[12:59] >> with the passage of

[13:00] house bill 7002 on

[13:02] third and final consideration.

[13:03] >>

[13:04] have any amendments been filed?

[13:05] >>

[13:06] no

[13:07] amendment seven filed.

[13:09] >> thank

[13:11] you, mr. Speaker. I renew my motion.

[13:12] >> mr. Lamberth renews his mission.

[13:13] any discussion?

[13:15] leader amber?

[13:24] >> thank you mr. Speaker.

[13:27] mr. Speaker ,

[13:30] I would yield

[13:36] two minutes to representative powell.

[13:37] >> representative

[13:38] powell, you are recognized for two minutes.

[13:42] >> thank you, mr. Speaker. Are there

[13:45] not amendments on this bill?

[13:48] okay.

[13:51] so, on

[13:54] this bill , it

[13:56] is very important to recognize the

[13:57] fact that we are

[14:00] even here. We should not even

[14:02] be here at this special session. In

[14:03] our code, it

[14:06] clearly lays out

[14:12] the state law says that we shall not redistrict

[14:15] . We shall not

[14:18] redistrict except for every 10 years

[14:21] . That is what the law says.

[14:24] the exact call of the governor is illegal.

[14:27] we should not be here.

[14:30] the very fact that we

[14:33] are here

[14:36] is illegal. The fact that

[14:39] the speaker

[14:48] convened us together,

[14:49] illegal. The fact that lieutenant

[14:50] governor mcnally convened us together,

[14:51] illegal. The people of tennessee

[14:53] have a. What are our laws if we can

[14:54] come in here and break

[14:56] the law? What are our laws?

[14:57] >> trooper,

[14:58] please remove that section right there,

[15:00] please. They go.

[15:06] >> we are here under a legal terms. This

[15:07] entire proceeding

[15:09] is illegal, and I am here to say

[15:12] if we

[15:15] are going

[15:18] to listen

[15:20] to washington, we always talk about

[15:21] how we don't listen to washington.

[15:22] we are

[15:24] to rename our state

[15:29] washington, tennessee, because we

[15:30] are here doing the work of dc. We

[15:31] might

[15:32] as well rename the state capital,

[15:33] the white house, for various reasons.

[15:39] because you are discriminating against

[15:40] minorities, you are

[15:41] attacking communities , dividing them,

[15:42] and ripping

[15:47] them apart, and we should all be ashamed. We

[15:48] should stand up and walk out

[15:52] and show what we mean.

[15:55] >> leader camper.

[15:58] >> thank you

[16:01] mr. Speaker. Esther speaker,

[16:04] I yield four minutes

[16:07] to representative dixie

[16:10] .

[16:11] >> representative

[16:12] dixie, you are recognized for four

[16:13] minutes.

[16:14] >> thank you, mr. Speaker.

[16:16] you know,

[16:17] over these last couple of days, we have

[16:19] heard a lot of legal and

[16:20] constitutional reasons of why --we

[16:22] have tried to appeal

[16:25] to you through the legal and

[16:28] constitutional ways.

[16:29] now it is just trying to appeal to

[16:31] your hearts and your humanity. Where

[16:34] is your humanity in this?

[16:37] I would always want to

[16:38] say my ancestors, but I can't. It

[16:40] was my

[16:43] grandparents.

[16:44] in some cases here, our parents, who

[16:46] were beaten at lunch counters.

[16:48] they died to drink out of water fountains

[16:51] with you. They died because they wanted

[16:55] to use restrooms,

[16:57] died because they wanted to love who

[16:58] they wanted to

[17:00] love, and died for us to have this

[17:01] right to vote.

[17:04] and I think it is important,

[17:06] to think, to pause, and I would hope

[17:07] everyone is

[17:18] paying attention and not just letting

[17:19] this

[17:20] go over their heads. This is a very

[17:22] important bill. We are about to change

[17:23] the course of history and we need

[17:24] to be paying attention and not having

[17:25] sidebar

[17:26] conversations, because that shows

[17:27] me how important it is to you, that

[17:28] you don't care.

[17:30] this is a game. This is not a game.

[17:31] this is real life, and I

[17:32] have to fight as if my life depends

[17:34] on it. Laws are in place.

[17:35] they had to put these protections

[17:37] and laws

[17:38] in place because white men throughout

[17:39] history have chosen, have shown, that

[17:40] they will

[17:41] do the wrong thing. And look at where

[17:43] we are now.

[17:46] you know, we are going to

[17:47] force people to do something they

[17:49] are not supposed to do.

[17:51] just because you can do something

[17:55] , doesn't mean that you have to

[17:58] do something.

[18:01] if this legislature was in

[18:02] place in the 1960s, black people still

[18:04] wouldn't have the right to vote.

[18:05] they still wouldn't have their civil

[18:06] rights if this legislature was in

[18:07] place

[18:10] right now. So, I want you

[18:13] to pause and think about this. Republicans

[18:16] have been

[18:19] in charge for the last 14

[18:20] to 16 years. Still, constituents across

[18:21] tennessee still have no healthcare,

[18:24] still have problems finding shelter, housing,

[18:28] grocery prices are rising .

[18:31] and what are we doing

[18:33] about it? We are taking away their voice.

[18:34] my

[18:37] question is,

[18:39] if the republican policies are so great,

[18:42] then why do we need to change the

[18:43] lines to rig the

[18:46] elections? Why should people

[18:49] be forced

[18:52] to listen to what we are

[18:55] doing here? People should

[18:57] pick their representation , not elected

[19:01] officials picking who they want to

[19:03] represent. This is all kinds of wrong.

[19:04] and

[19:07] I can't explain to

[19:09] you how hard it is to keep the emotions

[19:10] in check,

[19:13] when I know the importance of what

[19:16] people, mike

[19:17] parents and grandparents went through

[19:19] for me to have this right to stand

[19:20] here

[19:22] today. So, I am asking my colleagues

[19:23] across

[19:25] the aisle , do the right thing.

[19:31] don't

[19:35] do what you think you are supposed

[19:37] to do by following your leadership.

[19:38] when

[19:39] we got in here, we pledged allegiance

[19:40] to the flag of the united states.

[19:41] we did

[19:42] not pledge allegiance to one person

[19:43] in charge.

[19:46] so please,

[19:49] as you

[19:50] get ready to make your vote, please

[19:52] vote no, against these bills, and

[19:54] let's make sure that we have fair elections,

[19:57] fair elections meeting for everyone, not

[20:00] the rigged elections we are getting

[20:01] into now.

[20:03] thank you, mr. Speaker.

[20:04] >> leader campbell.

[20:10] >> thank you, mr.

[20:11] speaker. Mr. Speaker, I yield three

[20:12] minutes to representative johnson.

[20:19] >> representative johnson, your

[20:20] recognized for three minutes.

[20:21] >> thank

[20:22] you, mr. Speaker.

[20:25] what I want to

[20:26] be people to understand, the people outside,

[20:28] the people listening, the people that

[20:29] we are

[20:30] doing this to, not with. Before we

[20:31] do anything else,

[20:36] we have to undo a that has been on

[20:37] the books for

[20:39] more than 50 years, because it is

[20:40] illegal to do what we are

[20:43] getting ready to do

[20:49] . So

[20:51] what do you do when you have a super

[20:52] majority? You just change the rules,

[20:54] you change the laws and so you can

[20:55] do the bad things that smarter folks

[20:58] this for us knew were wrong. I didn't

[21:00] say my usual --I didn't say the pledge

[21:01] today. And I certainly didn't say

[21:04] my usual, very

[21:05] loudly and justice for all. And the

[21:07] reason I didn't say it,

[21:10] it is so disingenuous to

[21:13] say it

[21:16] with folks who, in a few minutes,

[21:17] are going to vote against justice

[21:19] for all. You don't believe it. You

[21:20] need

[21:22] to stop saying it. We

[21:25] need to write your own pledge,

[21:27] because you don't believe the pledge

[21:28] that we say

[21:31] every day. There is

[21:32] no court decision that requires us

[21:34] to be here. Zero.

[21:40] that is a lie, told by the folks who

[21:41] called

[21:43] us here. It is a lie. We do not have

[21:44] to

[21:45] be here. We are costing our counties

[21:46] a fortune,

[21:49] we are making

[21:52] a mockery of this body

[21:55] , and of this state. We are the shame

[21:57] of the nation, and the shame of this state

[21:58] .

[22:01] we are here to take away the voices

[22:04] of black voters and the people

[22:07] of memphis ,

[22:10] to crack their districts

[22:13] and diluted their voices .

[22:18] you should be ashamed. But guess what?

[22:19] I know that you

[22:22] are not.

[22:33] this is not a special session, this

[22:34] is a white power rally, and a white

[22:36] power grab. That is what this is,

[22:37] and you can deny it all you want,

[22:39] but the people in this state no better.

[22:40] they don't want partisan gerrymandering.

[22:41] they

[22:42] don't want gerrymandering by race,

[22:43] they don't want any of it. We have

[22:44] the ability to

[22:45] have independent redistricting done

[22:48] , so that it is fair for all, so that

[22:49] voters choose their

[22:52] elected officials ,

[22:53] instead of elected officials choosing

[22:55] their voters.

[23:04] this is

[23:06] shameful, and that is why when you

[23:07] walked through these halls, you heard

[23:08] shame, shame,

[23:09] shame. Because the people are ashamed

[23:10] of you. I know you have got tons of

[23:13] calls and emails and you will ignore

[23:14] them. Well, this is

[23:16] on you. Vote yes,

[23:18] you are telling everyone you are a racist.

[23:25] >> leader camper?

[23:28] >> thank you,

[23:31] mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I yield

[23:35] four minutes to

[23:39] representative love.

[23:40] >> representative

[23:41] love, you are recognized for four minutes.

[23:44] >> thank you, mr.

[23:45] speaker. Thank you, members. I want to

[23:46] lay something out for your members

[23:47] to understand

[23:48] this process that is not being done

[23:50] the right

[23:53] way. 1981, 1992,

[23:56] 2001,

[23:59] 2012, 2022

[24:02] . Each of those moments

[24:05] were moments when

[24:06] a redistricting process took place

[24:11] . Bills were filed,

[24:13] bills were deliberated, bills were passed

[24:17] after

[24:20] data was collected from the 10 year

[24:28] --what we call the census. The reason

[24:29] that

[24:30] was done was because we wanted to

[24:31] make sure that if there were population

[24:32] shifts in

[24:33] the state, we didn't want any district having

[24:37] fewer people, or one district having

[24:38] more

[24:39] people, and the representation not

[24:41] being fair. This was the process

[24:44] , and it has worked .

[24:47] as a matter of fact, there was

[24:49] an ad hoc redistricting committee,

[24:50] many of

[24:51] you were members of, not long ago

[24:53] , in

[24:56] 2021 and 2022. In

[24:59] the call

[25:01] of the governor for this special session,

[25:02] the language said

[25:04] we are being called to consider ,

[25:05] and then to act

[25:07] upon legislation. We have not even

[25:08] had time

[25:10] to consider if there have been changes,

[25:12] because it was a rushed process in

[25:14] the middle of

[25:17] the decade.

[25:20] I want you to ask yourself, members,

[25:22] what kind of sense does that really make?

[25:24] and if we set this president, does

[25:26] that mean that next year, around

[25:28] this time, that we should have another

[25:29] call from

[25:31] a different governor, to see if the

[25:32] lines are

[25:35] good enough

[25:39] in that congressional district, and

[25:40] perhaps the one you have now will

[25:41] be shifted again?

[25:43] this is the danger of what we are

[25:44] doing. It has worked

[25:46] before we got here , it will work

[25:47] after

[25:50] we leave.

[25:53] I am appealing to your common

[25:54] sense, and not just your common sense,

[25:56] but your decency.

[25:59] if this was being done to your statehouse

[26:00] district,

[26:02] would you sit here and say it

[26:05] is okay? If there was a call from

[26:08] the governor to look at every

[26:11] statehouse district in the middle of

[26:14] a 10 year period,

[26:17] while you were

[26:18] prepared to run for re-election. Think

[26:20] about that.

[26:23] and

[26:24] the lines were moved, and maybe you

[26:25] didn't have those same precincts you

[26:26] had a,

[26:27] where your base was. How would you

[26:29] feel if you had your base taken away

[26:32] from you?

[26:33] and the representation not given .

[26:35] so, here we are. About

[26:37] to do something that doesn't make

[26:41] any sense. 1981,

[26:44] 1992, 2001,

[26:47] 2012,

[26:50] 2022 .

[26:52] how is it that none of that is good

[26:53] enough for us to look

[26:56] back and say

[26:59] , if it worked then, why must we change

[27:02] it now? So I appeal to your conscience,

[27:05] and I appeal to your sensibility

[27:08] , and I also appeal to

[27:09] your intelligence. Vote against this bill

[27:14] it sets a

[27:15] bad precedent, and more than that,

[27:17] it is dismantling the power

[27:20] of those african-american voters

[27:23] in the

[27:24] ninth congressional district. Anybody who

[27:26] says any different,

[27:28] is not being forthright and truthful

[27:29] , because

[27:32] you don't just accidentally

[27:35] stumble upon a map

[27:38] that divides, within a few

[27:40] percentage points, the black voters

[27:41] in the ninth

[27:44] district. Thank you.

[27:47] >> leader campbell. >>

[27:56] mr.

[27:58] speaker, I yield four minutes to representative

[27:59] glenn.

[28:00] >> representative glenn, you

[28:01] are recognized for four

[28:02] minutes.

[28:03] >> thank you, mr. Speaker.

[28:04] members, I want you to

[28:05] think about something. I want you

[28:06] to think about what we call a commitment

[28:07] to conscience.

[28:08] a commitment to conscience.

[28:10] in the book of daniel, there were

[28:11] three young men.

[28:14] shadrach, meshach and abednego. Their

[28:16] commitment to conscience would not

[28:17] allow them to

[28:20] bow down to the king.

[28:26] their commitment to conscience would

[28:27] not

[28:28] allow them to bow down to the king

[28:29] . So, this

[28:32] commitment that we have

[28:34] to our conscience, saying this is

[28:35] not right , this is

[28:38] not who we are. When I joined

[28:41] the army, I had three priorities.

[28:44] my faith, my family, and my career.

[28:47] if it did not

[28:49] align with my faith, it wasn't good

[28:50] for me.

[28:53] if it brought shame on my family,

[28:56] it wasn't good for me.

[28:59] if it jeopardized my career, it wasn't

[29:00] good

[29:02] for me. So my

[29:05] commitment to conscience said

[29:08] I had to do the right thing, no matter what.

[29:12] when I deployed across seas , no

[29:14] matter how I felt about the war, it

[29:17] doesn't matter . I was called to do

[29:18] a

[29:20] duty, but I did it the right way.

[29:24] I did it the

[29:27] way it was supposed to be done. Because

[29:30] my commitment to conscience

[29:31] said, do it the way it is supposed

[29:33] to be done.

[29:36] do not bring

[29:37] shame on your family. Do not go against

[29:38] your faith, and do not jeopardize

[29:41] your career. As many of you know,

[29:46] I umpire baseball. Sometimes there

[29:48] is a team out there that I

[29:51] really don't like.

[29:52] but because I umpire baseball, I don't

[29:54] change the rules in the middle of

[29:55] the

[29:56] game to allow the team that I like

[29:57] to win.

[29:59] because those kids deserve a fair umpire

[30:03] .

[30:05] and umpire that says a ball is a ball

[30:06] and

[30:08] a strike is a strike. So, I challenge

[30:12] you to this.

[30:13] allow your commitment to conscience

[30:18] , like the three young men

[30:19] in the bible who would not bow down

[30:21] to the king of babylon

[30:24] , because their faith

[30:27] was higher than the king

[30:30] , and they believed in that. So

[30:33] I tell you again,

[30:35] what we are about to embark on right

[30:36] now. Right now.

[30:42] a moment

[30:45] that will remain stenciled

[30:50] into the mental sheets of unfolding

[30:51] generations. Do the

[30:54] right thing. Do the right thing.

[30:57] I yield my time back.

[31:05] >> gallery, you all have been warned.

[31:06] you

[31:09] cannot do that. Sorry.

[31:36] leader camper?

[31:39] >> thank you, mr. Speaker.

[31:41] I reserve the balance of my time.

[31:42] >> leader

[31:45] lamberth?

[31:46] >> thank you

[31:53] for speaker. The house republican

[31:54] caucus will not be utilizing our

[31:55] entire time on this piece of legislation.

[31:57] I appreciate the comments that have

[31:58] been made. This

[31:59] bill just deletes the last sentence

[32:00] of tc 18-to-102 that allows us to

[32:01] enter

[32:02] into this conversation. With that,

[32:03] I renew my motion.

[32:08] >> all right. We are voting. All those

[32:09] in favor,

[32:12] house bill 7002,

[32:13] vote yes when the bell rings. Those

[32:15] opposed vote no. Does any member was

[32:18] to change their vote?

[32:27] >> mr. Clerk ,

[32:30] please take the vote.

[32:33] >>

[32:36] house bill 7002 have received a constitutional

[32:37] majority to declare past, without

[32:39] objection, the mission is tabled.

[32:40] >>

[32:42] leader lamberth,

[32:47] you are recognized.

[32:48] >> thank you mr.

[32:49] speaker. That

[32:50] passage of house bill 7001 on third

[32:51] and final consideration.

[32:52] >>

[32:54] mr. Clerk, call the first commandment.

[32:59] >> chairman farmer, you are recognized.

[33:00] >> thank you mr. Speaker.

[33:02] I moved to adopt.

[33:03] >> adoption of committee member

[33:04] number one, scene none. All

[33:06] those in favor, so yes.

[33:09] next

[33:10] amendment mr. Clerk?

