NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A blind entrepreneur in Tennessee is sounding the alarm over a bill that he believes could put him and many others out of business.
The measure, sponsored by State Rep. Kevin Vaughn (R-Collierville) and State Sen. Bo Watson (R-Hixon), started as an effort to get better food and snack options in the Cordell Hull Legislative building. Initially, the legislation handled problematic food vendors at state and local government buildings that weren't living up to their contracts.
Later, the bill changed some aspects of the long-standing Randolph-Sheppard Act, which is a federal law that gives first priority to blind individuals applying for a vending contract at federal buildings. Tennessee adopted a "mini" version of the law to apply to all state and local building contracts. Under these initial revisions to the bill, other disability groups could also be considered for vendor contracts, in addition to individuals with blindness.
But then, right before the Tennessee House was slated to vote on the bill, the legislation received yet another amendment.
The new version of the bill now says blind vendors, along with other vendors with disabilities, should not get first priority on these vendor contracts if their bid can't compete with the rate and services other companies could offer.
"You would have big businesses coming in and taking over our contracts," said Ryan Smith, who owns and operates Titan Vendors. "We can’t compete with the bigger operations. It’s like Main Street versus Walmart. Walmart’s a bigger deal. They can operate on thinner margins. We’re smaller businesses. We can’t do that."
Titan Vendors fulfills inmate commissary orders for local jails. The part that Smith loves the most — he's able to hire other employees in his similar situation.
"For the last six years, I have been working with the Tennessee School for the Blind, and I give their students an opportunity to experience real life employment," said Smith.
Leveling the playing field
Smith still remembers graduating from college and struggling to find a job.
"They were excited to meet me. I would walk into the interview, and you could feel the air just being sucked out," said Smith.
He said he remembered being told that his disability wouldn't hinder him from joining the workforce.
"Employers won’t be able to use your blindness against you. Your blindness will not be a barrier to employment. That notion couldn’t be further from the truth," he said.
Thanks to the Randolph-Sheppard Act, Smith finally got his big break when he was awarded the contract to run Order in the Court, a restaurant in Metro's Birch Building and Ben West Judicial Complex. Because of the law, Smith's bid was given top priority.
"Counting doesn’t take eyes, it’s just a matter of knowing where everything is in the register," Smith told NewsChannel 5 back in 2015.
Smith is worried that if this bill passes, more than 80 blind-owned operations would shut down, causing 225 employees to lose their jobs. And for him, he would have to go back to the anxiety-filled days when he struggled to find a job.
"I want to remind them that the unemployment rate for blind people is between 70-80%. No one asks to be in this situation; it can happen to anyone," said Smith.
What comes next
Rep. Vaughn's version of the bill was slated to go before the full Tennessee House last Thursday, but a vote was ultimately delayed.
"As all of us out there who enjoy baking, if you take a cake out of the oven a little bit prematurely, that was going to be the case with this bill. So, I request this bill to be rolled," Rep. Vaughn told his colleagues.
A House vote has been rescheduled for Thursday, April 17.
Over in the Tennessee Senate, members already passed a version of this bill. However, their version didn't include the provision that takes away first priority status for blind business operators.
If the House passes its differing version, the House and Senate would have to reconcile their two versions, most likely through a process called "Conference Committee."
We asked Rep. Kevin Vaughn if he'd like to do an interview for this story or provide us with a statement, but he declined through a Republican Caucus spokesperson.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
The line ''see something, say something" took on new meaning recently in Bowling Green. Two alert neighbors helped tip police to stolen Corvettes from the nearby assembly plant. That led law enforcement to find 8 stolen Corvettes worth over $1 million. We may all be able to learn a little lesson from this.
-Lelan Statom
