So, we took another trip down to Legislative Plaza. The last committee meeting for the Senate was Transportation and Senator Kilby’s (D) bill to expand Toll Roads across Tennessee was sent to the dead zone till it gets resurrected again next year I suppose.

We had an interesting experience of sitting in on the Government Operations committee. I’m still trying to figure out the purpose of this committee since they don’t vote on any bills they just pass them along to another committee with a review of neutral, yes or no? The general chaos of the committee along with it’s dysfunctional committee Chair (Thelma Harper - D) and Vice Chair (Beverly Marrero - D) were quite an experience.

Now where were those amendments? What was that amendment? This seemed to be a popular refrain. That and Harper or Marrero’s derogatory references to men or those evil corporations.

The TN Deposit Beverage Container Act (SB 1408) sponsored by Sen. Doug Jackson (D) was on the agenda. There was an environmental activist who was the pro-lobbyist who spoke before the committee on the act. She spoke in glowing terms of how this would be a win win for everyone in the state. Adding a 5 cent deposit on every beverage can, glass bottle and plastic bottle in the state along with a 3 cent distributor fee would in the long run reduce the cost of beverages to the TN consumer. I’m not sure if this woman ever took a math class. She was talking about an 85% redemption rate (yeah, sure) along with around 800 “Mom & Pop” redemption centers popping up all around the state without government subsidy. It was pure left wing nonsense. And then we can all sing Kum.by.ya.

After her was the consultant for the Tn beverage industry who had a few more statistics and realistic outcomes. One of his caveats was the fraud if you are a state with this law yet the surrounding states don’t? Go out of state to buy the beverages and return the containers for redemption in TN. These containers are sold nationwide, there is no determining where the containers were purchased. There is fraud in a number of other situations too. He told of California which only has a 52% redemption rate, wonder where that 5 cent fee goes? Oh yeah, into the general fund. The only other state which has a distributor fee is Hawaii and that rate is one cent. The other not so good outcome? It takes away the most profitable element for existing recycling programs so these programs which are primarily run by municipalities.

Senator Jackson responded that HE thinks “this is worth a try”. So we are to assume all of this infrastructure is to be set up (with no cost to the state) with private companies setting up these redemption centers so TN can try this out? I think not Senator Jackson.

But it’s for the environment. Senator Jackson cited some survey that said that 92% of Tennesseans were in favor of this. I’d like to take that survey.

I really appreciated Senator Harper and Marrero’s snide comment about the baaad bad beverage lobbyist yet neglected to respond in like to the enviroMENTAL activist lobbyist. These two doddering ladies in their oh so cute straw hats and sneering asides about how much smarter they were than the men in the room really didn’t endear me much just in case you were wondering. The bill was moved out of the committee with a neutral vote which means this committee accomplished nothing except to educate me on what a stupid idea this bill would be for Tennessee.

I think that’s enough of a report on this day at the Tennessee Senate.

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