Sen. Shane Reeves of R-Murfreesboro has started a business that received a $1 million grant from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development and has since received tax refunds from the state. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

Of the 33 Tennessee senators, 13 declared conflicts of interest before voting for the $1.9 billion business tax credit in 2024.

Two years before winning a seat in 2018, Republican Sen. Shane Reeves of Murfreesboro received a $1 million FastTrack grant from the state Department of Economic and Community Development when he opened Twelvestone Health Partners in Rutherford County in 2016.

Reeves, a pharmacist in trade, started the business after he and his former business partner Rick Thane sold Reeves Saind Rugstore and specialty pharmacy business Entrust to Fred Inc. for $66 million. Twelvestone has expanded several times over nine years, opening injection centers in multiple locations, including Virginia and Georgia.

Nearly a decade later, Twelvestone Health Partners and Affiliates Twelvestone Holdings and Twelvestone Medical Inc. are three of the 16,000 Tennessee businesses who received franchise tax refunds of more than $10,000 after Republican lawmakers pushed for measures backed by Bill Lee through Congress last year.

Reeves told the observation deck this week that Twelvestone meets all the requirements for receiving the 2016 grant and currently employs nearly 300 people. Asked if he was worried about the emergence of double soaking, Reeves said he was a “part-time civic senator,” Twelvestone’s chief executive for the rest of the time for the first four months of the year.

“My job is to do what’s best for our company. I’m never going to expect more or less from my business than anyone else,” Reeves said in a text statement.

Reeves, chairman of the Senate Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, said he was “comfortable” in the scope of the refunds law reporting and called a “fair compromise” of transparency.

list The State Department shows the categories of companies that receive refunds of up to $750,000, up to $750, over $10,000. The list of a total of 60,000 companies will be published on May 31st and will remain open to the public for 30 days.

The senator has been reluctant to publicize the corporation when it picked up the bill last year, and is the only Republican who passed 25-6 and voted against by Sen. Art Swan of Maryville. The two members did not vote.

But while the House has called for some form of transparency, Democrats and public record supporters say the range is not sufficiently specific, considering the amounts rebated to some of the world’s biggest companies, including FedEx and 13 subsidiaries, Ford Motor Co. and AT&T. The House passed measures 69-23, mainly along the party line.

The Tennessee Senate uses a policy called Rule 13 as part of a code of ethics that allows senators to vote based on their conscience and obligations to their members without giving details. The House does not have rules that require members to state conflicts of interest before voting that could have a financial impact.

In addition to Reeves, Democrat Sen. Jeff Yabro, a Nashville Democratic Sen. who voted against tax cuts and refunds, declared Rule 13 before voting last year.

Lee Company, the world’s top business, receives the largest tax rebate in Tennessee

Yarbro told The Lookout this week that it wasn’t part of its financial decision as it escaped the partnership track of Bass, Berry & Sims law firms.

“I’m not opposed to businesses or citizens who are receiving refunds from the government. If anyone is eligible for a refund, I’d take it. But I think it’s still a bad public policy,” Yarbro said in a statement to the observation deck.

Yarbro said he felt the bill was running against the public interest but declared a potential conflict of interest before voting because he understood it would benefit many companies in the Senate district, including the company he works for.

Rep. John Ray Clemons of Yabro and Nashville also proposed a bill they said could endure constitutional convened without rebating. Republican leaders refused to consider it.

When the issue began last year, the Revenue Bureau told lawmakers it was challenged by a franchise tax on state business property, claiming that tax cuts and refunds were justified in avoiding the most expensive legal battle. Attorney General Jonathan Skulmetti also advised lawmakers to avoid lawsuits.

Other key lawmakers, including Portland’s House majority leader William Lambers, said the cuts were merely a good tax policy and were not necessarily based on concerns about legal threats. No lawsuits have been filed against the state prior to the vote.

Sen. Brent Taylor, former owner of Brentwood Funeral Services in Shelby County, voted for the measure after declaring Rule 13 last year, but did not apply for a tax refund.

“I didn’t think it was appropriate for me to vote for a franchise tax cut and then go out and benefit from it because I knew there were reporters. I wanted to call if they thought it was appropriate to give a refund and vote,” Taylor said.