[33:11] >> has amendment

[33:12] number two, not timely filed.

[33:15] >> representative jones,

[33:18] you are recognized.

[33:21] >> thank you, mr. Speaker.

[33:24] I just handed representative lamberth

[33:25] a

[33:26] confederate flag saying you will not

[33:28] go back,

[33:34] bring us

[33:35] back --

[33:36] >> I will stop you right there.

[33:37] you have one minute to

[33:38] do your amendment, which is untimely

[33:39] filed. We are not grandstanding on

[33:40] this floor,

[33:43] talking

[33:44] to another member in this regard but

[33:45] you know the rules but if you want

[33:46] to address your amendment, please

[33:48] adjust your amendment.

[33:49] >> thank you

[33:50] mr. Speaker.

[33:51] can the clerk read the amendment,

[33:52] since they told us last minute

[33:53] come into the record that I will respond.

[33:55] would you mind reading the amendment

[33:58] for the record.

[33:59] >> we have

[34:01] an objection.

[34:04] if you want to put it up, we can

[34:07] put it up.

[34:15] are presented of jones?

[34:16] >> thank you.

[34:17] I see we are

[34:18] working according to jim crowe's rules

[34:19] today. This amendment is trying to

[34:20] point out the

[34:21] fact that this gathering that we have

[34:22] here today

[34:24] is about disenfranchising specifically

[34:25] black people.

[34:26] the speaker yesterday said this is

[34:27] not about race, but everything that

[34:28] we have seen

[34:29] about this map and about this process

[34:30] has been racialized. The ways that

[34:31] we

[34:32] have stacked these committees to put

[34:34] members on who are seething with racism

[34:36] . The rhetoric used to attack majority

[34:37] black communities as not to deserving

[34:40] representation under the guise of

[34:41] fairness. And so this amendment is

[34:42] simply trying to add into the record

[34:45] a process , to prevent this from happening

[34:46] on behalf of

[34:47] our constituents. I think cameron

[34:49] sexton has

[34:55] brought us here as

[34:56] the grand wizard of this chamber to

[34:57] try and disenfranchise black people.

[34:58] we call it for

[34:59] what it is. It is shameful.

[35:00] >> you

[35:01] failed to move for consideration amendment

[35:04] number two.

[35:13] failed for lack of motion.

[35:16] >>

[35:19] representative jones, you

[35:21] are recognized.

[35:22] >> again, the clerk delayed

[35:23] to the

[35:25] amendment to tell us what number

[35:28] we are

[35:30] talking about. We are here today once again,

[35:37] for a white sheets caucus meeting,

[35:38] in

[35:39] which they are trying to disenfranchise

[35:40] people --

[35:41] >> there is an objection,

[35:42] presented of

[35:43] jones once again, that is out of order.

[35:44] if you would like to stick to

[35:46] the amendment, we will continue

[35:49] --the continuation of what you're

[35:50] doing

[35:51] is against house rules. There has

[35:52] been objection. You can go back.

[35:55] but I caution you

[36:04] to

[36:05] stick to the amendment. Representative

[36:06] jones?

[36:07] >> mr. Speaker, once again,

[36:08] the clerks you have

[36:09] hired have given us a second's notice

[36:10] of a list of amendments but we are

[36:11] not even clear what amendment is which

[36:13] number because they wait until the

[36:14] last minute

[36:15] to hand us these papers. We are here,

[36:16] again, counting jellybeans in a jar.

[36:17] they want to create a process that

[36:19] is unfair and unequal that we cannot

[36:20] adequately deliberate this legislation

[36:25] . She gave us a stack

[36:26] of amendments here saying they were

[36:28] not in the call and give us a list

[36:29] saying

[36:30] that if you are. This is the unfairness

[36:31] of this process that has been

[36:33] the subject of his entire special session

[36:43] . A roster decisions, a rush of deliberation.

[36:44] is a form

[36:45] of jim crow terror, you know what

[36:46] you are doing. It is shameful. We

[36:47] know

[36:48] you will all fall in line behind this

[36:49] man here who will lead you down

[36:51] the path of racism and white the primacy.

[36:52] it is wrong, it is immoral when

[36:54] we say do justice and love mercy and

[36:55] walk humbly --

[36:56] >> it fails for

[36:57] lack of a motion. Mr. Clerk?

[36:58] >> has

[36:59] many number four was not timely

[37:00] filed.

[37:01] >> represented of jones, you

[37:02] are recognized.

[37:03] >> once again, the clerk

[37:04] has put us

[37:05] at a disadvantage by giving us our

[37:06] amendments seconds before.

[37:12] >> revlimid of johnson of knox, it

[37:13] is her amendment. Members so you know,

[37:14] all these amendments were filed after

[37:16] session started at 9:20 a.m. For the record.

[37:24] presented of johnson, your recognized.

[37:25] >> thank you mr. Speaker. What this

[37:26] amendment

[37:27] does is allow some transparency and

[37:28] accountability. It requires the public

[37:29] disclosure of outside consultants

[37:30] or contractors involved in congressional

[37:31] map drawing

[37:34] . The public deserves to know who

[37:37] helped draw the maps.

[37:40] there has been no transparency, no

[37:41] one has talked to

[37:42] the public, given anything to the

[37:43] public in time to respond

[37:46] to the maps that were drawn yesterday

[37:49] morning, that we got.

[37:52] this allows for transparency and

[37:54] public disclosure of anyone involved

[37:55] in the congressional

[37:58] map drawing. Move consideration.

[38:04] >> there we go. Is a proper motion,

[38:07] promptly seconded. We

[38:08] are voting for consideration amendment

[38:10] number four. All those in favor, considering

[38:11] amendment number four,

[38:12] vote yes when the bell rings. Those

[38:13] opposed vote no. Has any member

[38:16] voted, wish to change their vote?

[38:25] the balcony, hissing

[38:28] will get the whole balcony gone. Trooper,

[38:31] remove all the balcony. Mr. Clerk,

[38:32] take the

[38:34] vote.

[38:35] >> 23-73.

[38:37] >> having

[38:40] failed to receive the necessary two

[38:41] thirds vote, the motion

[38:42] to consider amendment number four fails.

[38:45] >> amendment five, represent of johnson,

[38:46] not timely filed.

[38:49] >> representative johnson, you

[38:53] are recognized.

[38:56] >> thank you, mr. Speaker.

[38:58] this one is also about public access

[38:59] and transparency.

[39:02] it requires proposed maps

[39:06] , files, demographic data and written

[39:08] findings to be publicly released

[39:11] before passage of the bill. If

[39:14] the public must live

[39:16] under the map, the public should be

[39:17] allowed to see

[39:19] the map for more than 24 hours. This

[39:23] is outrageous

[39:26] , it is not

[39:27] how we have done this in the past,

[39:29] and we are changing laws to do

[39:30] it now. So, this requires proposed maps,

[39:36] files and demographic data and written

[39:38] findings to be publicly released

[39:41] before passage. We work for the

[39:42] people, we don't work for billionaires

[39:44] and lobbyists. I

[39:45] move consideration of this amendment.

[39:47] >> you have heard

[39:50] the motion, we are voting

[39:51] for consideration of amendment number

[39:52] five. All those in favor of considering

[39:53] amendment

[39:55] number five, vote yes when the bell rings.

[39:59] those opposed vote no.

[40:01] has every member voted, does any member

[40:02] wish to

[40:05] change their vote? Mr.

[40:08] clerk, please take the vote.

[40:09] >>

[40:13] 2371.

[40:14] >> having failed to receive

[40:15] the

[40:16] necessary two thirds vote, the motion

[40:17] to consider amendment number five fails.

[40:21] >> houseman six, represented of johnson

[40:22] was not timely filed.

[40:23] >> representative

[40:24] johnson, you

[40:26] are recognized.

[40:31] >> here we are again. This amendment

[40:32] is about transparency and accountability.

[40:35] it requires the written findings identifying

[40:36] the

[40:38] legal basis ,

[40:39] necessity, and minority voting impact

[40:41] of opposed maps .

[40:43] let me say that again. It requires

[40:47] reporting

[40:49] of the minority voting impacts of

[40:50] proposed maps.

[40:53] if districts

[40:56] are being changed ,

[40:57] if they are being cracked middecade,

[41:01] the public deserves a written explanation

[41:02] of why this

[41:05] is happening.

[41:07] the public deserves this information.

[41:11] I move consideration of

[41:14] amendment six.

[41:15] >> voting for consideration amendment

[41:17] number six. All those in favor

[41:20] , vote yes when the bell rings. Those

[41:21] opposed, vote no. Does any member

[41:23] wish to change their vote?

[41:31] mr. Clerk, please take the vote.

[41:32] >>

[41:35] 21-73.

[41:36] >> having failed to receive

[41:38] the necessary vote the

[41:41] motion fails.

[41:42] >> houseman and seven, represented

[41:44] powell was

[41:45] not timely filed.

[41:46] >> representative

[41:47] powell, you are recognized.

[41:53] >> thank you, mr. Speaker. This amendment

[41:56] is very important. Anyone who is interested in

[41:59] making sure

[42:04] that anything we are doing here, as

[42:05] we already know it

[42:06] is illegal, this amendment says that

[42:08] there is a legal basis for this,

[42:14] but there is a legal basis for the purpose

[42:15] of even being here and the necessity

[42:17] for new revisions to districts

[42:21] between apportionment and the impact

[42:23] the proposed plan will have on minority

[42:24] voting strength

[42:25] and communities of interest will be

[42:26] considered. This is a very important amendment.

[42:28] we know everything that is being done

[42:29] with these maps

[42:34] , and that is why it is extremely

[42:35] important, and I move

[42:36] for consideration, of my amendment.

[42:43] spoke proper motion properly seconded,

[42:46] considering amendment number seven.

[42:47] all those in favor

[42:50] , vote yes when the bell rings because every

[42:53] member voted?

[42:59] mr.

[43:02] clerk?

[43:03] >>

[43:05] having failed to receive the necessary

[43:06] two

[43:07] thirds vote, the motion to consider

[43:08] the amendment fails.

[43:09] >> amendment eight

[43:11] by representative johnson. A

[43:12] >>

[43:14] representative johnson?

[43:17] >> thank you,

[43:19] mr. Speaker. What this amendment does

[43:29] , it

[43:30] is a voting rights act protections.

[43:31] it prohibits maps drawn to diminish

[43:32] her fragment minority

[43:33] voting strength. Communities should

[43:35] not fear

[43:36] that district lines are being adjusted

[43:38] to weaken minority voting strength

[43:41] , which is what we are doing today,

[43:42] with

[43:44] full knowledge. What this

[43:47] amendment does

[43:50] , it prohibits maps drawn to diminish it

[43:52] or fragment minority voting strength.

[43:56] this is

[43:57] a voting rights act protection, because

[43:59] our communities should not be

[44:02] cracked and divided and diluted

[44:07] their voices in our democracy. I move

[44:08] consideration.

[44:09] >>

[44:11] we are voting for

[44:12] consideration of amendment number

[44:14] eight. All those in favor,

[44:15] of considering amendment number eight,

[44:17] but just when the bell rings. Has

[44:20] every member voted, does any member

[44:21] wish to

[44:23] change their vote?

[44:26] mr. Clerk, please take the vote.

[44:32] >> having failed to receive the necessary

[44:33] two thirds vote,

[44:35] the motion fails.

[44:36] >> amendment

[44:38] number nine , this amendment was not

[44:41] timely filed.

[44:42] >> representative salinas

[44:43] you

[44:44] are recognized.

[44:45] >> this amendment

[44:46] is about

[44:47] fair elections .

[44:48] congressional districts should not

[44:49] be designed to protect politicians

[44:53] . Politicians should not get to

[44:54] pick their voters. Voters should get

[44:56] to pick

[44:59] who there a politician is. This is

[45:00] an amendment

[45:02] that is anti-incumbent protection.

[45:03] I move

[45:05] for consideration.

[45:11] >>

[45:13] you heard the motion, we are voting

[45:14] for consideration of amendment number

[45:15] nine. All those

[45:16] in favor of considering amendment

[45:17] number nine, vote yes when the bell

[45:18] rings. Has every

[45:19] member voted, does any member wish

[45:20] to change their vote? Mr. Clerk, please

[45:21] take

[45:23] the vote.

[45:29] in accordance with rule 60 be having failed

[45:30] to receive

[45:31] the necessary two thirds vote the

[45:32] motion to consider amendment number

[45:33] nine fails.

[45:34] >> member amendment 10, not timely

[45:35] filed.

[45:36] >> representative jones, you

[45:38] are recognized

[45:39] >> thank you mr. Speaker.

[45:40] this amendment

[45:41] requires written

[45:44] evaluation of impact on minority communities.

[45:46] it requires voting rights analysis.

[45:47] the general assembly should understand

[45:48] how

[45:49] the map would affect minority committees

[45:52] before voting. Yesterday the speaker

[45:54] was asked how this

[45:55] would affect minority communities

[45:56] and he said he didn't know, but we

[45:59] know this is based on census data.

[46:00] the speaker has

[46:03] clearly been working with

[46:09] doug times in the ethics

[46:10] counsel to create a regionally gerrymandered

[46:11] map intentionally. This requires us

[46:12] to be provided that

[46:13] racial analysis before we are able

[46:14] to vote on a legislation. I move for

[46:15] consideration of amendment number

[46:17] 10.

[46:18] >> we are voting for consideration

[46:19] of amendment 10. All those

[46:21] in favor

[46:23] , vote yes when the bell rings. Those

[46:24] opposed vote no.

[46:25] has every member voted, does any member

[46:27] wish to change their vote?

[46:30] mr.

[46:33] clerk, please take the vote?

[46:34] >>

[46:37] having failed to receive the necessary

[46:39] two thirds vote, the motion to

[46:40] consider amendment number 10 fails.

[46:44] chairman clemens, for what purpose?

[46:45] >> parliamentary work. >> come

[46:48] on up.

[48:00] >>

[48:03] mr. Clerk?

[48:04] >> mr. Speaker,

[48:06] the question was about the

[48:08] speaker's authority to clear the gallery.

[48:12] rule four,

[48:13] in case of any disturbance or disorderly

[48:15] conduct in the gallery,

[48:18] the speaker shall have the

[48:20] power to order the same be cleared.

[48:21] >> thank you mr. Clerk.

[48:24] next amendment.

[48:25] >> amendment 11,

[48:32] not timely filed.

[48:33] >> representative

[48:34] powell?

[48:35] >> thank you,

[48:36] mr. Speaker. You should like this

[48:37] one, mr. Speaker. It gives you the

[48:38] power to

[48:39] create an independent commission to

[48:40] create these maps. It also gives

[48:42] the minority leader

[48:45] appointments . The point

[48:47] of this is to make sure that these

[48:48] maps are

[48:51] drawn fairly

[48:54] and nonpartisan and. A the states

[48:55] are

[48:56] not in this kind of ridiculous partisan predicament

[49:00] , and actually have people who

[49:02] represent them , because they have

[49:03] independent commissions.

[49:05] they draw these maps. All this amendment

[49:08] does is simply create an independent commission,

[49:12] republican and democrat, to draw

[49:15] these maps . Without, I move consideration.

[49:26] >> averred the motion, we are voting

[49:27] for consideration of amendment

[49:29] number 11. All those in favor of considering

[49:30] amendment number 11 vote yes. Those

[49:31] opposed vote no. Does any member wish

[49:33] to change their vote?

[49:39] mr. Clerk, please take the vote.

[49:40] >>

[49:45] 21-72.

[49:46] >> the motion to consider amendment

[49:48] number 11 fails. Next amendment

[49:51] mr. Clerk .

[49:52] >> and 12,

[49:53] were present of sillies is not timely

[49:54] filed.

[49:55] >> presented of salinas? >>

[50:00] republicans and democrats,

[50:01] independents, all of voters are tired

[50:03] of gerrymandering.

[50:06] they know that our system

[50:09] is not working.

[50:11] this is an anti-gerrymandering amendment

[50:12] which requires

[50:17] congressional districts to remain

[50:18] reasonably compact. That means

[50:21] that we will not have

[50:22] districts that reach from memphis

[50:24] all the way past middle tennessee

[50:27] I move

[50:30] for consideration.

[50:33] >>

[50:35] proper motion, we are voting for consideration

[50:36] of

[50:39] amendment 12 . All those in favor

[50:40] vote yes.

[50:42] all those opposed vote no.

[50:44] has every member voted, does any member

[50:45] wish to change

[50:47] their vote? Mr. Clerk, please take

[50:48] the vote.

[50:51] >>

[50:54] 22-72.

[50:55] >>

[51:00] in accordance with rule 60 be having

[51:01] failed to

[51:02] receive the necessary vote the motion

[51:03] to consider amendment 12 fails. Next

[51:04] amendment

[51:05] mr. Clerk.

[51:06] >> houseman 13, the speaker

[51:07] is not timely filed.

[51:12] >> representative jones, you are recognized. >>

[51:17] I can't hear what you're saying.

[51:18] >>

[51:19] I can't help that, you need

[51:21] to continue.

[51:22] >> the speaker is ordering

[51:23] the

[51:24] gallery cleared for the record. This

[51:25] amendment requires districts

[51:27] to reflect residents and committees

[51:28] rather than

[51:30] a statewide.

[51:33] congressional district are intended to

[51:34] represent people and communities within

[51:36] those districts, not

[51:38] a predetermined statewide ideology.

[51:39] yes, this is the people's house.

[51:45] this amendment is to say that this

[51:47] is the people's house. Is not cameron's

[51:48] house. It is not the governor's house.

[51:50] it is the people's house. People are

[51:51] being dragged from the gallery for

[51:52] exercising their

[51:53] voice under the state constitution

[51:54] . The state constitution says that

[51:55] nonresistance against arbitrary power

[51:57] is slavish , and that we must

[52:00] resist this type of arbitrary

[52:03] power grab.

