CLEMMONS CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Nashville Representative Requests Extraordinary Legislative Session to Address Public Health and Economy
NASHVILLE – State Representative John Ray Clemmons (District 55 – Nashville) today called for immediate action and decisive steps to be taken in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Tennessee and its devastating impact on local economies.
"Tennessee families and small businesses need help and deserve leadership right now. My fellow legislators and I cannot sit idly by while Gov. Bill Lee fails to act and Congress refuses to provide sufficient relief,” said state Representative John Ray Clemmons. “Tennesseans have rightfully lost confidence in our governor and lost patience with Washington. These folks are more worried about politics than just doing their job and helping people.”
“It is incumbent upon us in the state legislature to step up and lead, now more than ever,” said Rep. Clemmons. “Today, I am calling on my fellow state legislators to join me in submitting a written request to Speaker Sexton and Lt. Governor McNally calling for them to convene an extraordinary session of the state legislature for the purpose of accomplishing the following, or any substantive part thereof, in a bipartisan manner:
· to provide unemployment relief to the thousands of Tennesseans still out of work;
· to provide additional small business relief and grants;
· to enact a plan to effectively invest the stockpiled TANF funds;
· to address the budgetary needs of our public education system;
· to provide hazard pay to K-12 public school teachers and school-based employees in the form of a 4% salary increase;
· to make necessary reforms to our unemployment insurance system;
· to take appropriate steps to allow TennCare expansion, which would inject billions of dollars of much-needed funding into rural and urban communities and protect and create new jobs;
· to strip Gov. Bill Lee of all statutory emergency powers allowing him to unilaterally spend Tennessee taxpayer money on no-bid contracts; and,
· to enact a temporary statewide facial covering requirement.
“Families across Tennessee are looking for real leadership during this challenging time. By working together across the aisle and focusing squarely on families and our economy, our state legislature can accomplish more in one week than Governor Bill Lee and Congress have done in the past ten months.”
Pursuant to Article 2, Section 8 of the Tennessee Constitution, the state legislature may be convened by the presiding officers of both Houses at the written request of two-thirds of the members of each House.
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State Rep. John Ray Clemmons represents District 55 in Nashville. Follow him on Twitter: @JRClemmons | Facebook: @/johnrayfortn | Web: johnrayfortenessee.com
