Gov. Bill Lee touts legislative victories, glosses over setbacks
Gov. Bill Lee is touting his legislative victories in a press release Monday morning. They include his $3.3 billion roads plan, $1 billion to add and upgrade Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology, and $400 million in tax cuts.
The governor didn’t get everything he wanted. For example, lawmakers reduced his $100 million ask for crisis pregnancy centers to $20 million, cut in half his planned 200% match for executive branch workers, and stopped $9 million in state employee salary hikes.
Here is the release:
Continue readingNASHVILLE, Tenn. – On Friday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee marked the close of the 2023 legislative session, which includes the successful passage of his $56.2 billion budget and full legislative agenda as outlined during his State of the State address in February.
“To prepare Tennessee for continued growth and prosperity, we’ve made strategic investments to cut taxes, strengthen our workforce, ensure educational opportunity and modernize transportation infrastructure across our state,” said Lee. “I commend the General Assembly for its partnership to pass conservative measures and maintain Tennessee’s reputation for strong fiscal stewardship.”
Lee’s agenda included the landmark Transportation Modernization Act, historic legislation that will create a new transportation strategy and invest $3.3 billion to accommodate Tennessee’s record growth, address traffic congestion and meet transportation needs across rural and urban communities without raising taxes or taking on debt.
The roster of budget and legislative priorities also dedicated $250 million to Tennessee’s Rainy Day Fund, bringing totals to an historic $2.05 billion, and included significant investments in tax relief, K-12 education, Tennessee’s skilled workforce and conservation. Notably, Lee led a comprehensive school safety proposal to enhance physical security in public and non-public schools across Tennessee.
Highlights from Lee’s agenda include the following:
Transportation & Infrastructure Modernization
• $3 billion to the Transportation Modernization Fund to alleviate urban congestion and fund rural road projects across the state, which includes $750 million allocated to each of Tennessee’s four TDOT regions
• $300 million to expand the State Aid Program for local road projects, allocating 15 times more funding toward local communities than they receive each year for transportation projects
• Ensures that Tennessee has the resources necessary to meet current and future transportation needs by engaging in Public-Private Partnerships (P3s), Alternative Delivery Models and Electric/Hybrid vehicle fee parityEconomic Opportunity & Tax Relief
• More than $400 million in tax cuts for Tennessee families and businesses through the Tennessee Works Tax Act, one of the largest tax relief measures in Tennessee history
• $273 million for a one-time, three-month sales tax holiday on grocery items, providing tax relief for Tennessee families
• More than $150 million in annual small business tax relief, including raising the exemption threshold for the business tax, exempting the first $50,000 of net income from excise tax and protecting the first $500,000 in property investment from the franchise tax
• $64 million to simplify tax administration and conform with the federal bonus depreciation provisions of 2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, allowing businesses to more quickly recover costs and further incentivize investment in Tennessee production
• Provides foundation for supporting Tennessee’s continued economic growth, aligning Tennessee with more than 30 states by adopting “single sales factor” apportionment for franchise and excise taxSkilled Workforce
• Nearly $1 billion to complete the TCAT Master Plan to improve 16 existing TCATs, replace seven outdated facilities and build six brand new TCATs at strategic locations across TennesseeEnhanced School Safety Measures
• $30 million for more than 100 Homeland Security agents across all 95 counties to serve Tennesseans and students in both public and non-public schools
• $140 million for one full-time, armed School Resource Officer (SRO) for every public school
• $40 million for public school security upgrades
• $14 million for private school security upgrades
• $8 million for additional School-Based Behavioral Health Liaisons across the state
• Enacts a multi-tiered accountability plan to ensure exterior doors are locked while students are present
• Requires that private security guards receive active shooter training prior to being posted at schools
• Requires every school district to establish threat assessment teams to ensure students are connected to support services and behavioral health professionals when appropriate
