The Caucus Corner — April 17

A Letter from the Chair

Dear Friends,

The work of a legislator in a state where the controlling party has diminished the collective power of our community is both overwhelmingly rewarding and disheartening. This week was one which brought both of those feelings to me and my fellow colleagues in the Democratic caucus.

On Thursday, the legislature passed the final amended budget for Fiscal Year 2027, and I’ll tell you right now it does nothing to alleviate the real issues burdening Tennesseans. Instead, it wages a culture war on our state's people, devalues the role of public education, strips municipalities of their power, and gives sweetheart deals to the nation’s and state’s wealthiest individuals and businesses. 

I was immensely disappointed to see millions included in the budget for the “Memphis school takeover” and the federal task force – and then see millions removed that would have supported local criminal justice and crime prevention efforts. Despite my fellow Republican colleagues being presented with data that shows investment in communities, health care, education and opportunity is the sure fire way to reduce crime, those policies are the complete opposite of the narrative they are trying to push. The fact of the matter is crime was decreasing steadily and had reached an all time low in Memphis before the task force stepped one foot inside county lines. In terms of the schools, less than a tenth of 1% of a multi-billion dollar budget was misused — a consequence of paltry state education funding and significant turnover in the district’s administrative office. 

Despite this, though, there were real improvements made by the Democratic Caucus; ones that kept us going during this point of the session. On Wednesday, April 15, I hosted my Black Maternal Health Week legislative hearing where I spoke to and heard from a large group of people invested in improving outcomes for Black mothers, and all mothers, in Tennessee. The speakers at this event inspired me to push even harder for maternal health legislation in this state, because these women and their families deserve it. 

Outside of my office, I saw fellow Memphian, Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari, pass an important criminal justice reform unanimously out of both chambers and also make real improvements for drivers with disabilities. We also saw Sen. Campbell pass legislation that would decrease the burden on folks displaced from natural disasters seeking shelter in hotels — a direct result of the state of emergency we faced in January. 

We may be a minority but we are an impactful one. No matter how disheartening some days get, we will never stop fighting for the betterment of Tennesseans. 

I hope you can also derive purpose and motivation from this message.

Sincerely,

Senator London Lamar

Chairwoman, Tennessee Senate Democratic Caucus

Tennessee State Senate, District 33 • Memphis

Weekly Recap

Akbari bill reforms Tennessee's 'guilty by association' law

• Senate Democratic Leader Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, presented and unanimously passed bipartisan legislation to reform Tennessee's criminal responsibility statute — a law that has allowed people to be charged for crimes they did not commit.

• Under current law, someone can be charged for a crime committed by another person simply for being with a person who committed a crime. SB 1170 will require the state to prove a person acted with intent to benefit from the proceeds or results of a crime before they can be held criminally responsible for another person's conduct.

• "People should not be found guilty of a crime just because they were there," Akbari said.

• Now that the bill has passed both chambers it will go to the governor’s desk.

$58 billion state budget passes, ignores affordability crisis crushing families

• Just weeks before the 2026 legislative session began, Vanderbilt University released a statewide poll showing an overwhelming majority of Tennesseans, 87%, feel their daily cost of living is expensive. 

• Tennesseans are right. Electricity bills are higher than ever. Grocery bills are higher than ever. Health care costs are higher than ever. Housing costs are near an all-time high. To make matters worse: inflation has spiked again to 3%, driving up the price of everything else.

• How did Tennessee’s Republican-controlled government respond to this affordability crisis? By ignoring it. There are no tax cuts for working families. There’s no accountability for price gouging. There’s no expansion of child care funding. 

• Instead of advancing reforms to bring down costs for everyday families, the controlling party passed legislation amassing state government power, giving sweetheart deals to billionaires and engaging in every culture war imaginable. 

Republican refuse to fund effort to protect the inheritance of orphans

• When a child’s parents die, that child may be eligible for Social Security survivor benefits from their parents. But when an orphan ends up in state custody, the state claims those survivor benefits for the department’s budget. 

• The legislature estimates the state is seizing $7.5 million a year that Social Security is paying to parentless children in the system.

• The result is millions of dollars going into state coffers from funds meant for an orphaned child – sometimes the only inheritance a deceased parent can hand down.

• Senator Yarbro’s SB 312 aimed to stop this practice by requiring the state to conserve these funds in a trust for the orphaned child. But Republicans refused to fund the measure in the budget, ending the bill’s chances of becoming law this year.

Sen. Campbell reduces tax burden during natural disasters

• On April 13, the Senate unanimously passed Sen. Campbell’s SB 2504 which would authorize counties affected by a declared a state of emergency to provide relief from hotel occupancy taxes and short-term rental taxes.

• The legislation is permissive. Sen. Campbell says it could have given local governments another tool to help Nashville families during the recent winter ice storm. 

• The bill passed the Senate on April 13 and is set to be voted on by the House next.

Gov. Lee’s private school voucher program grows again 

• The General Assembly has officially expanded Gov. Bill Lee’s voucher scheme, which sends public dollars to private schools to subsidize tuition costs mostly for families that were already enrolled. 

• The legislation SB 2247, passed the Senate 18-14 on April 16. 

• The law will expand Tennessee’s statewide private school voucher program from 20,000 slots to 35,000, pushing the cost of the program nearly $300 million in only its second year. 

• In the upcoming school year, each voucher will be valued at $7,530, which is more state funding per pupil than K-12 public school students receive. Meanwhile Tennessee ranks 47th in K-12 public school per-pupil student spending.

Member Spotlight

Senator London Lamar — On April 15, Sen. Lamar hosted a legislative hearing on improving maternal health outcomes. The event, which took place during Black Maternal Health Week, allowed Sen. Lamar to update advocates and community members on policy wins and losses from the legislative session. The event featured leaders from across the state who are advancing and advocating for Black maternal and fetal health.

Senator Ramuesh Akbari — Sen. Akbari celebrated her legislation being signed into law to expand protections for Tennesseans who stutter. The reform allows drivers who have a stutter to register their communication disorder on a private statewide database used by first responders. The goal of the legislation is to provide police with information about a person that could help prevent miscommunication and keep a situation from escalating.

Senator Heidi Campbell — Last week, Sen. Heidi Campbell and staff had a very productive meeting with Our Kids, a Nashville non-profit that provides expert medical evaluations and crisis counseling in response to concerns of child sexual abuse. Her office was inspired with the work they are doing and continue to do to bring increasing community awareness of child sexual abuse.

Senator Jeff Yarbro — On April 9, Sen. Yarbro joined News Channel 5, Nashville to speak about the current legislative session. He emphasized how the legislature is out of touch from the real concerns and needs of Tennesseans and is focusing its time on concentrating the power of the state.

Senator Sarah Kyle — Sen. Kyle was pleased to recognize her 2026 legislative intern Mariana Pita for her exemplary work by presenting her with SJR 1078.