(TN) "English Only" Bill Passes House Trans. Commi

"English Only" Bill Passes House Transportation Committee
posted March 30, 2010

A bill that would require all written examinations for all driver licenses be in English passed in the full House Transportation committee of the Tennessee House of Representatives on Tuesday.

Rep. Eric Watson, prime sponsor of the bill, said that HB 0262 "will put thousands of taxpayer dollars back into our budget, and most of all, make it safer for our drivers on our Tennessee roadways.

"As a legislator who represents the people of my district in Bradley, Polk, and Meigs Counties, I often discover the solution to a problem is not passing another law, but simply enforcing a law that already exists. Here is an example. In 1984 Tennessee adopted a law making English the official language of our state. The law read in part, 'All communications and publications …produced by governmental entities in Tennessee shall be in English.' In the minds of most people I think the meaning of that sentence is pretty clear.

"But what is clear to ordinary people too often seems beyond the grasp of government bureaucrats. For instance, Tennessee Department of Safety officials decided that the phrase “all communications and publicationsâ€

While we are calling the state governors today, please include a call or email to Eric Watson to say thank you for the English legislation, for his legislation to require proof of citizenship when voting, for efforts to curb illegal immigration and verify citizenship when receiving benefits.

Thank you.

Rep. Eric Watson

R-
District 22 — Meigs, Polk and part of Bradley Counties — Map
district address


301 6th Avenue North
Suite 205 War Memorial Building
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone (615) 741-7799
Fax (615) 253-0252

rep.eric.watson@capitol.tn.gov

http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/hous ... s/h22.html

Psalm 91