Herron Fights for His Ethics Bill

Nashville – Senator Roy Herron (D-Dresden) continued his push for strong ethics reform today in the Senate State & Local Government Committee. Herron fought for his bill that would prohibit legislators and other government officials from influence-peddling and lobbying.

Herron is the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 1841 to prohibit legislators from being paid by special interests for influencing legislation or snaring state contracts.

Herron fought for his bill in the State & Local Government Committee for over two hours, fielding questions and handling amendments. The committee finally ran out time, promising that Herron’s bill will be taken up first next week.

“Tennesseans deserve ethics legislation that works to restore the public trust and they deserve it now,” Herron said. “Meaningful ethics reform is long overdue.”

The House companion bill, House Bill 1, passed unanimously in the full House of Representatives recently. The legislation came about because of questions that have been raised about legislators allegedly using their office for personal gain. The bill in its current form would prevent any legislator from entering into consulting arrangements for which they are paid to influence legislation. The bill would also apply to executive service employees and employees who work for the Secretary of State, Comptroller, and State Treasurer.

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