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« Quadruple Bogey | Main | Today's Reading List » December 17, 2005Sen. Henry Pushes Elimination of Referendum on Local Sales Tax IncreasesHere's some good news for potential state Senate candidate Bob Krumm involving the current occupant of the Senate seat that Krumm is eyeing. State Sen. Douglas Henry - who last March was backing legislation that would strip Tennesseans of their right to vote on proposed increases in their county "wheel tax" (car tag fees) and make it easier for county commissions to raise wheel taxes - is at it again. According to the Dec. 19 issue of the weekly Tennessee Journal political newsletter, Henry now is backing a proposal to eliminate the referendum requirement for the local option sales tax. The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations recommended last week that the state legislature enact general legislation empowering local governments to impose taxes on development. Currently, private acts of the legislature are necessary for cities and counties to establish such levies. ... City and county members of TACIR in the main strongly favored general enabling legislation, arguing it was particularly needed in fast-growing counties strapped by the cost of building and operating new schools. ... The discussion led Henry to observe that not all the taxes cited as already available can be implemented solely by local governing bodies. The local option sales tax, he noted, requires approval by voters in a referendum. On his motion, the commission voted to recommend that the legislature remove the referendum requirement. That will be a contentious proposition, since Republicans are pushing a Taxpayer Bill of Rights that is favorable to referendums on tax questions.That's twice in a year that Sen. Henry has supported taking away your existing right to vote on increases in your taxes, so that your local or county government can more easily raise your taxes. He's just handed Krumm a very big hammer. UPDATE: Nathan Moore tries to explain why Henry has come out against the right of people to vote on local sales tax increases. UPDATE: Gary Sellers emails: My name is Gary Sellers and I live in Knox County in East Tennessee. In 2004, I lead the wheel tax fight here against Mayor Mike Ragsdale that garnered enough signatures on a petition drive to force a referendum vote. When Mayor Ragsdale realized that the petition drive was going to be successful, he had County Commission to pass an increase in the property tax should the wheel tax be defeated. The voters of Knox County were not given the opportunity to decide if they felt a tax increase was warranted, they were only able to choose which tax to pay. The changes proposed by Senator Henry only confirm a trend that seems to be sweeping across the state. Local governments want complete control of taxes increases. This is very disturbing to me and should be to any conservative.True. Posted in Tennessee Government News
Comments
the right to petition the goverment is a fundamental"political speech" right which enjoys the greatest protection against state impedance under the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. the United States Supreme Court has held that any attempt to restrict political speech must withstand"exacting scrutiny...(and be)narrowly construed...". That Court has built a wall around the right to petition the government that "is well-nigh impossible"to scale. Meyers v. Grant 486 U.S. 414 (1988). Under state law, the right to petition local and stste government is reserved to the Citizens of Tennessee by Art.1,& 23 of the Tennessee Constition. Posted by: ralph potter at December 19, 2005 9:14 PMGary is right. We were given a choice between 2 cups of poison in Knox county. One was doubling the wheel tax and the other was increasing property taxes. The town of Farragut put the vote over the top for the wheel tax. For those who don't know, Farrugut is mostly mid to upper income housing. And Ragsdale held out a big carrot to Farragut, the wheel tax would be used for a new $40 million high school. But Ragsdale promised all kinds of pork the wheel tax would be put to use. A new library, parks, senior centers etc. Henry's idea would remove the opportunity for voters to select their cup of poison although not much of a choice. Posted by: Rick Forman at December 19, 2005 10:10 PMIn Tennessee, the right to petition one's government is a right guaranteed by Article I, Section 23 of the Tennessee Constitution and reserved unto the people. Article I, Section 23 of the Tennessee Constitution does not grant the Legislature separate powers of legislation respecting the right of our Citizens to petition their government. Tennessee will not disenfranchise her citizens! There is no right more fundamental to democracy than the right to petition the government for redress. A government "of the people, by the people and for the people" can only become reality if the "people" can present to their government, by elected representation, petition or referendum, their desires and expectations. Tennessee guarantees their right to do so by Article I, Section 23 of the Tennessee Constitution. The U.S. Constitution protects that right against state and bureaucratic infringement under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The right to petition the goverment is protected by the first and fourteenth amendmentof the the U.S constitution. In Tennessee the right to petition is protected by article 1-section 23. As long as we live in a democracy country we have the right to petition. That is something we need to keep. We do not want the present law changed. Posted by: Margaret Hughes at December 24, 2005 4:45 PMPost a comment
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