House Supports Resolution Calling For New Ad Hoc Task Force On Education This week, House lawmakers supported a Joint Resolution that creates a new Ad Hoc Task Force on Education. This House-led initiative — in partnership with the Governor and the Senate Speaker — will focus on untying the hands of our educators, students, and schools…

First Bill Passed and Signed Into Law My first bill, HB 404, made it to the House Floor and passed with a vote of 93-0 and this past Wednesday it was signed into law by Governor Lee. HB 404 was a clean-up bill I carried for the Comptroller’s office. This bill simply codified the practice of…

Republican-Led Initiative To Secure Our Tennessee Schools Passes House This week, Republican lawmakers passed House Bill 947, which will help secure our Tennessee schools and provide additional safety resources to protect our future leaders. The initiative proposes a $30 million investment for the school safety grant fund and additional changes to existing law to prioritize the distribution…

House Republicans Focus On Education This week, House Republicans continued their commitment to Tennessee’s future leaders so they are better prepared for success. This commitment includes an $11.3 billion total investment for Fiscal Year 2019-2020. Additionally, $6.5 billion will directly benefit K-12 education in our public schools. Our K-12 investment allocates $71 million in teacher…

Sergeant Baker Bill Passes In The House This week, House Republicans approved House Bill 258, known as the Sergeant Baker Act. This initiative removes the intermediate appeal to the court of criminal appeals in death penalty cases and provides for automatic direct review by the Tennessee Supreme Court for convictions for which a death sentence is imposed. Additionally,…

Met President George W. Bush This past Monday, I had the chance to meet the 43rd President of the United States, President George W. Bush. He was in Nashville at Vanderbilt University participating in the Chancellor’s Lecture Series. He spoke about his economic policy decisions during his time as president as well as his response to…

Presented First Bill  I presented my first bill in committee this week. HB 1032, known as the Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgements Recognition Act, passed through the Civil Justice Subcommittee and will be heard in the full judiciary committee this Wednesday. I also will be presenting two other bills this week, HB 496 and HB 404. I…

Deputy Whip Position I am honored to announce that I have been appointed a Deputy Whip in the 111th Tennessee General Assembly. In this role, I will assist in ensuring that we have the votes on the House floor to pass conservative legislation, as well as communicating with members about the Republican supermajority’s position on…

(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) — House Majority Whip Rick Tillis (R-Lewisburg) today named State Representative Chris Hurt (R-Halls) to fill one of three Deputy Whip positions within the Tennessee House Republican Caucus. Hurt joins State Representative Charlie Baum (R-Murfreesboro) and State Representative Justin Lafferty (R-Knoxville) as Deputy Whips for the 111th Tennessee General Assembly. “It is a great honor…

First Bill on Notice This week I placed my first bill, House Bill 497, on notice. This bill would help to provide non-traditional Hope scholarship funding to students who choose to attend Western Governor’s University. WGU is an online school that has helped to educate numerous Tennesseans across the state, especially those who do not have the…