under this law was arrested in Madisonville, Monroe County. 2016 In April 2016, Haslam vetoed a bill to make the Bible the official book of Tennessee. The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Steve Southerland, R-Morristown, passed in both the State House and the Senate. If signed by Haslam, it would have made Tennessee the first state to make the Bible its state book. Haslam vetoed the bill on April 14, 2016. An attempt to override the veto failed in the State House, garnering 43 votes, short of the threshold of 50 needed to override. Haslam will take part in the 16-member search committee to select a new chancellor for the Tennessee Board of Regents. He will continue to take part in restructuring the Board, which includes the implementation of the FOCUS Act. 2017 In April 2017, Haslam signed the IMPROVE Act into law. The bill, which stands for "Improving Manufacturing, Public Roads, and Opportunities for a Vibrant Economy," cut the state sales tax on food from five to four percent, increased the gasoline and diesel fuel taxes by six and ten cents, respectively, raised the tax on natural gas by eight cents, increased vehicle registration fees, and instituted a new $100 annual fee for electric vehicles. Its primary purpose was for TDOT to fund a $10 billion backlog of 962 needed highway projects. A similar plan called the Better Roads Program was initiated by then-governor Lamar Alexander in 1986. In May 2017, Haslam signed HB 1111/SB 1085 into law. The bill was seen by the Human Rights Campaign as an attempt to challenge Obergefell v. Hodges and undermine same-sex marriage in Tennessee, and Haslam was criticized by the Tennessee Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) for signing it into law. Post-governorship In June 2022 Bill Haslam become the new owner of the NHL's Nashville Predators "through a multi-phased acquisition transaction. Haslam, whose brother, Jimmy, co-owns the NFL's Cleveland Browns with his wife, Dee, has reached an agreement with the franchise's present ownership group, which is chaired by Herbert Fritch and includes at least 17 others. Political positions Taxes and budget Haslam favors a conservative state budget that keeps taxes low in order to create and maintain a business-friendly environment. While he largely supports budget cuts, Haslam has suggested that the Republican Party is too often focused on scaling back government rather than