A bill proffered by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce seeks to block state agencies from creating new regulations for chemicals in drinking water or hazardous waste handling in Tennessee — unless lawmakers can show their proposed rules are based on “sound science.”
Rutherford County Republican Sen. Shane Reeves said he brought the bill at the chamber’s request.
“The goal with this legislation is to promote the use of the best available science in state-level regulatory decision making, and try to move away from public policy overreaction to events influencing environmental regulatory actions” to promote stability for businesses, Reeves said during a Senate Government Operations Committee meeting on Feb. 26.
The bill would require any regulatory action passed after July 1 that is more stringent than federal rules to be based on the “best available science” published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal that does not charge authors publication or submission fees.
Those critical of the bill have highlighted that many highly reputable scientific journals do charge authors processing fees, including the Journal of American Medical Association.
Sen. Shane Reeves, a Murfreesboro Republican and chairman of the Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, is sponsoring a bill to prohibit state agencies from creating new regulations for chemicals in drinking water or hazardous waste handling in Tennessee, unless they can prove the policies are based on “sound science.” (Photo: John Partipilo)
U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposes ‘sweeping’ bans on ‘forever chemicals’
Mark Behrens, a representative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, said the bill is aimed at the regulation of man-made chemicals, including those often called “forever chemicals” or PFAS — per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances — found in wares like water-repellent products, non-stick cookware and firefighting foam.
“The point here is not to stop regulatory actions,” Behrens said. “We all want clean air, clean water, (a) clean environment. That’s important, but … the bill is just saying that those decisions have to be based on the best available science, so the regulators are not acting on a whim or pseudoscience.”
The bill, he said, is trying to nix the “precautionary principle,” or “getting ahead and saying we’re going to regulate even if we don’t know that this substance may cause a harm.” If science shows that “emergent chemicals” do have human health effects, then regulators can step in.
But researchers contend that reliable scientific research has already shown PFAS exposure to increase health risks.
Exposure to seven PFAS being monitored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been linked to decreased antibody response, abnormal levels of fats in the bloodstream, and higher risk of kidney cancer in adults, according to the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. It’s also linked to decreased infant and fetal growth.
We all want clean air, clean water, (a) clean environment. That’s important, but … the bill is just saying that those decisions have to be based on the best available science, so the regulators are not acting on a whim or pseudoscience.
– Mark Behrens, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed a lawsuit against multiple firefighting foam manufacturers in May 2023 alleging that they knew of the dangers of PFAS but did not take steps to reduce risks, causing damage to the state’s property and citizens. Tennessee’s case was consolidated along with hundreds of similar cases to South Carolina District Court, and the multidistrict litigation is ongoing.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce launched a lobbying effort in March 2024 opposing “sweeping bans that would treat all PFAS the same and restrict access to innovative fluorochemistries,” according to the chamber’s website.
Chamber publications have warned policymakers that stringent regulations or widespread bans on PFAS could disrupt industries that employ about 6 million people in the United States. According to one report published by the chamber in August, about 192,000 jobs in Tennessee are “dependent” on the chemicals — the ninth most in the nation.
The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Tennessee Manufacturers Association were among dozens of industry representatives to sign a December 2024 letter to the Trump administration seeking, in part, a rollback of “overly burdensome and unworkable regulations of PFAS chemicals.”
PFAS and their effects on human health have been studied in labs for more than two decades, said Suzanne Fenton, a professor of biological sciences and director of the Center for Human Health and the Environment at North Carolina State University.
Areas contaminated by PFAS are found all over the world, according to the National Academies report. The chemicals are released from places where they are manufactured, used or disposed of, and rainwater runoff transports them into other bodies of water, including groundwater.
“Today, all kids are born with some PFAS in their bodies, and that wasn’t the case 20 years ago,” Fenton said.
Eleven states have set limits for certain types of PFAS in drinking water; Tennessee is not one of them. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is sampling 29 PFAS in all of the state’s public drinking water systems in an effort expected to be complete in summer 2025.
The state was also selected to receive $26.7 million in federal funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address PFAS in drinking water. Under former President Joe Biden, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed designating two PFAS as hazardous substances, but the future of those efforts are unclear under President Trump’s administration.
“Forever chemicals” have been detected in 60% of rivers and lakes tested in Northeast Tennessee, according to a Sierra Club report released in January 2024.
