KETRON SAYS LAW WAS INTENDED FOR CHRISTIANS, NOT JEWS OR MUSLIMS
In one of the most hilarious twists of irony in recent memory, Jim Tracy and the GOP have been ‘outed’ by attorneys representing Rutherford County’s Regional Planning Commission as the reason Murfreesboro’s proposed Islamic Center will be built. It turns out Tracy and about 20 Republican Senators and Representatives co-sponsored the Religious Freedom Act last year in the Tennessee General Assembly, forcing local governments to approve site plans for religious institutions across the state. Whoopsie!
Folks, if you could make this stuff up, you could make a fortune writing scripts for daytime TV.
Apparently, Rutherford Republicans Jim Tracy, Bill Ketron, and Joe Carr didn’t read their own legislation. The only expected turn of events is that they’re all quickly backpeddling. The DNJ quotes Bill Ketron as saying the bill was not intended for Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Bahai, Zoriatrians, Dao, etc, etc, etc…
“It’s a pro-Christian bill,” Ketron said. “It was established to protect the First Amendment to keep the federal government from coming in and making a decision on whether or not the church qualified or not to be a church.”
Who knew the First Amendment didn’t protect Jews? Ketron vows to get to the bottom of it…
Ketron said because of the one incident involving the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, “I would like to go back and look at the law.”
The GOP might want to go back and read the constitution and maybe even their own bills next time.
Debbie Matthews (D-Columbia) is challenging Sen. Bill Ketron for the 13th Tennessee Senate District
Dear Friends,
When I was approached about running for the State Senate seat, the first and seems only thing everyone spoke to me about was the amount of money I would have to raise. I knew it would be a cost; I have after all run two (2) campaigns before, but I had always used primarily my own money.
They came to me with the stats showing what had been spent in the last election for this seat, and I was shocked. My competitor, the incumbent Mr. Ketron, spent $500,000 last time for a State Senate seat that pays a little less than $20,000 a year.
That fact alone gives me great pause in the process of where we are politically. Over $150,000 of that money came from insurance alone. THAT sure doesn’t make me feel as if I’m at the top of the list when anything is being considered . . . does it you?
Are we unable to elect someone for their ideas and ability to work or does it all come down to the dollar? Money in politics makes politicians politicians . . . and instead of interested in the people’s business, they are controlled and compromised by their financial backers.
I want to run this campaign different. Although I need financial support for mail outs and advertising, I want it to be from us . . . regular people who believe in something and someone.
So I am asking Y-O-U . . . will you invest in me and my campaign to make the community and state we love better?
All amounts are appreciated; just think your hard-earned $10 can help us regain the senate seat! You can donate here online…..or you can mail a check payable to the “Committee to Elect Debbie Matthews, State Senate” to 104 West 6th Street Columbia, TN 38401. Please remember if you mail a check to put your occupation, employer and contact number in the memo field.
We are making a huge campaign push to raise $30,000+ before June 30 and we need your help to get there.
Please join our cause to take our elected seats back from special interests and big money.
We are the government. It only works if WE work it!
Best,
Debbie Matthews
Candidate for State Senate District 13
Incumbent senator makes no effort to assist critical jobs and education project
COLUMBIA – State Senate District 13 Democratic candidate Debbie Matthews called on Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) this week to stop ignoring the pressing need for a new science building at Middle Tennessee State University during state budget negotiations.
“Senator Ketron worked to get pet projects in the budget without saying a word about providing a critical science and research facility for MTSU to train students for high-paying jobs,” Matthews said. “Senator Ketron wants to use state money to teach dogs how to find cell phones. I’m concerned about creating jobs and opportunities for our region through education.”
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a change in the Federal Medicaid Match Rate (FMAP) will result in a one-time, $341 million payment to Tennessee, which cannot be deposited or credited to any reserve or rainy day fund in this state.
