‘Wildcat’ budget hearings hit 2nd week in House

House budget hearings head into their second week in Nashville on Dec. 16, 2019. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)

The state House is holding its second round of pre-session budget hearings starting on Monday. The hearings are unusual because Gov. Bill Lee has yet to present his annual spending proposal to lawmakers. But the meetings give lawmakers a chance to rake in a couple of weeks worth of per-diems before Christmas and to bask in the spotlight of media coverage in what could otherwise be a slow pre-Christmas news week. Some statehouse wags have taken to calling them the “wildcat” budget hearings (a reference, perhaps, to wildcat strikes, or to the wildcat formation in football).

Everything should be live streamed on the General Assembly’s website. Here’s the schedule:

Monday, House Hearing Room I

• 9:30 AM – 10:00 AM General Services
• 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM Military
• 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM Veterans Services
• 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM Alcoholic Beverage Commission
• 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM Human Resources
• 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM TACIR
• 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM TN Human Rights Commission
• 2:30 PM – 3:00 PM TN State Museum

Tuesday, House Hearing Room I

• 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Correction
• 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM Board of Parole
• 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM TRICOR
• 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM Comptroller of the Treasury
• 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM Treasury
• 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM Secretary of State
• 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM Finance and Administration
• 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services

Wednesday, House Hearing Room III

• 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
• 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM Administrative Office of the Courts
• 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM Attorney General and Reporter
• 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM District Attorneys General Conference
• 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM District Public Defenders Conference
• 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM Office of Post-Conviction Defender
• 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Children’s Services
• 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM Public Utility Commission

Thursday, House Hearing Room III

• 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Transportation
• 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Human Services
• 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Safety and Homeland Security
• 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM TN Arts Commission
• 12:30 PM – 1:00 PM TN Housing Development Agency
• 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM Tennessee Corrections Institute