by Sam Stockard, Tennessee Lookout
May 23, 2025

A move to override Gov. Bill Lee’s first veto is crumbling.

Sen. Paul Rose, a Covington Republican who sponsored the bill that Lee vetoed in early May, told the Tennessee Lookout this week he will not pursue an override on the bill expanding authority of the Board of Parole and Probation to deny inmates’ requests.

Rose said he spoke with the parole board and was assured it has the authority to deny based on the “severity” of the crime.

“Somebody else may pick it up, but I do not plan to,” Rose said. “I don’t plan to die on that hill. Not that I’m expecting to die, but it’s just not one I want to fight.”

The West Tennessee lawmaker who consistently backs conservative legislation notified the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference this week he would not seek to override the measure it brought to him for passage.

Rose could hand the measure to Republican Sen. Brent Taylor of Shelby County. But Taylor told the Lookout he wants to consult with the Governor’s Office and the House sponsor, Republican Rep. Rick Scarbrough of Oak Ridge,  before making a decision. Taylor indicated that Lee might have a different view of the bill than the legislature, which passed it with little, if any, debate.

Scarborough, a former Clinton police chief in his first legislative term, said immediately after the governor’s veto that he would work toward an override, which requires only a simple majority vote of both houses.

But Sen. Todd Gardenhire, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, predicted an override would fail if it does come before the Senate. 

Gardenhire added that it’s not the right fight to take to the governor, even if he has only a year remaining in his second term.

This doesn’t appear to reflect a rift, either, between the governor and legislature on law-and-order bills, even though they’ve had their share of disagreements. Instead, it stems from frustration within the DAs Conference that the governor would veto its bill. 

The conference released a fiery statement in the wake of Lee’s veto condemning his decision and calling the move “dangerous” for Tennesseans.

DAs Conference Executive Director Steve Crump gave a statement in response to questions: “We are aware of Sen. Rose’s position. We remain committed to expanding the Parole Board’s authority in a way that supports rehabilitation while affirming the seriousness of crime. We are already in conversations with Sen. Taylor and are open to all options in pursuit of the passage of this bill. 

The measure expands the number of offenses for which the parole board can refuse to grant parole, from 22 to about 50.” 

Maybe they’re not accustomed to losing.

But senators felt the missive went overboard in attacking the governor on an obscure bill that isn’t likely to have a major impact on the criminal justice system and protecting victims.

What bid-rigging?

The legislature’s Fiscal Review Committee, acting on advice from Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, opted to postpone bids for six months for two contracts totaling $1 billion in mental health and health services for the Department of Correction.

New litigation filed by Wexford Health Source drove the delay, although few people expect the matter to be resolved by November.

The state awarded a contract to a company called Centurion Health even though one of its former officials pleaded guilty in connection with big-rigging accusations when a state official provided information to a company officer during bidding for a state contract.

Democratic Sen. Heidi Campbell of Nashville was the lone vote against extending contracts with Centurion in Wednesday’s Fiscal Review meeting.

“It’s absolutely indefensible that we are going to re-up a contract with a provider that has been big-rigging and had all kinds of issues with the service and is involved in a lawsuit, and this whole thing has been done with the recommendation of the AG,” Campbell told the Lookout. “It’s not only bad advice, it’s malpractice.”

The Department of Correction accepted contract offers from Wexford, which is represented by state Sen. Jeff Yarbro, a Nashville Democrat, and YesCare over the past year but held those up when Centurion protested. Wexford is challenging the decision with a lawsuit.

Visual analysis: Centene’s push in Tenn. comes as settlements with other states for fraud pile up

Prison contractor Corizon also sued the state in 2021 claiming the state and Centurion officials conspired in the bidding. At the same time, the Department of Correction raised the performance bond on mental health services to $118 million from $1 million, making it harder for Corizon and small companies to win state bids, according to the filing.

The bid-rigging lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice in early 2022.

Centurion was previously connected to Centene, a company that tried to persuade state lawmakers to pass legislation enabling it to obtain a TennCare contract for managed care after it failed to win a contract bid. 

House Speaker Cameron Sexton co-sponsored the bill, saying more “openness” was needed in TennCare contracting.

Former Democratic Rep. Jason Hodges of Clarksville called it a case of “bid-rigging.”

That mean green

In case anyone was wondering whether Tennessee parents and students would go for the $7,300 the state is offering with a new program for private-school vouchers, the proof is in the bank.

The Department of Education said this week it received more than 38,000 applications for the money, which can go toward 20,000 students this coming school year, followed by annual expansions. Of those, 18,852 applications were for kids who qualify based on income, at or below 300% of the federal lunch program, which would be about $173,000 for a family of four, while 19,300 were for “universal scholarships.” 

In other words, half the vouchers are to go toward those poor souls pinching pennies at close to $175 grand a year.

Lawmakers who argued for the vouchers said they hoped to help the single mother with two children to put her kids into a better school, proof that they have no faith in public schools or the children who attend them.

But this isn’t designed for poor people. 

During the governor’s bill-signing ceremony, he was backed by students wearing their private-school colors, not the poor, downtrodden kids whose mother is working 70 hours a week to put food on the table.