• Requires every public and private school to develop annual safety plans, including a newly required incident command drill for school leaders and law enforcementGreat Schools
• $350 million in additional funding to local education agencies through Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA)
• Combined with $750 million in the base budget, new recurring state funding for the education formula totals more than $1 billion
• Includes $125 million for teacher pay raises
• Increases the minimum teacher salary to $50,000 by 2026, making Tennessee a top-10 state for teacher pay in the nation, and protects teachers and taxpayers by ensuring school districts no longer collect union dues
• Includes funding to extend summer learning camps and expand the eligibility age to Kindergarten through 9th gradeStrong & Healthy Families
• $330 million in shared savings under our first-in-the-nation TennCare Medicaid waiver will help provide for the health of mothers and infants in our most vulnerable communities, providing care at no additional burden to Tennessee taxpayers that will:
• Cover the cost of diapers during the first two years of a baby’s life for mothers on TennCare, becoming the first state in the nation to support parents in this way
• Expand TennCare to underserved parents, supporting an extra 8,100 parents each year
• Establish continuous coverage for children, ensuring no lapse in coverage for children for at least a year, which will help an estimated 10,000 children remain enrolled
• Make permanent Tennessee’s post-partum coverage benefit, ensuring a full year of TennCare coverage to support approximately 3,000 new mothers every year
• Adjust TennCare’s income threshold for pregnant women to 250% of the federal poverty level to cover an additional 2,400 new mothers in need every year
• $20 million for Crisis Pregnancy Provider Support Grants to support crisis pregnancy non-profits, improving access to healthcare and information for expecting mothers
• $10.25 million for TN Fosters Hope grant funding to elevate high quality care for children and families impacted by foster care and adoption, allowing providers to expand services to foster and adoptive families
• $29 million to expand programming for children with complex or special needs that face challenges being placed in a traditional foster or adoptive home by further developing the provider network and providing respite and long-term care
New TNJ edition: Lawmakers beat hasty retreat, redistricting trial, and feds pan Kelsey’s motion
The latest print edition of The Tennessee Journal is out. Here is what’s in it:
— GOP lawmakers beating hasty retreat amid scandals, setbacks.
— Redistricting trial: Judges to decide if House, Senate maps pass constitutional muster.
— The Kelsey chronicles: Feds urge judge not to let ‘highly sophisticated’ ex-senator renege.
Also: GOP robocall denounces ‘Antifa mob’ during Capitol gun protests, Marsha Blackburn’s big first-quarter haul, a House memorial for the late state Rep. Barbara Cooper, and something smells at the airport.
As always, access the your copy of the TNJ here.
Or subscribe here.
Poll: Nashville voters say ‘dealing with legislature’ will be priority for next mayor
A new Vanderbilt poll finds nearly nine in 10 Nashville voters agree that “dealing with the state legislature” will be a priority for the city’s next mayor. About 56% said they believe the capital city is on the wrong track — about twice as many as when the school first started asking the question of voters in 2017.
Fifty-two percent said they oppose a deal to build a $2.1 billion domed football stadium. Support was highest among those identified as Republican (53%) and lowest among Democrats (47%). Independents fell in the middle (50%). The Metro Council on Tuesday night advanced the stadium deal to a final vote.
The poll of 1,016 adults was conducted between March 13 and April 6. Forty-three percent of respondents said they were Democrats, 16% Republicans, and 29% independent. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
Here’s the full polling memo from Vanderbilt:
and important),
Continue readingFor the second year running, the Vanderbilt Poll–Nashville shows more than half of respondents believe the city is on the wrong track. From the start of the Nashville poll, in 2015, until 2021, Nashvillians viewed the city as on the right track. This trend is amplified by a plurality of respondents indicating the growth of the city is making their quality of life worse, rather than better or having no effect.
However, other measures within the poll could indicate the sources of dissatisfaction are more complex than the issues that may first come to mind.
