Rep. Debra Maggart Questions Legitimacy of Comptroller’s Report on Immigration

Discrepancies in Comptroller’s August 2007 Report Revealed

(NASHVILLE, Tenn., Friday, November 9, 2007) – Rep. Debra Maggart (R-Hendersonville) offered a review of the Comptroller’s August 2007 report entitled “Immigration Issues in Tennessee.” Due to the bias shown in the Comptroller’s report, F.A.I.R. (Federation for American Immigration Reform) issued a report that evaluates the cost of illegal immigrants in Tennessee and provided data where the Comptroller was reluctant to reveal any.

The two reports agree on the total population of illegal immigrants in Tennessee but differ drastically on the cost to the taxpayers. The Comptroller’s report and F.A.I.R.’s report both show the over 277% increase in immigrant population from 1990 to 2005. Using their math, that would put the total immigrant population at roughly 312,779 statewide and over 100,000 of those are here illegally.

The main place that the two reports differ is the total cost of illegal immigrants on Tennesseans, with F.A.I.R. putting that cost at $285 million per year. This adds up to $122 per native-born household in TN. The Comptroller’s report states that “Many economists agree that immigrant workers are beneficial to national and state economic growth…”

Rep. Maggart said, “Notice that this does not say illegal immigrants. This is just speaking of immigrants as a whole, legal and illegal. Tennesseans are smart enough to know that illegal immigrants are using up their tax dollars.”

The TN Comptroller’s report cites the Texas Comptroller’s report and tries to convince Tennesseans that “unauthorized aliens generated more taxes and other revenue than the state spends on them” even though they also say, “state-specific data on unauthorized aliens is limited.” F.A.I.R. does provide specific data on those tax collections from illegal immigrants. Using the same criteria that the Comptroller’s report uses, F.A.I.R. estimates that illegal immigrants contribute $69 million in tax dollars every year. Compare that to the $285 million that they cost and there is a $216 million tax burden on the TN taxpayers.

Maggart concluded by saying, “The report also says, ‘Complete and accurate information appears to be missing from many discussions on these issues.’ Apparently it was referring to itself.”

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The Death Penalty on Hold in Tennessee

The Death Penalty on hold in Tennessee pending court action
States watch new U.S. Supreme Court term

By State Representative Debra Maggart, 45th House


The U.S. Supreme Court began its new term October 1st and has agreed to consider the constitutionality of lethal injections in death penalty cases in the Baze v. Rees case in our neighboring state of Kentucky. Their finding could affect the way death row inmates are executed around the country.

Tennessee joins 36 other states in the use of lethal injection as a method of implementing the death penalty. However, the state has suspended executions due to the finding of 6th Circuit Court of Appeals U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger ruling that this method is illegal as she said it was cruel and unusual.

Last Thursday State House Republicans asked Governor Bredesen to “vigorously pursue” and appeal Judge Trauger’s ruling. We also asked the Governor to request the Attorney General to file a “friend of the court” or “amicus curiae brief” supporting the state of Kentucky in the Baze v. Rees case. The Governor announced Friday that the state would appeal Judge Trauger’s decision. However, he said he did not have a role in filing a “friend of the court” brief to bring additional resources to the Kentucky case before the Supreme Court, as that was a decision of the state’s attorney general. This is despite the fact that the Kentucky case will have nationwide impact on the death penalty statutes of all 37 states like ours that use lethal injection as a method of carrying out their capital punishment law.

The General Assembly has made it clear in our state law that the death penalty should be carried out using any method that passes court scrutiny. The governor and the attorney general should be following the laws set out by the people’s representatives by using every legal resource available to us to pursue justice for those who are the victims of the very worst of the worst crimes committed in Tennessee.

It took four decades for Tennessee to implement our capital punishment law. Returning to a system that endlessly denies justice to the victims of heinous crimes is “cruel and unusual” to victims, their families and their friends. Those left behind because of the criminal’s actions suffer much pain and psychological trauma.

We owe it to the victims to utilize Tennessee’s full resources to join efforts to uphold our capital punishment law. I support due process and the rule of law in our state, but feel strongly that we must defend those who are defenseless, the victims whose life has been ended by a terrible and violent act.

Currently, Tennessee uses a three-drug cocktail of thiopental, an anesthetic, pancuronium bromide, a nerve blocker and muscle paralyzer; and potassium chloride, a drug to stop the heart. Judge Trauger’s decision states that lethal injection could “result in a terrifying, excruciating death.”

The judge maintained that Tennessee must adopt a valid method of execution in spite of new procedures adopted by the Tennessee Department of Corrections this year. This case interrupted plans to carry out the death sentence of Edward Jerome Harbison. Harbison was convicted in 1983 for brutally beating an elderly woman, Edith Russell, to death during a burglary.

