For All is a nonprofit dedicated to uniting Tennesseans of all backgrounds and political ideologies around principled policy that empowers people and limits government. We crowdsource our legislative goals through our members and through public surveys. The following agenda is reflective of the vision of thousands of Tennesseeans from all sides of the political aisle.
Criminal Justice Reform
Our criminal justice system is broken and is hurting the most vulnerable among us. Tennessee should act to end civil asset forfeiture, a practice where police can seize property without arresting or charging the property owner with a crime. Tennessee should also move to decriminalize cannabis, a move that would free up law enforcement resources for more violent and destructive crimes and save taxpayers millions on incarceration each year.
Pre-sentencing, lawmakers should act to reform Tennessee’s bond system in a way that will ensure that real threats to the community are locked up, while those who are not a threat are not held at the expense of taxpayers. Post-sentencing reforms should include automatic criminal record expungement for non-violent criminals.
Free & Equal Elections
Tennessee is not living up to its constitutional standard of “Free & Equal” elections. Minor parties in our state are burdened with arguably the most excessive barriers to ballot access anywhere in the country. With a signature requirement over four times the national average, lawmakers should immediately reform minor party ballot access to bring Tennessee in line with the rest of the country.
Limited Government
Legislators should also act to restrict the use of facial recognition by state agencies as a violation of the general warrants provision in the 4th amendment and protect consumers from companies that collect and sell their personal information. It is also time for lawmakers to end the professional privilege tax. It only applies to 7 professions, is a tax in addition to any licensing requirements, and constitutes one of the last vestiges of the income tax in Tennessee.