Brian Kelsey

Senator Brian Kelsey (R), District 31, has served in the Tennessee State Senate since 2009. Senator Kelsey has a vote score of 67%, placing him #18 in a body of 33, showing a lot of room for improvement. His leadership grade of D is consistent with his near bottom-of-the-GOP-pack performance. Leadership grades are based on sponsorships, co-sponsorships, amendments, and other acts, both good (+) and bad (-) in this year’s session of the TN General Assembly. Outside of the GA, Senator Kelsey does good work.

TLRC scores and grades reflect the entire process, not just end results. We count every vote on every selected bill. Bills are selected for their value to ordinary Tennesseans, or their insult to those values. We encourage our General Assembly members to support the former and oppose the latter. When they don’t, they lose points.

Senator Kelsey supported the following TLRC endorsed bills:

• HB1137/SB1197 – No restrictions on church activities in declared emergency
• HB1749/SB2285 – Court decisions de novo, not based on a state agency’s interpretation
• HB1871/SB1982 – Recognition that natural immunity is equal or superior to vaccine
• HB2128/SB2245 – Election integrity measures
• HB2316/SB2153 – No males in girls’ sports
• HB2331/SB2558 – Auditable paper trail voting machines
• HB2454/SB2292 – Redefines “obscene” to include educational material in K-12 making it unlawful
• HB2666/SB2247 – Requires Textbook Commission to provide a list of approved material to GA members
• HB2742/SB2728 – Requires HS to teach virtues of capitalism and the constitution
• HB2746/SB2188 – Makes Ivermectin available over the counter

Here are six TLRC-opposed bills that Senator Kelsey supported:

• HB0204/SB0136 The Crown Act- protecting ethnic hairstyles in the work place
• HB1201/SB1005  Changes in campaign finance giving advantage to incumbents; limiting freedom of speech.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK5Ov35oRxI 
• HB2142/SB2395 – “Juneteenth” as an official Tennessee holiday
• HB2309/SB2464 – Allows professional licenses for illegal immigrants in Tennessee. https://tennesseestar.com/2022/04/13/tennessee-general-assembly-may-enable-illegal-immigrants-to-acquire-commercial-and-professional-licenses/
• HB2609/SB2890 – Cincinnati Reds 80% tax-break for Chattanooga farm team
• HB8002/SB8002 – Provides $678,218,300 of taxpayer money for Ford to build an electric vehicle plant in W. TN

Corporate welfare in all forms should be opposed. Our state government should not be giving economic advantages to any public or private for-profit entities. Let the free market pick the winners and losers. Jobs would come to Tennessee if we were actually to reform our education system and to educate instead of indoctrinate. A well-educated workforce would be unique in America and every business would want to be in our right-to-work, no income tax state. Members should rethink these handouts. To his credit, Senator Kelsey did oppose another corporate welfare bill:

• HB2886/SB2901 – Provides $500M for Titans to build new stadium

Senator Kelsey has potential to be a leader in the battle against bigger government and for our 10th amendment rights to make good policy decisions for ordinary Tennesseans by Tennesseans. We are in crisis.  We can and must do better.

We hope by listing these bills that tells you what you need to know about your General Assembly members.

We encourage you to reach out and let them know how you feel about the various issues and VOTE accordingly. To contact members, go to:     https://www.capitol.tn.gov