NASHVILLE - Sen. Todd Gardenhire says he'll be fine with whatever choice Gov. Bill Haslam makes today on the Chattanooga Republican's bill stripping the University of Tennessee's Knoxville campus of one year's worth of funding.
Gardenhire met with Haslam earlier this week where they discussed the controversial measure that would remove $436,000 for UT's Office for Diversity and Inclusion. The money would be diverted toward engineering scholarships for minority students.
Today is the deadline for Haslam to sign, veto or allow the measure to become law without his signature. Republicans pushed the measure as social conservatives fumed over the office's suggested post on its website that students and faculty use "gender neutral" pronouns and avoid mentioning Christmas in holiday parties.
"I'm going to let the governor speak to the bill," said Gardenhire, who previously has noted his bill sought to strike a middle ground by sending a message to UT that lawmakers were upset without eliminating funding permanently.
"Whatever he does I'll be pleased with it," Gardenhire said. "He has three options. I'll be pleased with any of the three that he chooses."
Meanwhile, WATE-TV Knoxville reported that UT Vice Chancellor of Diversity and Inclusion Rickey Hall has accepted a similar position at the University of Washington. Hall will be the university's new vice president of the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity and chief diversity officer. He will start Aug. 1.
WATE has previously reported that Hall was a finalist for similar positions at other universities as well.
Meanwhile, Haslam, a Republican, has a second deadline today on another bill passed by lawmakers which would require the state to sue the federal government over its refugee resettlement program. Haslam has expressed reservations about the bill, which directs Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery to join Alabama and Texas in suing the government.
Republican lawmakers added a provision which would allow a conservative nonprofit law firm to handle the case for Tennessee at no charge.
