The Tennessee General Assembly
Susan M. Lynn
House of Representatives
CAPITOL HILL REVIEW
A weekly wrap-up of legislative news
Welcome New Readers!
Several readers are receiving the weekly wrap for the
first time tonight. I hope you enjoy learning what your state government
is doing and please share the Wrap with friends.
2018 Legislative Survey
and Preliminary Results
Please visit my blog to take the 2018 legislative survey
on current issues before the General Assembly; susan-lynn.blogspot.com.
Issues include the states amending the US Constitution, medical cannabis oil,
the National Motto Bill and many others.
I have also mailed a
statistically significant number of surveys for the size of the district. See preliminary survey
results here.
Key Budget Initiatives
This week in Nashville, House Republicans
continued work on several key budget initiatives, including moving forward with
bills on the education, juvenile justice, and opioid fronts.
Recently, Tennessee became the first state in
the nation to give all Tennesseans access to college free of tuition and fees
through the Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect programs. To assist in
ensuring those incoming students complete college and enter the workforce with
degrees or certificates in a timely manner, House Republicans are moving
forward this year with the Complete to
Compete initiative. Once passed by the legislature, this new plan will
restructure financial aid requirements for Promise and HOPE scholarships to
keep students on track for on-time completion, and requires community colleges
to implement structured, ready-made schedules for all incoming full-time
students based on their academic program.
Additionally,
House members completed initial steps this week in passing the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018 —
an initiative created
based upon recommendations made by members of House Speaker Beth Harwell’s
Joint Ad-Hoc Blue Ribbon Task Force on Juvenile Justice. Research suggests that
taking youths out of their homes and schools for minor offenses increases the
risk of recidivism, diverts resources from youth who pose a risk to the
community, and uses taxpayer dollars unnecessarily because community-based
services are often more effective and cost efficient. The Juvenile Justice
Reform Act will tackle these problems and help strengthen
families and communities while promoting public safety and ensuring a
responsible and conservative use of state resources.
In addition to the Complete to Compete
initiative and Juvenile Justice Reform Act, House members continue discussions
on the Tennessee Together program, a multi-faceted plan comprised of
legislation, $30 million in funds through Governor Haslam’s proposed budget,
and other executive actions to battle opioids through the three major
components of prevention, treatment, and law enforcement. Similar to the
Juvenile Justice Act, the Tennessee Together plan incorporates recommendations
made by Speaker Beth Harwell’s Ad Hoc Task Force on Opioid Abuse.
Other notable budget highlights investments
for the year include:
- More than $200 million in new state funding for K-12 education, including additional funds for teacher compensation;
- Nearly $100 million for higher education initiatives;
- $128 million for job growth investments, including programs that target rural communities;
- And investments to bring the state’s Rainy Day Fund to $850 million — the highest ever amount in state history.
Republicans Advance
Welfare Reform Initiatives
This year,
House Republicans are leading efforts to reform Tennessee’s welfare system,
including reinstituting work requirements for those receiving benefits from the
state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and TennCare.
By
reinstituting work requirements for SNAP, approximately 58,000 able-bodied
adults who are not currently meeting the work requirement but still receive assistance
will now be able to capitalize on an overabundance of jobs in order to secure
meaningful employment. This will help move them along a pathway from dependency
to independence and self-sufficiency.
The
restoration of these stipulations will not impact residents who currently
depend on these key benefits in 16 Tennessee counties still designated as
distressed by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.
They will also not apply to Tennessee’s senior citizens or disabled residents.
Similarly, House
Bill 1551 directs the commissioner
of the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration to file a waiver
instituting reasonable work requirements for TennCare enrollees. The measure comes as the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services issued new guidelines for states, allowing Tennessee to implement work
requirements on citizens who receive TennCare benefits.
As leaders
of the state, House Republicans want Tennessee residents to have meaningful
employment so they can take care of their families and make contributions that
enable communities to continue their economic development and prosperity. These
new initiatives accomplish these goals while also ensuring state resources are
managed in the most efficient and effective way possible.
Legislation Ending
Mandatory Emissions Testing
in Wilson County
House lawmakers this week introduced legislation that would end mandatory emissions testing
for vehicles in Tennessee.
Once passed, House Bill 1782 will apply to residents of Hamilton, Davidson, Rutherford, Sumner,
Williamson, and Wilson Counties
where vehicle emission testing is still required prior to vehicle registration
or renewal.
The 1990
Federal Clean Air Act required the state to develop more restrictive
regulations to control air pollution from mobile sources in counties which were
not meeting the Federal Standards for air quality.
Currently,
testing is done on vehicles with a model year of 1975 and newer if they are
powered by a gasoline or diesel engine and weigh up to 10,500 lbs. Over
1.5 million vehicles went through emissions testing in Tennessee last year in
the six counties where it is required.
The idea
for House Bill 1782 resulted
from conversations with Tennesseans who have voiced concerns about the
burdensome costs of testing on families across the state. Once the Tennessee
Department of Environment & Conservation released a report last August
revealing that all 95 Tennessee counties now meet federal air quality health
standards, it became clear that mandatory testing was no longer needed.