Tracey Woodruff, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, San Francisco, researches how chemicals impact health, pregnancy and child development. She said PFAS are long-lasting and build up in the environment.
Woodruff draws a comparison to the lasting effects of DDT — dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane — one of the first synthetic insecticides. Traces of the chemical can still be found in people around 50 years after its use was banned, she said.
“Even when we have signals of harm, it’s really important to act now on these persistent and bioaccumulative chemicals, because their health effects — their exposures — are forever … and it’s really the public that ends up having to pay the cost of the cleanup,” she said.
Sen. Charlane Oliver, a Nashville Democrat, said during the Feb. 26 meeting that she understood the bill to essentially require proof that a chemical has harmed people before the state can step in.
It takes years, sometimes, for government to catch up with technologies and science and … it seems like with this bill we’re further hamstringing government to be able to respond to real-time emergencies — pandemics and such.
– Sen. Charlane Oliver, D-Nashville
Behrens said the bill stipulates that lawmakers who create regulations based on human health must show it’s “justified by the science,” but “says nothing in it that you have to show that people have been injured.”
Behrens referenced the regulation history of asbestos and cigarettes: When doctors began seeing more cases of cancer, researchers looked into the causes, and regulatory agencies moved in once they identified the cause, he said.
“It takes years, sometimes, for government to catch up with technologies and science and … it seems like with this bill we’re further hamstringing government to be able to respond to real-time emergencies — pandemics and such,” Oliver said.
The committee voted 7-2 to move the bill to the Senate Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee with a positive recommendation.
The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee will take up the bill, sponsored there by Jackson Republican Sen. Chris Todd, on March 5.
What makes science ‘sound’
Regarding the bill’s stipulation that research published in journals charging author fees cannot be used as a basis for regulations, Behrens said the intent is to exclude “predatory journals” that aren’t reliable.
Both Fenton and Woodruff have served as an associate editor of Environmental Health Perspectives, a journal that has published scientific work since 1972. They agree that predatory journals — or journals that seek out people to publish — are an issue. They agree that peer-reviewed research is the standard for decision-making.
The publication process in reputable, reliable journals “may take months to make sure that details of the work are transparent and clear,” Fenton said. Typically, each submission is peer-reviewed by at least three experts in the field who have not worked with the paper’s author. The process is anonymous.
Woodruff said the push to make journals open-access to the public has led to the cost of publishing being transferred to researchers, so many journals do charge processing fees.
The University of California San Francisco’s Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment has published recommendations and guides for lawmakers to “safeguard science integrity, stop corporate interference in regulatory decision-making, use best available science, and protect health for all.”
Its principles include identifying and accounting for industry conflicts of interest in research funding.
“I think if you use these systematic review methods, which are about a consistent, transparent approach to evaluating the evidence base, and then you use empirically based tools for how to evaluate the bias of the studies, that generally will catch poorly conducted studies and identify their flaws,” Woodruff said.
Behrens said the U.S. Chamber of Commerce would work with the bill’s sponsors on adjusting language to be more clear about the bill’s intent to exclude predatory journals if needed.
“I don’t think there’s going to be questions about the intent,” he said. “It may just be over the details of how that’s worded.”
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Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.
SUMMARY: Desmond Mills Jr., a former Memphis officer who pleaded guilty, testified during the trial of Tadarrius Bean and others charged in Tyre Nichols’ 2023 death. Nichols was beaten after fleeing a traffic stop; footage showed officers laughing while Nichols struggled. Mills admitted hitting Nichols out of anger after accidentally pepper-spraying himself and regretted failing to stop the beating. Nichols died three days later from blunt force trauma. Defense argued Nichols resisted arrest, while prosecutors said officers were “overcome by the moment” and failed to intervene. The trial, moved from Memphis due to publicity, addresses charges including second-degree murder amid scrutiny of MPD’s conduct.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-30 12:15:00
(The Center Square) – Democrats and Republicans from three states are supporting a 287-mile trail that would include Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina.
The lawmakers are asking for a feasibility study on the Benton MacKaye National Scenic Trail. U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., said Wednesday the trail deserves a national scenic designation.
“The Benton MacKaye Trail is an invaluable part of my district in East Tennessee that thousands of Tennesseans and Americans hike each year, and the trail connects some of the most beautiful and pristine parts of Tennessee with Georgia and North Carolina,” Fleischmann said.