“While the trend toward concern for the future of Nashville is clear, the origins of the concern are not,” said Josh Clinton, co-director of the Vanderbilt Poll, who holds the Abby and Jon Winkelried Chair and is a professor of political science. “Even though 56% think the city is on the wrong track, 59% also approve of the job Mayor John Cooper is doing. This suggests that concerns beyond the mayor’s control and likely related to concerns about growth, public education, and the increasing tension between Nashville and the state government are affecting people’s optimism about the future of our city.”The fifty-six percent who think the city is on the wrong track is more than double those who thought the same in 2017. Similarly, 47 percent say Nashville’s growth is making their day-to-day life worse—just under double the number in 2017.
Yet, respondents’ views about Nashville’s economy and feelings of safety walking in their own neighborhoods have both been generally flat for three years, and views about the rapid growth of Nashville’s population have been flat for five years. Daily commute times are comparable to 2017, though that is likely a result of the dramatic increase in those working from home (15 percent in 2023 versus 3 percent in 2017).
“Views about Nashville’s economy are deeply split by income,” said John Geer, co-director of the Vanderbilt Poll, Ginny and Conner Searcy Dean of the College of Arts and Science and professor of political science. “Overall, two-thirds think the economy is very or fairly good, but if you look at those making less than $45,000 a year, that number falls to 44 percent.”
What is clear is that how long a respondent has lived in Nashville and their age deeply influence views of the city’s trajectory.
Those who have lived here for 20 or fewer years are evenly divided about the city being on the right or wrong track, but 63 percent of those who have lived here longer than 20 years view the city to be on the wrong track. Of those aged 18–34, 50 percent view Nashville to be on the right track while that number falls to 29 percent among those 55–64. Neither household income nor party affiliation changed views of right track versus wrong track.
Supreme Court finds Lee’s school voucher program doesn’t violate home rule protections
Three years after lawmakers narrowly passed Gov. Bill Lee’s signature school voucher program, the state Supreme Court has overturned lower courts’ findings it violated home rule protections against laws targeted at individual counties by applying only to Nashville and Shelby County.
The 3-2 decision released Thursday came after the high court decided to rehear arguments following the death last year of Justice Connie Clark. Court of Appeals Judge Skip Frierson sat in on the case and sided with Chief Justice Roger Page and Justice Jeff Bivins. Justices Sharon Lee and Holly Kirby dissented.
UPDATE: When the voucher bill passed it was tied to moving dollars calculated through the Basic Education Program to cover private school tuition. Lawmakers this year approved an overhaul of the school funding formula called Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement, which funds individual students rather than districts as a whole. The Lee administration included a provision in the law to change the funding mechanism for the voucher program from the old formula to the new one:
SECTION 53. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-2603, is amended by deleting the language “basic education program” wherever it appears and substituting “Tennessee investment in student achievement formula (TISA)”.
Here’s the release from the Administrative Office of the Courts:
In an opinion released today, the Tennessee Supreme Court determined that, while two Tennessee county governments had standing to challenge the Education Savings Account Pilot Program (the “ESA Act”), the Act is not rendered unconstitutional by the Home Rule Amendment, article XI, section 9, of the Tennessee Constitution.
In 2019, the Tennessee General Assembly enacted ESA Act. The Act establishes a program allowing a limited number of eligible students to directly receive their share of state and local education funds, which would ordinarily be provided to the public school system they attend, to pay for a private school education and associated expenses.
The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Shelby County Government, and Metropolitan Nashville Board of Public Education filed a declaratory judgment action that named as defendants Governor Bill Lee, the Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner, and the Tennessee Department of Education. The trial court also allowed additional parties to intervene and participate as defendants. The complaint alleged that the ESA Act violates several provisions of the Tennessee Constitution, including the Home Rule Amendment, the equal protection clauses, and the education clause.
