The Bible will not become the official book of Tennessee this year.
Bolstered by opposition from Republican leadership, the Senate voted 22-9 to kill the Bible bill a day after it was adopted by the House.
"This isn't the time or place now in the full Senate floor to delve into that, we really need to look into it in committee," said Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, about two hours before the vote.
Gov. Bill Haslam and Attorney General Herbert Slatery oppose the bill; Slatery recently announced he thinks the bill violates the state and federal constitutions.
Norris led the effort to kill the bill in the Senate. He asked for the bill to be sent back to a Senate committee in order to address the Slatery opinion. The Senate agreed, supporting Norris and effectively killing the bill for the year.
"I sure hope it won't pass. I think it'll be a dark day for Tennessee if it does," Norris said Wednesday.
"All I know is that I hear Satan snickering. He loves this kind of mischief. You just dumb the good book down far enough to make it whatever it takes to make it a state symbol, and you're on your way to where he wants you."
Bill sponsor Sen. Steve Southerland, R-Morristown, and other supporters argue the bill highlights the economic and historical impact of the Bible in Tennessee. The House passed the bill by a 55-38 vote Wednesday after two hours of debate over the course of two days.
"The Bible has great historical and cultural significance in the state of Tennessee," Southerland said Wednesday at times getting emotional on the Senate floor.
Norris also planned to offer three amendments to the bill if the Senate didn't send the bill to committee. Two of the amendments would include many other religious texts within the definition of "Bible" in the bill. The third says the state will pursue hiring attorneys to defend any lawsuits filed over the law; the move has an estimated $100,000 fiscal impact, and was an attempt to kill the bill.
Referring the bill to committee allows supporters to pick up the campaign against next year. Norris suspects they will.
The House and Senate are set to pass the state's roughly $33 billion budget as soon as Thursday. Bills like this one delay that process, Norris said.
"It's an unnecessary distraction, and for some personnel here it's a diversion from work that has to get done," Norris said before the vote.
This is a developing story. Check The Tennessean for more information as it becomes available.
Reach Dave Boucher at 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.