[52:12] people above me, we cannot even

[52:14] hear, they are being taken out by

[52:15] the order of cameron sexton. The citizens

[52:16] whose voices

[52:17] are being taken away are being dragged

[52:18] from the gallery around us but this

[52:19] is

[52:20] what history will witness this moment.

[52:21] >> amendment 13 fails for lack of

[52:22] emotion.

[52:23] >> are presented to powell, your recognized.

[52:24] >> thank you, mr. Speaker.

[52:27] this is one of the

[52:28] most important american amendments

[52:30] that I'm sponsoring today.

[52:33] it says that we are going

[52:36] to use constitutional restraint

[52:38] stability and representation and public

[52:39] confidence in our elections, when

[52:42] we draw these maps

[52:45] for government, which is a representative government

[52:47] . This is a very important principle,

[52:54] standing with his amendment

[52:57] shows that we believe in a representative

[52:59] democracy, we believe in a republic.

[53:00] we believe invoices

[53:03] . There are reasons why we are representatives.

[53:06] there are reasons why there

[53:07] are congressional districts. It is

[53:09] because we don't

[53:11] live --congress is not the senate.

[53:18] the

[53:19] u.s. Congress is not the u.s. Senate.

[53:20] we have representatives that represent

[53:21] districts. We need to keep it

[53:22] that way. Move for consideration.

[53:24] >> we are voting for consideration

[53:25] of amendment number 14.

[53:26] all those in favor considering amendment

[53:27] number 14 vote yes when the

[53:30] bell rings. Has every

[53:31] member voted? Does any member wish

[53:33] to change their vote?

[53:36] mr. Clerk, please take the vote. In

[53:39] accordance with

[53:42] --amendment number

[53:45] 14 fails.

[53:48] >> not timely filed.

[53:51] >> mr.

[53:54] speaker, this is about making sure

[53:58] that candidates

[54:01] have adequate time to

[54:07] qualify.

[54:09] as we know, we will have to go back and

[54:10] change all the laws, the

[54:11] entire system. We will rig the entire

[54:13] system. For years.

[54:15] because we are here today. There are

[54:16] people

[54:18] who are already qualified, people

[54:23] that are campaigning, there are people

[54:24] in this body that are already running

[54:25] for

[54:28] these congressional districts.

[54:31] we are going to make

[54:32] the people --I have an entirely new

[54:34] congressional district.

[54:37] the person

[54:39] who doesn't even represent my city currently

[54:42] is now going to be my congressman.

[54:43] how

[54:45] absurd is that? We have no idea. We

[54:46] don't

[54:47] have time. This is about making sure

[54:49] that we have time.

[54:51] >> you heard the motion, we are voting

[54:52] for consideration

[54:55] of amendment number 15.

[54:59] has every member voted? Does any member wish

[55:01] to change their vote?

[55:09] mr. Clerk, please take the vote.

[55:10] >>

[55:16] 23-73.

[55:17] >> having failed to

[55:18] receive the necessary two thirds vote,

[55:19] the motion to consider amendment number

[55:20] 15 fails. Next

[55:21] amendment, mr. Clerk.

[55:22] >> mm and 16, by

[55:23] presented

[55:25] of salinas.

[55:26] >> representative salinas, your recognized. >>

[55:28] his amendment is about

[55:30] election stability . It requires the state

[55:34] to finalize maps at

[55:35] least 90 days before qualifying deadlines.

[55:40] this gives candidates notice

[55:43] , so they can make plans,

[55:45] this should be a bipartisan vote,

[55:49] who is against,

[55:50] if you vote against this you are against

[55:52] having candidates have 90 days

[55:55] before their maps are put into place

[55:58] . This would allow candidates

[56:01] to plan accordingly,

[56:03] to budget accordingly, to reach the

[56:04] right voters at

[56:06] the right time . With that, I move

[56:07] for consideration.

[56:13] >> all those in favor

[56:15] of considering amendment number 16,

[56:21] vote yes when the bell rings. Has

[56:22] every member voted, does any

[56:23] member wish to change their vote?

[56:27] mr. Clerk, please take the vote.

[56:28] >>

[56:31] 22-72.

[56:32] >>

[56:33] having failed to receive the necessary

[56:34] vote, minute 16 fails. Mr.

[56:37] clerk?

[56:38] >> amended 17,

[56:40] from presented of salinas. This

[56:43] is not timely filed.

[56:44] >>

[56:49] representative salinas, your recognized.

[56:50] >>

[56:51] this amendment is about election stability. It requires

[56:52] implementation in minimizing disruption

[56:53] to voters and

[56:54] election officials. Let's not forget

[56:55] that what we are doing

[56:57] is putting a strain on election officials.

[57:04] that

[57:05] is your administrator of elections

[57:06] in your county. It is putting a financial

[57:07] strain and putting

[57:10] a lot of work on their plates

[57:13] in the middle of

[57:14] an active election. Let's not forget

[57:16] that we have an active election. They

[57:17] are going

[57:18] to have to reach out to voters and

[57:19] explain to them, and then retrain

[57:20] the

[57:21] people who run the elections. This

[57:22] is going to negatively impact everybody

[57:25] . A lot of

[57:26] our voters have to drive far to cast

[57:28] their vote.

[57:33] public transportation is not good

[57:34] in tennessee because we refuse to

[57:35] invest

[57:36] in it. With that I move for consideration.

[57:37] >> you

[57:38] have heard the motion. We are voting

[57:40] for consideration of amendment number 17.

[57:42] all in favor of considering amendment

[57:43] number 17 vote yes

[57:44] when the bell rings. As opposed vote

[57:46] no. Does any member wish to change

[57:47] their vote? Mr. Clerk, please take

[57:49] the vote.

[57:52] >>

[57:56] 22-71.

[57:57] >> having failed to receive

[57:58] the necessary vote the motion to consider

[57:59] amendment

[58:00] 17 fails.

[58:01] >> has amendment 18 resented

[58:02] of powell. Not

[58:04] timely filed.

[58:06] >> representative powell, your recognized.

[58:07] >> thank you,

[58:10] mr. Speaker.

[58:11] it was interesting in the discussions

[58:13] yesterday, in committee. The census

[58:16] is drawn

[58:19] --collected in 2020 and redrawn

[58:20] others district for the 2022 elections.

[58:21] tennessee has dramatically changed

[58:22] its makeup

[58:25] in population,

[58:28] in demographics,

[58:36] since we use that census data. This

[58:37] simply says congressional district

[58:38] established

[58:39] in 2026 must be established based

[58:40] on the residents and communities contained

[58:41] within each district,

[58:43] regarding a single ideological identity.

[58:49] yesterday it was stated that the only

[58:50] reason

[58:51] we are doing this is for politics.

[58:52] that is absurd. That is wrong.

[58:55] that is --we know that is

[58:56] not even right but this is being done

[58:58] because of race.

[59:00] this is being done because of race, it

[59:01] is being done to divide

[59:03] a city. It is now being done to divide

[59:04] my city yet

[59:07] again. I move consideration.

[59:12] >> we are voting for consideration

[59:13] of amendment number 18. Those in favor

[59:14] that

[59:16] yes when

[59:19] the

[59:20] bell rings. Mr. Clerk, take the vote.

[59:22] >> 21-70.

[59:25] >> having failed receive the necessary

[59:26] vote, the motion to consider amendment

[59:28] number 18 fails.

[59:29] >> amendment 19

[59:30] by rivers and johnson not timely filed.

[59:35] >> resented johnson, your recognized.

[59:37] >> thank you, mr. Speaker.

[59:40] this amendment is about

[59:43] stability. It

[59:47] recognizes historic decennial redistricting

[59:48] as promoting democratic legitimacy.

[59:49] it is about

[59:52] public confidence in the things that

[59:55] we do up here, in the drawing of these maps,

[59:58] but we are not drawing

[1:00:00] them for our own benefit, to keep

[1:00:04] our seats, because that is what some

[1:00:05] of these folks are

[1:00:06] going to be voting for, today. They

[1:00:07] are worried about keeping their power.

[1:00:13] they are taking advantage of the voters,

[1:00:14] taking

[1:00:15] their voice, and they are choosing

[1:00:16] their voters. Stable

[1:00:18] congressional districts strengthen confidence

[1:00:22] in representative government.

[1:00:25] that is what we need here. We need

[1:00:26] confidence in

[1:00:27] this government, because everything

[1:00:28] we are doing

[1:00:31] in this special white power

[1:00:33] session is taking away confidence.

[1:00:34] I move adoption

[1:00:40] .

[1:00:41] >> we are voting

[1:00:42] for consideration of amendment 19.

[1:00:43] all in favor of considering amendment 19,

[1:00:49] as opposed vote no. Has

[1:00:51] every member voted? Does any member

[1:00:52] wish to change their vote? Mr. Clerk,

[1:00:53] take the

[1:00:54] vote.

[1:00:55] >> 19-72. >> having failed to

[1:00:56] receive the necessary two thirds vote,

[1:00:57] the motion to consider amendment number

[1:00:58] 19 fails.

[1:01:00] >> amendment 20 by representative

[1:01:01] johnson. Not timely filed.

[1:01:02] >>

[1:01:03] representative johnson?

[1:01:04] >> which one

[1:01:05] is this?

[1:01:17] >> thank you, mr. Speaker.

[1:01:21] this amendment will add to fairness

[1:01:23] for everyone

[1:01:28] , making sure that every voter has

[1:01:29] their voice

[1:01:30] heard and that is in a district that

[1:01:32] has their voice heard.

[1:01:35] we need to talk about

[1:01:37] voter education , so that people understand

[1:01:38] what we

[1:01:41] are doing.

[1:01:42] we are doing something to people up

[1:01:44] here, not something for them.

[1:01:50] move adoption.

[1:01:51] >> we are voting for consideration

[1:01:52] of amendment number 20. All those

[1:01:53] in favor of considering

[1:01:54] amendment number 20, vote yes when

[1:01:55] the bell rings. Has every member voted?

[1:01:56] does any

[1:01:57] member wish to change their vote?

[1:01:59] mr. Clerk? Please take the vote.

[1:02:00] >>

[1:02:03] having failed receive the necessary vote,

[1:02:05] the amendment fails.

[1:02:06] >>

[1:02:07] amendment 20 by representative faye

[1:02:08] powell not timely

[1:02:11] filed.

[1:02:12] >> sometimes people

[1:02:15] in here say we live in a democracy,

[1:02:17] a lot of people yell at me

[1:02:19] and say no we don't. We live in a republic.

[1:02:22] well then, this is one you should

[1:02:23] all like. All

[1:02:24] of those who yell at me and say we

[1:02:26] don't live in a democracy, we live

[1:02:27] in a republic. We do live in a democratic

[1:02:29] republic. This says the general

[1:02:30] assembly finds stable and fairly construed

[1:02:33] electoral districts strengthen republican

[1:02:35] self-government and preserve

[1:02:37] confidence in representative democracy.

[1:02:38] it

[1:02:39] is a very simple principle. It is

[1:02:41] a very simple principle.

[1:02:44] we have these congressional

[1:02:45] districts, because each congressman represents

[1:02:50] , just as we do

[1:02:53] , districts and people.

[1:02:56] I move for consideration.

[1:02:59] >> all those in favor of

[1:03:02] considering amendment 21,

[1:03:03] vote yes when the bell rings. Does

[1:03:05] any member wish to change their

[1:03:07] vote?

[1:03:08] >> mr. Clerk, please take the

[1:03:11] vote.

[1:03:12] >> 21-73.

[1:03:13] >> having failed to receive the necessary

[1:03:14] vote, amendment 21 fails.

[1:03:17] >>

[1:03:21] not timely filed.

[1:03:22] >> you are recognized.

[1:03:23] >> I want to state for the

[1:03:26] record, the reason

[1:03:41] they are not timely filed is because

[1:03:42] there was no way to file a timely

[1:03:43] process because we were rushed through

[1:03:44] this process

[1:03:45] in 24 hours. That is why these are

[1:03:46] untimely. This amendment recognizes

[1:03:47] tennessee's geographic,

[1:03:48] racial, cultural and political diversity.

[1:03:49] it is about inclusive representation

[1:03:50] and making sure that tennessee's

[1:03:51] diverse communities have well-deserved,

[1:03:52] meaningful representation. With that,

[1:03:53] I move for consideration mr. Speaker.

[1:03:54] >>

[1:03:55] we are voting for consideration, all

[1:03:56] those in favor vote yes when the bell

[1:03:57] rings.

[1:03:58] as opposed vote no. Has every member

[1:03:59] voted, does any member wish to change

[1:04:01] their vote? Take the vote.

[1:04:02] >> in accordance

[1:04:03] with rule 6b,

[1:04:04] having failed to receive the necessary vote,

[1:04:09] amendment 22 fails.

[1:04:10] >> amendment 23

[1:04:11] by representative powell not timely

[1:04:12] filed.

[1:04:13] >> you are recognized. >> thank you

[1:04:14] mr. Speaker. This

[1:04:15] minutes as the general assembly finds

[1:04:16] that representative democracy functions

[1:04:17] best when

[1:04:18] voters choose their representatives

[1:04:19] and congressional districts remained

[1:04:20] stable between appointments. This

[1:04:21] is the

[1:04:23] whole point of why we do this every

[1:04:26] 10 years.

[1:04:28] it is because people need to know

[1:04:29] who their congressman is

[1:04:32] . People need to know who their congressperson is

[1:04:38] . Right now, these

[1:04:39] maps are going to dramatically change

[1:04:40] whose people congressman's are. You

[1:04:41] know who will get the

[1:04:42] phone calls? Everyone in this room.

[1:04:44] they are not going to know. I won't

[1:04:45] even

[1:04:46] know to tell my constituents who their

[1:04:47] congressperson is.

[1:04:55] right now is my constituents called

[1:04:56] me I would not

[1:04:58] be able to tell them who their congressperson

[1:04:59] is based on these maps. We

[1:05:00] don't even have the overlay. Think

[1:05:01] about this. This is absurd. This is

[1:05:02] absurd. We

[1:05:03] have people, right now, applying to

[1:05:05] the military academies.

[1:05:08] applying to military academies

[1:05:09] and their congressperson is going

[1:05:11] to change. Think about that if you care

[1:05:12] about

[1:05:13] our military academies. I move for consideration.

[1:05:17] >> you heard the motion, we are voting

[1:05:18] for

[1:05:19] consideration of amendment 23, all

[1:05:20] those in favor vote when the

[1:05:22] bell rings. Members wish to change

[1:05:23] their

[1:05:26] vote?

[1:05:27] >>

[1:05:30] having failed to receive the necessary

[1:05:32] two thirds vote, the motion to consider

[1:05:35] amendment 23 fails.

[1:05:36] >>

[1:05:37] resented jones, your recognized.

[1:05:38] >>

[1:05:39] we are filing

[1:05:40] amendment because many of us were

[1:05:41] not put on committees

[1:05:47] meant to consider this legislation,

[1:05:48] forced

[1:05:49] through in less than 24 hours. This

[1:05:50] is an untimely amendment because there

[1:05:51] is no way

[1:05:52] to have the maps within a few hours

[1:05:53] of the committee meeting and we are

[1:05:55] here the next day voting on maps that

[1:05:56] we have not been able to analyze

[1:05:57] to breakdown or understand. This amendment

[1:05:58] is about avoiding fragmentation. It

[1:05:59] prohibits unnecessary fragmentation

[1:06:00] of

[1:06:01] urban, rural, minority and historically

[1:06:02] black communities,

[1:06:11] communities should not be

[1:06:12] unnecessarily divided for political

[1:06:13] purposes. Again, we know what this

[1:06:14] is about, it is about

[1:06:15] diluting minority vote and taking

[1:06:16] us back to pre-1965, pre-voting rights

[1:06:17] act, and act bought

[1:06:19] with days in jail cells in the smacker

[1:06:20] billy clubs.

[1:06:23] perhaps some of you who want to take

[1:06:24] us back

[1:06:26] to this time but this is

[1:06:31] an amendment saying we must move forward toward

[1:06:32] a multiracial democracy and about

[1:06:33] maintaining the diversity of our state

[1:06:34] when it comes to race, geography,

[1:06:35] urban and rural.

[1:06:36] with that, I move consideration of

[1:06:38] this amendment.

[1:06:39] >> you ever the motion,

[1:06:40] all those in favor in considering

[1:06:41] amendment number 24 . As opposed

[1:06:44] vote no. Does any member wish to

[1:06:47] change their vote? Take

[1:06:50] the vote.

[1:06:53] >>

[1:06:54] having failed to receive the necessary

[1:06:56] two thirds vote, consideration of

[1:06:58] amendment 24 fails.

[1:06:59] >> amendment 25

[1:07:00] not timely filed.

[1:07:04] >> mr. Speaker, this simple says general assembly

[1:07:12] finds that stable congressional districts

[1:07:13] promote public confidence in represented

[1:07:14] of government and preserve constitutional

[1:07:16] restraint in the exercise of redistricting

[1:07:17] authority. We set a dangerous precedent,

[1:07:18] here. Now that

[1:07:20] we have changed the law

[1:07:22] , we can come back whenever and change

[1:07:23] these congressional districts.

[1:07:26] we set a dangerous precedent in

[1:07:27] this state. A dangerous precedent.

[1:07:31] everybody in this room should stop

[1:07:32] and think

[1:07:35] about that our president

[1:07:38] ,

[1:07:39] not my president, but the president

[1:07:41] does not control

[1:07:44] the state of tennessee and how we

[1:07:45] draw our contract congressional districts.