Defendants filed separate motions challenging Plaintiffs’ standing to pursue the claims presented and the legal sufficiency of those claims. Plaintiffs, in turn, filed a motion for summary judgment with respect to their Home Rule Amendment claim. The trial court determined that the two county plaintiffs had standing to pursue the claims, but it dismissed the Metro School Board as a plaintiff for lack of standing. The trial court also granted the motion for summary judgment concluding that the ESA Act violates the Home Rule Amendment and enjoined the State from implementing the Act. The trial court reserved ruling on Defendants’ challenges to the equal protection and education clause claims.
The trial court granted Defendants permission to seek an interlocutory appeal, and the Court of Appeals granted Defendants’ applications for appeal. The intermediate appellate court affirmed the trial court, holding that Metro and Shelby County had standing to challenge the ESA Act under the Home Rule Amendment and that the Act was unconstitutional pursuant to the Home Rule Amendment.
The Tennessee Supreme Court granted Defendants’ applications for permission to appeal. Because it is an interlocutory appeal, the issues before the Court were limited to the constitutionality of the ESA Act under the Home Rule Amendment and Plaintiffs’ standing to bring that challenge. The Supreme Court agreed with both the trial court and the Court of Appeals that Plaintiffs Metro and Shelby County had standing to bring their Home Rule Amendment Claim. However, the Supreme Court, after reviewing the applicable constitutional language, held that the ESA Act is not rendered unconstitutional by the Home Rule Amendment because the Act is not “applicable to” the Plaintiff counties for purposes of the Amendment. The majority concluded that the ESA Act is not applicable to the Plaintiff counties because the Act regulates or governs the conduct of the local education agencies and not the counties. Thus, the Act does not violate the Home Rule Amendment. The Supreme Court therefore affirmed, in part, and reversed, in part, the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remanded the case to the trial court for the dismissal of the Home Rule Amendment claim and for consideration of Plaintiffs’ remaining claims.
Justice Sharon G. Lee and Justice Holly Kirby joined in a separate opinion, concurring in part and dissenting in part. They agreed with the Court that Metro and Shelby County had standing to challenge the ESA Act but concluded that the Act violates the Home Rule Amendment. In their view, the ESA Act substantially affects Metro and Shelby County’s ability to self-govern and decide school funding issues. Under the ESA Act, only Metro and Shelby County and no other counties in the state must pay for students who leave public schools and use their vouchers for private school tuition. Because the ESA Act is local in effect and application, and because the Act gives Metro and Shelby County no choice in the matter, it violates the Home Rule Amendment.
To read the majority opinion in Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, et al. v. Tennessee Department of Education, et al., authored by Chief Justice Roger A. Page, and the separate opinion authored by Justice Sharon G. Lee, visit the opinions section of TNCourts.gov.
Coming soon to a store (or keyboard) near you: Two sales tax holidays
The House meets at the state Capitol in Nashville on June 1, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
As part of a late-session compromise between the House and Senate, lawmakers agreed to double to the cap on the price of clothing, computers, and back-to-school items for the annual sales tax holiday. And then they decided to hold it on consecutive weekends. Gone in the legislative deal was a House proposal to also hold a sales tax holiday for automobiles, which would have been a far pricier proposition.
Here’s a release from the state Revenue Department about the sales tax holiday weekends starting July 31 and Aug. 7:
NASHVILLE — Mark your calendars. For 2020 only, the Tennessee General Assembly has approved two sales tax holiday weekends to help Tennesseans save money and support the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first tax-free holiday weekend focuses on clothing and other back-to-school items. It begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 31, and ends Sunday, August 2, at 11:59 p.m. During this time, consumers may purchase clothing, school supplies, and computers and other qualifying electronic devices without paying sales tax. Certain price restrictions apply. For school supplies and clothing, the threshold for qualifying items is $200 or less. For computers and other electronics, the price threshold is $3,000 or less. Download our list of tax-exempt items here.
Exempt items sold online are also eligible. Consumers must purchase items for personal use, not business or trade.