Lawmakers have discussed spending the money on various pork projects, including a $16.1 million fish hatchery, and a $50 million employee buyout plan that wouldn’t begin until June 2011. Meanwhile, Ketron has stayed silent on the MTSU science building, which is the top priority on the Tennessee Higher Education Commission’s capital improvement list. The building has been on the capital list for at least nine years, despite many years of hard work by former Rep. John Hood and former State Sen. Andy Womack.
“The funds are there to make this crucial project happen,” Matthews said. “How long will Senator Ketron continue to ignore the needs in his district?”
Senators will have the opportunity to amend the budget on the Senate floor next week. Matthews says she hopes Ketron will fight to give residents in his district the opportunity to earn a quality education that will lead to high-paying jobs in science and research fields.
On Tuesday, the Senate State & Local Government Committee considered a bill (SB3250) to make sure firefighters and EMS workers are covered when they contract diseases in the line of duty. The deciding vote was cast by Senator Ketron, chairman of the committee. He abstained, killing the bill.
Every day, firefighters and EMS workers risk their lives in the line of duty. They perform CPR without knowing what they may contract. They storm burning buildings not knowing what chemical agents might be present or if they might be exposing themselves to asbestos or lead, as New York firefighters did during 9/11. When they get sick from this exposure, their families have to burden the cost of expensive treatments and may even go bankrupt from loss of work and the high cost of medical bills, or litigation to receive workers’ compensation benefits.
This bill would simply have made it easier for firefighters and EMS workers to be reimbursed through workers’ compensation when they get sick from exposure in the line of duty, but Senator Ketron didn’t even have the courage to vote yea or nay. He simply “passed”, which killed the bill without him having to take a stand.
Rutherford County deserves legislators who will take a stand for our firefighters and EMS workers, and our firefighters and EMS workers don’t deserve Bill Ketron.
SEN. KYLE CALLS FOR ACTION Ketron, Tracy vote ‘no’, kill bill
NASHVILLE – Democratic Minority Leader Sen. Jim Kyle of Memphis is calling on lawmakers to address an insolvent lottery scholarship fund after a Senate committee failed to plug a $13 million funding shortfall that threatens scholarship availability.
“This is the first step to reducing scholarships and denying accessibility for thousands of Tennessee students who depend on the lottery scholarship as their sole opportunity to attend college,” Kyle said. “This inaction threatens the ability to keep our promise to these students. The time to act is now.”
The Senate Education Committee that includes Republicans Bill Ketron and Jim Tracy voted 4-4-1 Wednesday on Senate Bill 3343 along party lines: Democrats for, Republicans against with one Republican abstaining. The bill would have transferred between $56 million and $91.4 million in lottery funds to the scholarship fund.
Wednesday’s tie vote effectively kills the legislation unless the committee chair recalls the bill. The committee closed Wednesday evening.
Currently, the lottery scholarship fund will require the use of reserve money for a second straight year to cover existing scholarships. The continued use of such reserves could lead to a decrease in interest income that funds lottery scholarships – and a subsequent decrease in scholarships.
Kyle is urging lottery scholarship recipients to contact their state lawmakers to tell what they want done to shore up the scholarship fund. If the Education Committee doesn’t reconsider the energy efficiency funds transfer, Kyle will call for it when the 2010-11 budget legislation comes up for a vote.
“On our current course, we are going to leave state education officials no choice other than raising academic requirements and cutting both the number and amount of lottery scholarships,” Kyle said. “Lawmakers are crippling our children’s futures by sitting on their hands.”
NASHVILLE - Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester said the legislative record of state Sen. Bill Ketron indicates that the Murfreesboro lawmaker is simply a “yes” man for fellow Republican senator and gubernatorial candidate Ron Ramsey, the state’s lieutenant governor.
“The district’s voters deserve an elected official who is looking after their interests, not someone who is more worried about political posturing and feathering his own nest,” Forrester said. “Mr. Ketron has demonstrated time and again that his priorities align more with the powers that be than with the hard-working families in Middle Tennessee.
“At a time when families are struggling to make ends meet and the state’s budget is being trimmed to the bone, you have a legislator introducing bills that bleed the working man, delay fair and accurate elections, and shut the door to a more open government. Mr. Ketron is out of touch with ordinary people.”