[1:07:47] we are telling people

[1:07:50] not to have confidence in

[1:07:53] representative democracy . That is

[1:07:54] what

[1:07:56] we are doing right now. This

[1:07:59] is alarming

[1:08:02] . If you stand for representative

[1:08:03] democracy, I

[1:08:04] ask you to vote for this and move

[1:08:05] for consideration.

[1:08:06] >> we are

[1:08:07] voting for consideration of amendment 25.

[1:08:11] as opposed vote no. Is any

[1:08:13] member voted ? Does any member wish

[1:08:14] to change their vote? Mr.

[1:08:17] clerk?

[1:08:18] >>

[1:08:19] 19-71.

[1:08:20] >> having failed to receive

[1:08:21] the necessary two

[1:08:23] thirds vote,

[1:08:24] >>

[1:08:26] amendment 26 by

[1:08:29] representative salinas.

[1:08:30] >> thank

[1:08:31] you. This amendment is about voter awareness

[1:08:32] .

[1:08:34] I don't know if you all remember the

[1:08:35] quote of trump saying

[1:08:40] that he loves the uneducated. I think

[1:08:41] that we have an opportunity to

[1:08:43] prove him wrong, and put something

[1:08:44] that educates our voters, that

[1:08:47] lets them know

[1:08:49] , explains to them the voting process

[1:08:50] and making sure that we

[1:08:53] have civics back into our state.

[1:09:02] aware of not only what and who they

[1:09:03] are

[1:09:04] voting for and what district they

[1:09:05] are in. This would require a 60 day period

[1:09:07] that would allow us to educate voters.

[1:09:08] education. We all say that we are

[1:09:09] passionate

[1:09:10] about education. Why would we not

[1:09:11] want our voters to know

[1:09:14] ? It gives us time to

[1:09:16] have these conversations. I move for consideration.

[1:09:23] >> all those in favor considering

[1:09:24] amendment 26,

[1:09:26] but

[1:09:28] yes when the bell rings. Has every

[1:09:29] member voted, does any member wish

[1:09:30] to change their

[1:09:32] vote? Please take the vote.

[1:09:35] in accordance with rule six be having

[1:09:36] failed to

[1:09:37] receive the necessary vote the motion

[1:09:39] to consider

[1:09:47] amendment 26 fails.

[1:09:48] >> amendment 27

[1:09:49] by

[1:09:50] repetitive gents, not timely filed.

[1:09:51] >> you are recognized. >> thank you

[1:09:52] mr. Speaker. Again,

[1:09:53] this is untimely because we were given

[1:09:54] three days for a sham process without

[1:09:55] real

[1:09:56] deliberation, forced through committee

[1:09:57] with less than 24 hours notice of

[1:09:58] being aware of

[1:09:59] what these maps were and I am on the

[1:10:00] house floor at 9:00 alien to

[1:10:01] vote on this racist gerrymandered

[1:10:03] map. Is is about minority

[1:10:04] opportunity preservation, it preserves

[1:10:06] voting opportunities

[1:10:07] according to federal law. Tennessee

[1:10:09] should reserve minority

[1:10:12] voting opportunity required by

[1:10:13] federal law. We know this is about

[1:10:14] race no matter what the speaker says.'s

[1:10:15] chief

[1:10:16] of staff went to school in memphis,

[1:10:18] he knows it's a majority

[1:10:21] black city.

[1:10:24] if they have

[1:10:25] questions they have some members of

[1:10:26] shelby county here in the republican

[1:10:27] caucus who can

[1:10:28] clearly tell them that is a majority

[1:10:29] black city. Yesterday in committee,

[1:10:30] sensitive lowell wanted

[1:10:32] to bring up crime in memphis, racializing

[1:10:33] this

[1:10:34] debate. You brought that up in committee

[1:10:35] saying there is crime and this will

[1:10:36] help

[1:10:39] to we can crime.

[1:10:45] he revealed what they were

[1:10:46] looking caucus is doing, it is about

[1:10:48] race, he has given us a basis

[1:10:49] to know this is about race. Thank

[1:10:51] you for doing that. This is once again

[1:10:52] about the voting rights act compliance

[1:10:53] and I move for consideration of this

[1:10:54] amendment.

[1:10:55] >>

[1:10:56] voting for consideration of amendment

[1:10:57] 27. All those in favor, but yes when

[1:10:58] the bell

[1:10:59] rings. Does any member wish to change

[1:11:00] their vote? Take the vote.

[1:11:03] >> 1472.

[1:11:06] >> having failed to

[1:11:07] receive the necessary two thirds vote,

[1:11:08] the motion to consider amendment fails.

[1:11:09] >> amendment 28

[1:11:10] by rivers of the powell not timely

[1:11:11] filed.

[1:11:12] >> your recognized. >> just

[1:11:13] so everyone

[1:11:14] in here knows, I want to point out,

[1:11:15] memphis is a majority

[1:11:18] black city.

[1:11:24] I know that was brought

[1:11:25] up yesterday and people seems to have

[1:11:26] no clue that memphis is a majority

[1:11:27] black city.

[1:11:28] but honestly, everyone in this room

[1:11:30] knows that. This is a very important

[1:11:31] bill,

[1:11:32] it says prior to final passage of

[1:11:33] any congressional redistricting plan,

[1:11:34] and acted

[1:11:36] between apportionments

[1:11:38] , the general assembly shall evaluate

[1:11:39] whether the proposed plan

[1:11:40] does proportionately fragments, pacs,

[1:11:42] or splits minority populations

[1:11:47] . We haven't even evaluated these maps.

[1:11:48] they

[1:11:51] are unconstitutional . They are

[1:11:52] clearly going to be unconstitutional

[1:11:56] , because the voting rights act still

[1:11:57] stands. The voting

[1:12:00] rights act still stands. We, in here,

[1:12:08] give the budget 24 hours to layover,

[1:12:09] but we cannot give

[1:12:10] these maps 24 hours to layover so

[1:12:12] that we can analyze them? I move

[1:12:13] for consideration.

[1:12:14] >> we are voting

[1:12:15] for consideration of amendment number

[1:12:16] 28. All those in

[1:12:18] favor of amendment 28 vote yes when

[1:12:19] the

[1:12:20] bell rings. Does any member wish to

[1:12:21] change their vote? Mr. Clerk?

[1:12:26] >> having failed to receive the necessary

[1:12:27] vote, the motion

[1:12:29] to consider amendment 28 fails.

[1:12:30] >> amendment

[1:12:33] 29 by were resented

[1:12:34] of salinas not timely filed.

[1:12:35] >> representative

[1:12:36] salinas?

[1:12:37] >> this amendment is about

[1:12:38] equal representation. I know not everybody

[1:12:39] reads the

[1:12:40] amendments, so I will take the time

[1:12:42] to read this

[1:12:44] . It is very simple. It says the general

[1:12:45] assembly recognizes

[1:12:48] that all tennessean voters,

[1:12:53] regardless of political affiliation,

[1:12:54] race, ethnicity, or

[1:12:55] geographic location, are entitled

[1:12:56] to meaningful and effective representation

[1:12:57] in congress.

[1:13:00] if you

[1:13:01] want to say that you are not prejudiced,

[1:13:03] if you want to say that you

[1:13:04] are not racist, that you care about

[1:13:06] equality, you will vote yes on this

[1:13:07] amendment,

[1:13:08] and I moved for consideration.

[1:13:09] >>

[1:13:10] you have heard the

[1:13:11] motion, we are voting for consideration

[1:13:12] of amendment 29. All those in favor

[1:13:13] of considering

[1:13:15] amendment 29 , but yes when the bell

[1:13:16] rings

[1:13:17] because any member wish to change

[1:13:18] their vote? Mr. Clerk, please take

[1:13:19] the

[1:13:21] vote.

[1:13:22] >>

[1:13:24] 20-72.

[1:13:25] >> having failed to receive

[1:13:26] the

[1:13:27] necessary vote of the motion to consider

[1:13:28] amendment 29 fails.

[1:13:31] >> amendment 30 not timely filed.

[1:13:32] >> representative johnson? >> thank

[1:13:33] you, mr. Speaker. The

[1:13:36] key thing of

[1:13:39] this amendment, is

[1:13:42] local governmental integrity

[1:13:45] --I'm sorry, wrong one.

[1:13:48] election administration.

[1:13:50] what we are getting ready to do is

[1:13:51] going to create chaos in

[1:13:55] every one of our election commissions

[1:13:57] and it will cost them a lot of

[1:13:59] money, to make all the changes they

[1:14:00] will have to make in the middle of

[1:14:01] an election. What this amendment does,

[1:14:03] it requires the implementation , minimizing

[1:14:06] disruption to voters , candidates,

[1:14:07] and

[1:14:09] election officials .

[1:14:11] election changes should not create chaos

[1:14:15] for voters , or for candidates

[1:14:18] . Move consideration.

[1:14:19] >> you have

[1:14:20] heard

[1:14:21] the motion, we are voting for consideration

[1:14:22] on

[1:14:23] amendment 30. All in favor of considering

[1:14:24] him 30, those opposed

[1:14:27] that no.

[1:14:29] has every member voted, does any member

[1:14:30] wish to change their vote? Mr. Clerk,

[1:14:33] please take note.

[1:14:36] in

[1:14:37] accordance with rule six be, having

[1:14:38] failed to receive the necessary vote,

[1:14:39] the motion to

[1:14:41] consider amendment 30 fails.

[1:14:42] >> emoni 31,

[1:14:47] not timely filed.

[1:14:48] >> you are recognized.

[1:14:49] >> thank you, mr.

[1:14:50] speaker. What is happening to memphis

[1:14:51] today has already happened to nashville.

[1:14:52] as somebody who

[1:14:53] represents nashville, we have decreased

[1:14:54] representation for our committee,

[1:14:55] we get

[1:14:59] calls from people trying to get passports,

[1:15:00] trying to get in touch with

[1:15:01] their relatives with the immigration

[1:15:02] process and because we have three

[1:15:03] members of congress

[1:15:05] none of them who live here and are

[1:15:06] sponsored to constituents, none of

[1:15:07] whom have

[1:15:09] offices here.

[1:15:12] this is about saying we must

[1:15:13] prohibit unnecessary fragmentation

[1:15:14] of minority populations and communities

[1:15:15] of interest, it's about community

[1:15:16] integrity. Communities

[1:15:17] with shared interests should not be

[1:15:18] unnecessarily fragmented. What you're

[1:15:19] doing is, you're going to create

[1:15:20] this method we are looking at, memphis

[1:15:21] and willington county will have the

[1:15:22] same

[1:15:23] congressman. Who do you think they

[1:15:24] will listen to in williamson county?

[1:15:25] who

[1:15:27] do you think will be responsive

[1:15:30] ? We will have

[1:15:32] a whole community that is paying taxes

[1:15:33] but has no reputation. I think some

[1:15:34] of

[1:15:35] your forefathers raised sub type of

[1:15:36] tea party revolution about that.

[1:15:42] we are here to

[1:15:43] say that communities of interest must

[1:15:45] be maintained, because they have specific

[1:15:46] things that must

[1:15:47] be considered in policy. I move consideration

[1:15:48] of this amendment.

[1:15:49] >> we are voting

[1:15:50] for consideration of amendment 31.

[1:15:51] all in favor

[1:15:56] vote yes when the bell rings. Those

[1:15:57] opposed that no. Has every member

[1:15:59] voted, does any member wish to change their

[1:16:00] vote? Mr. Clerk, please take the

[1:16:02] vote.

[1:16:03] >> 16-72. >> having failed to

[1:16:04] receive the necessary vote, the motion

[1:16:05] to

[1:16:06] consider amendment

[1:16:08] 31 fails.

[1:16:09] >> amendment 32 by resented

[1:16:10] of johnson not timely filed.

[1:16:11] >> you

[1:16:12] are recognized.

[1:16:13] >> thank you mr. Speaker.

[1:16:14] this amendment

[1:16:15] is about election preparedness

[1:16:20] . We are talking about that here,

[1:16:21] because what we are getting ready

[1:16:23] to do, as I just said with the other

[1:16:24] amendment, this is going to create

[1:16:26] chaos in our election commission,

[1:16:27] and confusion for voters and for candidates.

[1:16:30] this requires a certification

[1:16:33] that election officials have sufficient

[1:16:34] time

[1:16:36] and resources .

[1:16:39] this will cost our individual counties

[1:16:40] a lot

[1:16:42] of money. May be

[1:16:45] my county, knox, will be able

[1:16:47] to afford it but some of your counties

[1:16:48] will absolutely not. Election officials

[1:16:49] should have

[1:16:51] sufficient time and resources to implement major

[1:16:54] election changes.

[1:16:57] we are in a situation where folks

[1:16:58] out of

[1:17:00] the country

[1:17:03] , fighting for

[1:17:05] us, will probably not get to vote because

[1:17:06] they won't have time to get their

[1:17:08] ballots, and that is wrong. I move consideration.

[1:17:15] >> we are voting for consideration

[1:17:16] of emoni

[1:17:17] 32. All in favor consider amendment

[1:17:18] 32, but yes when the bell rings. Has

[1:17:19] every

[1:17:20] member voted, does any member wish

[1:17:21] to change their vote? Please take

[1:17:22] the vote.

[1:17:23] >>

[1:17:24] 21-73.

[1:17:25] >> having failed to receive

[1:17:26] the necessary vote, amendment

[1:17:28] 30 fails.

[1:17:29] >>

[1:17:33] emoni 33, resented of powell.

[1:17:34] >> thank

[1:17:35] you mr. Speaker. This

[1:17:36] amendment says that if the general

[1:17:37] assembly revises the

[1:17:40] composition of one or more

[1:17:48] congressional district for the 2026

[1:17:49] primary or general election in

[1:17:50] accordance with part two of this chapter,

[1:17:51] general assembly shall evaluate the

[1:17:52] impact that the

[1:17:53] proposed plan may have on voter confusion,

[1:17:54] election administration prior to final

[1:17:55] passage. Again,

[1:17:56] this is going to cause incorruptible confusion

[1:17:58] . Incredible confusion. Many of

[1:18:01] you, now, surely, you can

[1:18:04] vote for this because you have

[1:18:10] --

[1:18:11] your county is currently just one

[1:18:12] congressional district and now it

[1:18:13] is multiple congressional districts.

[1:18:14] surely you can join me in voting for

[1:18:15] this because there is confusion. There

[1:18:16] is

[1:18:17] confusion. We have a new congressperson

[1:18:19] for nashville if this passes.

[1:18:22] this is going to cause

[1:18:25] unbelievable confusion

[1:18:26] . People often rely on their voter

[1:18:28] cards and that is

[1:18:30] totally out the window. I move for

[1:18:31] consideration of this

[1:18:34] amendment.

[1:18:35] >>

[1:18:41] you have heard the motion, we are

[1:18:42] voting for consideration of amendment

[1:18:43] 33. All those

[1:18:44] in favor of considering amendment

[1:18:45] 33, vote yes when the bell rings.

[1:18:46] has every member

[1:18:47] voted? Does any member wish to change

[1:18:49] their vote? Please take the vote.

[1:18:54] >> 1873. >> having failed to receive

[1:18:55] the necessary

[1:18:56] vote, the motion to consider emoni

[1:18:57] 33 fails.

[1:18:58] >> amendment 34, representative

[1:18:59] powell. Not timely

[1:19:00] filed.

[1:19:01] >> this is a very important

[1:19:02] amendment. If there

[1:19:03] is any prayer . There is no prayer

[1:19:07] for this

[1:19:11] withstanding judicial scrutiny, but

[1:19:12] this is about an important amendment

[1:19:13] because it

[1:19:14] says the authority to alter congressional district,

[1:19:20] constitutional restraint and only

[1:19:21] when clearly necessary to comply with

[1:19:22] federal law. We are here

[1:19:25] --there has been no finding.

[1:19:28] there is no federal

[1:19:29] authority that has told us to come

[1:19:31] back here. No court did that.

[1:19:34] our districts

[1:19:37] have been upheld

[1:19:40] , as they

[1:19:41] currently stand, our districts are

[1:19:43] good. Our districts are good.

[1:19:45] what we are getting ready to do today

[1:19:46] ,

[1:19:49] is blatantly

[1:19:50] unconstitutional, and a violation

[1:19:52] of federal law.

[1:19:55] everyone should be for this .

[1:19:58] I move for consideration .

[1:19:59] >>

[1:20:01] we are voting for consideration of

[1:20:02] emoni

[1:20:03] 34. All those in favor vote yes when

[1:20:04] the bell rings. Has

[1:20:06] every member voted, does any member

[1:20:07] wish to change

[1:20:09] their vote? Please take the vote.

[1:20:10] >>

[1:20:13] in accordance with

[1:20:16] 6b, the

[1:20:17] motion to consider emoni 34 fails.

[1:20:19] >> amendment 35,

[1:20:21] not timely filed.

[1:20:22] >> you are recognized. >>

[1:20:23] this all started when somebody went

[1:20:25] on twitter or social media, and

[1:20:28] put up a map that was all red

[1:20:31] . All red and everybody bend the knee

[1:20:34] . The speaker bent

[1:20:35] the knee, the lieutenant governor bethany

[1:20:37] . The governor bend the knee

[1:20:40] , because this

[1:20:43] is all

[1:20:46] about making sure

[1:20:48] that we no longer have a congress

[1:20:51] that reflects the values of tennesseans.

[1:20:55] yes, I am a democrat. We have

[1:20:58] well over

[1:21:01] 40% of our state, who

[1:21:04] are democrats.

[1:21:10] well over. Multiple democrats. Yet, you

[1:21:12] will take estate and make it all red,

[1:21:13] because of some

[1:21:14] tweet and pressure you have gotten

[1:21:16] from the white house? Come on.

[1:21:19] this prevents that.

[1:21:22] that keeps real

[1:21:25] congress people,

[1:21:28] I

[1:21:29] move consideration.