The second sales tax holiday weekend focuses on restaurant sales. It begins at 12:01 a.m. on August 7 and ends Sunday, August 9, at 11:59 p.m. During this time the retail sale of food and drink by restaurants and limited service restaurants, as defined in Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-4-102, is exempt from sales tax.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense economic strain on Tennessee families. These sales tax holidays will allow them to keep more of their hard-earned money and support Tennessee businesses,” said Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.
“We want to remind everyone about these opportunities for tax relief,” Revenue Commissioner David Gerregano said. “It’s a good opportunity to save money during these difficult times.”
For more information about the sales tax holiday weekends, visit www.tntaxholiday.com. You can also read our frequently asked questions, as well as this important notice.
The Department of Revenue is responsible for the administration of state tax laws and motor vehicle title and registration laws, as well as the collection of taxes and fees associated with those laws. The Department collects around 87 percent of total state revenue. During the 2019 fiscal year, it collected $15.3 billion in state taxes and fees and more than $3 billion in taxes and fees for local governments. To learn more about the Department, visit www.tn.gov/revenue.
The Tennessee legislature in 1879: Secret meetings, prison outsourcing, political rivalries
Taking a page from sports broadcasters showing archived games to make up for the lack of live programming during the COVID-19 pandemic, the TNJ: On the Hill blog is engaging in our own throwback legislative coverage. Today’s offering, a report by the editor of the old Daily Memphis Avalanche, a precursor of today’s Commercial Appeal, about legislative happenings on Feb. 9, 1879.
The author touches on some familiar themes at the General Assembly: legislative secrecy, the need for the Shelby County delegation to stick together, efforts to reduce incarceration costs through outsourcing, rivalries between local officials, and “the doings of lobbyists.”
Here’s the dispatch:
Our Legislative Solons : A Good Word from Them by an Occasional Correspondent
Retrenchment and Reform – A Desire to Do Something
NASHVILLE, February 9, 1879 – Notwithstanding the terrible legislative abortions and the rip-pell-mell style of action of the present General Assembly, it may well be characterized as one of economy, retrenchment and reform. Men of observation concede the fact that more business has been consummated so far during the present session than in some entire sessions of General Assemblies.
The bills passed with special reference to Memphis seem to be necessities and will probably be followed with good results. It is said that additional legislation will be required in order to perfect, if possible, the changed conditions of affairs. The necessary legislation will be enacted without trouble, if the Shelby delegation remains united on the various propositions in the future as in the past.
Committees during recess are working earnestly and sedulously, and if credit and be accorded rumor their labors will produce desirable and satisfactory results. Two committees are at work investigation all the alleged frauds subsequent to the war – by the issuance of bonds, the funding scheme, the Torbett or new issue of the Bank of Tennessee, the leasing of the penitentiary, the doings of the lobbyists, the trading of offices; in fact, their investigation apparently has no limit. But as they sit with closed doors and their proceedings secret nothing will be known until they report.
The State debt will be thoroughly examined, so that holders of the State bonds are likely to learn what class of bonds the State will good and what fraudulent. If any are classed as fraudulent, the people will be warned. The funding scheme and the practice resorted to impair the created of the State, will receive attention. […]
Happily for the State Government there is enough money to in the treasury to pay the current expenses for nearly a year to come; therefore the frauds, if any, in leasing the penitentiary will be thoroughly sifted and the guilty, if any, exposed. Continue reading
Byrd to have GOP primary challenger if he runs again
Embattled Rep. David Byrd (R-Waynesboro) attends a House Education Committee meting in Nashville on March 28, 2019. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
State Rep. David Byrd (R-Waynesboro) will have a Republican primary opponent if he reneges on his previous pledge not to seek another term representing House District 71.
Garry Welch, a former city manager of Savannah, announced he will run for the GOP nomination for the seat representing all of Hardin, Lewis, and Wayne counties and part of Lawrence County.
