Posts from — January 2009

Seriously? Ahahaha.

HOUSE RESOLUTION 1

By Fitzhugh

A RESOLUTION to appoint James O. “Jimmy” Naifeh to be Speaker Emeritus of the House of Representatives of the 106th General Assembly.

WHEREAS, the Tennessee House of Representatives should recognize those members who have served with great distinction and who have held numerous House offices and positions for extensive durations of time; and

WHEREAS, it is appropriate for the Tennessee House of Representatives to establish the position of “Speaker Emeritus” with unique qualifications and requirements to evidence the magnitude of accomplishment, dignity, and character of any person qualified to hold such position; and

WHEREAS, the minimum qualifications for such office shall be a minimum service of 18 years as Speaker of the House of Representatives, a minimum service of 14 years in other leadership positions associated with the House, and receipt of the coveted William M. Bulger Excellence in State Legislative Leadership Award, the highest honor conferred annually by the National Conference of State Legislatures and The State Legislative Leader’s Foundation to a state legislative leader who has worked to preserve and build public trust in the institution of the state legislature and whose career embodies the highest principles of leadership, integrity, compassion, vision and courage; and

WHEREAS, Jimmy Naifeh also served as Majority Floor Leader in the 90th, 91st, 92nd, and 93rd General Assemblies and as Majority Leader in the 94th, 95th and 96th General Assemblies; and

WHEREAS, Speaker Naifeh received many honors during his legislative career, including the coveted “William M. Bulger Excellence in State Legislative Leadership Award” from the National Conference of State Legislatures and The State Legislative Leader’s Foundation in 2006; and

WHEREAS, Speaker Naifeh has been active in many community and charitable organizations, including business organizations, veterans’ groups, University of Tennessee alumni activities, and Rotary International, and has been a faithful and effective supporter of ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, having served on the Board of Governors and Directors of ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital from 1985 to 2005, and is currently serving on the Professional Advisory Board and is a Member Emeritus; and

WHEREAS, Jimmy Naifeh was first elected to represent the citizens of the 81st House District in 1974, and has continued to serve as their representatives since such time, and although he has served in many different leadership positions, his priority has always been to represent his constituents in the most effective manner possible; and

WHEREAS, as a tribute to his service to the State of Tennessee, the University of Tennessee Institute for Public Service has proposed to establish the “Jimmy Naifeh Center for Effective Leadership” to prepare elected and appointed officials for the challenges of serving the public; and

WHEREAS, it is fitting for this body to honor the service of Jimmy Naifeh to his district and the state; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, that the position of “Speaker Emeritus of the House of Representatives” is established as part of the leadership of such body with the qualifications as enumerated above.

entitled to all the benefits and privileges that such honorary title of Speaker Emeritus should carry; provided, however, that such powers shall not extend to any powers or duties granted the Speaker of the House under House Rules or the Constitution of Tennessee.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Speaker Emeritus may perform such functions and duties as are assigned by the Speaker of the House.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a framed copy of this resolution be placed in the chamber of the House of Representatives and that this clause be deleted from such copy.

I purposely allowed myself 24 hours to cool down before I pontificated on the events which transpired yesterday on the floor of the House of Representatives of the State of Tennessee. Many bloggers, commentators, and newspeople have already presented the facts and opinions surrounding this story, but I feel that I should write a full account of the events as I saw them – sort of as an affirmation of the posts by other bloggers or an alternative point of view to what the newsmedia may be presenting.

Without further ado – here goes:

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As promised, I’ll post a full first person account sometime between 1pm and 4 pm today (1/14, contrary to the post date). Thank you for your patience.

For those of you who are interested, I will be Twittering tomorrow’s events from the Capitol all day long, beginning at about 7:00 a.m. You can follow those updates on the right side of this blog, or you can check them out here.