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Despite election wins that shifted control, it could be difficult NASHVILLE - The 106th General Assembly convenes this week with Republicans controlling both the House and Senate for the first time in 140 years and the state facing the biggest financial shortfall in all of Tennessee history. The session, which officially begins at noon Tuesday, will be devoted largely to Republican moves to transform the election victories that provided the party a shaky 50-49 majority in the House and solid 19-14 advantage in the Senate into governing power. They may have some problems in the process. The state faces an...

NASHVILLE - House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh has once again used his powerful post to kill gun legislation in the General Assembly. Naifeh, with the help of a brand new member of the Legislature, on Wednesday helped override an earlier subcommittee vote in favor of a bill that would close handgun permit records from public inspection. As speaker, the Covington Democrat is entitled to vote on any House panel. "I'd really prefer to not go the committees and vote. But when it's a matter of importance, I do," Naifeh said. The House Criminal Practice Subcommittee had voted earlier Wednesday to pass...

NASHVILLE - State House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh attended a subcommittee session Wednesday to shoot down bills allowing holders of handgun carry permits to take their weapons to bars, state parks and college campuses. Taking advantage of House rules that allow the speaker to vote on any House panel, Naifeh cast a deciding "no" vote on the three measures. Normally, the Criminal Practice Subcommittee has five members, with three yes votes required for passage of a bill. With Naifeh on hand, four votes were necessary for a majority. The defeated measures were: n A bill by Rep. Curry Todd, R-Collierville, to...

E-mail: dstuart@wsmv.com On Capitol Hill, the debate over guns in bars has turned into a raging battle that is not only political, but also personal. Jimmy Naifeh used to be a darling of gun supporters and used his clout as House Speaker to pass or kill legislation. But when Naifeh used questionable maneuvers to send the current gun bill back to a subcommittee, the gun lobby came out blazing. "Our legislation is about good guys. The bad guys are already carrying [guns] in bars and restaurants. This would put us on a level playing field,” said Darren LaSorte, National Rifle...

There were some who have contended that a kinder and gentler House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh emerged over the past couple of years or so, transformed from the partisan ogre that Republican activists love to hate. Maybe so. He's been quietly appointing Republicans as subcommittee chairmen, for example, and cultivating contacts with party moderates. More loudly, he has been making overtures toward openness in government - at least in the sense of making live broadcasts of floor sessions and some committee meetings available over the Internet. But it may also be that the speaker, at age 65, is just being more...

House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh wants to abolish all vanity license plates, following Gov. Phil Bredesen’s move to allow a license plate promoting a pro-life abortion stance to be issued by the state. Bredesen Tuesday let legislation allowing the state Department of Safety to issue a “Choose Life” specialty plate go unsigned through the constitutional deadline, which without a veto makes the bill law. Naifeh says Rep. Mark Maddox (D-Dresden) is drafting legislation which would ban all specialty plates. State specialty plates, of which more than 100 exist, promote everything from the Great Smoky Mountains to the University of Tennessee football...

Preliminary for Review This document does not contain the complete preliminary minutes. This document is an excerpt of the preliminary minutes received from the State Architect’s office and contains only the action pertaining directly to TBR and the general business of the Commission. <![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]> <![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]> MINUTES OF MEETING OF STATE BUILDING COMMISSION <![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]> May 9, 2002 <![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]>             The State Building Commission met this day at 10:00 a.m. in House Hearing Room No. 29, Legislative Plaza, Nashville, Tennessee, with the following State Building Commission members and departments present. <![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]> 10:15 a.m. Department of Environment...

Service tax garners only 17 votes in Tennessee House By TIM WHALEY A plan to broaden the sales tax to exempt services garnered only 17 votes in the Tennessee House on Thursday, but House members did authorize the use of state reserves from the rainy day fund and 28 earmarked funds to cover a $480 million current year budget deficit. House members then agreed to adjourn until June 19, with only one regular session day left. After that last day expires, lawmakers will not be paid for their services, and only 11 days will remain to pass a budget. The...

<p>A vote on a new tax on services could be up in the state House this morning, and proponents of an income tax could take another stab at passing it today as lawmakers continue their quest to balance the state budget by raising taxes.</p>

BOSS HOGG NAIFEH Income tax, services taxes back on House floor May 28, 2002 A bill to create a state income tax and another to expand the sales tax are back on the House floor. The income tax plan was moved to the floor Tuesday after bills dealing with TennCare and the state budget process were approved in committee. Income tax supporters hope the reform bills will sway an extra handful of votes into their corner. The House Finance Committee also passed a bill authorizing the General Assembly to use reserve funds to balance this year's books. That would make...