“I’m excited to pursue the opportunity, and I am running for the office to serve all the citizens of the district,” Welch said in a statement to The Courier of Savannah. “As city manager, I was in Nashville quite a bit. I understand the process and think I am well qualified to represent the district.”
Welch retired in 2018 after serving as city manager for 12 years.
Byrd told colleagues before a recent special session that he wouldn’t run again amid moves to oust him over allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls when he was their high school basketball coach in the 1980s.
House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) and House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) told The Tennessean it will be up to the House GOP’s seven-member campaign committee to decide whether to support Byrd if he runs again.
“Personally, Jeremy Faison will not be a part of that race,” Faison told the paper. “I will stay out of the race and leave it up to his constituents if he runs.”
Lee’s criminal justice task force releases recommendations
Gov. Bill Lee’s criminal justice task force has released its initial set of recommendations.
Here’s the full release from the governor’s office:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Today, Gov. Bill Lee’s Criminal Justice Investment Task Force released a comprehensive package of data-driven policy recommendations for upcoming legislative sessions that seek to improve public safety, increase reentry support and reduce recidivism, address unmet behavioral health needs and make Tennessee communities safer.
“My administration is committed to addressing public safety and reentry throughout Tennessee, and I’m grateful to have the support of the members of this Task Force,” said Gov. Lee. “Dedicated leaders from across our state have come together to address this important issue, and I look forward to reviewing their recommendations.”
The Task Force’s 23 recommendations are aimed at:
- Strengthening responses to individuals with behavioral health needs;
- Equalizing the treatment of those housed in local jails with those housed in state prisons;
- Tailoring our response to different types of offenses;
- Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of community supervision; and
- Minimizing barriers to successful reentry.
Rep. Farmer ends law firm advertising campaign touting lawmaker role
State Rep. Andrew Farmer, a likely choice to become House judiciary chairman had an unrelated leadership vote turned out differently, has abandoned a billboard campaign for his law firm touting his role as “an actual lawmaker,” The Tennessean’s Joel Ebert reports.
“Who better to argue the law than an actual lawmaker?” read the billboards advertising Farmer’s personal injury, criminal defense, and family law practice.
Rep. Andrew Farmer changes billboards over concerns he used his elected office to promote private business https://t.co/R7Y9nkDPGW via @knoxnews
— Joel Ebert (@joelebert29) September 9, 2019
Farmer said he sought approval from the state Board of Professional Responsibility and ethics officials about the language used in the ads before putting them up. He then started getting calls from constituents raising concerns.
“The first phone call I got, they said, it might be some people are taking this the wrong way,” Farmer told the paper. He then decided to change the billboards.
Farmer, of Sevierville, is the chairman of the House criminal justice subcommittee. He was widely believed to be the frontrunner to succeed House Judiciary Chairman Michael Curico had the latter won his bid for House Republican Caucus chairman. But Curcio lost to Rep. Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby), so nothing has changed within the Judiciary Committee.
Farmer said he doesn’t use his elected office to drum up business.
“When I talk to clients … I don’t say, ‘Hey hire me because I’m in the legislature,'” he said. “I think that’s over the line.”
Casada’s chief of staff resigns after sexual texts with intern
House Speaker Glen Casada’s Chief of Staff Cade Cothren following a whirlwind day of revelations including that he sent text messages soliciting sex acts from an intern and used cocaine in his legislative office, The Tennessean reports.
House Speaker Glen Casada's chief of staff resigns amid sexually explicit texts scandal https://t.co/rV2IMVzgLQ via @tennessean
— Joel Ebert (@joelebert29) May 6, 2019
Cothren the top strategist for Casada’s campaign to nail down his election as speaker by getting involved in contested primaries for open Republican seats last year. Cothren also played a pivotal role in ensuring the razor-thin passage of Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher bill.
“It was just a distraction,” Cothren told The Tennessean. “We’ve accomplished a lot of great things this year and I don’t want to take away from those for our caucus.”
