NASHVILLE – An expected epic battle over school vouchers instead fizzled on the Tennessee House floor Thursday when the sponsor told colleagues he didn’t have the votes to pass it and later acknowledged the bill will likely die this year.
“There’s no reason to have four hours of debate if I don’t have the votes,” Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, told reporters after shelving his bill.
Asked if he might bring the measure back up this session, Dunn said, “Obviously, if suddenly 50-something people came and said, ‘We’re ready to take it back up,’ then I would reconsider it.”
But Dunn didn’t hold out much hope for that, saying, “I think we kind of hit a high-water mark today and people are going to move on to other issues.”
Dunn charged his bill was hamstrung by “lies” spread by opponents about the impact of a last-minute amendment he had hoped would ease passage.