<p>Backers of a state income tax plan that could re-emerge as early as this afternoon cite, as a big selling point, its ability to capture taxes of people who work in Tennessee but live out of state, including professional athletes and big-time entertainers.</p>

Shock of tax defeat doesn't ruffle Naifeh Speaker keeps cool, prepares to try again By Paula Wade wade@gomemphis.com May 27, 2002 NASHVILLE - It was a defining moment, and House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh lost. Hoping to end four years of legislative deadlock over taxes, the Democrat from Covington led 44 of his House colleagues into the political breach Wednesday to a recorded vote for a state income tax - in an election year, with cameras rolling and angry protesters outside and in the House gallery, no less. It was a political earthquake, and everyone in the crowded, dead-silent House...

<p>Five may be the magic number of votes House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh needs to pass a proposed income tax plan, but interviews with lawmakers who are considered swing votes indicate the Democrat leader faces a difficult task.</p> <p>Naifeh says he is convinced the 45 House members who voted for the plan last week will stick with him. His Finance Committee chairman agrees.</p>

Income tax dead? Alive? Sure is, say foes, fans By Jim Balloch, News-Sentinel staff writer May 25, 2002 Pro- and anti-income tax groups are in just as much disagreement over what will happen next as as they are over what should happen. "We think there is still a good shot this year, but if we have to wait until next year, we will still be here," John Stewart, board member for the pro-income tax group Tennesseans for Fair Taxation, said Friday. "It's going to be very close, but like (House Speaker Jimmy) Naifeh said, we have come too far to...

<p>Deficiencies in TennCare and other complaints that some lawmakers said kept them from supporting a state income tax plan are being addressed, backers of the tax said yesterday.</p> <p>Rep. Matt Kisber, D-Jackson, a co-sponsor of the tax bill, said rules that will govern TennCare after July 1 would prohibit enrollees with financial means from escaping premium payments, a complaint lodged by one lawmaker.</p>

House defeats 4.5 percent flat-rate income tax by Tom Sharp and Karin Miller Associated Press NASHVILLE -- The state House defeated a 4.5 percent flat rate income tax on Wednesday and sent it back to committee after House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh kept the vote open for nearly two hours but failed to collect the necessary votes. The vote was 49-45 against the tax, with four members not voting. The bill, which needed 50 votes to pass, was referred back to the calendar committee. That means it could resurface in its original form or with changes for a later vote. "I...

<p>House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh said his income tax is down but not out, and it could be back for another vote in the House as early as next Wednesday.</p> <p>The income tax plan, which also included a rollback in some sales taxes and higher taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, failed in the House yesterday during a nail-biting vote count that lasted nearly two hours. It ended with 45 votes for, 49 votes against and four present but not voting. That was five votes short of the 50 needed to pass.</p>

Tax plan on life support Not done, Naifeh says as bill fails By Tom Humphrey, News-Sentinel Nashville bureau May 23, 2002 NASHVILLE - A state income tax fell five votes short of House approval Wednesday, apparently after a handful of legislators reneged on private commitments of support. House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, who sponsored the bill, refused to have the vote recorded as official for almost two hours after it was taken, spending most of that time trying to change some minds. The result was four representatives switching from "no" to officially abstaining, or declining to vote either way, but no...

Tennessee House speaker may call for vote on income tax By TIM WHALEY Tennessee House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, D-Covington, may well ask for a House floor vote Wednesday on his 4.5 percent flat income tax plan after a leading alternative, a 6 percent expanded sales tax, was pulled from further consideration Tuesday. But skepticism remains that any plan will make it out of the House, much less through the Senate. The sales tax expansion bill - co-sponsored by Reps. Bob McKee, R-Athens, and Chris Newton, R-Cleveland - ran into trouble last week when a re-statement of estimated tax collections under...

Flawed Study Misleads Tennessee Taxpayers A study released last Friday in support of a proposal to institute a broad-based state income tax overlooks a great deal of existing research pointing to the dangers of such a plan. "Supporters of Speaker Naifeh's income tax plan would rather mislead Tennesseans with flawed statistics than confront the real source of Tennessee's budget problem: their own bloated spending habits," said NTU President John Berthoud. "In fact, a mountain of evidence shows that a state income tax would fuel government, stall the economy, and leave all Tennesseans with a bigger tax bill." Read more by...