The Tennessee General Assembly has worked to have a death penalty method that would pass court scrutiny when we passed lethal injection instead of electrocution. The action by Judge Trauger appears to demonstrate that possibly no method of capital punishment would be allowed by the courts, although we have hope that the U.S. Supreme Court will uphold the lethal injection method.



The high court will hear a challenge from two death row inmates in Kentucky—Ralph Baze and Thomas Clyde Bowling, Jr.—who sued Kentucky in 2004, claiming lethal injection amounts to cruel and unusual punishment and therefore violates the 8th Amendment of the U.S, Constitution.


Previously, the Supreme Court has never ruled whether the mix of drugs used in lethal injections violated the 8th amendment. They have however, made it easier for death row inmates to contest the lethal injection process used across the nation. Some of the questions presented are:

1. Does the 8th Amendment prohibit means for carrying out a method of execution that create unnecessary risk of pain and suffering as supposed to a substantial risk of the wanton infliction of pain?
Do the means for carrying out an execution cause unnecessary risk of pain and suffering in violation of the 8th Amendment upon a showing that readily available alternatives that pose less risk of pain and suffering could be used?
Does the continued use of the three-drug cocktail (like Tennessee’s) , either used individually or together, violate the 8th Amendment because this method can be carried out by using other chemicals pose less risk of pain and suffering?


The Kentucky case doesn’t seek to throw out the death penalty by lethal injection but wants changes in how it is given and new standards for courts to use to determine whether the punishment is constitutional. The Court has ordered final briefs be filed by December 28, 2007.

Next week, Monday and Tuesday , October 15 & 16 , the state legislature’s Special Joint Committee will meet to study “the Administration of the Death Penalty system in Tennessee”. Presentation topics include Tennessee’s Capital Case Process, and Evaluating Fairness and Accuracy in State Death Penalty Systems: The Tennessee Death Penalty Assessment Report. Tuesday’s topics include Lethal Injection Procedures and Status Report on Executions. These meetings are open to the public and begin on Monday at 1 pm to 3 pm in Legislative Plaza Room 12 and Tuesday morning at 9 am to 11 am. You may watch it on streaming video by going to the Tennessee General Assembly website.

Your concerns are important to me and I hope you will contact me anytime. My office number is 615-741-3893 and my email address is rep.debra.maggart@legislature.state.tn.us

September 11th has been designated Patriot's Day by President George W. Bush. The American Legion, Post 17, memorialized the victims of that fateful day. Below are my remarks that evening as a guest speaker.



Thank you for your introduction and for the tremendous honor of being with you this evening. First, let me thank you for all you have done for this state and nation.It's because of men and women like you that we enjoy freedom in this country.

On this sixth anniversary of 9-11, we are reminded of the 2,974 innocent victims who lost their life as a result of the terrorist attacks on thisday. We also remember ~ in reverence ~ our fellow Tennesseans and Americans, who lost their lives and who paid the ultimate sacrifice in this war against evil. Let us never forget their heroism.Just as Pearl Harbor Day, or the assassination of President Kennedy,9-11, is a day engrained into our nation's history and the lives of our citizens.* We all remember where we were when we heard about the attacks.* We remember the fear of what the future held in those days andweeks that followed.* We mourned at the sight of those who lost their loved ones andlooked for hope in the heap of rubble. I have visited Ground Zero twice since the attacks. The first time was Easter weekend 2002, seven short months after the attack. Work trucks were still working their way up the ramps from the pit and I was amazed by the shear size of it all. Broken windows and glass were still visible. On a side street, we entered a small camera shop to buy more film. The shopkeeper was an Asian woman. We asked her about that day and if she was there. In spite of being here in America for over 20 years, she spoke in broken English. She told us how she left her shop in the confusion and then ran back because she feared someone would rob her tiny store. She hid under the shop counter. She told us about how people were running and screaming and as she did this her voice became more excited and her English more broken. She told us how people ran in her shop and grabbed boxes of film and disposable cameras off the shelves, the majority without paying because of the sheer terror of the event. She explained how her business had been shut down for six months because the site was barricaded. She had just reopened. She told us of all the people that came back, 6 months later, to pay her for the film and cameras they grabbed. And then, she smiled at us and exclaimed, America, USA! Number 1!

Everything changed that day-the way we looked at our loved ones, our flag, and our very freedom-with all of these becoming more precious.As we get further from that fateful day, it becomes easier for some to forget the terror that occurred as we go about our daily lives. As the saying goes-Life goes on.

However, today, once again, we are reminded that the 9-11 tragedy taught us much about our nation's spirit and resolve. It also rang a warning bell that the things we once took for granted could become a target for terrorist attacks.The acts of cowardice of that day should serve to remind us that we remain under attack from a new enemy that chooses to hide behind the innocent, including those of their own nationality and beliefs. Thank God we have men and women like you willing to risk their lives to fight against evil.

