TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Amelia Ferrell Knisely on Jan 14, 2016

The Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act, a bill that says no state agency may enforce the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, could cost the state more than $8.5 billion. The figure, tallied in the bill’s fiscal note, includes federal funding the state receives for programs like TennCare that would be eliminated if the state is noncompliant with federal law. “… Some legislators are endangering billions of dollars in federal funding, not to mention threatening the health insurance, hospital visitation and parenting arrangements of same-sex couples,” said Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project. Read more from The Tennessean.