Sledding and bill writing: Tennessee lawmakers say they’re working from home this snowy week

This week’s snow not only warranted schools shutting down, but also the state capitol. But lawmakers say they’ve still been working — from home.

About 8 inches of snow fell in Sumner County, where Rep. William Lamberth (R-Portland) lives. He says while he isn’t due to report to the capitol this week, he’s still busy.

“We are still hard at work for the people of Tennessee, regardless of the fact that there’s a ton of snow on the ground and it’s frigid temperatures,” said Lamberth. “We are drafting legislation, talking to each other on the phone, preparing for committees for next week.”

Lamberth says the public safety legislation he’s filed will likely be heard in committee when lawmakers return.

Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville), says he would’ve liked to see the legislature’s filing deadline for bills extended past Jan. 31, since lawmakers are missing a week.

“Only those of us in Nashville, and a handful of us, have been able to make it down to Cordell Hull to work on-site,” said Clemmons. “Those last-minute changes and amendments to bill drafts are really crucial to fine-tuning legislation and really proposing good policy.”

All in all, Clemmons says during the hiatus he’s been balancing working on bills and spending time sledding with his sons, who are out of school.