NASHVILLE — A bill banning so-called “mountaintop” removal coal mining is officially dead in the General Assembly after a House subcommittee deferred the Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act until next year.
Earlier in the day, the measure died in a Senate committee when the sponsor, Senate Democratic Caucus Chairman Lowe Finney of Jackson, failed to get a motion on the bill from the six Republicans in the committee.
Two of Finney’s fellow Democrats, Sen. Charlotte Burkes of Monterey and Sen. Ophelia Ford of Memphis, both serve on the committee but were absent.
Andy Sher is a Nashville-based staff writer covering Tennessee state government and politics for the Times Free Press. A Washington correspondent from 1999-2005 for the Times Free Press, Andy previously headed up state Capitol coverage for The Chattanooga Times, worked as a state Capitol reporter for The Nashville Banner and was a contributor to The Tennessee Journal, among other publications. Andy worked for 17 years at The Chattanooga Times covering police, health care, county government, ...