For example, Ketron introduced poorly written workers compensation legislation that passed into law in 2008 but was delayed at the beginning of this year’s legislative session after concerns arose; a bill that delayed implementation of a law requiring the purchase of new voting equipment across the state; and a bill that would make some public records off limits to the general public.
“We need lawmakers in the General Assembly who understand the challenges we face and work tirelessly to make Tennessee a better place to live and raise a family,” Forrester said.
“Policies that create jobs for our communities, ensure our children are well educated and make our lives more comfortable should be at the top of the priority list, not how to take care of a special interest group contributing to your campaign or a colleague with ulterior motives.”
Ketron has even admitted he doesn’t always have time to thoroughly read and understand legislation he votes for or against. He represents Lincoln, Marshall, Maury and part of Rutherford counties in the Senate.
“The thing was on a fast track,” Ketron reportedly told the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal when explaining his vote to reform education through the state’s application for federal stimulus money. “We barely had time to read through it.”
Forrester called Ketron’s explanation for not reading legislation thoroughly before casting a vote a “lame excuse and a blatant disregard for your duty as a legislator.”
“It appears to me that Mr. Ketron is Ron Ramsey’s ‘yes’ man,” he added.
NOT AWARE HE VOTED FOR INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The Daily News Journal’s weekly columnist Sam Stockard asked Bill Ketron why he voted for Race To The Federal Trough along with every other Republican legislator from Rutherford County. Here is what Ketron said:
Asked if he knows what the international benchmarks are, state Sen. Bill Ketron said, “I do not. We were told they would come from the U.S. Department of Education. The thing was on a fast track,” Ketron said. “We barely had time to read through it. It’s voluminous.”
Yet Ketron and fellow Republicans, Sen. Jim Tracy, of Shelbyville, Rep. Donna Rowland of Murfreesboro, Rep. Joe Carr of Lascassas and Rep. Pat Marsh of Shelbyville, members of the Rutherford County delegation, voted for it. Only state Rep. Kent Coleman, a Murfreesboro Democrat, voted against it.
So Republican Senator Bill Ketron admits that he voted for a massive overhaul of Tennessee’s education system without knowing much of what it actually accomplished. He also admits that as a “conservative” Republican, he thinks its just great to beg for half a billion dollars in stimulus cash with strings attached - strings that could bind our teachers to international standards. Sounds like something Tennessee’s Tea Party crowd would really oppose, but they are deathly silent on the matter because the legislation was backed by their republican overlords Ron Ramsey and Glen Casada. Just more evidence that the Tea Party crowd are willing to ignore their own stated beliefs if republicans tell them to, just like they did when they gave George W. Bush free reign to plunge our nation into huge war debts and pass unfunded federal mandates like No Child Left Behind.
Here’s how Rutherford County’s delegation voted when it came to tying teachers’ jobs to factors beyond their control: Kent Coleman (D) - NO, Joe Carr (R) - YES, Donna Rowland (R) - YES, Bill Ketron (R) - YES, Jim Tracy (R) -YES.
Last week’s Special Session called by Governor Bredesen to overhaul Tennessee’s education system was a locomotive speeding towards passage that even Superman could not have stopped. This massive legislation was debated in committees for a single day, and passed on the Senate and House floor the next.
Every Republican Representative voted to seek stimulus cash through federal Race To The Top grants, and our Democratic Governor and Democratic Caucuses backed the measure as well even though it meant adopting federal guidelines tying teachers’ performance to mere test scores . Only a handful of Democrats (8 to be exact) were willing to stand up for teachers and say ‘NO’ to a governor of their own Party and their own caucus leadership.
