A bill tying some welfare payments to a child’s grades in school is advancing despite a veto threat from Governor Bill Haslam. The legislation passed another House committee Tuesday on a party line vote.
Rep. Vance Dennis pitches his welfare-for-grades bill to the House Government Operations Committee. Photo credit Blake Farmer/WPLN
Republicans signed off even after the governor’s legislative staff asked them not to.
The proposal would reduce benefits by 30 percent if a child is failing in school and a parent still won’t go to teacher conferences. Roughly 52,000 Tennessee families receive the $185 per month.
“Why would we only penalize the least of these because $185, that’s how much we make a day,” Rep. Johnnie Turner (D-Memphis) said, in reference to the per diem payments lawmakers receive on top of their salary.
Many Democrats have called the bill mean spirited.
But Republican Vance Dennis – the House sponsor – says poor families have other means of making ends meet.
“There are free lunches, free breakfasts at school, food stamps, rental assistance and a host of others,” he said. “This is a relatively small reduction in benefits for those parents that absolutely do nothing to assist their children.”
The Senate version is scheduled for a floor vote on Thursday after being delayed one week.
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