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.
Tennessee Reconnect Off
To Record Start
Over 4,000 applications
submitted in first week
Following the first week of the
application process being officially open for adults to enroll tuition-free
this fall at a community or technical college through Tennessee Reconnect, over
4,000 applications have been submitted — a record start in helping adults who
want to go back to school to advance their futures.
Tennessee Reconnect builds off the groundbreaking Tennessee Promise program — which provides high
school graduates two years of tuition-free community or technical college — by
establishing a last-dollar scholarship for adults to earn an associate degree
or technical certificate free of tuition or mandatory fees.
Both Tennessee Reconnect and Tennessee Promise
are programs under the Drive to 55, an initiative spearheaded by Republicans to
increase the number of Tennesseans with a postsecondary degree or certificate
to 55 percent by 2025. Studies show that by 2025, at least half the jobs in
Tennessee will require a college degree or certificate.
Early results of the Tennessee Promise program
show that students participating in the program are succeeding at higher rates
than their peers. Tennessee is the first state in the nation to offer all
citizens, both high school graduates and adults, the chance to earn a
postsecondary degree or certificate tuition-free.
For additional information about how to get
involved with Tennessee Reconnect, click here. The application deadline is set for April 15, 2018.
‘Safe at Home’ Program Moves Forward In Committee Process
This week, House Republicans moved
forward with the ‘Safe at Home’ program in the committee process, giving a
positive vote to legislation that will help protect domestic abuse victims
across Tennessee.
For many victims of domestic abuse,
stalking, and similar crimes, escaping abusers is no easy task.
In 2016 alone, 78,100 domestic violence offenses were reported in Tennessee. In over 80
percent of these reported incidents, the primary victim was either a woman or a
child. In over half of reported cases, the victim was physically injured.
Victims may need to move to other towns, switch jobs, move their children to
different schools, or even change their names just to escape their abusers.
Even then, abusers may still easily
find them by searching public records online — and that is where House bill
2025 comes in.
As introduced, the legislation will
create a program known nationally as ‘Safe at Home,’ which has been implemented
by more than 35 states across the country. The goal is to help survivors of domestic
violence, rape, human trafficking, stalking, and other crimes in their efforts
to keep their abusers from finding them. In doing so, the program will allow
victims to take back their lives by preventing an abuser from locating them
through public records searches and inflicting additional harm.
The ‘Safe at Home’ program provides
victims with a government-managed substitute address, such as a post office
box, for both themselves and their children, which can then be used to obtain a
driver’s license, register to vote, and complete most other government forms
without disclosing the participant’s home address.
Once enrolled, the participant can
provide the substitute address to virtually all government entities in
Tennessee. Participants may also request that other nongovernmental entities,
such as their employers and other private businesses, use this address as well.
The Tennessee Bureau of
Investigation reports that in 2016, more than 78,000 domestic violence crimes,
including stalking and rape, were reported to police. Ninety-one Tennesseans
were murdered in domestic violence situations during that same time. These
cases account for more than 51 percent of all crimes against individuals
reported in 2016.
These dramatic statistics
demonstrate that this program is a critical step toward protecting victims of
domestic abuse, stalking, human trafficking, and similar crimes from any more
trauma. This program will also make our communities safer by reducing crime for
all Tennesseans.
House Republicans Give
Back Through Hunters For The Hungry Initiative
House
Republicans joined with the Tennessee Wildlife Federation this week in
Nashville to support those in need through
donations to the statewide Hunters for the Hungry initiative.
Hunters for the Hungry is a unique
program providing healthy protein to hungry Tennesseans. When hunters harvest a
deer, they may donate it to Hunters for the Hungry at a participating
processor. The venison is processed for free or at a reduced rate and then
provided to area food banks or soup kitchens. One deer provides as many as 168
meals of venison.
The donations from House lawmakers
will fund processing and distribution of venison to families residing in
communities all across the state. Now in its 20th year, Hunters for
the Hungry has provided nearly 6 million meals in that time thanks to neighbors
giving back to neighbors.
With both 2015 and 2016 being
record seasons for Hunters for the Hungry, House lawmakers hope donations this
year will continue the trend to make the 2017 season the most impactful yet for
those in need.
The Tennessee Wildlife Federation
leads the conservation, sound management, and wise use of Tennessee's great
outdoors. Since 1946, the Federation has led the development of the state’s
wildlife policy, advanced landmark legislation on air and water quality and
other conservation initiatives, helped restore numerous species, and introduced
thousands of kids to the great outdoors. To learn more, visit tnwf.org.
House
Lawmakers Strengthen Protections For Parents & Children Involved In Custody
Cases
This week, House lawmakers passed legislation
that adds additional protections for parents and children involved in violent
custody cases.
House Bill 1546 empowers a parent or legal guardian who has been the victim of an
attempted murder to petition a judge to terminate parental rights of the
individual convicted of the offense. The measure enhances current protections
for children involved in these types of cases.
Additionally, it strengthens laws for parents
or legal guardians who have survived attempts at their lives while increasing
punishment guidelines for presiding judges.
Too often, the state has seen a parent or
legal guardian cross a very dangerous line, resulting in the serious injury of
their partner or spouse. As passed, House bill 1546 aims at providing an
additional deterrent in these specific instances while also protecting the
safety of our children and surviving parents.
Tennessee House Passes
Legislation Easing Regulatory Burden On State’s Motorists
This week in Nashville, the House gave
approval to legislation that eases the regulatory burden on Tennessee motorists
involved in minor traffic accidents.
House Bill 1515 increases the property damage threshold for which a motor vehicle
accident requires a written report to be filed with the Department of Safety
from $400 to $1,500. The measure also reduces the backlog of accident reports
that are currently on the Tennessee Department of Safety’s books.
While this tweak to current law may seem
minor, supporters of the legislation agree the last thing someone involved in
an accident should have to worry about is a burdensome regulation that requires
an extra form to be filed with the state. As passed, the legislation eases
burdens on Tennessee motorists and frees up taxpayer-funded policing resources
to be used in other, more important safety areas.
House Bill 1515 now awaits passage in the Senate.
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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