Supporters
agree that vehicle emissions testing is a perfect example of a well-intentioned
government program with harmful, unintended consequences for Tennessee's middle
class, noting that the passage of this legislation will help relieve this
burdensome regulation for Tennessee citizens.
House Bill 1782 will first
be heard by the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee.
Initiative displays “In God We Trust” in prominent locations
within schools
(NASHVILLE) — An initiative sponsored by State
Representative Susan Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet) that calls for our national motto
— “In God We Trust”— to be displayed in schools across Tennessee is advancing
through the Tennessee General Assembly’s committee process.
On Tuesday, members of the House Education
Administration & Planning Subcommittee voted to send House Bill
2368 to the full Education Administration & Planning Committee by
a 5-1 vote tally.
The measure requires each local education
agency to display “In God We Trust” in a prominent location within Tennessee’s
schools. Currently, 19 states — including Arkansas, Colorado, Mississippi, and
Virginia — have taken similar action to promote our national motto.
“In God We Trust” has served as the official
motto of the United States since 1956. It first appeared on the two-cent penny
in 1864 and on paper currency in 1957.
During his State of the Union Address in front
of Congress last month, President Donald Trump reminded the nation’s lawmakers
and all citizens that the foundation of American life is faith and family, not
government and bureaucracy. That night, President Trump also emphasized to the
congressional and national audience that our country’s motto has been and still
remains “In God We Trust.”
“I am honored to sponsor passage of The
National Motto in the Classroom Act because it will serve as a reminder to our
students about the significant role that faith plays in our daily lives,” said
Representative Lynn. “I appreciate the support this measure has received from
members of the Education Administration & Planning Subcommittee, as well as
my Republican colleagues, and I look forward to ensuring the bill’s passage in
the weeks ahead.”
As part of the discussion on the bill Tuesday,
Representative Lynn shared with subcommittee members that the measure does not
bear any cost because a school’s art students could use donated supplies to
create a display featuring our national motto. The motto could then be
displayed next to other prominent historical documents on school property
including the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
For additional information about House
Bill 2368, please click here.
Legislators, Department
of Education Announce Critical Growth Funds
State Representative Susan Lynn (R-Mount Juliet), State
Representative Clark Boyd (R-Lebanon), and the Tennessee
Department of Education today announced that Wilson County Schools and Lebanon
Special School District have both received district growth funding to support
education initiatives in Wilson County.
Specifically,
Wilson County Schools received $746,000 and Lebanon Special School District
received $176,500.
This funding is
a direct result of a Republican-led effort to not only fully fund education in
Tennessee but also provide an additional $18 million towards school district
growth.
These
significant investments in many Tennessee school districts will allow growing
schools to maintain the necessary resources so that they can continue offering
quality education for our state’s young leaders.
“We have made
education a priority of the House Finance Committee; we’ve increased funding
for K-12 education by over $1.2 billion over the last 7 years while cutting
taxes for hardworking Tennesseans. Wilson County has great schools, and
these much needed additional funds help our fast growing districts,” said
Representative Lynn.
“Providing a
quality education for this next generation of Tennesseans is a top priority for
me. I am honored and proud to work with my Republican colleagues as we continue
that fight today and every day,” said Representative Boyd.
This funding
has been so well received by parents, education officials, and teachers that
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam added another $18 million in growth funds to his
proposed Fiscal Year 2019 budget.
My latest article on a legislative issue;
The failure of a gift card bill made the news this week. Let's
face it - bills fail every day at the General Assembly and most of us just professionally
take it in stride.
Some just do not understand that when we regulate business, it is always with a mind to deter, prevent or punish genuine fraud, or to deter, prevent or punish harm done to
one's body or to one's life as a result of the product or offering.
The sponsor wanted to do away with the dormancy fee charged by
the cards in favor of a fee charged to every consumer who uses the card. He was angry because he hadn't used a gift card in years, and when he went to use it, the dormancy fee had been charged.
Good idea or not; the business model of these cards is to use
the lost/unused cards to cover the operating overhead for transactions made
with the active cards. READ MORE
HERE
PHOTOS FROM THE WEEK
From top, left to right.
The Vietnam Veteran traveling wall, Governor Haslam and Rep.
Clark Boyd, our Nashville HGTV stars, Page Turner and DeRon Jenkins, the
Nashville Predators and Nash, inducted as vice president of the MJ Republican
women with Pam Kelly, Gwynne Queener, Barbara Burlau and Yvonne Hunter, with Alecia Talbott of the Down Syndrome
Assoc.
A presentation on the brail American flag, Michael and me at the
EMTAR Awards Dinner, Jim McVey presenting an award and Lisa Tucker - Realtor of
the Year!
JD Foster of the Lebanon Fire Department, Future Farmers of
American day on the hill carnation, City of Mt. Juliet city planner and Landscape
Architect Alisha Elly.
Thank you again for letting me serve you. Please do not hesitate to call my office if I
can help you.
615-741-7462
Rep. Susan Lynn
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