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Update from the Hill
January 27, 2012
The Budget
Governor Haslam’s budget address is at
6:00 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 30. You can watch it live at
http://forward.tn.gov/stateofthestate/.
On Tuesday,
Finance Commissioner Mark Emkes will speak to both the
Senate and House Finance Committees to provide an
overview and additional information.
Judicial Selection
Governor
Bill Haslam, Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey and Speaker Beth
Harwell jointly announced on Wednesday their plan to
push an amendment to the Tennessee Constitution to
specifically legitimize the state's current system for
selecting top judges. Currently, Tennessee Supreme Court
judges as well as the judges for the intermediate courts
of appeals are chosen and appointed from a group of
candidates offered by the Judicial Nominating
Commission. They serve eight year terms and then face
public approval retention election, “yes or no”, for
another term. Local judges on the circuit, criminal, and
general sessions courts run for election in the more
traditional way every eight years.
Once approved by a majority of this
general assembly and by a 2/3 vote of the next general
assembly, the proposed constitutional amendment would be
placed on the general election ballot in 2014. There
are other proposals on this subject by various
legislators but this one has the most support.
Election 2012
Senator Roy Herron (D-Dresden) has
announced plans not to run for office in 2012 after
serving 26 years in the Tennessee legislature. Instead,
he has decided to lead the Ned McWherter Center for
Rural Development in expanded efforts to help young
people go to college and create jobs for Tennesseans.
Republican State Sen. Bill Ketron has
decided not to run for the seat currently held by
freshman Congressman Scott DesJarlais. The 4th
Congressional District changed significantly in the
redistricting process causing the Ketron speculation.
State Senator Eric Stewart, a Democrat from Winchester,
will, however, challenge DesJarlais, who is from
South Pittsburg, Tn.
Knoxville Rep. Harry Tindell, a Democrat
from Knoxville, is retiring from elective office after
22 years in the state legislature. He has been a fixture
on the House Finance Ways and Means Committee for much,
perhaps all, of that service.
Former State Rep. Ty Cobb, of Columbia,
has announced he will run for the new State Senate seat
in District 28 (Maury,
Lawrence, Lewis, Giles, Wayne and Perry counties).
Current Republican State Rep. Joey Hensley, of
Hohenwald, is also running for the new Senate District.
Highly regarded State Senator Doug
Overbey, a Republican from Maryville, has drawn a
challenger, Scott Hughes, who has announced his
candidacy for the Republican nomination for the
newly-drawn 2nd District State Senate seat. The
qualifying deadline for state legislative races is in
April so news of other contests will be ongoing.
Congrats are in order for Rep. Mike
McDonald. The former communications professor made the
first cut of 12 semifinalists, out of 35 applicants, to
be the next Volunteer State Community College president.
January 20, 2012
The 2nd week of session
Redistricting is over (at least the legislation
required); more bills are being filed; and several
standing committees met for the first time. We expect
next week to ramp up even more.
The
number of bills on calendars, both subcommittees and
full committees, remains low next week, with the
exception of Government Operations and its sunset bills.
Negotiation has begun in earnest, though behind the
scenes, on some of the big issues coming up in the weeks
ahead. Those issues include a Governor’s task force
effort to attack the state’s tremendously high number of
painkiller prescriptions and abuse. Task force
legislation affecting prescribers is complex, and
everyone wants to get it right. Other issues of interest
include the administration’s recommendations on state
employees and tax reductions. Bath salts are also
getting more than expected attention.
The
Senate bill filing deadline is January 26th
and there will be no 9-bill limit. The House has set
its bill filing deadline for February 1st.
Governor’s Budget Address
Governor Haslam will present his budget for 2012-13 to a
joint meeting of the General Assembly on the evening of
Monday, January 30. Information on several items has
already surfaced. For instance, the administration filed
legislation in preparation for a supplemental
appropriation to this year’s TennCare budget in order to
mitigate the amount of rate cuts imposed on some
providers and effective January 1.
December Revenue Collections
Mark Emkes, Finance and
Administration Commissioner, reported that state revenue
collections for December were $965.7 million, $123.2
million more than the budgeted estimate. The general
fund was over collected by $118.9 million and the four
other funds were over collected by $4.3 million.
