To paraphrase Mr. Shakespeare, “A pause by another name would be as sweet.”
Tennessee House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, said late Monday afternoon he was pausing a controversial bill that is meant to challenge the constitutional right for children to attend school regardless of their immigration status.
Although the state Senate already passed a version of the bill, with the General Assembly winding down its business for the year this week, it’s unlikely the House will take up its bill again since lawmakers said they feel the need to seek guidance on how the bill’s passage might affect federal education funding.
Were they to receive such guidance and pass their bill as it is out of the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee and then in the full House, it would have to go to a conference committee to work out differences with the Senate version. Or, if they were to adopt and amend the Senate version, the legislation would have to go back to the Senate for passage again.
Either way, it sounds like a bridge too far, which is good news.