Governor Bill Lee is pushing “extreme risk” order of protection (ERPO) legislation aimed at substantially changing Tennessee’s criminal and mental codes and in effect, implementing a “Red Flag” Law in the Volunteer state.
According to Capitol insiders, Rules have been suspended in the Tennessee House so the legislation can bypass the subcommittee and committee process and go straight to the floor for a vote today (April 20th, 2023).
Due to the extreme lack of transparency from Tennessee elected officials regarding this legislation and the hearing thereof, details are sparse.
Although amendments to the bills are not available for public viewing on the General Assembly website, it is believed that caption bills HB0508 / SB0179 or HB1017 / SB1502 will be amended with the Bill Lee approved language today and be voted on in the House. New insider information suggests that HB0508 is more likely to be the caption bill serving as the vehicle for Lee’s amendment that “makes the bill”. The language for Lee’s amendment was acquired by TNJ on the Hill and can be found at the bottom of this article.
Capital Insiders tell us that currently the Senate is not willing to reopen to hear additional legislation. However, it is believed that since the House leadership is willing to push Lee’s amendments at the eleventh hour, “they must know something about the Senate side.”