[1:21:30] >> all in favor,

[1:21:31] considering emoni 35, vote yes when

[1:21:32] the bell rings. Does

[1:21:33] any member wish to change their vote?

[1:21:34] mr. Clerk, please

[1:21:37] take the vote.

[1:21:38] >>

[1:21:40] 18-73.

[1:21:41] >> having failed to receive the necessary

[1:21:43] two thirds vote, the motion to consider

[1:21:44] emoni

[1:21:46] 35 fails.

[1:21:47] >> emoni 36, resented salinas

[1:21:49] , not timely filed.

[1:21:50] >> this

[1:21:51] amendment has to do with election

[1:21:52] stability. I will call this amendment

[1:21:55] the representative johnny garrett

[1:21:56] amendment.

[1:21:58] what it does is,

[1:22:04] it makes it such that maps have to

[1:22:05] be in

[1:22:06] place 180 days before a candidate

[1:22:07] qualifying deadline. So, this brings

[1:22:09] stability. Stability to our elections

[1:22:13] , for all the candidates

[1:22:15] that have worked hard to get on the ballot,

[1:22:19] with that, I hope

[1:22:20] that you will honor your colleague

[1:22:22] and vote for my amendment. I move

[1:22:25] for consideration.

[1:22:26] >> we are voting

[1:22:27] for consideration of emoni 36. All

[1:22:28] in favor of considering emoni 36 vote

[1:22:29] yes when

[1:22:31] the bell rings.

[1:22:33] has every member voted, does any member

[1:22:34] wish to change their vote? Take

[1:22:37] the vote.

[1:22:38] >>

[1:22:40] 20-72.

[1:22:41] >> having failed

[1:22:42] to receive the necessary two thirds

[1:22:43] vote of the motion to consider emoni

[1:22:44] 36

[1:22:46] fails.

[1:22:47] >>

[1:22:51] amount of 37, resented pearson not

[1:22:52] timely filed.

[1:22:53] >> the voting rights

[1:22:54] act was

[1:22:55] the most significant piece of legislation

[1:22:56] to make american democracy reach towards

[1:22:57] its ideals.

[1:22:58] the gutting in calais and

[1:23:01] the actions across the south to take away

[1:23:02] reputation from

[1:23:03] black majority communities is wrong

[1:23:04] and is a moral. In the state

[1:23:07] of tennessee,

[1:23:13] which had the

[1:23:14] lowest voter engagement and dissipation

[1:23:16] of any state in the united states

[1:23:17] of america, here,

[1:23:18] we need a voting rights act and we

[1:23:19] need to protect individuals right

[1:23:20] to vote,

[1:23:21] not as a privilege, but truly is a

[1:23:22] fundamental right of this american,

[1:23:23] constitutional

[1:23:24] democratic republican experiment.

[1:23:25] what is happening now is wrong. It

[1:23:26] is unjust, it is unfair.

[1:23:27] it takes away our community's ability

[1:23:28] to elect representatives of

[1:23:31] their choosing

[1:23:33] , and instead has made this statehouse

[1:23:34] the arbiter of democracy. We need

[1:23:35] a voting

[1:23:37] rights act

[1:23:43] in the state of tennessee, and that

[1:23:44] is what this

[1:23:45] legislation aims to do. We need to

[1:23:46] protect people's rights to vote. We

[1:23:47] need to

[1:23:48] protect our communities right to engage

[1:23:49] in this process. With that I move

[1:23:50] for

[1:23:52] consideration.

[1:23:53] >>

[1:23:54] all those in favor considering emoni

[1:23:55] 37 vote yes when the bell rings.

[1:23:57] does any member wish to change their

[1:23:58] vote? Please take

[1:24:01] the vote.

[1:24:04] >> in accordance with

[1:24:06] rule six be having failed to receive

[1:24:07] the necessary vote the motion fails.

[1:24:08] next amendment

[1:24:09] mr. Clerk took

[1:24:10] >> no further amendments.

[1:24:13] >>

[1:24:18] leader lamberth, your ms.

[1:24:19] >> leader

[1:24:20] camper your recognized.

[1:24:25] >> thank you mr. Speaker.

[1:24:28] mr. Speaker, I would yield four minutes

[1:24:31] to resented

[1:24:33] of freeman.

[1:24:34] >> represented a freeman,

[1:24:35] your recognized.

[1:24:36] >> thank you,

[1:24:37] mr. Speaker.

[1:24:40] members, I just want to talk through

[1:24:41] a

[1:24:42] bit about what this bill is doing.

[1:24:49] I know it has been fast,

[1:24:51] a lot of changes, there was an amendment

[1:24:52] put on late. I just want to

[1:24:53] make sure everybody understands what

[1:24:55] we are doing. We are shortening the time

[1:24:58] that is required for a

[1:25:00] candidate to qualify for office just

[1:25:02] for this one election.

[1:25:03] if it made sense, let's change it

[1:25:05] forever. But it doesn't.

[1:25:07] we are just doing it for this one

[1:25:08] instance, because we

[1:25:09] are coming back, hurriedly changing maps,

[1:25:11] so

[1:25:14] that the supermajority can

[1:25:16] pick up a seat. The only saving grace

[1:25:17] for me,

[1:25:20] is that idiot down

[1:25:21] south no longer represents me in congress.

[1:25:23] that the only upside

[1:25:26] for me. Outside of that,

[1:25:29] we are now taking away the

[1:25:30] only majority minority district in

[1:25:31] the state of tennessee. And the reason

[1:25:34] that is significant, is because we

[1:25:37] don't listen to minorities in this

[1:25:38] state. Right?

[1:25:47] we are not listening

[1:25:48] to what they want and need. We are

[1:25:50] telling them what we are going to

[1:25:51] do, and that is not right. We have

[1:25:52] an opportunity right now to vote against

[1:25:54] about map. To vote against this, to

[1:25:56] keep this map the way

[1:25:59] it is, and to make sure the only

[1:26:02] majority

[1:26:03] minority district in the state of

[1:26:05] tennessee has

[1:26:06] representation, someone listening

[1:26:08] to them, that they have someone

[1:26:11] that is doing what they want. When

[1:26:12] we voted on the maps a couple of years

[1:26:14] ago, I said, when you split

[1:26:15] up nashville, you are going to have

[1:26:17] three members that don't live in nashville,

[1:26:18] they will use nashville as a punching

[1:26:20] bag. And that is what

[1:26:23] has happened.

[1:26:26] they use us as a punching bag.

[1:26:28] we are a means to an end for political gains

[1:26:31] , and we are going to do it with the

[1:26:32] majority

[1:26:33] minority district. We are better than

[1:26:35] this. We can do better.

[1:26:38] I am amazed that we are here

[1:26:40] a couple of weeks after we left, to

[1:26:41] do this.

[1:26:44] thank you.

[1:26:45] >>

[1:26:47] leader camper?

[1:26:48] >> thank you,

[1:26:50] mr. Speaker. High yield

[1:26:53] four minutes to representative mckenzie.

[1:26:54] >> your recognized for four minutes.

[1:26:56] >> thank you,

[1:26:59] mr. Speaker.

[1:27:02] for those of us in a certain age,

[1:27:10] there was a tv show called happy days.

[1:27:11] happy days was

[1:27:13] a show based in the 50s, and it was

[1:27:14] all about jukeboxes and racecars.

[1:27:15] there

[1:27:17] was a

[1:27:18] character called fonzie. Fonzie was

[1:27:20] the cool guy. This was

[1:27:22] a really popular show, starring ron

[1:27:23] howard

[1:27:26] and all those folks .

[1:27:32] but what happened? The show kept going

[1:27:34] on and it ran out of things to talk

[1:27:35] about. They ran out of

[1:27:36] subject matter, so they ended up going

[1:27:38] a little too long, and

[1:27:41] ended up

[1:27:44] with fonzie

[1:27:47] in swim trunks and a

[1:27:50] leather jacket on water skis jumping

[1:27:53] over a shark.

[1:27:55] and that became a thing. That became

[1:27:56] a term.

[1:27:59] don't jump the shark. Don't

[1:28:02] stay around too long ,

[1:28:09] don't keep going with episodes because

[1:28:11] it is paying you money to the point

[1:28:12] that you're doing something so ridiculous

[1:28:14] as having a man jump a shark.

[1:28:20] that term

[1:28:21] is used in hollywood and all kinds

[1:28:23] of places even today. People use that

[1:28:24] term don't have a clue why they are

[1:28:26] using that term. That is what we

[1:28:27] are doing here today. We are jumping

[1:28:29] a shark you have heard all

[1:28:31] of this. We have jumped through all

[1:28:32] manner of hoops

[1:28:35] ,

[1:28:38] we have

[1:28:39] done away with laws older than I am,

[1:28:41] older than half the membership

[1:28:44] in here

[1:28:46] for nefarious and racial reasons.

[1:28:47] that

[1:28:50] is what we are doing.

[1:28:56] we have come here today,

[1:28:57] we have spent $2 million of our people's

[1:28:59] money to come here and do something,

[1:29:00] to do someone else's bidding. That,

[1:29:02] to me, is a shame.

[1:29:05] so let's fast forward to today.

[1:29:08] what we

[1:29:11] are looking at is , the speaker

[1:29:14] , lieutenant

[1:29:17] governor, governor , trying to

[1:29:20] tell us

[1:29:23] that they happen to

[1:29:26] get this thing right, and there

[1:29:28] mind right for them, by splitting

[1:29:29] memphis up, in

[1:29:32] a perfectly

[1:29:35] racial african americans equal way.

[1:29:38] they didn't hold their race didn't go.

[1:29:50] the african-american

[1:29:53] population in memphis

[1:29:54] is concentrated but it's spread out

[1:29:56] across there. They got it within one

[1:29:57] percentage point.

[1:29:58] ladies and gentlemen, statistically,

[1:29:59] the chances of doing that is

[1:30:02] you hitting the powerball twice.

[1:30:05] you have

[1:30:06] a better chance of doing that, then

[1:30:08] hitting these numbers. So, that is

[1:30:11] a lie. That just didn't happen.

[1:30:12] they took race into consideration.

[1:30:14] period . Another

[1:30:17] historical point,

[1:30:20] there was a governor of massachusetts,

[1:30:26] governor jerry who created a district

[1:30:27] that looks

[1:30:28] like a salamander. That is where the

[1:30:29] term comes from.

[1:30:32] what does leadership is not telling

[1:30:33] you, we

[1:30:34] have gerrymandered memphis for political reasons.

[1:30:38] that is not

[1:30:40] how the ninth district came to be.

[1:30:41] the ninth district came to

[1:30:44] be because it is continuous.

[1:30:47] it's the only one that's just concentrated

[1:30:49] within basically a county. So, you

[1:30:50] can't tell yourself that this

[1:30:52] didn't happen for racial reasons.

[1:30:56] it is an assault on african-americans.

[1:30:59] >> leader campbell, you are recognized.

[1:31:02] >> thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield

[1:31:05] three minutes to representative,

[1:31:08] .

[1:31:09] >> chairman clemens, you

[1:31:11] are recognized.

[1:31:12] >>

[1:31:13] I have a couple of questions. This

[1:31:14] bill considers

[1:31:15] notice issues and noticed deadlines.

[1:31:17] on the notice deadlines referred to

[1:31:20] in this bill,

[1:31:23] does that refer to changing deadlines

[1:31:24] in all

[1:31:25] 95 counties and every congressional

[1:31:26] district?

[1:31:27] >> leader lambert

[1:31:30] .

[1:31:31] >> that is my understanding. There

[1:31:32] is also a grandfather clause, for

[1:31:33] those that have

[1:31:34] already qualified to run for congress

[1:31:35] , they do not have

[1:31:37] to do anything, if they are remaining

[1:31:38] within the district they qualified in.

[1:31:41] if they are for some reason in

[1:31:43] a different district or want to run

[1:31:44] in a different district they would

[1:31:45] have to

[1:31:46] notify the secretary of state.

[1:31:47] >>

[1:31:48] chairman clemens.

[1:31:49] >> my concern here

[1:31:50] is the

[1:31:56] confusion of voters.

[1:31:57] I think people in all 95 counties

[1:31:59] don't know what we are doing here

[1:32:00] but they

[1:32:01] know we are redrawing district lines.

[1:32:02] to the extent that everyone is going

[1:32:03] to

[1:32:04] be scratching their heads, wondering

[1:32:05] what happened up here today, and whether

[1:32:06] or not there

[1:32:07] congressional district changed or

[1:32:08] if it didn't, I think we do need to

[1:32:09] make sure

[1:32:10] that all voters in all 95 counties

[1:32:11] received some sort of notice with

[1:32:12] the respective

[1:32:13] timeline and to ensure whether or

[1:32:14] not they remain in the same

[1:32:15] congressional district. The reimbursement

[1:32:17] after the submission of cost,

[1:32:19] to the county election commissions,

[1:32:26] if they submit cost to this body that

[1:32:27] has not

[1:32:28] been accounted for, to the state of

[1:32:29] tennessee, coordinator of elections,

[1:32:30] the secretary of

[1:32:31] state's office, what is there reimbursement

[1:32:32] procedure if the state does not satisfy

[1:32:33] the

[1:32:35] request?

[1:32:36] >>

[1:32:38] thank you. That qualifying deadline

[1:32:39] would end at noon

[1:32:41] on may 15th. Either new

[1:32:42] candidates that wish to qualify for

[1:32:44] candidates that wish to requalify.

[1:32:50] so, may 15th at noon, and

[1:32:52] I would encourage candidates to get

[1:32:53] the paperwork in. The parties have

[1:32:54] two days after

[1:32:55] that to determine whether or not to

[1:32:56] remove someone. The reimbursement

[1:32:57] rate is to

[1:32:59] be submitted to

[1:33:01] the secretary of state and comptroller,

[1:33:02] to evaluate those to ensure that obviously,

[1:33:03] it

[1:33:04] is reimbursable under this section.

[1:33:05] I hope that answers your question.

[1:33:06] I know we

[1:33:08] have limited time.

[1:33:11] >>

[1:33:16] thank you mr. Speaker. My question

[1:33:17] was, what is the recourse if

[1:33:18] they don't get the adequate reimbursement,

[1:33:20] because I want to make sure that we

[1:33:21] are

[1:33:22] protecting the physical integrity

[1:33:23] of these governmental budgets. Here's

[1:33:24] the other thing.

[1:33:27] this bill,

[1:33:32] there is a provision in here that

[1:33:34] says a candidate who qualified in

[1:33:35] the district a who will now live in

[1:33:36] district

[1:33:37] b is treated differently than a candidate

[1:33:38] who qualifies industry day and still

[1:33:39] lives in

[1:33:40] district a. There seems to be a disparate

[1:33:41] treatment between candidates who qualified

[1:33:42] for the

[1:33:44] same office , which is really concerning.

[1:33:45] you also

[1:33:48] have an issue where

[1:33:52] there is a provision there, and allowance

[1:33:53] an exception for those candidates

[1:33:54] who will

[1:33:57] still qualify

[1:33:59] , even though there district got completely

[1:34:00] changed they just happen

[1:34:03] to reside in the same district.

[1:34:09] voters who no

[1:34:10] longer live in that district which

[1:34:11] defeats the very purpose and intent

[1:34:12] of a candidate

[1:34:13] qualifying position. Doesn't seem

[1:34:14] to be legal issues I'm concerned with.

[1:34:15] >> leader lambert.

[1:34:16] I'm sorry, leader camper.

[1:34:17] >> thank

[1:34:18] you, mr. Speaker. I would like to

[1:34:19] hear

[1:34:21] this answered, so I will yield

[1:34:26] 30 seconds.

[1:34:27] >> you have 50. Do you

[1:34:28] want all 50?

[1:34:30] >> 30 seconds.

[1:34:32] >> leader lambert, your recognized.

[1:34:33] >> thank

[1:34:34] you. Is hard for me to say anything

[1:34:36] in 30 seconds but I

[1:34:39] will try.

[1:34:40] this was repealed on december 31st

[1:34:41] on the reimbursement makes it clear

[1:34:42] that secretary of

[1:34:43] state shall review those expenses,

[1:34:44] the comptroller's office is a part

[1:34:45] of those

[1:34:48] processes as well. I don't think

[1:34:49] there is any disparate treatment here

[1:34:50] and I will say to any candidates that

[1:34:51] have

[1:34:52] already qualified, I recommend that

[1:34:54] you requalify.

[1:34:59] because if for some reason, some court

[1:35:00] interprets this differently than it

[1:35:01] is written, I hope they interpret

[1:35:02] it exactly as written, there is a

[1:35:03] grandfather

[1:35:04] clause but I encourage them to requalify.

[1:35:06] >> leader camper. >> I

[1:35:07] reclaim the balance of my time.

[1:35:08] >>

[1:35:09] very good. Leader lamberth? You

[1:35:12] have 10.

[1:35:13] >> I renew

[1:35:15] my motion.

[1:35:16] >> we are voting.

[1:35:18] all those in favor of house bill

[1:35:21] 7001, as amended,

[1:35:24] for just as the bell rings. It is

[1:35:25] any member wish to change their vote?

[1:35:30] mr. Clerk? Please take the vote.

[1:35:33] >> 68-25. >>

[1:35:34] house bill 7100 received a majority

[1:35:35] I declare past without objection.

[1:35:39] mr. Clerk?

[1:35:40] >>

[1:35:42] house bill five by chairman

[1:35:45] williams appropriations.

[1:35:46] >>

[1:35:48] your recognized.

[1:35:49] >>

[1:35:50] on the passage of house bill 7005

[1:35:51] on third and final consideration.

[1:35:52] >>

[1:35:55] first amendment.

[1:35:56] >> hounds finance

[1:35:57] ways and means committee.

