Latest news with #DavidHawk
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ribbon cut on rebuilt Kinser Bridge in Greene County
GREENE COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Nearly eight months after Hurricane Helene washed it away, the Highway 107/Sgt. Kinser Bridge is set to reopen. At 11 a.m. on Friday, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the reopening of the bridge. News Channel 11 live-streamed the ceremony on Drivers will be able to travel over the bridge around 5 p.m. on Friday, TDOT stated in a news release. Deputy Governor and TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley was joined by State Representative David Hawk, Greene County Mayor Kevin Morrison, Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger and other officials to mark the completion of the project. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
TN Rep. Hawk: Undocumented students bill may be dead for '25
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — A controversial bill that would require Tennessee public school systems to determine all students' citizenship or legal status may be dead for the year, a Northeast Tennessee representative said Thursday. Investigation active after autistic child walks away from school, found by mom The bill, which would also allow school systems to charge tuition to undocumented students or deny them enrollment, is not on the House of Representatives calendar for next week. The legislative session is set to wrap up then. The measure passed the Senate 19-13 last week, with seven Republicans joining all six Democrats in voting against it. Rep. David Hawk said the fact that a fiscal cost is associated with the bill, and that no funds to support any of its costs were included in the budget passed Wednesday, greatly diminish chances of it going before the full house. 'Stranger things have happened,' Hawk told News Channel 11 when asked whether the bill sponsored by William Lamberth (R-Portland) might still make its way to a floor vote. 'I've seen bills come out from behind a budget document that I did not expect. I don't know what the 11th-hour machinations may be, because I haven't had this conversation with the sponsor of the legislation. But it doesn't look like that bill is going to move forward in this calendar year.' Bill that could bar undocumented students passes TN Senate 19-13 with 7 GOP 'no' votes The bill's fiscal note reckoned that up to $1.1 billion in federal education funding could be at risk if the federal government determined the measure violated federal law. Typically, legislators would look for assurances that cost would not come to fruition, or find funds to cover those costs in the event they did. 'We'll have pieces of legislation that will pop up from time to time that will say, if this bill passes, it could jeopardize federal funding,' Hawk said. 'We've seen that in transportation funding. We've seen it in Department of Human Services funding. 'It can do that, and the concerns are real. There are some realistic concerns that if you were to have to backfill that $1 billion with state funds, what does that look like?' Opponents, including some Republicans, have called the bill inhumane and said it would represent an unfunded mandate for school systems as they met requirements to document each enrolling student's legal status. They don't do that now, largely because the 1982 Plyler v Doe Supreme Court decision prohibited any public schools in the U.S. from denying a child education based their citizenship or legal residency status. Supporters, including Senate sponsor Bo Watson (R-Hixson), have acknowledged passage would likely lead to federal court battles and potentially to Tennessee arguing for a reversal of that decision. Watson and other supporters have said the cost of providing English Language Learner courses has risen exponentially in Tennessee and argued that undocumented students likely represent a large portion of that cost. They've touted the bill, which gives systems the option of charging tuition to undocumented students but doesn't mandate it, as a way for school systems to recoup some of that expense. PREVIOUS: Schools director speaks on undocumented students bill Public education groups from superintendents' organizations and the Tennessee School Boards Association to principals' organizations have publicly opposed the bill. Several local school leaders have told News Channel 11 they would not deny enrollment to any student who lived in their districts. Lamberth did not move for the bill to be advanced in any House Finance, Ways, and Means subcommittees this week. Most other bills that haven't yet passed moved through that subcommittee and through the full Finance, Ways, and Means committee and on to the full House calendar this week. That said, it's an open question whether President Donald Trump's administration would withhold federal education funding from Tennessee if the bill became law. 'I'm going to surmise that the sponsors of the legislation, the prime sponsor of the legislation and both the House and the Senate are having those conversations with our federal officials to see what the the realistic potential loss of revenue could be,' Hawk said. 'They may have got an answer that said, put a pause on it this year and see what we can do next year, so that could very well have played out.' Hawk was careful to note that whatever conversations might be taking place about the bill's future for this session don't include him. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Vape regulation bill advances in Tennessee House
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — A legislative committee advanced a bill co-sponsored by a local lawmaker that would tax vapor products and limit which products can be sold. State Rep. David Hawk (R-Greeneville) is the co-sponsor of House Bill 968, which cleared the House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee in a 12–1 vote Monday. Amended bill would give Johnson City power to set alcohol sale hours The bill would limit the sale of vapor products to those that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or are still under FDA review. It would also tax disposable vape products at 7 cents per milliliter and refillable vape products at 10% of wholesale cost price. Speaking before the committee, Hawk said the goal of the bill is to keep vapor products out of children's hands. Opponents say it would force most if not all vape shops to close and lead to more people turning to tobacco. The bill will now go to the House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee. The Senate version, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Yager (R-Kingston), is on the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee's agenda for Tuesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
