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Witness from FIRE backs campus free‑expression bill; sponsor rolls measure for further work
Summary
An invited witness from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression supported the subcommittee's free‑expression bill as a Chicago‑style model but flagged mandatory minimum sanctions; Chairman Bulso asked for revisions to discipline language and rolled the bill to the March 18 calendar.
Chairman Bulso described House Bill 14‑76 as adopting the University of Chicago's freedom of expression statement and portions of the Clavin Report, then invited Michael Hurley of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) to testify. Hurley said the measure builds on Tennessee's existing campus free‑speech protections and would require public universities to adopt Chicago‑style policies, protect invited speakers and academic freedom, and bar denying recognition to student groups for sincerely held beliefs.
"We are a nonpartisan free speech nonprofit with a longstanding focus on higher education," Michael Hurley said. "The amended version ... requires public universities to adopt a freedom of expression policy similar to [the Chicago statement]." He noted remaining concerns about mandatory minimum sanctions and recommended a future amendment to require a range of sanctions rather than fixed mandatory punishments.
Members questioned Hurley about walkouts and disciplinary scope; Hurley said the amended language distinguishes protected departures from intentionally disruptive walkouts. Chairman Bulso asked for additional work on section 3 (discipline) and, without objection, rolled the bill to the March 18 calendar for further revisions.