[1:35:58] >> you are

[1:35:59] recognized.

[1:36:00] >> thank you mr. Speaker. This amendment

[1:36:01] rewrite the bill, I moved to adopt.

[1:36:03] defer to sponsor for

[1:36:06] further expedition.

[1:36:07] >>

[1:36:08] any discussion of the amendments,

[1:36:09] seeing them. All those in favor

[1:36:12] say yes. Next him and

[1:36:15] mr. Clerk.

[1:36:16] >> mr. Williams

[1:36:17] your recognized.

[1:36:18] >> thank you mr.

[1:36:19] speaker. This bill funds

[1:36:20] 100% of the local expenditures associated

[1:36:21] with

[1:36:24] limitation of house bill 7003

[1:36:26] and appropriates a sum sufficient

[1:36:27] for paying

[1:36:30] the expenses

[1:36:31] of this special session. With that,

[1:36:32] I renew my motion.

[1:36:33] >> any discussion

[1:36:34] on

[1:36:35] the bill. Representative mcallen,

[1:36:36] you are recognized.

[1:36:39] >> thank you mr. Speaker. Move

[1:36:40] previous question.

[1:36:41] >> is there objection?

[1:36:47] objection on the board for all those

[1:36:48] in favor vote yes when the

[1:36:49] bell rings. As opposed. Is any member

[1:36:51] wish to change their vote?

[1:36:54] mr. Clerk, take the vote.

[1:36:57] >>

[1:37:00] previous question prevails.

[1:37:03] those in favor of house

[1:37:04] bill 7005 just when the bell rings.

[1:37:06] has every member voted, does any member

[1:37:07] wish

[1:37:09] to change their vote?

[1:37:12] mr. Clerk, please take the vote.

[1:37:15] >>

[1:37:17] house bill 7005, having received constitutional majority

[1:37:20] I declare past without objection.

[1:37:24] mr.

[1:37:27] clerk.

[1:37:28] >>

[1:37:32] has built three by speaker zachary.

[1:37:33] >> passage

[1:37:36] of house will 7003

[1:37:38] on final consideration.

[1:37:39] >> mr. Clerk,

[1:37:41] call the first amendment.

[1:37:42] >> amendment

[1:37:43] number

[1:37:45] one.

[1:37:46] >>

[1:37:47] your matt picht

[1:37:48] >> thank you I moved

[1:37:49] to adopt.

[1:37:50] >>

[1:37:51] any discussion amendments seeing them.

[1:37:52] say yes. All

[1:37:54] those opposed. Next amendment mr.

[1:37:57] clerk.

[1:37:58] >> has amendment to,

[1:38:00] not timely filed.

[1:38:01] >> johnson.

[1:38:11] >> thank you, mr. Speaker. What this

[1:38:12] amendment does,

[1:38:15] when we are

[1:38:16] establishing congressional districts

[1:38:18] pursuant to subsection

[1:38:21] crime statistics arrest data and

[1:38:22] generalized public safety assertions

[1:38:26] , must not be utilized as a basis

[1:38:27] for fragmenting

[1:38:30] diminishing or diluting the representation

[1:38:33] influence. I

[1:38:35] believe we had someone in committee

[1:38:39] use that as a reason

[1:38:42] for these maps.

[1:38:47] that was representative loel russell.

[1:38:48] I think that is important, but,

[1:38:51] crime statistics and arrest data

[1:38:54] should not be used . I move consideration.

[1:39:00] >>

[1:39:03] all those

[1:39:04] in favor of considering amendment

[1:39:06] number two vote yes when the bell

[1:39:07] rings.

[1:39:09] has any member voted or was to change

[1:39:12] the vote? Mr. Clerk, please take the vote.

[1:39:21] >>

[1:39:23] mr. Speaker, and a further amendment.

[1:39:30] >> thank

[1:39:33] you mr. Chairman

[1:39:35] . Mr. Speaker, I yield five minutes

[1:39:36] to

[1:39:39] chairman clements.

[1:39:41] >> chairman clements, you are recognized

[1:39:42] for five minutes.

[1:39:43] >> thank you

[1:39:45] mr. Speaker.

[1:39:51] I realize the person in the well

[1:39:52] didn't run this bill yesterday. Here's

[1:39:54] my question. Yesterday, speaker sexton

[1:39:55] was

[1:39:56] asked about who drafted this bill

[1:39:57] , he pointed to

[1:40:00] the senate, senator stevens,

[1:40:03] senator johnson,

[1:40:05] yesterday senator stevens was asked

[1:40:06] the question, what numbers

[1:40:08] were relied upon to draw these maps,

[1:40:09] and his

[1:40:11] answer was conclusive that it was

[1:40:12] census data.

[1:40:15] section 1, here, refers to

[1:40:18] all census descriptions and

[1:40:21] so forth. Is that

[1:40:23] correct, that the census data was the

[1:40:24] sole basis for drawing these

[1:40:27] lines for 2020?

[1:40:30] >> speaker zachary? >> thank you,

[1:40:31] yes,

[1:40:32] that is my understanding, the census

[1:40:33] was used to draft the map you have

[1:40:35] in front of you. Based on the population.

[1:40:36] >>

[1:40:39] that's pretty interesting, because

[1:40:41] census data does not include any partisan scores

[1:40:44] or partisan data. Your entire argument

[1:40:45] this week has been

[1:40:48] that

[1:40:49] this is about politics and partisanship.

[1:40:51] so if you solely relied on census

[1:40:52] data, I

[1:40:54] am confused about how you knew

[1:40:57] partisan

[1:40:59] scores when drawing this map if that

[1:41:00] is not considered?

[1:41:03] >> speaker zachary.

[1:41:05] >> thank you. Did you have a question?

[1:41:09] >> if that is your answer, that is

[1:41:10] fine by me but

[1:41:13] that is all I need.

[1:41:16] I yield the balance of my time.

[1:41:21] >> leader camper, you are recognized.

[1:41:22] >> thank

[1:41:25] you mr. Speaker. I yield

[1:41:26] four minutes to represented of shaw.

[1:41:31] >> representative shaw, you are

[1:41:32] recognized.

[1:41:33] >> thank you, mr. Speaker.

[1:41:35] I didn't rise today to be emotional.

[1:41:40] I am

[1:41:43] here to say that this is my second

[1:41:46] go around .

[1:41:49] I am standing here today ,

[1:41:52] because my dad went out

[1:41:54] to register to vote , but he never

[1:41:55] got a chance

[1:41:58] to vote.

[1:42:00] but I am standing here today because he

[1:42:02] didn't get a chance. I feel it is

[1:42:04] my responsibility

[1:42:06] to take up the mantle and run with

[1:42:07] it.

[1:42:10] I did get a chance to vote.

[1:42:13] but all of my life,

[1:42:20] voting has been a problem with the

[1:42:22] other side.

[1:42:25] from

[1:42:28] childhood to this moment

[1:42:31] ,

[1:42:32] and this probably is the last time

[1:42:34] I will get a chance to stand

[1:42:36] in this well and talk. Here is what

[1:42:37] I will tell

[1:42:40] you all .

[1:42:46] you are not stopping anything.

[1:42:49] it has been tried

[1:42:52] over.

[1:42:53] in fact, my dad, when he registered

[1:42:55] to vote,

[1:42:58] he had to move to a

[1:42:59] government tent city, because they

[1:43:01] put him out of a place

[1:43:04] to live .

[1:43:07] I remember one friday evening,

[1:43:08] he came home and announced to us,

[1:43:10] we've

[1:43:13] got to move. And reset why?

[1:43:18] he said, because I registered to vote.

[1:43:19] we

[1:43:20] have to move. Where will we move?

[1:43:22] we have no place but we have to

[1:43:23] go to the tent city. This was friday.

[1:43:25] but because we knew

[1:43:27] someone higher than the government

[1:43:34] , we called a family prayer,

[1:43:37] and from friday evening,

[1:43:39] late to early monday morning, we had

[1:43:40] a place

[1:43:43] to stay.

[1:43:52] so what I am telling you folks

[1:43:53] today is, it doesn't matter what you

[1:43:55] pass, how you draw maps, it doesn't

[1:43:56] matter

[1:43:57] how you --you can draw them anyway

[1:43:58] you want to, you cannot stop

[1:44:01] god's people. Trust me.

[1:44:04] if you don't ever hear me say

[1:44:06] anything else, even if you get to

[1:44:07] attend my funeral,

[1:44:10] you remember this one thing.

[1:44:13] you are not doing

[1:44:16] anything but hurting yourself

[1:44:21] . And listen at the midnight hour.

[1:44:22] we normally like to blame

[1:44:25] everything on everybody else. Somebody

[1:44:28] else made me angry, no, you have

[1:44:30] to live with yourself. And at midnight,

[1:44:34] when nobody else

[1:44:35] is in your room but you, yourself, you

[1:44:37] have got to live with you. If

[1:44:40] you can go to sleep , close your

[1:44:42] eyes and rest at night after doing

[1:44:43] what you're doing ,

[1:44:46] you do it.

[1:44:48] but I can tell you this one thing,

[1:44:49] there is

[1:44:52] a man that is higher than all of us

[1:44:57] , and he is looking down on us right

[1:44:58] now, and you can just

[1:45:01] remember this. Missile black

[1:45:04] I told you before he left here,

[1:45:06] you ain't heard nobody but yourself

[1:45:07] .

[1:45:10] god bless you

[1:45:13] and we will all be okay.

[1:45:16] >> leader camper

[1:45:19] ?

[1:45:25] >> thank you, mr.

[1:45:27] speaker. I yield four minutes to representative

[1:45:28] miller.

[1:45:29] >> representative miller. >>

[1:45:31] speaker sexton and leader lamberth

[1:45:34] , and to the

[1:45:37] chairman's of the standing committee.

[1:45:38] that question has

[1:45:40] been asked, why are we here?

[1:45:42] you know, I am thinking about why

[1:45:43] we are here

[1:45:46] , and I said, okay.

[1:45:52] the governor gets a call or

[1:45:55] email,

[1:45:58] would be governor

[1:46:00] blackburn, and the president says

[1:46:01] to

[1:46:04] the governor,

[1:46:07] I need a few thousand votes

[1:46:10] . We have heard

[1:46:12] this before. Right? I need a few thousand votes.

[1:46:13] because

[1:46:16] I want to flip

[1:46:21] the democratic seat, the ninth congressional

[1:46:22] seat is

[1:46:25] shelby county. I want to make it bleed.

[1:46:28] I want to flip

[1:46:31] it to a republican.

[1:46:37] that came from a convicted felon

[1:46:40] .

[1:46:46] it came

[1:46:48] from, probably, one of the worst presidents

[1:46:49] in the history of the united states,

[1:46:50] a

[1:46:52] corrupt president, amazing.

[1:46:55] it is

[1:46:57] almost demonic. It is almost devious.

[1:47:04] and it is definitely devilish.

[1:47:07] so what happens at this point

[1:47:10] ? We say we

[1:47:13] want to continue this golden age

[1:47:16] of president donald trump.

[1:47:19] these are the words that come from

[1:47:22] our senior senator .

[1:47:28] it is almost insane.

[1:47:31] as my colleague

[1:47:34] has said ,

[1:47:39] people will remember, your constituency

[1:47:40] will remember

[1:47:43] the worst things you will do

[1:47:46] .

[1:47:49] not often the good things, but they

[1:47:50] will remember the

[1:47:52] worst things that you do.

[1:47:55] dependent on this vote that you take today

[1:47:58] , you have to live with this.

[1:48:01] you have to live with this vote

[1:48:04] . Sometimes being here

[1:48:07] long enough,

[1:48:10] I can make predictions. And I have

[1:48:12] a prediction as to what will happen

[1:48:13] on this vote.

[1:48:16] but I have another prediction .

[1:48:19] you have to live with it.

[1:48:25] regardless of what you do from this

[1:48:28] point on , whatever bills you may introduce

[1:48:34] , this one, this vote ,

[1:48:37] your constituency, my constituents

[1:48:39] will remember. I don't think that

[1:48:40] you have got

[1:48:45] a ton of emails, phone calls from

[1:48:46] your constituents, saying

[1:48:50] do this .

[1:48:55] do this, follow the president of the

[1:48:56] united states.

[1:48:59] follow

[1:49:02] stephen miller.

[1:49:04] when you look at their ratings, the

[1:49:05] approval ratings

[1:49:06] of the president of the united states,

[1:49:08] it is the lowest

[1:49:11] of probably any president of the

[1:49:12] united states, and you want to follow that?

[1:49:17] you want to follow that, you

[1:49:18] want your name, your signature on

[1:49:20] this legislation?

[1:49:23] you better think about it.

[1:49:26] thank you.

[1:49:29] >>

[1:49:32] leader camper?

[1:49:34] >> thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker,

[1:49:38] I yield four minutes to

[1:49:41] chairman chiswick .

[1:49:44] >> you are recognized. >> thank

[1:49:46] you mr. Speaker. To my colleague in

[1:49:47] the well,

[1:49:50] I have a few questions if you

[1:49:52] will indulge me. State government,

[1:49:56] we have

[1:49:57] a map in place, now, that was defended

[1:49:59] in court

[1:50:02] saying he did not dilute

[1:50:05] minority voters. Why

[1:50:08] would this plan replace one

[1:50:09] that was already backed by this body?

[1:50:11] >> repeat

[1:50:14] that last part again?

[1:50:15] >>

[1:50:19] I was stating that we have a map that

[1:50:20] was defended in

[1:50:22] court, now. Why would this plan right

[1:50:23] here replace

[1:50:24] the one that is already in place?

[1:50:25] >>

[1:50:26] speaker zachary?

[1:50:27] >>

[1:50:30] members, it is important to know that

[1:50:32] the map you have in front

[1:50:34] of your was drafted based on the population

[1:50:35] related

[1:50:38] to the last census , but it

[1:50:39] was absolutely drafted on politics,

[1:50:41] based on court rulings

[1:50:44] , this gives us a

[1:50:46] unique opportunity for the first time

[1:50:47] in history, to

[1:50:50] have an

[1:50:54] all republican delegation sent from

[1:50:55] tennessee to washington, d.c. To represent

[1:50:56] conservative values,

[1:50:57] to represent conservative principles,

[1:50:59] and this gives us

[1:51:02] a

[1:51:03] historic opportunity and we are taking advantage

[1:51:05] of that as the super majority in this

[1:51:06] body. That is why we are doing it.

[1:51:07] >> representative chisholm. >> yes.

[1:51:08] I am

[1:51:11] trying to be

[1:51:14] concise. How does this map apply

[1:51:15] with the 14th amendment's equal protection

[1:51:17] clause?

[1:51:18] >> speaker zachary?

[1:51:20] >> thank you

[1:51:23] mr. Speaker.

[1:51:24] we drafted this in consultation with

[1:51:25] legal, and we are confident that this

[1:51:26] meets the

[1:51:27] criteria that we are required to by

[1:51:28] law and the constitution draft maps.

[1:51:29] >> many

[1:51:32] of us are still confused. Whose legal consultation

[1:51:35] drew the map?

[1:51:36] >>

[1:51:38] representative

[1:51:39] zachary?

[1:51:40] >> the senate was the primary

[1:51:41] drafter of the map

[1:51:43] with the input and collaboration with

[1:51:44] the house.

[1:51:47] >> repetitive chisholm. >> thank you.

[1:51:53] mapmakers are skilled in using proxies

[1:51:54] such

[1:51:56] as urban areas and

[1:52:00] people who live predominantly near

[1:52:02] black churches or schools, so,

[1:52:08] were proxies used to identify

[1:52:11] racial demographics?

[1:52:14] >> speaker zachary? >>

[1:52:18] thank you mr. Speaker. As I stated

[1:52:20] earlier, the criteria used to draft

[1:52:21] this

[1:52:22] map was politics and population based

[1:52:23] on census

[1:52:25] data.

[1:52:26] >> representative chisholm. >>

[1:52:29] I'm curious, was the word

[1:52:35] urban used in drawing this map?

[1:52:36] >>

[1:52:37] speaker zachary.

[1:52:38] >> thank you. Again, this map

[1:52:39] was drafted based on

[1:52:41] politics, based on population

[1:52:42] and the opportunity for the first

[1:52:44] time in history

[1:52:47] for us to

[1:52:48] send an entire republican delegation

[1:52:49] from tennessee to represent the state

[1:52:50] in washington,

[1:52:53] d.c.

[1:52:54] >>

[1:52:56] how does this map not cause voter

[1:52:57] confusion if the primary election

[1:52:59] is already going on?

[1:53:08] >> speaker

[1:53:09] zachary.

[1:53:10] >> I trust the people of

[1:53:11] tennessee who were informed and have

[1:53:12] plenty of

[1:53:13] time before they go to vote in august,

[1:53:14] to be informed about who the candidates

[1:53:15] will be.

[1:53:16] >> repetitive chisholm. >>

[1:53:17] let me say this. I know you

[1:53:19] probably think this is my constituents

[1:53:20] were not informed.

[1:53:23] let me

[1:53:24] caution, many of your constituents

[1:53:26] are not informed either. So, I

[1:53:29] have to --

[1:53:31] let me speak to the humanity of everyone

[1:53:32] in the room for the next

[1:53:34] 10 seconds. This is not a good thing

[1:53:35] for my district, nor yours

[1:53:37] . It is going to hurt more than it

[1:53:38] helps you, and

[1:53:41] I

[1:53:42] think history is going to show that

[1:53:44] the wrong thing was done today.

[1:53:47] thank you.

[1:53:48] >> leader camper. >> thank

[1:53:50] you mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker,

[1:53:52] I would like to yield three minutes

[1:53:53] to representative

[1:53:56] hakim .

[1:53:59] >> recognized for three minutes.