Our own Rep. Kent Coleman was the only Rutherford County legislator to stand on principle and stand up for teachers when it came time to vote, even though he knew he was also standing right in front of a speeding locomotive. It took the courage of Superman to rise and say this on the House floor last Friday night:
FORCED TO CO-SPONSOR DEMOCRATIC BILL TO DELAY HIS OWN LAW
A big win for small independent contractors occurred yesterday when republican Senator Bill Ketron, under pressure from independent contractors across the state, was forced to co-sponsor a Democratic bill he did not support last year to delay his own law, Public Chapter 1041, from taking effect. Ketron has finally agreed to support Democrat Tim Barnes’ bill (SB7001) that postpones until March 11, 2011 the deadline for contractors to purchase costly extra insurance. Interestingly, Ketron just last year did not support the delay sponsored by Senator Barnes of Clarksville, a Democrat.
Barnes sponsored SB2055 in 2009 in order to protect small independent contractors from the high costs of new insurance required by the Public Chapter 1041 Law which Ketron sponsored and passed in 2008. Ketron, a republican from Murfreesboro, abstained from voting for Barnes’ delay.
But now that he’s taken so much heat from Tennessee’s small business owners, he thinks delaying his own law is a great idea. He has demanded to be added to the list of co-sponsors of Barnes’ re-introduced bill (now SB7001), a bill he previously did not support.
Barnes’ bill to delay Ketron’s law will come up for a vote today at 1:00 in the Finance Ways & Means committee during Special Session. Unless Ketron abstains from voting again, he has officially flip-flopped on his own law. Maybe Ketron should have supported a delay led by Democrats last year, before he lost the support of Tennessee’s independent contractors.
NASHVILLE - Citing the slumping economy’s devastating effects on small-business owners, Democratic lawmakers Joe Pitts and Tim Barnes are seeking to delay until 2011 a state law that forces all building contractors to carry workers’ compensation insurance.
The law in question, sponsored by Republican House Leader Jason Mumpower of Bristol and Republican state Sen. Bill Ketron of Murfreesboro, went into effect on Dec. 31. Some building and small-business groups have said the new workers’ compensation policies are too costly for their members, especially at a time when the construction industry is in a downturn.
“Mr. Ketron and Mr. Mumpower are more worried about helping their big business buddies than on helping the self-employed guy out here trying to make ends meet,” Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester said. “The workers’ compensation bill they shepherded through the legislature may put some small-business owners in a real financial bind or even out of business.”
Sen. Tim Barnes (D-Clarksville)
“We need lawmakers in the General Assembly who understand the challenges we face and work tirelessly to make Tennessee a better place to live and raise a family. Policies that create jobs for our communities, ensure our children are well educated and make our lives more comfortable should be at the top of the priority list, not how to take care of a special interest group contributing to your campaign.”
State Rep. Pitts and state Sen. Barnes have introduced a bill delaying the new workers’ compensation law, which forces general contractors to carry the insurance on subcontractors and other workers who were not otherwise covered. As written, the new law also applies to sole proprietors and partnerships with six or fewer employees.
“They can’t pay when they are an industry that has been devastated by this recession and their income has shrunk dramatically,” said Jim Brown, Tennessee director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, during a recent television interview with WSMV-TV in Nashville.
Efforts by Pitts and Barnes to delay implementation of the law were scuttled last year. The General Assembly, however, will convene tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan. 12, a special session dealing with education reforms and the workers’ compensation issue.
Many lawmakers agree the law is flawed and hope it can be delayed until all concerns can be addressed.
“I hope this next session will focus on real concerns for the state and not be a venue to score cheap political points for the November elections,” Forrester said. “We have too much riding on the future of this state to waste time on grandstanding and nonsense.”
Republican Senator Bill Ketron of Murfreesboro is an insurance salesman. He has taken in over $20,000 in campaign cash from big insurance and large homebuilding special interests. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he sponsored a new state law to force small contractors and subconstractors to spend their hard-earned profits with him and his insurance buddies instead of spending it on their families in tough economic times.
Public Chapter 1041, sponsored by Senator Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) and Rep. Jason Mumpower (R-Bristol) was lobbied for heavily by the Tennessee Hombuilders Association (a special interest group that represents large development companies) and the Tennessee Insurors Association, who greased the wheels of government with copious amounts of campaign cash for Republican lawmakers in order to further the interests of big business over the little guy. It would require all contractors to purchase workers’ compensation insurance even if their only employee is themselves. The new law took effect January 1st, and small contractors are howling mad about it:
Gerry Fridlund, owner of Skybright Metal Roofing in Memphis, found out about the law the hard way when his insurance company sent him a bill for $4,300 last summer.