December collections
posted the eighth consecutive month in which the growth
rate has been 5.0 percent or higher. Commissioner Emkes
cautioned that while it’s encouraging, the unanticipated
over collection last month could be a timing issue, and
could result in a negative impact for future months. The
Commissioner stated that it’s important to remember that
state sales tax collection levels have not even returned
to pre-2008 levels as yet.
The
leadership remains committed to adjournment by the end
of April, which seems quite achievable! We will
certainly know a lot more after the qualification
deadline for candidates for office which is in early
April.
January 10, 2012
The Legislature
Convenes
The House and Senate
convened the 2nd session of the 107th
General Assembly today at noon.
The Senate session
was brief and, after doing the constitutionally required
items, they accepted a number of reports, delayed
consideration of all the bills on their calendar, and
adjourned. It was a much quieter beginning than last
year when new Speakers were elected in both the House
and Senate.
The House session
lasted a bit longer. They organized in an efficient
manner, and Speaker Harwell made brief remarks
encouraging the members to focus this week on
redistricting and to limit their sponsored bills to high
priority measures. There was brief excitement when
Occupy Nashville protesters threw “checks” from the
House balcony and into the chamber, but they then left
the building peacefully. Additional time was taken by
parliamentary maneuvering and a requested recess for a
meeting of the Democratic Caucus, which prompted a
Republican Caucus meeting as well.
As previously
announced, both the House and Senate will be meeting in
committee sessions this afternoon as the first step in
approving the new districts for the House and Senate and
Congressional members. The House hearing begins at 1:30
pm CST and the Senate hearing begins at 2:00 pm. If you
want to follow along, go to
www.capitol.tn.gov .
The Governor‘s
Legislative Package
Governor Haslam is
breaking new ground by holding a press conference this
afternoon to announce his complete legislative package.
Although the rules of the General Assembly give the
Governor great latitude in the introduction of his
administration legislation, this Governor is going to
introduce his package of bills on the first day of the
session. This efficiency will go a long way in ensuring
that the General Assembly can adjourn in a timely
fashion as is their stated goal.
Senate Welcomes
Newest Member
The Senate welcomed
Sen. Becky Duncan Massey (R-Knoxville) for her first
Senate session this afternoon. She won the special
election to replace Sen. Jamie Woodson, who resigned her
seat last year. Sen. Massey is an old friend to us at
SHC, and we are thrilled to have her in the Senate. Her
committee assignments are General Welfare,
Transportation, and Government Operations.
January 4, 2012
Redistricting Maps
Revealed
With session drawing
near, legislative redistricting maps were the main
focus today at the Legislative Plaza. The House
redistricting plan puts eight Democratic incumbents
into four districts which could force them to run
against each other. Mike Stewart and Sherry Jones
of Nashville will be pitted against each other, as
will G.A Hardaway and Barbara Cooper of Memphis,
Antonio Parkinson and Jeanne Richardson also of
Memphis, and Tommie Brown and Joanne Favors of
Chattanooga. In two of these cases, two
African-American legislators will lose a seat which
could bring a court challenge of the plan. Two
other redrawn seats will put an incumbent Democrat
against an incumbent Republican. Republican Jim
Cobb of Spring City will be in the same district as
Democrat Bill Harmon of Dunlap, and Republican Vance
Dennis of Savannah will be merged into a district
with Democrat Eddie Bass of Prospect. There will be
six open seats with no incumbents in the proposed
House map.
The Senate
redistricting maps were released this afternoon and
can be found at
http://www.capitol.tn.gov/senate/redist/redistricting.html.
Perhaps the most surprising move is that of
abolishing Republican Kerry Roberts’ seat by
including it in Senate District 25 currently held by
Republican Senator Jim Summerville. Summerville is
not up for reelection until 2012, but Roberts’ term
is up this year. Another redrawn district is that
of Senator Jim Kyle’s, the Senate’s top Democrat, in
Memphis. The new map throws Kyle into the same
district as Republican Senator Brian Kelsey in
District 31. Democratic Senator Andy Berke could
also face some problems with his new district.
Republican heavy Bradley County will be spilt with
half placed into Berke’s new district. The new
Senate map will leave 2 new open seats, District 33
and District 18 in middle Tennessee.
There will be a lot of
discussion about the proposed maps, but the
Legislature intends to complete its work on
redistricting by the end of next week after it
convenes on Tuesday, January 10.
November 15, 2011
New House State and Local Government Chair
Rep.
