Tennessee SJR 777: Memorials, Public Service - Senator Thelma Harper -

Bill Text

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<BillNo> <Sponsor>

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 777
By McNally

A RESOLUTION to honor and commend Senator Thelma Harper
for her service to the people of Tennessee as a
member of the Senate.

WHEREAS, it is most appropriate that the members of this body should honor those
fellow legislators who performed their duties with the utmost integrity and whose efforts during
their time in office were dedicated to providing thoughtful and exemplary service to their district
and to this great State; and
WHEREAS, the first African-American female elected to the Tennessee State Senate
and the longest-serving female State Senator in Tennessee history, Senator Thelma Harper of
Nashville has served the citizens of the 19
th Senate District and this legislative body with honor
and distinction as a member of the 97
th, 98
th, 99
th, 100
th, 101
st, 102
nd, 103
rd, 104
th, 105
th, 106
th,
107
th, 108
th, 109
th, and 110
th General Assemblies; and
WHEREAS, born in Williamson County, Thelma Harper received her Bachelor of
Science degree in Business Administration/Accounting from Tennessee State University. She
attended Haynes High School and graduated from Cameron High School; and
WHEREAS, in 1977, Thelma Harper began her extraordinary public service career when
she was selected to serve as Grand Jury Foreman for Davidson County's 5
th Circuit Court and
subsequently sought election to the Metropolitan Nashville/Davidson County Council to
represent the 2
nd District in 1983; and
WHEREAS, Senator Harper's eight-year tenure on the Metropolitan Council saw her
lead the successful fight to close the Bordeaux Landfill via a number of protests and blockades
of dump trucks, during which she was arrested along with her fellow community activists, before
the facility was closed and legislation she sponsored was enacted to set fair and equitable
standards relative to landfill locations; and

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WHEREAS, since her election to the State Senate in November 1990 and throughout
her extensive career, Senator Harper has always represented her constituents in Davidson
County with passion, respect, and dignity, working diligently at her elected duties at the State
Capitol and in her district to improve the quality of life for all Tennesseans; and
WHEREAS, Senator Thelma Harper has provided a strong, unwavering voice for
women, our most vulnerable children, and the elderly. She has passed legislation on a range of
causes, including the establishment of a fee waiver to provide students from low-income homes
with school supplies and lunches; mandatory insurance coverage of breast reconstruction
symmetry for breast cancer survivors; increased legal protections to stop financial exploitation of
the elderly by their caretakers; and the safe haven law to save abandoned babies; and
WHEREAS, the sponsor of the legislation that renamed a portion of U.S. Highway 41 in
honor of civil rights legend Rosa Parks, Senator Harper has played an integral role in the
economic development of the 19
th Senate District, helping win passage of numerous
amendments to state budgets to benefit the citizens of her district through job training programs,
workforce development efforts, and capital projects like the Nashville Music City Center, for
which project she worked to amend Tennessee's usury law to allow Nashville to sell the bonds
to build the facility; and
WHEREAS, the 19
th District includes downtown Nashville, and Senator Harper worked
closely with five sitting Mayors of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County and four
Governors of Tennessee. She was instrumental in a number of historic moments in Nashville
history, including the development of the Music City Center, the construction of the Main
Nashville Public Library, and the effort to bring the Tennessee Titans National League Football
team to Nashville. She was also instrumental in securing state funds for Tennessee State
University and Meharry Medical College; and
WHEREAS, as an active and dynamic participant in the legislative process, Senator
Harper has rendered sterling service as a member of the Senate Government Operations
Committee, the Senate State and Local Government Committee, the Senate General Welfare,
Health, and Human Resources Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate

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Transportation and Safety Committee, the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee, and
the Senate Ethics Committee; and
WHEREAS, Senator Harper has also been a member of the Joint Government
Operations Education, Health and General Welfare Subcommittee, the Joint Government
Operations Commerce, Labor, Transportation, and Agriculture Subcommittee, the Unsolved
Civil Rights Crimes Special Joint Committee, the Tennessee Advisory Commission on
Intergovernmental Relations, the Select Committee on Children and Youth, the Corrections
Oversight Committee, and the Joint Pensions and Insurance Committee; and
WHEREAS, appointed by Lieutenant Governor John Wilder, Senator Thelma Harp