NASHVILLE – Tennessee lawmakers voted Thursday to strip next year’s state funding for UT-Knoxville’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion and divert the estimated $436,000 on a one-time basis into university engineering scholarships for minority students.
The compromise between the House and Senate used a Senate version of the bill, sponsored by Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga.
Gardenhire’s version represented a softer nod to furious Republican conservatives’ demands the University of Tennessee at Knoxville campus be punished for its annual “Sex Week” student activities, as well as controversies over the diversity office’s suggested but not mandated use of gender-neutral pronouns and avoiding the word “Christmas” in holiday parties.
Approval came as lawmakers struggled unsuccessfully for the third straight day to wrap up their annual session, bogging down in the GOP-run House over intra-party controversies over whether to put a planned phase out of the state’s Hall Income Tax on interest and investments into statute.
Another issue was grappling with minority Democrats’ successful maneuver to put a spotlight on granting more property tax relief to disabled military war veterans. Several other issues are on the table as well.