NASHVILLE (AP) — Republican Rep. Jerry Sexton is once again berating his colleagues on the House floor about what he calls rules violations and manipulations to advance Gov. Bill Haslam's transportation funding proposal that would include the state's first gas tax hike since 1989.

Sexton had lectured his GOP colleagues about how they should join him in opposition to the bill before committee votes that resulted in the measure being moved along.

Republican Rep. David Alexander of Winchester took exception to Sexton's comments, saying he shouldn't "whine" about committee losses.

In a testy press conference earlier on Monday, Sexton demanded that Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell of Nashville to essentially re-start the committee process for the bill. The speaker does not have the power to undertake such a move unilaterally.