Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has issued the long awaited special session proclamation and presented the administration’s legislative and budget priorities that will go before the Tennessee General Assembly during the special session on public safety, convening August 21.

“As our nation faces evolving public safety threats, Tennessee remains vigilant and is taking continued action to protect communities while preserving the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens,” said Gov. Lee. “In the months leading up to the public safety special session, we have listened to Tennesseans and worked with members of the General Assembly to identify thoughtful, practical measures to strengthen public safety across our state, including steps to support law enforcement, address mental health, prevent violent crime and stop human trafficking. I thank the General Assembly for its continued partnership and look forward to achieving meaningful results for Tennesseans.”

According to Lee, the legislative and budget priorities that will be presented during the public safety special session will: “…keep Tennessee communities safe, support law enforcement and address mental health, all while preserving constitutional rights.”

In addition to bringing the following solutions in the administration package, the governor will continue to work with members of the General Assembly on other legislation, including:

• Codification of EO 100 and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) Report Implementation: Requiring reporting of accurate, complete and timely records from court clerks to the TBI within 72-hours and requiring electronic submissions of dispositions and expungements to the TBI;
• TennCare Mental Health Coverage Waiver: Directing TennCare to seek a waiver from the federal government to allow federal matching funds for Medicaid to cover services for mental illness and substance use disorders at institutions of mental diseases;
• Addressing Mental Health Workforce Challenges: Budget initiatives that prioritize opportunities to grow and retain mental health professionals in the state;
• Reforms for Mental Health: Expanding access to mental health treatment by eliminating certain collaborative practice requirements for Advanced Registered Practice Nurses with psychiatric training;
• Strengthening the Identification of Individuals Arrested for Felonies: Providing for the collection of DNA at the time of an arrest for all felonies;
• Human Trafficking Report: Resolution directing TBI to report on the state of human trafficking in Tennessee;
• Promoting Safe Storage: Eliminating taxes on firearm safes and safety devices, providing free gun locks, expands safe storage training in state-approved safety courses, and creates a public service announcement to promote safe storage.

House Minority Leader Karen Camper of Memphis and Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons of Nashville have responded to Lee’s official call for the upcoming Special Legislative Session.

“While the governor’s official call is wide-ranging, I must admit my disappointment overall in the exact scope of his proclamation,” said Leader Karen Camper. “I know that he was under tremendous pressure from his own party to call off the special session, but I was hoping for a serious discussion about gun reform in Tennessee.”

“The number of firearms in our state is staggering and has been since we passed the open carry and guns in trunks laws. But simply focusing on safe storage alone does not truly solve the problems we face in this state and that our constituents were begging us to debate after the Covenant School shooting in Nashville and the Prive Restaurant shooting in Memphis this past March.

“The dangers that our families and school children face today frighten me, as they do most Tennesseans.

“Memphis is not unique in our needs to combat crime and gun violence. This is a Tennessee problem that affects our cities, our rural areas and every community in the state. We are losing too many lives to gun violence and it’s time to come to the table and have a real dialogue on how to bring this situation under control.”

According to Chairman John Ray Clemmons: “For such a broad call, this proclamation somehow manages to miss the target. Gov. Lee has again wilted in the face of the legislative super-majority.  The winners here are special interests and extremist legislators holding our state hostage. The clear losers are Tennessee families and school children. The ire of Tennessee families who want and deserve substantive action and policies to better protect our children and neighborhoods from the looming threat of gun violence should be squarely aimed at the GOP super-majority and its leadership in both houses. They have utterly failed our families. Our children deserve better.

“In trying to appease extremist legislators, the governor has opened up Pandora’s box with some of these captions. Violating health privacy, reversing years of progress on criminal justice reform and denying people’s individual freedom are all on the table during this special session.”

To date, more than 20,000 Tennesseans have submitted public comments on strengthening public safety, and the form will remain open through the entirety of the special session to ensure that Tennesseans can continue engaging in the conversation.