Tennessee Governor Will Veto Ag-Gag Billselfnews Post The bill HB 1191/SB 1248 passed the General Assembly this session and would go into effect July 1st if Haslam signed it into law. Instead, Haslam is so concerned that the law would make it more difficult to prosecute genuine animal abuse cases, which of course is what its intended to do, that hes decided to veto the measure. Haslams decision is also influenced by the Tennessees attorney generals office who called the bill Constitutionally suspect. Agriculture is the No. 1 industry in Tennessee. Farmers play a vital role in our states economy, heritage and history. I understand their concerns about large scale attacks on their livelihoods. I also appreciate that the types of recordings this bill targets may be obtained at times under false pretenses, which I think is wrong, Haslam said. First, the Attorney General says the law is constitutionally suspect. Second, it appears to repeal parts of Tennessees Shield Law without saying so. If that is the case, it should say so. Third, there are concerns from some district attorneys that the act actually makes it more difficult to prosecute animal cruelty cases, which would be an unintended consequence. For these reasons, I am vetoing HB1191/SB1248, and I respectfully encourage the General Assembly to reconsider this issue. RELATED ACTIVIST POST ARTICLE: Read other articles by selfnews Post Here 