Nashville News Blog

Rep. Brian Kelsey threw a hissy fit a few minutes ago in the hallway here at the legislature, accusing Democrats and Republicans alike of secretly supporting a state income tax. His little tirade came after the House budget subcommittee basically deep-sixed his resolution to ask voters to amend the state constitution to ban the income tax. Not for nothing is the subcommittee known as the Black Hole, that astronomical place into which objects vanish never to be seen again.

"A number of people in either party like to say they're against an income tax but in fact they're in favor of an income tax," Kelsey complained after the sudden disappearance of his resolution. It has 40 Republican co-sponsors, some of whom sit on the subcommittee. Of them, only Rep. Donna Rowland voted with Kelsey.

The subcommittee didn't actually vote on the resolution, of course, not wishing to wind up on the record on this particular issue. Instead, its leaders craftily attached a $20,000 fiscal note by requiring newspaper publication notice to voters if the question ever makes it onto the ballot. Then the panel voted to delay considering the resolution until after the state budget, meaning it'll most likely be quietly killed. Once the budget is adopted, the legislature's spent all the money there is to spend. So even coming up with another $20,000 for Kelsey will be impossible.

Kelsey offered to raise private funds to pay for the legal notice but no one was listening

"Of course, this will never come out from behind the budget," he told reporters. "They just showed exactly how they feel about this resolution. They're for an income tax. It's extremely frustrating that they won't even allow us to go out and raise these funds privately so that we can put this matter to rest."