[1:54:02] >> thank you, mr. Speaker.

[1:54:05] I guess I rise

[1:54:08] with the feeling that

[1:54:11] there is an effort on

[1:54:14] some people in this room to play with god.

[1:54:17] we profess in

[1:54:20] this body to be servants

[1:54:23] of god. But,

[1:54:26] do we treat each other with respect

[1:54:29] and understanding?

[1:54:32] I am one of those people

[1:54:35] born in tennessee, probably

[1:54:38] one of the oldest

[1:54:41] people in this room. I know what happened

[1:54:42] in the 50s and

[1:54:44] 60s. I was exposed to it.

[1:54:47] I went to jail at 13 because a man

[1:54:48] wanted

[1:54:49] to run over me in his car. He wound

[1:54:50] up in the hospital, I wound

[1:54:53] up in jail. What I am trying to say is,

[1:54:56] do we truly believe

[1:54:59] in a power

[1:55:02] higher than ourselves?

[1:55:05] I go to bible study with some in

[1:55:08] this room. And

[1:55:11] you are going to tell me , that taking

[1:55:14] rights away from others is

[1:55:17] what god has put in your mind

[1:55:20] on what you should be doing?

[1:55:23] do we fear god , or do we fear man

[1:55:26] ? And when I say

[1:55:29] do we fear man, are we saying that

[1:55:34] the position I have, the position

[1:55:35] that has been

[1:55:37] promised to me is more important than

[1:55:38] my faith in a

[1:55:41] power greater than myself? Look, people.

[1:55:44] I was born and raised

[1:55:47] in the south.

[1:55:50] I know what it is to go through a

[1:55:52] lot of the things that some people

[1:55:53] want to re-implement today

[1:55:56] . There are those among us,

[1:55:59] including myself who are

[1:56:02] not going through it. God put me

[1:56:04] here for a purpose in this legislature,

[1:56:05] to let you know

[1:56:08] that what has been is not going to be

[1:56:12] . We are here

[1:56:15] to work with you, to make

[1:56:16] this state a better place, but we

[1:56:18] are not going to take

[1:56:21] mess off of anybody.

[1:56:27] I

[1:56:28] would hope, many in this room similar

[1:56:30] to me, I came up with

[1:56:33] what was called

[1:56:35] the . Some here grew up in a trailer

[1:56:39] park.

[1:56:44] folks, just because you didn't live on a mountain, just because you didn't live in

[1:56:47] the suburbs, don't make you any less than anybody

[1:56:48] else. And I

[1:56:49] would hope that people of goodwill will remember

[1:56:51] where you come from, where you need

[1:56:54] to go ,

[1:56:57] to be god centered. Thank

[1:57:00] you, mr. Speaker.

[1:57:01] >> leader

[1:57:03] camper, you are

[1:57:05] recognized.

[1:57:06] >> thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I

[1:57:08] would like to yield two minutes to

[1:57:09] representative hardaway

[1:57:12] .

[1:57:13] >> representative hardaway, you are

[1:57:15] recognized for two minutes.

[1:57:18] >> first, I would like

[1:57:19] to thank the representative body for providing

[1:57:24] a welcoming community.

[1:57:27] my father stood on this

[1:57:30] bill ,

[1:57:33] as something

[1:57:34] that directly impacted his constituents

[1:57:36] . The

[1:57:38] majority of the people in this room,

[1:57:46] your constituents will have representation. In my

[1:57:47] current position as a representative,

[1:57:48] on

[1:57:49] their behalf, a body of people who

[1:57:51] have already been disadvantaged,

[1:57:53] are threatened with more disadvantages.

[1:58:00] how do we rationalize

[1:58:03] the

[1:58:05] majority of everyone in this room,

[1:58:08] being presented, taxation without representation

[1:58:12] , on my part, is now blatant.

[1:58:18] I returned the balance of my time.

[1:58:21] >> thank you,

[1:58:24] mr. Speaker.

[1:58:30] esther speaker, I

[1:58:31] yield three minutes to representative

[1:58:32] harris.

[1:58:33] >> representative harris,

[1:58:34] you are recognized for three minutes.

[1:58:35] >> thank

[1:58:36] you, mr. Speaker. To the sponsor,

[1:58:37] members, the fix is already in.

[1:58:45] we already heard our

[1:58:46] sponsor just say it, that this will

[1:58:48] allow them to have, for the first time,

[1:58:49] an opportunity to send the full delegation

[1:58:50] of republican leadership to the white

[1:58:51] house, to

[1:58:53] be able to represent us in congress,

[1:58:54] that fix

[1:58:56] is already in. They know that by changing these maps,

[1:58:57] that the decisions will

[1:58:59] be made at the voting box, that they

[1:59:00] will win the

[1:59:03] extra seats. We lose our power

[1:59:09] . I have to stand here,

[1:59:10] because earlier in committee on yesterday,

[1:59:11] it was said that this was based off

[1:59:12] of

[1:59:14] lyrical desire, but I have to say

[1:59:15] it as a black man, as

[1:59:18] a black man who lives in memphis,

[1:59:20] as a black man who lives in congressional

[1:59:21] district 9,

[1:59:23] that I lose part of my voting power

[1:59:24] by this

[1:59:27] piece of map.

[1:59:29] we cannot celebrate democracy while

[1:59:31] carving out black communities, apart

[1:59:33] from political advantage.

[1:59:36] we all know

[1:59:39] it, whether we say it or not,

[1:59:41] that this map impact black people

[1:59:42] negatively. In fact, I will say

[1:59:45] it. Like this,

[1:59:50] after the civil war, black americans have

[1:59:51] finally gained the right to be able

[1:59:54] to vote on paper

[1:59:56] . Some did not like that. They could

[1:59:57] not out right

[1:59:58] say that black people should not vote

[2:00:00] anymore, so instead, they put in things

[2:00:01] like

[2:00:03] a poll tax , like a

[2:00:06] literacy exam

[2:00:08] . Intimidation, drawing maps just

[2:00:09] like the ones that have

[2:00:12] been drawn today. We

[2:00:14] are diluting the black voice , we

[2:00:15] are diluting the

[2:00:18] black voice. That is

[2:00:20] why the 15th amendment matters so much

[2:00:27] . It was not just about

[2:00:28] black people casting a ballot, it

[2:00:29] was about protecting the voice of

[2:00:30] black people

[2:00:32] from being intentionally diluted .

[2:00:33] the people who championed the 15th

[2:00:34] amendment believed that democracy

[2:00:35] could not survive if states manipulated

[2:00:36] the system to

[2:00:39] silence black voices . Now here we are,

[2:00:42] in 2026,

[2:00:45] watching efforts to dismantle

[2:00:48] the only majority black congressional

[2:00:49] district

[2:00:51] in tennessee .

[2:00:57] when people ask why this matters

[2:00:59] so much, the answer is very simple. It is because

[2:01:00] history has already shown us

[2:01:01] that what happens when black people's

[2:01:03] voices become inconvenient

[2:01:06] to those in control, this new

[2:01:09] map shows ,

[2:01:12] by diluting our black

[2:01:15] voting power, sponsor,

[2:01:17] I ask that if the supreme court decided

[2:01:18] to say

[2:01:20] that a two dollar poll tax was okay,

[2:01:24] and the governor

[2:01:26] called us back in, would we be okay

[2:01:27] with passing legislation to

[2:01:30] move a two dollar poll tax?

[2:01:33] >> leader camper, you

[2:01:36] are recognized.

[2:01:37] >> thank you,

[2:01:39] mr. Speaker. I yield

[2:01:43] five minutes to representative parkinson.

[2:01:45] >> you are recognized for five minutes.

[2:01:48] >> thank you, mr. Speaker.

[2:01:51] this is a very serious moment.

[2:01:54] this is a historic

[2:01:56] moment, actually. You cannot separate

[2:02:00] this vote

[2:02:02] from the historical reality of race

[2:02:03] in tennessee,

[2:02:06] and the american south.

[2:02:09] memphis is not merely a

[2:02:12] geographic region ,

[2:02:15] it is a cultural, economic,

[2:02:18] and the center of

[2:02:21] black life in

[2:02:24] shelby county.

[2:02:27] I want you to think

[2:02:30] about this. Nearly half

[2:02:33] of the black population in the state

[2:02:36] of tennessee lives

[2:02:39] in memphis, in shelby county.

[2:02:42] nearly half . How

[2:02:45] can we sit here

[2:02:48] and say that this is

[2:02:51] not about race?

[2:02:54] nearly

[2:02:56] half of the black people in the state

[2:02:57] of tennessee live in that corner

[2:03:00] of tennessee

[2:03:03] , that you are

[2:03:06] deciding

[2:03:09] to cars into three different spaces when

[2:03:12] now there is only one,

[2:03:14] and all of those black people that

[2:03:15] live in that corner

[2:03:17] of tennessee , nearly half of the

[2:03:18] states black population

[2:03:22] are sitting in one

[2:03:24] congressional district. How can you

[2:03:25] say this

[2:03:28] is not about race?

[2:03:32] black representation in this state

[2:03:34] was not given freely. It was

[2:03:35] fought for. It was sacrificed for

[2:03:39] through protestant generations of struggle.

[2:03:43] this chamber must decide whether

[2:03:45] the black voice of tennessee deserves protection

[2:03:49] . You

[2:03:52] cannot celebrate dr. King

[2:03:55] in january, and turnaround

[2:04:00] , and killed a black voice of tennessee

[2:04:04] in may.

[2:04:06] let's talk about christian values.

[2:04:15] the highest christian values love

[2:04:16] of thy neighbor,

[2:04:17] and love does not silence communities.

[2:04:19] love does not divide people ,

[2:04:20] or we can their voice. Love does not

[2:04:22] benefit from a community

[2:04:23] while diminishing its representation.

[2:04:27] if we truly believe in christian principles

[2:04:28] of

[2:04:31] loving our neighbor , then we

[2:04:33] cannot justify weakening the voice

[2:04:37] of nearly half of the

[2:04:39] black population in the state of tennessee

[2:04:40] .

[2:04:46] some

[2:04:47] of you have black neighbors, some of

[2:04:48] you have black friends. Some of you

[2:04:49] have

[2:04:51] black family members. How do you tell them

[2:04:53] , what you did to the people that

[2:04:55] look just like them?

[2:04:58] some of you say that you are

[2:05:01] my friend .

[2:05:05] but when I ask if you will take this

[2:05:07] vote you cannot even look me

[2:05:08] in the eye. The shame is all over

[2:05:10] your face. You look down,

[2:05:11] you look away, but you will not look

[2:05:13] at me on

[2:05:16] and tell me yes, I am about to

[2:05:17] push this button and vote to take

[2:05:19] your voice away.

[2:05:20] the lord sees your heart. You cannot

[2:05:22] hide from it. He

[2:05:24] also sees your lack of courage. Well

[2:05:25] here is something

[2:05:27] for you. God does not deliver the

[2:05:28] spirit

[2:05:31] of fear.

[2:05:34] if god does not deliver the

[2:05:35] spirit of fear, then that spirit came

[2:05:37] from somewhere else.

[2:05:40] let me close

[2:05:43] with this .

[2:05:46] if this body

[2:05:53] believes that memphis should not have

[2:05:54] the right to elect representation reflective

[2:05:55] of its

[2:05:57] own community, then perhaps the legislature

[2:05:58] should explain

[2:06:01] why memphis should continue

[2:06:04] to be part of the state

[2:06:07] of tennessee . A

[2:06:09] government that fits from the people

[2:06:13] by weakening their

[2:06:16] political power

[2:06:17] creates the appearance of representation

[2:06:19] without self-determination.

[2:06:22] don't hide behind the maps.

[2:06:24] if that is the case, let me make it

[2:06:25] easier for you.

[2:06:26] let memphis secede from the state

[2:06:28] of tennessee.

[2:06:31] you don't have to redraw maps if you

[2:06:32] let

[2:06:34] us out. Let

[2:06:37] my people go .

[2:06:40] and I am

[2:06:43] dead serious.

[2:06:46] you are constantly beating on

[2:06:49] us, allow us out.

[2:06:51] >> leader camper, you are recognized.

[2:06:55] >> thank you, mr. Speaker.

[2:06:57] I yield five minutes to representative towns

[2:07:03] .

[2:07:04] >> representative towns, you are recognized

[2:07:05] for five minutes.

[2:07:06] >>

[2:07:07] thank you. Like

[2:07:10] my colleagues,

[2:07:12] I will ditto everything that has been

[2:07:13] said today.

[2:07:15] men especially on the floor. I want

[2:07:16] you all to think

[2:07:18] about something. Let's go down this

[2:07:19] historical truck with me.

[2:07:25] the american war of 1775 ,

[2:07:33] the indian war of 1789, the barbary

[2:07:34] war of 1805 and

[2:07:35] 1815, the war of 1812. The mexican

[2:07:37] american war, 1846 through 1848.

[2:07:43] the american civil war which we talked

[2:07:44] about

[2:07:45] all the time, some people still fighting

[2:07:46] that war, 1861 to 1865. Spanish american

[2:07:47] war,

[2:07:48] 1898. The philippine american war,

[2:07:52] 1899 to 1902. World war I, 17

[2:07:55] 1917 to 1919.

[2:07:58] korean war, 1950 253. The

[2:08:01] vietnam war, 64 to 65, the

[2:08:04] persian gulf war,

[2:08:07] the war on terror, 2001,

[2:08:12] one of our longest wars, until 2021. The iraq

[2:08:13] war, 2003 to 2011.

[2:08:16] let's imagine

[2:08:19] you all, as men,

[2:08:21] had fought in every of those wars.

[2:08:22] you fought in every one of

[2:08:25] those wars

[2:08:27] . Let's imagine you come back to a country

[2:08:31] that won't allow you to vote.

[2:08:34] let's imagine the country that you

[2:08:36] fought in every one of those wars,

[2:08:37] and you come back

[2:08:40] to a country

[2:08:42] in your considered 3/5 of a human.

[2:08:46] now with all the

[2:08:47] imagination we are imagining today,

[2:08:49] let's imagine that you are white .

[2:08:50] that

[2:08:52] you are a white man that

[2:08:54] was denied your rights after fighting

[2:08:56] all the wars I just listed. Imagine

[2:08:58] that you were white

[2:09:01] , as a man,

[2:09:04] giving blood, treasure, life

[2:09:09] , family, limb, ideas and everything

[2:09:10] and you

[2:09:12] return to a country that some men

[2:09:18] were in their uniforms, and murdered, but

[2:09:19] you dedicated yourself to

[2:09:20] the country because you were loyal

[2:09:21] to the country. This is not hyperbole,

[2:09:22] this is a history

[2:09:25] that has occurred.

[2:09:28] anyone in their right mind would be

[2:09:31] insane to say that is proper treatment.

[2:09:32] that

[2:09:34] is not christian treatment. That is

[2:09:35] fake

[2:09:36] christian treatment. That is diabolical treatment.

[2:09:40] but this is

[2:09:41] happening in this country. And now,

[2:09:43] we want

[2:09:46] to put our head in the sand and act

[2:09:47] like it

[2:09:48] doesn't happen. We want to play peekaboo with

[2:09:52] the lives of the men in this country.

[2:09:55] we have taken an oath that says we

[2:09:56] are not

[2:09:57] supposed to do injurious things to

[2:09:58] each other in the

[2:10:01] state

[2:10:02] of tennessee. We took that oath. Recently

[2:10:04] we heard that there are people on

[2:10:05] the

[2:10:06] outside of all stripes, protesting

[2:10:07] what we are trying to do in here,

[2:10:10] attempting to do. Blacks on our side,

[2:10:11] whites

[2:10:13] on our side, hispanics, indians,

[2:10:16] jewish,

[2:10:22] everyone is saying stop, what you

[2:10:23] are doing is absolutely

[2:10:24] not democratic but it is not even

[2:10:25] american. Yet,

[2:10:27] we want to track forward to do something

[2:10:28] that is injurious to

[2:10:31] the people , which we just said

[2:10:33] we are not supposed to do. What we

[2:10:34] are doing it anyway, trying

[2:10:37] to do it anyway.

[2:10:40] the world certainly is watching america.

[2:10:43] the world is watching tennessee.

[2:10:45] all those ideals we espouse across

[2:10:46] the water,

[2:10:49] they know we are lying. You cannot

[2:10:52] fool people. You're saying one thing

[2:10:53] and

[2:10:55] doing another. That is

[2:10:57] called a bald-faced lie, where I grew up.

[2:11:04] my grandma would call it a bald-faced

[2:11:05] lie. We are

[2:11:06] lying to the people, lying to ourselves,

[2:11:07] lying to our children. We

[2:11:10] are lying. You don't need an advantage

[2:11:11] when you

[2:11:12] already have an advantage. What do

[2:11:13] you need an advantage for?

[2:11:15] you weigh 2000 pounds, the other man

[2:11:16] weighs 20 pounds,

[2:11:18] you will need up on him and take what

[2:11:19] he has? That

[2:11:21] is cowardice. That is weakness. That

[2:11:22] is not what men do. Men

[2:11:25] of honor, men

[2:11:28] of valor, men of commitment do

[2:11:30] not behave that way. I don't want

[2:11:31] to win an unfair fight. I don't need

[2:11:34] you to stack the deck for me.

[2:11:36] we call that being sissified where

[2:11:37] I come from.

[2:11:41] I don't need you to

[2:11:42] stack the deck, but we are stacking

[2:11:43] the deck. Because you want one mode

[2:11:47] of thought.

[2:11:50] everybody has to think the same.

[2:11:52] that's how we got our butt kicked

[2:11:53] in 2011.

[2:11:57] everybody thinking the same thing,

[2:11:58] nobody is watching you think. How

[2:11:59] do

[2:12:00] you expect for this country and black

[2:12:02] folks to be loyal to you

[2:12:03] when you are not loyal to your own

[2:12:05] voting rights?

