Two bills that were seeking to dramatically impact the process of bringing speakers to public institutions of higher education were taken off notice in the House Education Subcommittee this morning. Taking a bill off notice means that it will no longer be heard in committee unless the sponsor of the bill re-calendars it.
Rep. Susan Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet) and Rep. Jimmy Matlock (R-Lenior City), the house sponsors of the bills (HB2378 and HB2450), spoke to the committee today regarding their decision to take these bills off notice.
“The University understands the concerns of the General Assembly,” Lynn stated. She went on to clarify that while these bills have been taken off notice this session, she will continue to watch the University of Tennessee closely.
Referring to the controversial UTK student-led program ‘Sex Week,’ Lynn did state to Committee members that she may pursue legislative action in the future.
“If they embarrass the University again in such a way… [the members] would come forward [with these bills] in the future,” she stated.
Sen. Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville), the Senate sponsor of these bills (SB1608 and SB2493), has also agreed to take the bills off notice.
Tags: student activity fees, student fees