Bob Ramsey, R-Maryville, has been named the
Chair of the House State and Local Government
Committee by House Speaker Beth Harwell. Rep.
Ryan Haynes, R-Knoxville, is now the Vice-Chair,
and the role of committee secretary is vacant.
Budget Hearings Continue
Governor Haslam’s state budget hearings continue
this week in the Capitol. Today, both the
Department of Health and the Department of
Mental Health made presentations.
DOH
Commissioner John Dreyzehner, who was named
about two months ago, emphasized the multiple
functions of the department and the important
role it plays in attempting to improve the
lamentable health status of Tennesseans. At the
Governor’s request, he presented a budget with
5% cuts based in large part on the elimination
of programs that are currently funded with
non-recurring dollars. These include safety net
grants to FQHCs and community and faith based
health centers for care provided to the
uninsured, diabetes prevention grants, breast
and cervical cancer screening funding, and a
variety of other programs. The Commissioner
described the high value of the programs, and
expressed his hope that funding could be found
to mitigate or eliminate some of the cuts.
Dryzehner mentioned a marked decrease in the
number of tobacco users in the state, citing a
2003 percentage of 25.6% and a 2010 percentage
of 21.5% of citizens. He also talked extensively
about the problem of obesity in Tennessee and
said that it costs an estimated $3.8 billion
that could otherwise be spent on other needs.
Doug
Varney, Commissioner of TDMH and a long-time
mental health professional, presented a budget
that likewise described the concerning effect of
5% cuts. This in addition to the possible
elimination of valuable programs that have been
funded with non-recurring funds.
Varney went on to propose a major re-structuring
of the TDMH budget based upon the closing of one
of the five state mental health hospitals,
Lakeshore in Knoxville. He made a compelling
case for the transfer of much of the $20 plus
million used to run and maintain an aging
in-patient facility to treatment and support
services in the community. Information presented
by the Commissioner is attached and will be
posted on the Smith Harris & Carr website.
Some
of the beds now located at Lakeshore would be
moved to the state’s hospital in Nashville to be
utilized for forensic patients (those who have
been accused of a crime, are seriously ill, and
are a danger to others). A portion of the
funding would purchase beds in three private,
non-profit hospitals (two in the Knoxville area
and one in Johnson City) that would agree to
care for Medicare, Medicaid (TennCare), and
uninsured patients who might require
hospitalization. Finally, much of the rest would
go into the community in the form of intensive
residential support services, alcohol and drug
detox, crisis stabilization, and safety net
funds for the needs of the uninsured.
Several departments are scheduled for budget
hearings next week, including the Department of
Education. The TennCare budget hearing is the
last one scheduled – on Monday, Nov. 28, at 4:00
p.m.
The
complete budget hearing schedule is available,
as well as links to watch them, at:
http://nowuseeit.state.tn.us/mediasite5/Catalog/pages/catalog.aspx?catalogId=446644c1-4d6c-4124-8874-7f5169b78ff0&folderId=8b748211-011e-4cdc-aa52-cff763047ba6&rootDynamicFolderId=446644c1-4d6c-4124-8874-7f5169b78ff0
September 16, 2011
As the cooler weather
approaches, here are a few tidbits about happenings
around state government.
The new
Commissioner of the Department
of Health, Dr.
John Dreyzehner
(pronounced dries-ner), will be sworn in next week.
Dr. Dreyzehner comes to Gov. Haslam’s Cabinet from
Southwest Virginia, where he has worked in several
capacities with the Virginia Department of Health.
He began his medical career as a United States Air
Force flight surgeon, and he has also worked in the
field of occupational medicine. He serves on the
Appalachian Regional Commission’s Health Policy
Advisory Committee and is an adjunct faculty member
at East Tennessee State University College of Public
Health in Johnson City, Tn.
The process of determining
budget recommendations for the 2012-2013 budget
has begun. Commissioner Mark Emkes, who heads the
Department of Finance and Administration, has asked
all state agencies and departments to prepare both
30% reduction and 15% reduction options in the event
that significant federal budget cuts must be
accommodated. Although the Governor and
Commissioner Emkes have both tried to assure the
worried public that they don’t anticipate these
drastic cuts to federal funds, they feel they need
to be prepared in the event the worst occurs.
