Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) described this legislative session of the Tennessee General Assembly as “very productive” in terms of legislation passed by lawmakers on key statewide topics, including immigration and education.
On January 27, the General Assembly convened for a special session called by Governor Bill Lee to pass the Education Freedom Act, a disaster relief package, and other measures related to immigration.
Johnson, on Friday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, said he was “honored” to have sponsored the Education Freedom Act, adding, “I’m proud that Tennessee is now on the list of giving parents options when it comes to educating their children.”
State lawmakers also passed a bill during the special session which included several reforms related to immigration, including establishing the Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division within the Tennessee Department of Safety, establishing criminal penalties for officials who adopt sanctuary policies, issuing temporary driver’s licenses to lawful permanent residents, and creating a grant program for local governments to promote the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
Johnson said the immigration bill passed during the special session sends a message to the nation that, unlike other states, Tennessee is “stepping up to the plate” to support President Donald Trump’s efforts to remove illegal aliens from the states.
“We wanted to send a message… which is that we are going to fully cooperate. Not only are we going to fully cooperate with President Trump’s administration to get these illegal immigrants out of our community, we’re going to take further steps to make sure all of our law enforcement at the state level, county, city levels are all equipped, have the tools, have the knowledge to to be able to cooperate with President Trump’s administration to get these people out of our communities,” Johnson explained.
When it comes to the regular legislative session, Johnson said lawmakers continued to pass measures on the topic of immigration, including a bill which invalidates out-of-state driver licenses issued exclusively to illegal aliens and makes it a misdemeanor offense to operate motor vehicles in the state with such licenses.
Considering the criminal penalties the bill brings, Johnson said he believes the bill will act as a “deterrent” for illegal aliens to avoid driving on Tennessee roads.
“Obviously, we hope this has a deterrent effect so people who have those licenses realize, ‘Ah, whatever I do, I better not drive through Tennessee’,” Johnson said.
Johnson also applauded state lawmakers for passing a “balanced budget” last week.
“We passed a balanced budget AAA credit rated by all three ratings agencies. We’re the least indebted state in America. One of the lowest, if not the lowest, taxed states in America. Our economy is thriving despite some of the headwinds that some other states are facing,” Johnson said.
“So Tennessee is in a really good position and we’ve had a very productive legislative session,” he added.
Tune in now to the Tennessee Bonus Hour of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show – your AMERICA FIRST news talk with State Sen Speaker Jack Johnson @SenJohnson in-studio
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
