Governor Bill Haslam declined to comment today on an East Tennessee lawmaker accused of hitting his wife over the weekend. Representative David Hawk pled not guilty after being arrested Sunday morning.
Earlier this year Governor Haslam made domestic violence a part of his public safety agenda, with a push for higher fines and jail time. Haslam says it’s a major issue in the state. He wouldn’t speak directly to the news of Hawk’s arrest.
“In regards to Representative Hawk’s case, I obviously don’t know enough to have any comment on it. I know what you did: I know what I read in the paper, and that’s really it. So I don’t know that it’s appropriate for me to comment on something that, all I know about is the actual arrest event.”
The last time a House Committee chairman was arrested, in October, Republican Curry Todd resigned from the post, but not his House seat. There’s no word yet on whether Hawk will continue serving as the chair of the House Conservation and Environment Committee.
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