NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Proponents of a creating a limited school voucher program in Tennessee first feared that snow flurries would keep enough supporters from arriving for a House floor vote Monday.
But it ended up being an avalanche of proposed amendments – including a last-minute change proposed by the bill’s main sponsor – that caused Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, to put the vote off until later in the week.
Dunn told colleagues before the floor session that he now only wants the bill to apply to the state’s four largest counties: Shelby, Davidson, Knox and Hamilton. But he said he wants to take a more comprehensive approach to finding a version that can pass “instead of taking up 22 amendments.”
Even Dunn’s normally routine motion to delay the vote illustrated how closely divided the House is on the measure. It received just 51 votes – or two more than the minimum to be adopted.
The bill would make the vouchers available to low-income families whose children attend the state’s worst-ranking schools. Those families could apply the about $7,000 voucher toward paying private school tuition. The companion version of the bill was passed overwhelmingly by the Senate last year.