NASHVILLE – A sedate political ritual under past Tennessee governors, the annual ceremonial signing of bills passed by the General Assembly, has been transformed by Gov. Bill Haslam into a process that might put Henry Ford, father of the modern assembly line, to shame.
On Wednesday, several hundred legislators, lobbyists, businessmen, advocates and other Tennesseans packed War Memorial Auditorium at the state Capitol for the Republican governor’s annual event.
Among Haslam aides maintaining an orderly flow was a bullhorn-toting Leslie Hafner, the governor’s chief lobbyist.
“Do you know where you’re going? What bill?” asked another staffer of a participant who looked lost in the throng. After a quick scan of the long line, where someone in each group clutched an easel-sized sheet of paper listing what bill he or she was there for, the woman was directed to the appropriate cluster.
The end result? Forty-nine groups of people greeted, 48 bills and one resolution ceremonially signed and at least 49 ceremonial signing pens handed out by Haslam. Plus hundreds of photos snapped by state government’s chief photographer, Jed DeKalb.
Time spent? A shade over one hour.
Never mind that the governor previously had signed most of, if not all, the bills into law. Tradition long has held that those most active in a significant (and sometimes insignificant) bill’s development or passage get their photos snapped as the governor slaps his signature on the finished product.
Former Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, sometimes held a big signing ceremony, but not on the industrial scale of Haslam. There are no speeches, although he talks with participants briefly.
“I’m excited; I’m thrilled,” said Maryann Davis of Chattanooga, a volunteer district leader with the Humane Society of the United States, as she waited in line for Haslam to sign a bill making it a misdemeanor to bring a child to a cockfight.
Standing beside her was Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, which also supported the cockfighting law.
“We worked with a broad coalition of people calling for commonsense protection for animals,” Moore said. “We’re very concerned about the social corruption that comes with animal fighting as well as the way animal fighting dehumanizes people.”
House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, was there on several bills, including a previously signed bill dealing with domestic violence. That alone drew some 45 legislators, victims and advocates to the stage.
“I know it’s ceremonial but it means a lot to someone to come up here and see the governor and to get their picture made,” McCormick said. He said some in the group were carrying pictures of loved ones who had been abused.
Despite having worked at the Capitol for years, Wednesday’s mass signing was a first for Kent Starwalt, executive vice president of the Tennessee Road Builders Association.
“I’m actually surprised” by the size of the crowd, Starwalt said.
Speaking later with reporters, Haslam said the ceremonies are efficient for him and for those invested in the bills.
“There are a lot of people who want the photographs and then, No. 2, you don’t want to make them wait forever. So you try to make it as effective as you can for all those people who want pictures.
Asked if he thinks people feel well-served, the governor said, “I hope, I don’t know. You probably have a better feel. By the time they get to me, they’re glad to be up there on the stage.”
Contact staff writer Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550.