HIGH SCHOOL CIVICS
Part Four: Learning the ropes at the legislature

In previous grades you learned how the Tennessee General Assembly consists of two chambers; that it usually meets for about four months out of the year; that it has the power to pass laws that can affect just about every aspect of your life.

Now we're going to tell you much more "insider" stuff. First we're going to tell you a little about how the legislature is organized and about who these 132 state legislators are. We're going to tell you about two types of people -- lobbyists and reporters -- who affect legislators and affect the way the general public perceives legislators. And we're going to give you an example of a controversial bill, and explain the long and winding course it took to become a law.
History Bill at the General Assembly
Tennessee History for Kids has produced a video that goes great with this section. In "Banging down the Gavel," History Bill visits the General Assembly and meets five of the most interesting people you'll ever see and finds that, in Tennessee, kids can suggest bills, too! Click here to watch it in Media Player; here in Quicktime; here on youtube; here on teachertube.
A committee of the state senate
The committee system

The Tennessee General Assembly meets from late January until about May each year. During a typical session, members propose in the range of 2,000 bills (more on that later). Because there are so many bills, and because they cover such a wide range of issues, the legislature has set up a committee system that votes bills up or down before they are considered by the entire house or senate. Bills have to receive majority approval in committee before they will be considered by the house or senate.

We're not going to list every committee. But we will point out, since it should be of interest to you, that both the house and senate have education committees. Any bill that would affect the operation of your school would in all certainty be sent to both the 17-member House Education Committee and the 9-member Senate Education Committee. 
Rep. Beth Harwell of Nashville, a member of the House Education Committee
So let's say, for instance, that you want the Tennessee General Assembly to pass a bill that gives every student a new school desk. To get this bill to pass, you write a House version and a Senate version and find someone in the House and Senate to sponsor the bill. A few weeks later the bill is sent to the House and Senate Education Committees. You need 9 votes in the 17-member House committee and 5 votes in the 9-member Senate committee. A good place to start getting votes would be with House Education Committee Chairman Harry Brooks (who is from Knoxville) and Senate Education Committee Chairman Dolores Gresham (Somerville).

Assuming you get through the education committees, you still have another hurdle. You see, in order to keep tabs on how money is being spent, all bills that require the state to spend money have to also be passed by the House and Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committees. Better go see House committee chairman Craig Fitzhugh (Ripley) and Senate committee chairman Randy McNally (Nashville). 
Rep. Lois DeBerry, who is the Speaker Pro Tempore of the state house (number two person behind Speaker Williams)
If you get the bill through the committee system, you'll of course have to get the bill to pass the full house and full senate. That means you are going to need 50 votes in the 99-member house and 17 votes in the 33-member senate. If you have somehow made it through all those committees, getting enough votes on the floor shouldn't be much of a problem.

But make no mistake: Getting a bill to pass is a lot of work. It's so much work that there are people who spend their entire lives trying to navigate the process. They are called lobbyists, and we'll talk more about them in a while.
Leaders at the General Assembly

We talked earlier about how important it is to learn who YOUR state senator and state representative are. If you don't know this, click here to find out. Now, since there are 132 legislators, we're not going to tell you about all of them because that would take too long. But we are going to introduce you to the leader of the house and leader of the senate.
Lieutenant Governor Ramsey being interviewed by a TV news reporter
The Tennessee Senate

As the speaker of the state senate, Ron Ramsey is also the Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee, which means he would become the governor if the governor died in office. Ramsey was elected to the General Assembly by his constituents in Sullivan and Johnson County, and he was elected Lieutenant Governor by his fellow senators for hte first time in January 2007. He replaced the legendary John Wilder, who held the post of lieutenant governor for 36 years.

Ramsey was born and raised on a farm in Sullivan County; in fact, he milked cows every day from the time he was in the fifth grade until he graduated from high school. He and his family run an auctioneering business, so he's without question the fastest talking elected official in Tennessee. The first time Ramsey ever visited the State Capitol was in 1991. A year later, he was elected to represent his upper east Tennessee district in the state house. In 1996 he was first elected to the Senate.

In February 2009, Ramsey sat down with "History" Bill Carey, who asked him some questions of his own, along with some provided by a fourth grade class in Sullivan County. Click here to read the interview.

The Tennessee House of Representatives
Speaker Kent Williams
Representative Kent Williams, a Republican from Butler, Tennessee, is the Speaker of the House. He was elected for the first time in January 2009 and his election was newsworthy for a number of reasons. First of all, he is the first Republican House Speaker since the 1960s. Second of all, he was elected by a vote of 50-49, with 49 of the General Assembly's 50 Republicans voting for Jason Mumpower, but all 49 of the House Democrats and Williams voting for Williams. Click here to read more about the events under which Williams became Speaker.

Unlike Lieutenant Governor Ramsey, Williams has moved a lot throughout his career and have many different jobs. He grew up in the Sadie Community of Carter County and, over the years, worked in a hospital cafeteria in Detroit, Michigan, and managed a restaurant in Miami, Florida. Today he and his wife own and operate Dino's Restaurant in Elizabethton. Once asked by a reporter about the pressure of being in the legislature, Williams laughed it off. "Pressure is when you have no job, no income, and you are trying to feed your family. This is nothing."
Representative Steve McDaniel (left) speaks to a group of re-enactors at an event at Fort Pillow
Finally, we need to point out the following connection to the legislature. Tennessee History for Kids has eight board members, and one of them is Representative Steve McDaniel, a Republican from Parkers Crossroads who is also the Deputy Speaker of the State House. McDaniel fits right in with us because he's crazy about history; if you go to a lot of Civil War re-enactments you might find him dressed as a soldier. McDaniel has also been heavily involved in a cause near his home, that being the Parker's Crossroads Battlefield Association. Click here to learn more about it.
Rep. Debra Maggart of Gallatin with a student at a living history museum
Today the Tennessee General Assembly is kind of an unpredictable place. Regardless of whether they are Republican or Democrat, regardless of which part of the state they come from, individual legislators can make a difference. They can, and do, show up every year with new ideas and have their ideas seriously considered by their colleagues and by  the governor.

But it hasn't always been like this. Click here to learn how things have changed.