NASHVILLE – Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton on Monday night delayed for a third time his legislation to ban state lawmakers’ service contracts with the General Assembly as well as to restrict members’ general state government work.
The move to put House Bill 1040 in the State Committee for additional work comes amid members’ continued concerns about the measure, which the Crossville Republican brought in response to Jan. 8 raids by the FBI on the homes and legislative offices of Rep. Robin Smith, R-Hixson, former speaker and Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin, and Rep. John Warner, R-Chapel Hill.
The bill is not in trouble, Sexton told reporters later.
“No, I think we’re fine. I mean it’s just like always, you’re trying to make sure you get it right,” Sexton said following the House session. “So we had some questions on the House floor that we’re going to continue to work through and try to meet with both caucuses and answer questions and see if we can clear up confusion.”
That includes both what’s in the bill as well as “what’s not in it,” Sexton said. “We hope to be back here. The thing is we have a process in place and it needs to go back to the committee system to rework a little bit.”