Gov. Bill Lee’s administration is pushing a bill that would remove the requirement for children to get vaccines in order to receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. (Photo: Karen Pulfer Focht/Tennessee Lookout)
Gov. Bill Lee’s administration is pushing legislation that would remove school attendance and vaccine mandates for families receiving state financial assistance payments.
Required immunizations, which met opposition in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, are believed to be the impetus for the bill.
After the COVID vaccine became available in December 2020, former President Joe Biden — who took office in January 2021— issued an executive order requiring federal employees and contractors to be fully immunized by December 2021. In Tennessee, Lee encouraged people to take the shots, even when protesters railed against his COVID-19 policies.
The bill comes as Congress is on the verge of approving Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, as secretary of the U.S. Health and Human Services agency.
House Bill 107, sponsored by House Majority Leader William Lamberth of Portland, deletes old “personal responsibility” rules for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families dealing with education and vaccinations children must receive to attend school and contains measures for child support, work requirements and transportation.
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Known in Tennessee as Families First, the federal program provides block grants to states to help boost needy families with children toward self-sufficiency. Tennessee receives about $190 million annually for the program.
State lawmakers put new rules into the program more than a decade ago. But this measure eliminates requirements that aid recipients ensure children attend school, receive immunizations and health checks and for parents to attend conferences with teachers, take eight hours of parenting classes and participate in child support services.
Lamberth referred questions about the bill Tuesday to a House Republican Caucus spokesperson. The Lookout received no response by deadline.
Department of Human Services spokesperson Danielle Cotton said Tuesday the proposed “personal responsibility plans” are designed to match federal requirements.
Under current law, failure to comply with these education and vaccination guidelines could lead to a reduction in a family’s TANF payments by 20%.
The maximum amount a family of three can receive from the program is $387 a month, 18% of the federal poverty level.
Democratic state Rep. Sam McKenzie said Tuesday he believes the current rules are designed to hold parents accountable by making sure they send children to school and ensure they get the required shots.
“These are valuable things that ensure that these federal dollars are going to parents that are engaged in their child’s life,” McKenzie said. “And to see that list of cuts, to me it’s a poor piece of legislation, and it’s going to lead to poor parenting.”
The new bill contains no accountability requirements for parents and no fine for failing to meet the “personal responsibility” guidelines, McKenzie said. He predicted an “erosion” in what he considers an effective program.
Lawmakers have been trying to increase the program’s financial distributions since the revelation a few years ago that the state had a $730 million surplus in the TANF fund, money that comes to Tennessee from the federal government.
That amount peaked at $798.3 million in 2021 but was still at $717 million a year ago.
A spokesperson with Lee’s office didn’t respond to questions from the Lookout Tuesday.
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