NASHVILLE - Tennessee's Senate and House speakers say no state funds will go toward funding lawmakers' attendance at a legislative conference in San Diego this summer, with the officials citing California's ban against state-funded travel to Tennessee in response to the state's passage of a 2016 law aimed at the LGBT community.
Tennessee Senate Speaker Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, and House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, pointed out in their letter to National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) leaders that a Tennessee legislative resolution passed in 2016 urged Tennessee officials "to ban state-sponsored and state-funded travel within their respective jurisdictions to any state of the Union that has banned state-sponsored travel to Tennessee."
Actually, that language was dropped from the final version of Senate Joint Resolution No. 111. Nonetheless, the ban on state-funded travel to the NCSL conference remains in effect. Spokespeople for McNally and Harwell said the speakers made their decision "reluctantly" in response to the California law.
California lawmakers passed their 2016 law imposing a travel ban on states they say have enacted discriminatory laws against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people. Tennessee wound up on the list, along with seven other states. In Tennessee's case, Republican lawmakers here approved a 2016 law allowing therapists and counselors to turn away LGBT clients whose goals they disagree with.
In their letter to NCSL President Sen. Deb Peters, a South Dakota legislator, and NCSL Executive Director Bill Pound, the Tennessee speakers said they both voted for the resolution and "are compelled to abide by it."
"This is not an action we feel any pleasure taking," they wrote but later added "it is California, not Tennessee, which set this chain of events in motion." They noted that "the moment California rescinds its ban; Tennessee will begin approving travel to California. We hope that moment comes soon."
Besides Tennessee, other states impacted by California's travel ban are Texas, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Dakota and Kansas.
Just this week, California's law affected San Diego State, a public university funded with state tax dollars, which had its basketball team in the NCAA men's basketball tournament with a game in Kansas, one of the targeted states. The 75-member traveling party of players, coaches, cheerleaders and administrators used private funds to go, the San Diego Union-Tribute reported. The team lost in the first round to the University of Houston.
Tennessee's ban, Senate Joint Resolution 111, was sponsored by Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, a social conservative who became upset after learning California had banned state-funded travel to Tennessee over the therapist law.
Bell said "I had no clue" that McNally and Harwell were going to bar state-funded travel to the NCSL. But he quickly added he's all for it.
"I'm glad they've done it," the Government Operations Committee chairman said, adding, "I've already made the personal decision I wasn't going and glad the speakers have decided to not allow at least any of our taxpayer money to go to someone who may want to go to this conference."
Bell's 2016 resolution noted in one of its "whereas" clauses that "California's attempt to influence public policy in our state is akin to Tennessee expressing its disapproval of California's exorbitant taxes, spiraling budget deficits, runaway social welfare programs, and rampant illegal immigration."
It also warned that such bans arising from "legitimate disagreements about government policy" among states ultimately "will lead to economic warfare among states" and all states should respect state sovereignty under the U.S. Constitution's 10th Amendment.
The resolution warns that if states like California persist in banning travel, "the states affected by these travel bans may be forced to take reciprocal action." In the resolution's resolving clauses, it encourages the governor and two speakers to speak with their counterparts in other states "and urge these state officials to refrain from imposing moral judgment on their sister states as California has done to prevent escalating foolishness."
Speaking Friday, Bell said "this is what California has done to themselves by passing what I think is, it's almost laughable, almost foolish. But I also think it's somewhat dangerous in a way, as I said when we passed this resolution, that this could start tit-for-tat economic warfare."
"I hope other states follow suit" on Tennessee's action, Bell said.
Tennessee House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Stewart of Nashville called McNally and Harwell's decision "silly and unfortunate because NCSL is a bipartisan organization that informs people about good legislation."
"I don't know if this is motivated by a desire to maybe shift some of the Republican members to more ALEC conferences, which of course is a very different organization that's designed to herd legislators toward really wild, wacko, libertarian ideas put out by the Koch brothers."
ALEC stands for the American Legislative Exchange Council.
Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow him on Twitter @AndySher1.