At the same time, after 9-11 we have also seen the compassion shown to a people who had known nothing but tyranny.... We have seen the pictures of soldiers showing kindnesses to Iraqi children. Those children---and the direction they will take in the future---will be forever changed.

Whether today we are speaking of today's soldiers or those who have served us bravely in former wars from WWII to Korea, and from Vietnam,the first Gulf War to Kosovo-our soldiers have been ambassadors of freedom. And, without them the world would be dark place.

Besides our national conscience, there have been many changes that have evolved over the past six years as a result if 9-11.The most prevalent has been our state of readiness.There is no higher priority of government than ensuring the safety and protection of our citizens, by providing critical infrastructure and resources to help us defeat the challenges of a new enemy---terrorism.

There were many lessons of 9-11, which will change this state and nation for decades to come. I want to talk to you about some of the more important things Tennessee has done to become ready in the event of such a tragedy since that time.

Immediately after the 9-11 attack, Governor Sundquist appointed the Office of Homeland Security to direct the efforts to meet this new challenge.The mission of the state's homeland security efforts is first to deter aterrorist attack. The next priority was to improve the state's capabilities to respond to an incident if one should occur.

Following, we created our Tennessee Homeland Security Council,consisting of the department or agency heads of state government departments that have a part in the anti-terrorism efforts-whether it is our military to protect us, our Health Department making certain we have a network of health services available, or our law enforcement agencies charged with looking at any potential threat. The way our government responds to potential acts of terrorism is at a new level ofcoordination and readiness due to events of September 11, 2001.

We have set-up a Hospital Bio-preparedness Committee and Public Health Emergency Advisory Committee that concentrated on establishing regional hospitals and other aspects of bio-terrorism emergency preparedness.They worked on such matters as the training of hospital personnel and the stockpiling of essential medical products or drugs that would be needed in such an event. They will also work on developing an alert and communications system for public health officials.

Combating terrorism demands unity of effort and teamwork across federal, state and local governments. It also involves a critical partnershipwith private organizations across the state of Tennessee.

Since and as a result of 9-11, we have provided the bulk of our efforts to readiness and response at the local level-which is where our citizens live and work. This is where we train both emergency personnel and citizen volunteers in how to be prepared in such as event that struck that terrible day.

The federal government has provided grants to help offset the cost of this new age of terrorism to state and local governments and Sumner County has been a beneficiary. Tennessee has learned the lesson that we cannot sit back and be complacent. We have been working at bringing local government, law enforcement and emergency responders to bridge gaps, which existed within formation flow. Communication and coordination are critical to our efforts.

Our state has created the "Citizen Corp Council" which depends on thousands of Tennesseans our in our communities from Mountain City to Memphis. The Citizens Corps is a broad network of volunteer efforts
that embodies the volunteer spirit for which our state is known.Specific programs within the Citizen Corps include the community Emergency Response Teams, Volunteers in Police Service, Neighborhood Watch Program, Medical Reserves Corps and Fire Corps.

Finally, many new laws were passed in the wake of 9-11 to deter terrorism in our state. The "Terrorism Prevention & Response Act of 2002" defines the crime of terrorism and sets stiff penalties for possession, manufacture, or transferring a weapon of mass destruction or participating a hoax of the same. Terrorists would face the death penalty if persons are killed.

The terrorist attacks on our nation in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. brought tragedy to our country. It also brought resolve to each of the 50 states including our own, in preparing for this newage of terrorism. The 9-11 attack, as horrible as it was, brought out the best in Americans and in Tennesseans.

On this day, as we remember the victims on this anniversary, may we continue to strengthen our preparedness and resolve to guard our precious freedoms.

God bless you, the great state of Tennessee, and America!

Toll Roads in Tennessee? - The Facts

Dear Friends:

The passage of the bill was the result of a 30 year ongoing study. In fact, in my most recent survey I polled citizens on this matter. When asked, "Do you support the use of tolls to pay for new road projects?" 53.3% of citizens responded in the affirmative. To clarify, the bill that was passed only gives TDOT the authority to begin talking about toll roads. As of yet, no toll roads have been implented. Before the toll road or toll bridge could be implemented public hearings will be announced. So please keep an eye out! Please write to me at debra@debramaggart.com as I am working to open dialogue on this issue and your concerns and comments are very important to me. By no means, is this a done deal! This bill only allows TDOT to INVESTIGATE the possibility of toll roads. Also, please feel free to contact Sen. Diane Black a bout this matter as well. Her email is: sen.diane.black@legislature.state.tn.usAs always, it is a pleasure to serve to you.

Sincerely,Debra