The program is slated to cost about $400 million next year and escalate to $1.1 billion in five years, Democratic Rep. John Ray Clemmons says, calling Gov. Lee’s program “a scam that will harm students, de-fund public education and expedite our state’s impending budget crisis.”

Lee and Republican lawmakers have continually defended the concept by saying students shouldn’t be stuck in failing schools because of their ZIP code. 

Here’s the question, though: Are the schools failing the kids or is the state failing the schools? Or are the students just failing to crack a book? The more lawmakers get involved in education, the worse it gets.

No shocker here

House Democratic Caucus Leader Karen Camper issued a blistering rebuke of AG Skrmetti this week, accusing him of “a breach of trust” that eroded his credibility in regard to absorbing Tennessee Human Rights Commission employees.

Lawmakers voted this year to merge the commission, which is designed to protect people from discrimination, into the AG’s Office. But at what cost?

The commission has been in place since the early 1960s. But lawmakers said it wasn’t doing what it was supposed to do, so they turned the politically independent agency over to Skrmetti, who has proven to be a bit partisan.

Tennessee legislature puts state watchdog agency under attorney general

Camper said in her letter that Skrmetti told her the 30 employees were to be absorbed into other state agencies to continue protecting people from discrimination. The Nashville Banner reported that they initially were told they’d be laid off July 1 but then were given a week to prep resumes and reapply for their jobs.

The report led Camper to say Skrmetti could be remembered “as the one who dismantled a vital institution and misled those trying to protect it” or one who “corrected course and chose to stand on the side of fairness, truth and the people of this state.”

The AG’s Office didn’t respond Thursday to a Lookout request for comment.

Talk about a switch

When Republican Rep. Andrew Farmer introduced a bill on the House floor this year to ban Glock switches, Democratic lawmakers hooted at him. 

They’d been trying to pass a similar bill for years, and Democratic Rep. Antonio Parkinson of Memphis made the point that their legislation was getting hijacked.

Regardless, Farmer moved on with the measure, enabling Republicans to take credit for a new gun control law signed by Gov. Lee. Speaker Sexton and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson sponsored the bill.

Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety issued a statement this week commending them for joining a bipartisan movement supported by law enforcement.

Glock switches allow handguns to be converted into illegal fully automatic machine guns with after-market tools. They’ve been used in multiple mass shootings, including one in Memphis, according to the group.

Lawmakers could have done this two years ago in the wake of the Covenant School mass shooting that claimed six lives. But for some odd reason, they waited until few people were paying attention and passed it in the waning days of this year’s session when everyone was torn up about immigrant students and a Memphis school takeover.

Some would call that odd.

“Let me up, I’ve had enough”

The Tennessee Journal reports that former Sen. Brian Kelsey will have his state pension renewed after President Donald Trump pardoned him for a federal campaign finance conviction. 

This is great news for Tennessee taxpayers, coinciding with musician John Rich’s request for the president to pardon Cade Cothren, recently convicted on 19 counts in a political kickback scheme, with former House Speaker Glen Casada. Rich says in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that Cothren was persecuted by the FBI and faces 20 years in prison for a “false, TN State, minor infraction.” Nevermind the mountain of evidence prosecutors presented showing he tried to cover up his involvement in Phoenix Solutions to tap into state funds and campaign and Republican Caucus money. 

I have personally advocated to @realDonaldTrump to pardon @CadeCothren who was targeted by Biden’s DOJ, persecuted by the FBI and other agencies, and is now facing 20 years in prison for what amounts to a false, TN State, minor infraction. See his story below and pls repost: https://t.co/IBiH2WsbGw

— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) May 21, 2025

Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison joined the fray, saying the pair was found guilty by “an impartial jury.” Faison drew a response from Cothren’s girlfriend, Ava Korby, who called him everything but sliced bread and said he got his talking points from the person who makes sure he keeps his post, an apparent allusion to Speaker Cameron Sexton.

Cothren had to promise the judge he would keep his nose clean and avoid text battles in order to remain free on bond until his Sept. 12 sentencing. It’s not clear whether this violates his word, but it could fall into the questionable category.

Likewise, the president might not have realized he set a precedent when he pardoned the people involved in the Jan. 6 insurgency at the Capitol who were responsible for the deaths of multiple police officers. 

If he lets them off the hook, he has little choice but to do the same with any political ally convicted of a lesser crime. But the bigger question is: Why do we have a justice system anymore if the president keeps letting felons go free on a whim? Just make him judge, jury and executioner, or have we already?

“There’s a little black spot on the sun today / It’s the same old thing as yesterday.” *

*”King of Pain,” The Police

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.

The post Stockard on the Stump: Veto override on the skids in Tennessee Senate appeared first on 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-Left

This article presents a critical tone toward several Republican officials and policies, including Gov. Bill Lee’s veto of a parole board expansion, private school vouchers, and the pardoning of political allies with criminal convictions. It highlights Democratic lawmakers’ opposition and concerns, such as the critique of contract bid-rigging and the human rights commission’s restructuring under a Republican attorney general. The language often questions conservative decisions and frames them as detrimental or controversial. However, the piece includes statements from Republicans and acknowledges some bipartisan cooperation, indicating it is not far-left but leans toward a center-left perspective that scrutinizes conservative governance while advocating for reform and accountability.