Latest news with #Grills
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill to hold charities liable for providing housing to certain immigrants heads to governor's desk
A bill to hold churches and nonprofits liable if immigrants they aid go on to commit crimes is headed to Gov. Bill Lee for his signature.(Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) A bill to hold churches and charitable organizations liable for providing housing aid to immigrants without legal status — who then go on to commit a crime — is now headed to the governor's desk. The Tennessee Senate Wednesday voted 70-23 in favor of the legislation (SB227/HB11) brought by Sen. Brent Taylor of Memphis and Rep. Rusty Grills of Newbern, both Republicans. The Republican majority in the House approved the measure earlier this month. Tennessee Senate OKs bill to hold charities liable for aiding immigrants who later commit crime A spokesperson for Gov. Bill Lee did not respond to a question sent Wednesday about whether he plans to sign the legislation into law. Grills called the measure a 'public safety bill in keeping with the Trump Administration's renewed focus on illegal immigration.' 'What we're doing with this bill is anyone who is a victim of a crime committed by an illegal alien would have a private right of action against any NGO (non-governmental organization) that has assisted the illegal alien with housing in the community,' Grills said in presenting the bill on the Senate floor. The legislation would open the door to civil lawsuits against charities that provide a variety of long-term housing assistance to individuals regardless of their immigration status, including assistance in signing leases or securing an apartment. The bill exempts 'temporary overnight housing such as that provided by a homeless shelter,' but includes no specific exemption for other short-term housing, such as domestic violence shelters, which can house victims and their children for months at a time. Bills that target immigrant-serving nonprofits raise criticism from faith community Charities would be subject to lawsuits if their 'conduct in providing housing constitutes negligence, gross negligence, or willful and wanton misconduct.' The bill's language does not include a definition of those terms in the context of providing physical housing, referrals for housing or assistance in signing apartment leases. The measure has drawn pushback from Tennessee faith leaders as an infringement on their religious freedom to perform acts of charity to those in need. On the Senate floor earlier this month, the bill drew contentious debate, with Democrat Sen. Jeff Yarbro of Nashville criticizing the measure as holding charities responsible for 'crimes committed by someone they helped' while Taylor — the bill's sponsor — called it a 'misguided mission' to serve immigrants without legal status. House Republicans quickly moved for a vote Wednesday, forestalling any floor debate, even as Democrats audibly protested the maneuver. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tennessee lawmakers postpone pesticide bill until 2026
Nearly 170,000 lawsuits have been filed against Bayer, parent company of the weedkiller Roundup, over claims the product causes cancer. (Photo Illustration by) Chemical companies seeking legal immunity from Roundup-related lawsuits will have to wait a year to get their way in Tennessee. The House Judiciary Committee opted Tuesday to postpone legislation until 2026 enabling Bayer/Monsanto to avoid liability in lawsuits connected to cancer claims. Republican Rep. Clay Doggett of Pulaski called for the delay less than a week after the full Senate passed its version of the bill. 'I felt like there was a lot of stakeholders, there was a lot of questions that we had that didn't get answered,' Doggett said Tuesday. Tennessee bill would expand weed-killer manufacturers' legal immunity Germany-based Bayer, the parent company of Monsanto, recently agreed to pay nearly $2.1 billion to a man who claimed he contracted non-Hodgkin's lymphoma from Roundup. Some 170,000 similar lawsuits have been filed against the chemical company. Under the legislation, though, as long as a pesticide manufacturer's federally-approved label doesn't warn of a disease, they couldn't be held liable for causing an illness. Farmers in his rural Middle Tennessee district supported the bill, Doggett said. Yet lawmakers were overwhelmed with information about the bill, making it difficult to bring it to a vote this year, he said. For instance, Republican Rep. Gino Bulso, a Brentwood attorney, told lawmakers a provision in state law gives people standing to sue in federal court. Doggett also added that he favors an amendment to the measure that dropped a 'blanket immunity' provision for the companies involved. Doggett conceded that farmers could be 'more prone' to contract illnesses from spraying the pesticide/herbicide. Yet he said farmers in his district support the legislation and use of the chemical, and he added that other lawmakers said foreign countries will continue using the product on their crops even if it vanishes in America. Farmers and the Farm Bureau testified previously that the Roundup used in modern agriculture enables no-till farming on larger tracts, which is considered a more efficient method. The House bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Rusty Grills of Newbern in West Tennessee, called the outcome 'part of the legislative process.' 