NASHVILLE - Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell said Thursday she believes there are sufficient votes in the House to expel embattled Rep. Jeremy Durham, R-Franklin, when lawmakers convene next week on an unrelated issue.
"I will be supportive of it," Harwell, R-Nashville, told reporters at the state Capitol earlier today. "We'll just have to check with the body as a whole, but I'll certainly be supportive of it. My guess would be that it would [pass]."
House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, answers questions at the Tennessee Press Association convention, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Last week, Gov. Bill Haslam, a Republican, issued the call for an "extraordinary" session of the General Assembly to fix a state DUI law passed earlier this year which now threatens to cost Tennessee an estimated $60 million in federal highway funding.
As a result, the state House and Senate will be meeting Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week to repeal the DUI sentencing provision that's landed the state in hot water with the feds.
But being in session also allows Harwell and other representatives to deal with Durham.
A one-time rising GOP star, the 32-year-old former House majority whip has been engulfed by charges leveled in a Tennessee Attorney General investigation which cites 22 women saying Durham sexually harassed or made inappropriate advances or suggestions to them.
Durham also has issues with his state campaign account and the FBI is reportedly looking into that.
While Haslam's call is limited to the loss of federal funds on the transportation issue, Harwell said an expulsion motion and vote would be a procedural matter and thus allowable in the special session.
"Well, we just did check with legal counsel and in fact we can because it's a procedural motion," the speaker said. "It can be handled under this special session. Nothing else can be. It's a very limited call. We can't address other issues but we can do a procedural movement."
That would also include Rep. Joe Armstrong, D-Knoxville, who was recently found guilty by a federal jury of failing to report on his tax return to the Internal Revenue Service more than $300,000 he made in profits. The money came from selling state-issued cigarette stamps that Armstrong bought in advance of a tobacco-tax hike he advocated for and voted for in the legislature.
Asked if Durham and Armstrong would be able to present their side to fellow representatives before an any ouster votes, Harwell said, "they would have a few moments to speak, yes."
Meanwhile, a WKRN-TV reporter tweeted that Durham told the Nashville station he "wouldn't miss" the special session "if legitimate opportunity to present my own evidence."
The ouster vote would only involve the 99-member House and not the 33-member Senate.
Durham, who lost his Aug. 4 GOP primary election, will leave office on Nov. 8, the general election day. But if he stays in office until then, the two-term incumbent will become eligible for a taxpayer-supported state pension when he reaches retirement age.