State Speaker makes stop in Gray alongside local Republican candidates

"I won in a primary when I first ran against an incumbent, so I understand the challenges and the uniqueness of it, but at that point the job is to move on and work with the new members that the community has voted for."

District 6 and 7 challengers Tim Hicks and Rebecca Alexander won their respective primaries against Van Huss and Hill in August. Hicks will now square off against Democrat Brad Batt in November, and Alexander, who won by a 26-point margin against Hill, won't face an opponent.

During a press availability ahead of a meeting with local officials, a roundtable that included Washington County Mayor Joe Grandy, Johnson City Mayor Jenny Brock and City Manager Pete Peterson, Sexton said he expects criminal justice reform, education and health care to be priorities in the upcoming legislative session. The prime objective will be passing a fiscally conservative budget.

"What you've seen across our state in some cities and in other states across America is they've mismanaged the last decade and so they've had to raise taxes," Sexton said. "In our state we have a different philosophy. We managed the last 10 years very well, and we've actually cut taxes and downgraded revenue growth and we're able to maintain and continue what we're doing as we come out of this."

Additionally, Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally have put together an ad hoc committee that is reviewing the emergency powers of the governor. That group will have another meeting in December.

"It's not so much to curtail what Gov. (Bill) Lee is doing," Sexton said Monday. "We think he's done a fantastic job in how he's handled the pandemic, working with the local governments and local education associations."

According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, some Republicans have expressed concern about an executive order Lee issued early during the pandemic requiring Tennesseans to remain at home except under certain circumstances and orders that shut down state certain businesses for several weeks.

Looking at the statute, Sexton said the degree of power held by the governor during emergencies has given him and other legislators pause. He said such power could be detrimental in the wrong hands.

Sexton said legislators are looking at how other states handle executive power to give the governor flexibility but also provide oversight. As an example, Sexton said that could include allowing executive orders for a certain number of days, which would then require consideration from the General Assembly for an extension.

Asked for his thoughts on an effort to remove a bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, an early leader of the Ku Klux Klan, from the State Capitol, Sexton said he's hesitant to remove history — good, bad or ugly.

The Tennessean reported last week that Sexton and McNally believe the Tennessee Historical Commission can't vote on removing the statue until the State Building Commission has a say in the matter.

The State Capitol Commission had previously voted to remove the bust during a meeting in July, and the Historical Commission was slated to consider the move in October.

"We're going to have those conversations, and I think most Tennesseans agree with that approach," he said. "I think as we continue to move forward, we're going to follow the process and see what happens. We just want to make sure it's followed from the beginning to end."