Further, the Commissioner has
asked each agency to prepare a FY13 budget that
includes a 5% reduction in overall funding. Only
K-12 education and Pre-K are exempted. The Governor
may or may not accept the 5% reduction from all
agencies, but wants the Commissioners to plan for
the state’s budget being reduced by up to $270
million.
Much of this budget activity
was the topic of conversation when Gov. Haslam and
many other state leaders went to New York this week
to visit with the bond rating agencies. They
took the opportunity to make the case for why
Tennessee should be able to keep their current high
bond ratings. All who participated felt that the
meetings went well and hope to hear good news in the
next month.
There is plenty of political
buzz about re-districting plans. The state’s General
Assembly is charged with finalizing new political
subdivisions for both state legislative and
Congressional seats, based on figures from the
2010 federal census, during the 2012 legislative
session. Since Republicans now hold a sizable
majority in the state legislature, they are expected
to take the opportunity to consolidate their gains
by making districts as safe as possible for
Republican candidates. (This is, of course, exactly
what the Democrats would do, if they had the
opportunity instead!) Want to know a little more?
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Redistricting_in_Tennessee
is a great resource, and it’s not overwhelming. In
an effort to make the process transparent, Lt. Gov.
Ramsey has also included on the Senate’s webpage, a
link to all current redistricting information. Go
to
www.capitol.tn.gov/senate
and click on “redistricting” on the right hand side
of the page.
The legislation
requiring a valid photo ID in order to vote has also
been the subject of great publicity recently. The
legislation was largely opposed by the democratic
caucus, and last week Senator Durbin (D-Ill) was in
town and took the opportunity to call it a “poll
tax.” This prompted strong rebukes from Governor
Haslam, Lt. Gov. Ramsey and Speaker Harwell, who all
lauded the Secretary of State’s efforts to educate
voters.
February 25,
2011
Bills….bills….bills…..
2082
Senate bills and 2124 House bills were filed by the time
of the 107th General Assembly filing deadline
on February 17. The numbers are slightly lower than in
recent years but not as low as we had hoped!
Lots of Citizen Input
This
week was a full one in terms of committee meetings and
crowds at the Legislative Plaza. School board members,
teachers, and labor representatives produced the most
visitors, thanks to controversial pending legislation
that removes collective bargaining rights for teachers
in public schools.
Committee and subcommittee calendars were not full this
week, but next week’s calendars reflect more potential
activity. The goal in the House is to have committees
shut down by April 27, so that gives legislators only
two months to process a lot of legislation.
Let Freedom Ring
The
Health Care Freedom Act is moving in both the House and
Senate. This week, the Senate passed its version,
sponsored by Sen. Mae Beavers, on the floor after
fending off several amendments filed by Democrats.
The
House Commerce General Sub-Committee also moved the
bill, and it is scheduled for House Commerce Committee
next week. It is expected to pass the House floor as
well.
Everyone awaits the
Haslam budget
Governor Haslam intends to give
his joint State of the State and budget address on
Monday evening, March 14. The House Finance Committee
has announced its schedule of budget hearings set to
begin on Tuesday, March 15th with an overview
of the Governor’s budget and concluding with the
TennCare Bureau budget hearing on April 21st.
We will post the schedule on our blog at
http://smithharriscarr.wordpress.com/.
February 17, 2011
The
legislature is off and running!
Several Senate committees passed bills this week as well
as some House subcommittees. The calendars for next
week have quite a few bills on them as well. Today at
the close of business is the bill filing deadline, which
will give us some sense of what lies ahead. Legislative
reports sent to clients next week will reflect all the
bills of potential interest that we have identified.
Governor Bill Haslam released his
legislative package this morning in the Legislative
Plaza. Highlights include placing caps on non-economic
damages for health care liability, changes in teacher
tenure, and raising the cap on charter school
enrollment. The entire press release from this morning
can be found at
http://news.tennesseeanytime.org/node/6721.
House Speaker Beth Harwell has announced that all
sub-committees should be on target to close down the
week of April 6th with full committees
prepared to shut down the week of April 27th.
Additionally, the State Funding Board is scheduled to
meet April 11th to review revenue estimates
with an estimate provided by April 18th.
Those numbers are needed as a basis for the final budget
document.
Governor Haslam will present his state of the state and
budget address to the General Assembly on Monday, March
11th. His budget document is expected by
March 18th.
This
means that adjournment at the end of May is actually in
the realm of possibility!
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