'There's lots of questions people have that they didn't feel like they got adequate answers to, so knowing that, we're at the end of the session now, so there's not a whole lot of time to get answers,' Grills said. The bill can be brought back for consideration in 2026 since it wasn't voted down. Critics have said they believe it gives Bayer and Monsanto blanket immunity to lawsuits. But Grills said rather than a giveaway to the company, the legislation would put an end to frivolous lawsuits and stave off a day when farmers can't use preferred products because of the threat of legal action against manufacturers. 'I'm one of those farmers. We use these products, and because we use those products, we're able to make a living,' Grills said. A Tennessee Farm Bureau lobbyist testified recently that the Senate bill would avert only cases involving product labels approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. Opponents of the legislation say it will remove people's constitutional rights to a jury trial when they're diagnosed with deadly illnesses caused by the product. Legislatures in Iowa, Missouri, Idaho, Wyoming and Mississippi have turned down similar bills, yet Bayer-Monsanto hasn't pulled products from shelves, leaving opponents to say the chemical maker is more concerned with increasing earnings than protecting people. The Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association testified in the Senate that opponents don't believe the products should be banned, only that customers should maintain their right to take legal action. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tennessee bill aims to hold charities liable if migrants they house commit crimes
A bill in the Tennessee legislature could start holding charitable organizations liable if they are housing an illegal migrant who commits a crime. House Bill 811 aims to put pressure on organizations that are not turning in migrants. However, the leaders of the organizations say the measure places an unfair burden on them, according to WZTV. The bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Brent Taylor and Rep. Rusty Grills, both of whom are Republicans. Under the proposal, charitable organizations, including churches and homeless shelters, would be liable for the loss, damages, injury or death caused by a migrant who they knowingly house if the organization's conduct in providing housing constitutes negligence, gross negligence or willful and wanton misconduct. Tennessee Bill Allows Schools To Deny Enrollment For Illegal Migrants, Proposal Panned As Unconstitutional "The person that has committed that towards, they have a civil right of action against you," Grills told WZTV. Read On The Fox News App Rev. Enoch Fuzz, who is the senior pastor of the Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville, told the outlet that only the person who committed the crime should be held responsible. "You can't hold anybody liable for the actions of somebody except for the person themselves," he said. Asked if his church planned to house illegal migrants, Fuzz vowed to help people and said he has lived his whole life "anchored in wanting to help people." Tn Lawmaker Proposes Sending Illegal Migrants Accused Of Minor Crimes To Sanctuary Cities Instead Of Deporting Fuzz was pressed further, asked by WZTV about scenarios in which a migrant commits a crime. "Well what if anybody goes out to commit a crime?" he responded. Sam Siple, the Vice President for Development and Marketing with the Nashville Rescue Mission, told WZTV that holding organizations liable is not a good solution and that it would strain resources. "Our intent here is not to be a sanctuary city, but we are a sanctuary for folks who are looking to get off the dangers of the streets and get some help, get some hope, get some food, get some shelter," he said. "So our goal is, again, to help and provide human services. It's not to enforce immigration." Grills said he and Taylor plan to add amendments to the bill to clarify what it would do, including possibly expanding what liability would entail. "The intention of this bill is not to incriminate those who provide temporary housing for a homeless shelter," Grills told WZTV. "It's to deter criminal activity."Original article source: Tennessee bill aims to hold charities liable if migrants they house commit crimes
