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.
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.
The proposal, sponsored by Murfreesboro Sen. Bill Ketron, would rework the state’s independent body that oversees lawmaker ethics three years after it was put in place. Ketron says the change would save money and make both agencies more effective.
Critics say it would do away with the only agency in the state that can ensure lawmakers carry out the ethics reforms passed in 2006 after five legislators were caught taking bribes in the FBI sting known as Tennessee Waltz.
“If the General Assembly wants to save 100, 200 grand, there’s better ways to save it,” said Clint Brewer, director of government accountability for the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, an organization that tracks the state legislature. “There are a lot of other places where you can cut.”
Under Sen. Ketron’s plan, the state will eliminate three of the nine ethics commission staff positions. Sen. Ketron ought to be ashamed of himself, but we’ll settle for a simple explanation.
Why does Sen. Ketron want to cut funds and staff for the very body charged with keeping corruption out of the state legislature? Contact Sen. Ketron and report back here in comments:
Sen. Bill Ketron
13 Legislative Plaza
Nashville, TN 37243-0213
Phone (615) 741-6853
Fax (615) 741-7200
sen.bill.ketron@capitol.tn.gov
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 
Murfreesboro’s Republican 