“I told them I wasn’t going to pay it,” Fridlund told NIT. “When I asked who was responsible for this I was told the Home Builders Association pushed this through. I think they wanted to stop the little guy from bidding up against the big boys. They want to squeeze the sole proprietors and make it difficult for people to start small businesses.”
The new law’s Senate sponsor, Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro), is himself an insurance salesman who benefits from raising premiums on small contractor businesses. During his current term, special interest PACs representing large home builders, developers and insurance industries gave more than $20,000 to Ketron’s campaign war chest.
The new law’s House sponsor, Rep. Jason Mumpower (R-Bristol), has received $18,000 from special interest PACs representing large home builders, developers and insurance industries during his current term.
Its all fine with Bill Ketron, who will be sending out grossly inflated insurance bills to his customers this year. He doesn’t really care that jobs may be killed to pay for it as long as he gets paid.
Thankfully, Rep. Joe Pitts (D - Clarksville) and Sen. Tim Barnes (D-Clarksville) have listened to the voices of Tennessee’s small business owners and are seeking to delay the enforcement of the new law in Special Session of the General Assembly next week. HB1899 and its companion bill SB2055 delay Ketron’s law until July 1st of 2010. As usual, its up to Democrats to finally stand up for small business owners when republicans and their big business cronies try to sneak in sweetheart deals for themselves.
Republicans controlled this year’s session of the Tennessee legislature for the first time since reconstruction (1870’s). They took over in a time of unprecedented economic hardship and sagging revenues, adding up to a budget mess that required quick action. What did republicans do with their newfound leadership opportunities? They plugged the budget holes with the very stimulus money they protested, passed “Guns in Bars”, and headed home with their pockets full of per diem checks.
All the while, far right Tennessee Republicans made impassioned speeches about “following the Constitution”, the evils of the stimulus package (yet spent it to plug budget holes), and “limited government”. They even formed a committee to study secession.
Now a Chancery Judge has ruled that the “Guns in Bars” law is unconstitutionally vague, citing that it is problematic for police and small business owners (you know, the ones republicans claim to protect). Following the Constitution to the letter is the one thing all republicans pride themselves in and espouse constantly. This year, when they finally took power for the first time since reconstruction, they couldn’t even do that. The City Paper has the story
In her ruling, [Chancellor] Bonnyman agreed the law was too vague and “does violate the due process rights of the public in general and plaintiff gun permit holders.” The chancellor based her decision on the fact that permit holders cannot determine whether or not they are in violation of the law.
“The principle business being conducted cannot be known to the ordinary citizen,” Bonnyman said. “Inquiry would not be satisfactory or helpful.”
It’s not clear whether or not the Attorney General will appeal the ruling, which effectively eliminated the statute from the law. The legislature is likely to address a new version of the bill in the next session but it is unclear whether or not a guns-in-bar provision will see the same support.
Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas spoke out in support of Bonnyman’s decision, and said his one concern he had was that the ruling would allow the issue to “again take center stage during the next legislative session instead of the vitally important issue of keeping convicted felons behind bars.”
The state legislature may be out of session but according to local media reports Rep. Joe Carr (R-48) has been spending a lot of summer days at the Capitol claiming per diems, a day’s pay for showing up. Rep. Carr was at the top of the list when it came to which Republican requested the most per diems after the session was already over.
It’s gotten so bad that Republican House Speaker Kent Williams issued a letter to all Representatives asking them to follow some basic guidelines to cut per diem requests. You can read the letter here.
Rep. Carr must not have gotten the memo because he kept requesting money all summer when he thought no one would be watching. Rep. Carr didn’t think twice about pushing his own bill in the last session demanding Gov. Bredesen not accept federal stimulus funds for extended jobless benefits for his district’s growing unemployed. Now that Rep. Carr needs a stimulus of his own, he’s off to collect his directly from the tax payers.