[2:12:07] >> leader camper, your recognized.

[2:12:16] >> mr. Speaker, I would like to yield

[2:12:17] a

[2:12:18] minute to representative powell.

[2:12:19] >>

[2:12:20] representative powell, you are recognized

[2:12:21] for one minute.

[2:12:22] >> thank

[2:12:23] you mr. Speaker.

[2:12:26] in 2012 I was

[2:12:27] first elected to this body, and I

[2:12:28] cried tears of joy and happiness,

[2:12:29] that night. It

[2:12:30] wasn't because I was elected to this

[2:12:32] body, I cried because our first

[2:12:33] black president, barack obama, was

[2:12:35] re-elected for his second term.

[2:12:38] I celebrated the movement

[2:12:42] and forwardness of our country, and look

[2:12:43] where we stand today. It is a shame.

[2:12:44] I

[2:12:46] will be in a district where black

[2:12:49] , african americans, hispanic, latinas,

[2:12:50] asian

[2:12:53] americans are all concentrated .

[2:12:56] it has clearly been packed together,

[2:12:59] in nashville.

[2:13:03] I am the only state elected democrat

[2:13:04] in the entire sixth district. And

[2:13:05] they packed communities

[2:13:06] together. This is about politics.

[2:13:08] let's be clear.

[2:13:10] this is about politics. The only politics

[2:13:14] are

[2:13:16] racial politics but this is all about

[2:13:18] racial politics.

[2:13:19] >> leader camper,

[2:13:20] you are recognized.

[2:13:23] >> thank you

[2:13:26] mr. Speaker. I yield

[2:13:29] three minutes to

[2:13:32] representative mitchell.

[2:13:35] >> representative mitchell,

[2:13:36] you are recognized for three.

[2:13:37] >> thank you

[2:13:38] mr. Speaker. Leadership and power,

[2:13:42] being in the majority comes with responsibilities.

[2:13:49] it also comes with the good sense of knowing when

[2:13:50] not

[2:13:53] to do things.

[2:13:55] just because you have the power doesn't mean

[2:13:56] you want to

[2:13:59] do it, sometimes. You know,

[2:14:01] this week, when the governor made

[2:14:02] the call, and

[2:14:06] I heard all the groups getting ready

[2:14:08] to come down here,

[2:14:09] you know, many of you all have seen

[2:14:11] over the years,

[2:14:14] I have got a young kid. He is

[2:14:17] a freshman at bandy. He

[2:14:20] decided he wanted --

[2:14:23] I heard it

[2:14:24] would be a little rowdy down there

[2:14:26] so I told him, son,

[2:14:27] I don't think you want to come down

[2:14:29] here this week.

[2:14:32] he looked at me and

[2:14:35] said, try and stop me.

[2:14:38] I think that being said, I

[2:14:39] knew I had raised my child right.

[2:14:41] and I will tell you

[2:14:44] one thing , don't worry about

[2:14:47] your constituents.

[2:14:48] worry about going home and looking

[2:14:50] at your children ,

[2:14:53] after you vote today.

[2:14:56] will you be proud to tell them how you

[2:14:57] voted

[2:14:58] today? Just think about that , when

[2:14:59] you look at

[2:15:01] these buttons , on which one you will

[2:15:02] push

[2:15:05] here, today. Think about what you

[2:15:07] will tell your kids you did appear.

[2:15:08] you know,

[2:15:11] did you come

[2:15:14] take people's power

[2:15:16] and voice away like a bull connor

[2:15:17] , standing

[2:15:20] on a bridge?

[2:15:25] did you sick german shepherds on someone?

[2:15:28] did you turn water hoses on someone?

[2:15:34] or did you give a community there voice?

[2:15:44] you know, a man died in memphis, tennessee, and

[2:15:45] that is the

[2:15:47] only way the voting rights act

[2:15:49] got past. The only way it happened.

[2:15:56] and we will turn back the clock?

[2:15:59] I know how I will vote

[2:16:02] , and

[2:16:04] I will be proud to go home and tell

[2:16:05] my kids how I voted

[2:16:08] I hope you can, too.

[2:16:14] reverend shaw, like he said,

[2:16:17] you are only hurting yourselves.

[2:16:19] you're not hurting anybody but yourselves.

[2:16:23] bottom line of this is,

[2:16:26] unlike these lines drawn

[2:16:29] by race ,

[2:16:38] the arc of the

[2:16:39] moral universe is long, but it bends

[2:16:41] towards justice.

[2:16:42] >> leader camper,

[2:16:43] your recognized.

[2:16:44] >> I yield four minutes

[2:16:45] to representative peers in.

[2:16:46] >> representative

[2:16:47] pearson, your recognized.

[2:16:48] >> these maps

[2:16:50] are racist tools of white

[2:16:52] supremacy at the behest of the most powerful

[2:16:53] whites the premises

[2:16:55] in the united states of america, donald

[2:16:56] j trump.

[2:16:59] memphis is the most beautiful place on

[2:17:02] the planet.

[2:17:04] it is the place that raised me, my

[2:17:05] brothers, my parents,

[2:17:07] my grandmothers, and where my ancestors

[2:17:08] bones rest.

[2:17:11] what you are doing today

[2:17:16] is eviscerating the only black majority

[2:17:17] congressional district in our

[2:17:19] state, because we are majority black.

[2:17:23] we are here because this republican

[2:17:24] party

[2:17:26] has to seek to's deal elections and

[2:17:27] seats

[2:17:28] because the president and party have

[2:17:32] refused to address the pain,

[2:17:33] the suffering and the struggling of

[2:17:35] every day tennesseans. This

[2:17:38] is about attacking , targeting, and cracking

[2:17:44] district 9 into pieces,

[2:17:47] for more political and racial dominance

[2:17:49] and white supremacy in the state of tennessee.

[2:17:50] we need to realize

[2:17:53] that the calle decision that you are

[2:17:54] all basing

[2:17:56] your decisions on , which gutted the

[2:17:57] voting

[2:17:59] rights act,

[2:18:02] the voting rights act was paid for

[2:18:03] in blood.

[2:18:05] it was not just a parchment signed

[2:18:08] into law, it was paid for in blood

[2:18:10] on the edmund pettis bridge. Paid

[2:18:11] in

[2:18:14] blood by megan evers,

[2:18:17] paid in blood by fanny lou

[2:18:20] haven, a time and time

[2:18:22] assassination after assassination,

[2:18:23] lynching after lynching

[2:18:29] , so that more people might be able to

[2:18:30] ascertain

[2:18:31] access to this constitution of democratic

[2:18:32] republican experiment, that

[2:18:34] is currently being gutted, seeking

[2:18:35] to be

[2:18:38] guided by this chamber ,

[2:18:40] by this house, the senate and this state.

[2:18:41] what is

[2:18:44] happening here is immoral and wrong

[2:18:47] .

[2:18:50] I was reading my bible early this morning

[2:18:53] ,

[2:18:55] asking god why this is happening.

[2:18:59] why again does

[2:19:01] it seem that white supremacy is seeming

[2:19:02] to gain

[2:19:05] . Why, again, does

[2:19:08] it seem like the pillars of pain

[2:19:10] that we have felt and experienced

[2:19:11] for over 400 years in this country

[2:19:14] continue to rise again.

[2:19:17] whispered

[2:19:22] in the words of this bible and in

[2:19:23] the words of these ancestors that

[2:19:24] have come

[2:19:25] before us, just the simple words, we are

[2:19:27] still here.

[2:19:30] we are still here.

[2:19:32] this nation, this state has legislated

[2:19:33] and legalized

[2:19:36] the worst

[2:19:37] things in humanity including our enslavement,

[2:19:39] and we are

[2:19:42] still here.

[2:19:43] right in this country, whereas one

[2:19:45] black

[2:19:48] woman says, your clan ancestors

[2:19:50] enslaved us, tinnitus of our rights,

[2:19:51] called us

[2:19:53] 3/5 of a person and yet we are still

[2:19:54] here. You put

[2:19:57] us on

[2:20:01] cotton plantations and tobacco plantations,

[2:20:03] you denied our human rights, and

[2:20:04] our right to exist as children of

[2:20:06] god and we are still here. You

[2:20:08] destroyed tulsa . You killed and lynched

[2:20:09] black folks

[2:20:12] , shelby county, tennessee

[2:20:14] had the most lynchings of any district

[2:20:15] in

[2:20:18] this state,

[2:20:23] and we are still here. You have had

[2:20:24] three strikes

[2:20:25] laws, mass incarceration, denied us

[2:20:26] who we are, and we are still here,

[2:20:30] and today,

[2:20:31] you're taking the only majority black

[2:20:33] district from us, but I want

[2:20:34] you to know, and I want my nephews,

[2:20:36] and sons in the future

[2:20:37] to know, no matter what you do, no

[2:20:39] matter how much you try and break

[2:20:40] us and make us bend and make us quit,

[2:20:42] we will

[2:20:45] still be here .

[2:20:51] >> leader camper, you

[2:20:52] are recognized.

[2:20:53] >> thank you, mr.

[2:20:54] speaker. I would like to yield

[2:20:57] three minutes to representative

[2:20:59] love.

[2:21:00] >> your recognized. >> thank

[2:21:01] you

[2:21:03] speaker. Members,

[2:21:05] my father was born september the eighth, 1919.

[2:21:09] he served in

[2:21:12] world war ii,

[2:21:15] and fought for the freedoms of this

[2:21:16] country. But

[2:21:17] when he came back, his right to vote

[2:21:18] was not guaranteed

[2:21:21] . It was not

[2:21:22] until after the voting rights act,

[2:21:24] but his right to vote

[2:21:27] was guaranteed. He was elected

[2:21:30] .

[2:21:32] in 1968 and served in this chamber

[2:21:33] until 1994.

[2:21:36] he served with former speaker

[2:21:39] pro tem lois barry. And I have

[2:21:42] talked to many of you

[2:21:43] all who served with him and I have

[2:21:44] heard your statements about how fondly

[2:21:48] you appreciate

[2:21:50] her life and how she legislated, and

[2:21:51] I wonder, today, if she

[2:21:54] were alive

[2:21:57] and serving in this chamber,

[2:22:00] could you look her in the face

[2:22:03] and say

[2:22:06] to her, that what you are about

[2:22:09] to do is write ,

[2:22:12] is just , is moral

[2:22:15] ?

[2:22:18] could you?

[2:22:21] say

[2:22:22] to her, my colleague, I've got to

[2:22:24] do it.

[2:22:27] so that we can look beyond your part

[2:22:28] of

[2:22:30] the state . I don't know what

[2:22:33] is worse. To

[2:22:36] not think about black folks, or to

[2:22:37] say that

[2:22:39] you haven't and

[2:22:42] not tell the truth.

[2:22:43] oftentimes, we have discussions about

[2:22:45] race and racism

[2:22:48] , many times you will have

[2:22:51] difficulty accepting that we have

[2:22:53] pain still in our hearts , because

[2:22:54] of the vestiges

[2:22:57] of slavery .

[2:23:00] the stuff that is left over

[2:23:02] . The little things that you might

[2:23:03] not pay

[2:23:04] attention to. The micro aggressions

[2:23:06] that

[2:23:09] we feel .

[2:23:14] the votes I cast that still ripped

[2:23:15] the scab off. So here we

[2:23:18] are again , with another bill bill

[2:23:24] that members are saying to you is hurtful

[2:23:27] to us.

[2:23:30] that

[2:23:33] says to us you are

[2:23:35] disregarding how I think. How I feel.

[2:23:39] how this bill will impact

[2:23:42] me

[2:23:45] .

[2:23:48] it hurts, it does

[2:23:51] . Many of us have said in these hallowed halls,

[2:23:54] we legislate

[2:24:00] . We

[2:24:01] will do more damage to black folks

[2:24:03] with this vote.

[2:24:09] >> leader camper? >> mr. Speaker,

[2:24:12] I would yield myself two

[2:24:15] minutes and 35 seconds.

[2:24:18] >> leader camper, you

[2:24:19] are recognized for two minutes and

[2:24:21] 35 seconds.

[2:24:22] >> mr. Speaker, members

[2:24:24] , I served in the army

[2:24:27] for 21 years to protect and defend

[2:24:30] the constitution of the united states

[2:24:33] against all enemies, foreign

[2:24:36] and domestic.

[2:24:40] bearing true faith and allegiance

[2:24:42] to the same. I took a similar oath

[2:24:43] when

[2:24:45] I came here, to uphold

[2:24:47] the u.s. Constitution and the state constitution

[2:24:48] and

[2:24:51] not be injurious to the people. I

[2:24:54] took that oath.

[2:24:57] it

[2:24:58] meant something to me, and it still

[2:25:00] does. I think

[2:25:03] and truly believe these

[2:25:06] maps are injurious to my people.

[2:25:09] particularly those in memphis

[2:25:12] , tennessee. Man, when

[2:25:15] I saw that map, it hurt. It was like

[2:25:16] a

[2:25:18] stab in the heart,

[2:25:21] in the center of my hometown.

[2:25:24] that hurt . I

[2:25:27] didn't like it.

[2:25:30] but I tell you what hurt more

[2:25:33] .

[2:25:36] we

[2:25:38] got to calendar and rules I said mr. Speaker,

[2:25:39] we did

[2:25:42] not decide on a time.

[2:25:44] oh, she will announce the time. So,

[2:25:45] for this bill,

[2:25:48] it's 47 minutes each.

[2:25:54] you all know I was a military intelligence

[2:25:55] analyst, and

[2:25:56] I'm trying to figure out the numbers.

[2:26:03] 20 minutes

[2:26:05] and 34 minutes. We understand 47 is

[2:26:06] for the president. Got it. Because

[2:26:07] it doesn't

[2:26:09] make sense , in my analytical

[2:26:12] mind, 47 minutes.

[2:26:15] but

[2:26:18] man, when I added up

[2:26:21] 34 and 20?

[2:26:24] that's 54. Y 54 minutes?

[2:26:27] that

[2:26:30] was the heart, to me now.

[2:26:33] just how I read it, from my analytical mind.

[2:26:39] brown v board of education. The supreme

[2:26:40] court decision in 1954.

[2:26:42] that hurt me.

[2:26:44] I'm just telling you, these numbers

[2:26:45] mean something.

[2:26:48] they are not arbitrary.

[2:26:51] so,

[2:26:54] I'm only doing

[2:26:58] 44 minutes

[2:27:01] .

[2:27:06] >> leader lamberth, you are recognized. >>

[2:27:15] mr. Speaker are yield five minutes

[2:27:16] to

[2:27:17] representative martin.

[2:27:18] >> representative

[2:27:19] martin, you are recognized.

[2:27:20] >> thank

[2:27:21] you, mr. Speaker. Let's remind ourselves

[2:27:22] why we

[2:27:23] are here in this special session.

[2:27:24] >> mr. Trooper, please clear out that

[2:27:25] balcony

[2:27:26] over there.

[2:27:28] >>

[2:27:31] leader lamberth?

[2:27:34] >> thank you mr. Speaker. Yield

[2:27:36] the remainder of my time.

[2:27:37] >> speaker

[2:27:40] lamberth yields

[2:27:45] the remainder of his time. We are

[2:27:46] voting. We are voting on

[2:27:47] the bill. All those in favor of house

[2:27:49] bill 7003 as amended, but yes when

[2:27:50] the bell rings. Those opposed vote no.

[2:27:54] has every member voted, does any member

[2:27:55] wish to change

[2:27:58] their vote?

[2:28:07] >>

[2:28:10] mr. Clerk, please take the vote.

[2:28:25] >>

[2:28:28] 64-25. Three not

[2:28:31] voting.

[2:28:32] >>

[2:28:33] house bill 7003 having received a

[2:28:34] constitutional majority I declared

[2:28:36] past without objection. Leader lamberth,

[2:28:37] you

[2:28:40] are recognized.

[2:28:43] >> thank you mr. Speaker.

[2:28:46] rules be suspended

[2:28:49] for a reading of hr 22.

[2:29:22] >> house joint resolution 22, leader lamberth

[2:29:25] providing for the second --

[2:29:28] 114th general assembly.

[2:29:29] >>

[2:29:34] any objection, the rules are suspended.

[2:29:35] leader lamberth, you are recognized.

[2:29:37] >> thank you mr. Speaker.

[2:29:41] I move the adoption of hjr number 22.

[2:29:42] >> leader lamberth mears adoption

[2:29:43] of house joint resolution

[2:29:44] 22. Any objection to the question,

[2:29:46] seeing none. All those in favor

[2:29:49] of house joint resolution 22

[2:29:52] say yes, those opposed say no.

[2:29:55] the

[2:29:56] motion to reconsider his tabled. Leader

[2:29:57] lamberth, you are recognized.

[2:29:58] >> thank

[2:29:59] you

[2:30:01] mr. Speaker. Be approved through the first

[2:30:04] day of the

[2:30:09] session of the 114th general assembly.

[2:30:10] >> so ordered.

[2:30:13] leader lamberth?

[2:30:16] >> thank you mr. Speaker. Percent

[2:30:17] to house joint resolution number 22

[2:30:19] I moved the house of representatives

[2:30:20] of the second extraordinary session

[2:30:22] of the 114th general assembly of

[2:30:24] the state of tennessee adjourn.

[2:30:25] >>

[2:30:26] in

[2:30:28] accordance with house

[2:30:31] joint resolution 22 I

[2:30:34] declare the second extraordinary session of

[2:30:35] the

[2:30:36] house of representatives of the 114th

[2:30:37] general assembly of the state of

[2:30:40] tennessee adjourned.

House Floor Session - 3rd Legislative Day - 2nd Extraordinary Session

Agenda

Transcript