NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The day after the Tennessee legislature leaves town is always a time for reflection. But even some legislative leaders weren't impressed with the outcome.
"We had a lot of bills that got left on the table, that I hope will be taken back up in January," said Rep. William Lamberth, (R-Portland) in a news conference Tuesday at the Capitol.
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally is still championing a bill that would make it easier to voluntarily and involuntarily commit individuals to mental health institutions.
"Further refine the bill and see if he’s able to get it passed. I hope he is," said Lt. Gov. McNally.
Rep. Lamberth wants to change how Tennessee schools treat fire alarms. During the Covenant School shooting, when smoke from the shooter's gun triggered the fire alarm to go off, it lured some classrooms out into the hallway towards danger.
"Every school needs to evaluate their fire alarm procedures so that when a fire alarm goes off, they go through the process to determine — is it a fire, is it a natural disaster, is there a shooter in the school?" said Lamberth.
Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) wasn't able to present gun control legislation due to the Governor's call for the special session, but that won't be an obstacle in January.
"I’ll be back this session, I’ll once again bring my red flag law that has due process and does all the things. I’ll bring my safe storage bill," said Johnson.
But the House Republican super majority likely will be an obstacle.
"I have three counties. Not one of my counties has anyone said — Jeremy you need to go pass a red flag law, you need to pass an ERPO law," said Rep. Jeremy Faison, who serves as the House Republican Caucus Chair. "That doesn't happen where I’m from. So I want y’all to know, we did as a body of 99 people, we carried out what we believed the voice of Tennessee was for each one of our districts."
Of course, the legislature will likely consider hundreds of bills. Some of the other measures that fell short this special session include blending sentences for juvenile offenders and removing child autopsy reports from public records.
