NASHVILLE – Efforts by legislative Democrats to restore 20 weeks of federal jobless benefits for thousands of long-term unemployed Tennesseans cleared their first hurdle Monday with House Republican leaders giving a green light for the bill to proceed for now.
But passage is by no means certain for the measure, which would help more than 28,000 Tennesseans who lost their unemployment benefits in April or stand to lose them in coming weeks.
For starters, Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has concerns about the attempt to resurrect state participation in the program, which is largely funded with federal dollars, according to an administration official. Some Senate Republican leaders are voicing opposition as well.
“We’ve had some concerns with this issue but typically don’t comment on bills until we’ve thoroughly analyzed them,” said Haslam spokeswoman Yvette Martinez in an email. “The bill just came out of [committee], and the governor will review the analysis [today].”
Earlier Monday, the House Delayed Bills Committee, comprised of Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville; Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga; and House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh, D-Ripley, unanimously gave the go-ahead for Fitzhugh to bring the late-filed bill before the House Finance Subcommittee this week.