The trail that winds through the Southern Appalachian Mountains was completed in 2005, according to Bob Cowdrick, president of the Benton MacKaye Trail Association, which has supported its development since 1980, according to the bill.
“This study would help protect our storied outdoor heritage for future generations, support local economies, and provide a wide array of recreation opportunities for everyone from day hikers to thru-hikers and solo trekkers to families,” Cowdrick said.
The trail’s path is made up of 95% of federal land. It passes through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Chattahoochee-Oconee, Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests. It begins at North Georgia’s Springer Mountain and ends at North Carolina’s Mount Sterling, according to the Benton MacKaye Trail Association.
The bill is cosponsored in the House by Democrats Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Lucy McBath of Georgia. Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., is also a cosponsor. Republican North Carolina Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd are cosponsoring it in the Senate with Rep. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga. The bill is currently in the House Natural Resources Committee.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The article reports on bipartisan support for a feasibility study on the Benton MacKaye National Scenic Trail, without advocating for a particular ideological stance. The language used is factual and neutral, primarily focusing on the collaboration between Democrats and Republicans from three states. The article does not show a clear bias in favor of one political party or the other. It simply highlights the specifics of the bill, its sponsors, and the potential benefits of the trail, such as supporting local economies and outdoor recreation. Therefore, it adheres to neutral, factual reporting without promoting a specific viewpoint.
The trio charged in a Tennessee political corruption case shared text messages in early 2020 complaining about the state’s failure to pay a mysterious vendor for work on lawmakers’ constituent mailers, at one point cursing the administrator in charge of handling invoices.
One text message from former Rep. Robin Smith of Hixson to ex-Speaker of the House Glen Casada said, “Connie’s a bi—.” Casada responded, “Agreed!”
Smith, who pleaded guilty in the fraud and kickback case and is cooperating with federal prosecutors, was referring to now-retired Legislative Administration Director Connie Ridley, who handled payments for the state’s postage and printing program for lawmakers. Ridley held up payments because of problems with W-9 tax forms by the vendor, Phoenix Solutions, which was run by former legislative aide Cade Cothren, and Casada, testimony showed.
Smith testified she was “highly frustrated” because Ridley approved work without having the federal tax documents on hand. Eventually, Cothren sent the state a W-9 signed as “Matthew Phoenix,” one of the key documents prosecutors are using in the case to show deception by Smith, Casada and Cothren to direct business to Phoenix Solutions without state officials or lawmakers knowing who was behind the company.
Casada and Cothren had stepped down from their posts at different points in 2019 because of a racist and sexist texting scandal. Casada remained in the General Assembly but not as House speaker.
Connie Ridley, former director of legislative administration, shown leaving Nashville’s federal courthouse on April 25, 2025. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Another text displayed for the jury Tuesday showed the state had paid for work on a lawmaker’s constituent mailer but didn’t include taxes.
Smith and Cothren sent each other “incredulous” text messages and Smith added another one saying, “Quite the bullsh–.”
Smith, former chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, met with Ridley to speed up payments in February 2020 when the state owed Phoenix Solutions $34,000 for work on several Republican lawmakers’ constituent mailers, including now-former Rep. Patsy Hazlewood of Signal Mountain, Rep. Dan Howell of Cleveland, Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes of East Ridge, Rep. Dennis Powers of Jacksboro, Rep. Susan Lynn of Mt. Juliet, Rep. Bud Hulsey of Bristol, Rep. Chris Hurt of Halls, Rep. Andrew Farmer of Sevierville and Smith and Casada.
Ridley testified earlier this week she didn’t find out Phoenix Solutions was run by Cothren until May 2020 when federal authorities told her to continue processing the New Mexico-based company’s invoices.
Earlier Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Eli Richardson ruled that prosecutors can present evidence showing the trio wanted to expand from constituent mailers, which are paid for with tax money, to House Republican Caucus work. Defense attorneys argued that the prosecutors should be limited to evidence about the postage and printing program because it is outlined in the indictment, not an effort to tap into caucus funds.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The content highlights a political corruption case involving Republican lawmakers in Tennessee, presenting factual details about legal proceedings, text communications, and testimonies. While it exposes misconduct within a specific party, the reporting style remains largely neutral and focused on the facts without overt editorializing or broad partisan critique. This aligns with a center-right bias, as it scrutinizes members of a right-leaning party but in a relatively balanced and fact-based manner typical of moderate conservative or center-right news coverage.