We’ll take a closer look at Rep. Carr’s summer per diem requests later, but first, let’s look at how much our county’s delegation is costing us.
What the list of our county delegation’s per diem requests for the entire session factually shows the voters of our county is a record of spending on the part of the Republican delegation. Rep. Donna Rowland (R-34) doesn’t look that bad on the surface, but then she’s got a lot of making up to do for being deemed the most expensive Republican in the entire House for filing resolutions honoring everything from campaign contributors to her new boyfriend.
The list below does not include per diem requests made after the session, which ought to put Rep. Carr over the top.
“The Secretary of State is using his office to obstruct the voting rights of all Tennesseans,” Forrester said. “Mr. Hargett’s refusal to do the job he was sworn to do appears to be part of a nefarious Republican strategy to stand in the way of secure and verifiable elections in Tennessee.
Instead of working to implement state law that was passed almost unanimously last year by both the House and Senate, Sec. Hargett has spent the time lobbying legislators to support Sen. Bill Ketron’s (R-13) bill to re-write the law so that it doesn’t apply to the 2010 elections. State Election Coordinator Mark Goins has also urged county election commissioners to spend their time lobbying the legislature back Sen. Ketron.
“I am honored to present the NASS Medallion Award to Sen. Ketron for his work in pursuing the highest standards of integrity in the electoral process as well as his work to protect the fiscal stability of local governments,” Hargett said in the news release from Senate Republican Caucus spokeswoman Darlene Schlicher.
It’s no surprise Sec. Hargett would use one of five medallions he’s allowed to give out every year as a tool in his continued campaign to obstruct existing election law. Sec. Hargett and Sen. Ketron are two peas in a Republican pod working together to make sure the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act does not apply to the 2010 elections. Voters of Rutherford County deserve and demand better.
Sen. Bill Ketron kisses Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey's pinky ring while Sen. Tracy waits his turn.
Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey will be in town early tomorrow morning to keynote the Murfreesboro Breakfast Rotary Club at the Stones River Country Club. As we predicted last week, Lt. Gov. Ramsey will be introduced to Rutherford County voters by his dutiful pet Senators pictured to the right kissing his pinky ring, Senators Jim Tracy (R-16) and Bill Ketron (R-13).
Voters who considered attending out of curiosity can save themselves the trip. What Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and Senators Tracy and Ketron will say is no different from what they’ll say all the way up to the 2010 elections despite the facts.
During tense budget negotiations, Lt. Gov Ramsey disappeared to attend several fundraisers during the legislative session, leaving his pet Senators Ketron and Tracy to defend Ramsey’s disastrous budget proposals. His absence was even noted by the much more disciplined Republican Speaker of the House Kent Williams.
Williams said House members were trying to negotiate with senators over a revisions to the state budget plan on Monday, but Ramsey was not involved.
“He’s not here,” Williams told reporters Monday afternoon. “He’s got three fundraisers tonight and that’s a little more important than state government.”
When Lt. Gov. Ramsey returned from raising money for his gubernatorial campaign he found the Democrats got the priorities of working families fully funded despite Ketron and Tracy’s best efforts. Now Lt. Gov Ramsey is on a desperate tour to claim credit for a compromise budget that funds the very priorities his own budget proposal aimed to destroy.
We’re certain Lt. Gov. Ramsey will find at least a couple of suckers in the room tomorrow as he will across the entire state.
KETRON SAYS LAW WAS INTENDED FOR CHRISTIANS, NOT JEWS OR MUSLIMS
Here’s how Rutherford County’s delegation voted when it came to tying teachers’ jobs to factors 
Republicans controlled this year’s session of the Tennessee legislature for the first time since reconstruction (1870’s). They took over in a time of unprecedented economic hardship and sagging revenues, adding up to a budget mess that required quick action. What did republicans do with their newfound leadership opportunities? They plugged the budget holes with the very stimulus money they protested, passed “Guns in Bars”, and headed home with their 
