Heidi Alexander: “we have an opportunity to vote today on an important piece of States rights legislation--at least that is the way I look…”

“we have an opportunity to vote today on an important piece of States rights legislation--at least that is the way I look at it as a former Governor of Tennessee. Here is what the legislation does. It is called the Marketplace Fairness Act. There are many reasons to support it, but the reason I like it is because it gives Governors and legislators the opportunity to decide for themselves whether they can require out-of-State sellers to do the same thing in-state sellers are required to do; that is, to collect the sales tax already owed. Let me say that again. This legislation is States rights legislation. It allows Governors and legislators in Maine or Tennessee or wherever-- Illinois--to decide for themselves whether they want to require out-of- State sellers to do the same thing in-state sellers already do, which is to collect the sales tax that is already owed when something is sold. That is it. Before I went back to Tennessee, some people here were saying: We don't trust the States to make this decision. I think I know the answer to that from Tennesseans. I have spent the last week going from one end of our State to the other. Everywhere I have gone, I have asked a question. I said: There are some people in Washington who said they trust Washington to make a decision more than they trust Governor Haslam and Speaker Harwell, Lieutenant Governor Ramsey, and the Tennessee Legislature to decide what to do about taxes.…”