NASHVILLE – A bill gutting a Metro Nashville charter amendment saying local government contractors must hire workers based on set percentages of county residents passed the state House and was sent to Gov. Bill Haslam on Thursday.
Republicans passed the bill on a 73-20 vote, with minority Democrats objecting. The bill already had passed in the Senate.
Rep. Sherry Jones, R-Nashville, charged the GOP-led House was trampling on the wishes of Metro Nashville voters who approved the charter change last year.
The bill, Jones said, “tells our voters that you don’t really care about their vote and about what they voted and all this talk in the General Assembly about local control is nothing more than a lie. This legislation sets a horrible precedent for your county also.”
Backers said state Attorney General Herbert Slatery questioned whether the charter change violates the contractor licensing act, and worried the provision could trigger retaliatory measures by other local governments.
“What was passed in Nashville is bad for Tennessee,” said Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland. “This has a chilling effect on business in this state.”
Bill co-sponsors included Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga; Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah; Rep. Marc Gravitt, R-East Ridge, and Rep. Patsy Hazlewood, R-Signal Mountain.
Also Thursday, the House voted 91-0 for a bill sponsored by Rep. Ron Travis, R-Dayton, granting civil immunity to organizations that dispense previously owned eyeglasses at no charge to people who have been seen first by a professional.
Immunity covers a sponsoring organization, a free clinic and any optometrist, ophthalmologist or dispensing optician providing services at the free clinic as well as a tax-exempt organization providing the used eyeglasses.
Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, is the Senate sponsor.
The House also voted 86-5 to revamp some rules governing accountants and the state’s Board of Accountancy. Among other things, the bill removes the requirement that the board’s executive director have an active certificate in Tennessee.
The bill also eliminates a provision that says someone who has not completed the education requirements for taking the CPA exam, but who will complete the requirement within 200 days immediately following the exam, will be admitted to the exam.
Hazlewood sponsored the legislation, which previously passed the Senate and now goes to the governor for his consideration.