Post by pavel on Mar 17, 2016 18:17:48 GMT -6
NASHVILLE — State Senate Minority Leader Lee Harris of Memphis has asked the state attorney general for an advisory opinion on the constitutionality of the municipal de-annexation bill, now scheduled for a Senate floor vote on Monday.
Also Thursday, Sen. Reginald Tate, D-Memphis, formally withdrew his support for the de-annexation bill, citing substantial changes to it since he signed on as the bill's only Democratic co-sponsor. Tate had told reporters Wednesday he probably would vote against the bill as a result of those changes.
Tate said he supported the original bill filed last year because it applied to a few recently annexed communities including Southwind, where he lives, and Windyke in Shelby County. But it was amended in the House to include areas annexed as far back as 1998.
"I understand the concerns of my constituents in District 33 who want the right to have their voices heard by referendum, but I must take into consideration the implications the newly amended legislation would have on Memphis and Shelby County as a whole," Tate said. "After giving it much thought, I cannot support the bill in its current form."
Read more: www.commercialappeal.com/news/government/city/harris-asks-attorney-general-to-opine-on-de-annexation-bills-constitutionality-2e43b8c1-4706-64e5-e0-372492931.html
Also Thursday, Sen. Reginald Tate, D-Memphis, formally withdrew his support for the de-annexation bill, citing substantial changes to it since he signed on as the bill's only Democratic co-sponsor. Tate had told reporters Wednesday he probably would vote against the bill as a result of those changes.
Tate said he supported the original bill filed last year because it applied to a few recently annexed communities including Southwind, where he lives, and Windyke in Shelby County. But it was amended in the House to include areas annexed as far back as 1998.
"I understand the concerns of my constituents in District 33 who want the right to have their voices heard by referendum, but I must take into consideration the implications the newly amended legislation would have on Memphis and Shelby County as a whole," Tate said. "After giving it much thought, I cannot support the bill in its current form."
Read more: www.commercialappeal.com/news/government/city/harris-asks-attorney-general-to-opine-on-de-annexation-bills-constitutionality-2e43b8c1-4706-64e5-e0-372492931.html