On April 19, the 2006 Tennessee Bottle Bill was rejected by the House Local Government Subcommittee by a vote of 8 to 1.
Not the greatest outcome, to be sure. But supporters should take heart.
The single vote FOR the bill—cast in a moment of quiet bravery by Rep. Ben West (D-Hermitage)—has shifted the entire debate, psychologically as well as politically. It signals that this bill has so much merit, will provide so many documented benefits and will so thoroughly serve the public interest, that at least one legislator felt compelled to take a stand for it even in the face of certain defeat, and despite enormous political pressure from beverage and grocery interests.
The pressure to oppose this bill was so strong, in fact, that even former bottle-bill supporters chose to remain silent. These included at least two powerful statewide organizations (the Tennessee Farm Bureau and the Tennessee Wildlife Federation), both of which are on record as endorsing container deposit legislation and both of which have led the fight for such bills in the past.
That same self-imposed gag order was widely in effect among legislators. One subcommittee member who voted against the bill admitted that if the issue were put directly to the voters, it would pass easily. In fact, he said he wished the decision COULD be left to the voters, so that he wouldn't have to take the heat! Numerous other legislators said bluntly that until they saw their colleagues stepping forward in significant numbers, they weren’t sticking their own necks out.
That’s why Rep. Ben West’s lone vote carries such significance. It may not be a flood, but it’s a crack in the dam. And once that breech is made, there is no closing it.
And though the chief sponsor and architect of the 2006 bill, Rep. Russell Johnson (R-Loudon), is leaving the legislature (he's running for district attorney), bottle-bill supporters are already planning their strategy for 2007.
Marge Davis
Coordinator, TN Bottle Bill Project
April 27, 2006