tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-269756002024-03-05T20:40:51.909-08:00Susan M. Lynn...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.comBlogger371125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-40763269138020525792018-06-10T18:14:00.003-07:002018-06-11T07:30:48.257-07:00The Coleman Walker Show<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Please listen to Representative Susan Lynn on the Coleman Walker Show on Friday, June 8, 2018, discussing her upcoming Primary Election and her opponent's rhetoric.<br />
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...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-32444451463005569512018-04-21T06:14:00.000-07:002018-04-21T06:19:17.708-07:00TN Ready House and Senate Bills<br />
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<div class="Paragraph SCXO141547661" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;" xml:lang="EN-US">
<span class="TextRun SCXO141547661" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Please accept my unreserved apology for the inconvenience the TNReady test difficulties this week. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="TextRun SCXO141547661" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: windowtext; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Clearly this is upsetting, and I want you to know that getting to the bottom of this is just as important to me as it is to you.</span><span class="EOP SCXO141547661" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The House was in
Session on Tuesday as the problems began. We were shocked and angry to
learn of the trouble as we broke for lunch at noon. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The House spent the next three
hours investigating what had occurred. We called in the Department of
Education and the TBI to learn what was going on. We told the
commissioner that we wanted her and Questar to appear before the House
Education and Government Operations Committees jointly in the morning. We each
called our school districts to gather facts. We then crafted legislation to do
what we thought was best to immediately to help with the issue. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We went back into Session at 3
pm, and soon took up and passed a bill to do the following; <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #0f243e; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">No letter grade will be given
to Tennessee schools for the 2017-18 school year;</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0f243e; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The TNReady test will not
count towards teachers' evaluations for the 2017-18 school year;</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0f243e; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The TNReady test will not
count towards students' final grades for the 2017-18 school year, and;</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0f243e; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The TNReady tests will be
given on paper for the 2017-18 school year.</span></span></li>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today the Senate sent us their
own bill which does the following; <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<li><span style="color: #0f243e; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">TNReady data shall not be used
when assigning the letter grade to schools for the 2017-18 school year;</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0f243e; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">LEA’s shall not base
employment termination or compensation decisions on the 2017-18 TNReady
assessment results.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0f243e; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Local boards of education can
choose to have the TNReady assessment data apply to students’ final grade in a
range of between a range of 0% and 15% for the 2017-18 school year. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0f243e; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">None of the 2017-18 TNReady
assessment data will be used to determine that a school is a priority school
for assignment to an achievement school district, except that if the data is
favorable, a school can use the data to come off of the priority school list.</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">As you can see there are
differences between the House and Senate bills. These differences will be
settled in talks over the weekend, and by Monday we will vote on a final
bill. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I prefer the House
version. I believe it is stronger than the Senate’s bill. The
Senate does not mention using paper tests, and in Wilson County we do not have
any Priority schools so that portion would never affect us. And per the
Senate bill, the 2017-18 TNReady test can still count towards teachers’ evaluations
they just cannot be used to terminate or determine compensation for a teacher. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0f243e; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I invite you to compare these
two plans and to please write me back with your thoughts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-34799157779152725632018-04-14T13:45:00.001-07:002018-04-14T13:45:07.917-07:00School Seat Belt Bill Near Passage<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Arimo,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.tnhousegop.org/2018/02/02/state-representative-clark-boyds-capitol-hill-review/18p1_tnhouserep_logo_full-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-773" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #003366; font-family: Arimo,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arimo,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">(NASHVILLE) — </span><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Arimo,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">State Representative Susan Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet)</strong><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Arimo,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> continues to fight for additional funding that will improve school bus safety in districts across Tennessee.</span></div>
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In February, Representative Lynn met with Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam to discuss gaining his support of the bill to protect students who rely on the bus to travel to and from school. As a result, the Governor announced that he has set aside $3 million in nonrecurring funds for grants in the amendment to his fiscal year 2018-2019 budget. These grants will help school districts address the extra costs associated with purchasing buses equipped with seat belts.</div>
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Additionally, Representative Lynn is sponsoring <strong style="font-weight: 700;">House Bill 395</strong>. It requires that any bus purchased on or after July 1, 2018, that is owned, operated, or leased by a public or private elementary or secondary school system to be used to transport students to and from schools or school-related events must be equipped with a restraint system. Additionally, these restraint systems must be approved by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for both the driver and all passengers.</div>
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Last year, Representative Lynn traveled to Indiana to research the pros and cons of restraint systems on school buses. She observed a side-impact crash involving a semi traveling 35 miles an hour and a school bus transporting crash test dummies. In this scenario, crash test dummies were both belted and unbelted. For those unbelted, the crash proved to be fatal. Those that were belted in remained safely restrained.</div>
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Representative Lynn has prioritized the safety and well-being of students who depend on school buses as part of their daily transportation.</div>
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“Every day, we count on our buses and drivers to get our children to school and back safely, and I am grateful that Governor Haslam has allocated additional funding as part of his budget amendment that will help us better protect our kids,” said Representative Lynn. “He will forever be remembered as the Governor who improved school bus safety, and I am honored to have worked with him in an effort to begin addressing this paramount issue.”</div>
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During the 2017 legislative session, Representative Lynn supported passage of <strong style="font-weight: 700;">House Bill 322</strong>. The measure requires all school districts, as well as charter schools to appoint a transportation supervisor to monitor and oversee student transportation. This supervisor must receive annual training developed from both the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) and the Tennessee Department of Safety (TDS) and must also implement a school transportation policy adopted by the local board of education.</div>
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Additionally, <strong style="font-weight: 700;">House Bill 322</strong> requires all new bus drivers to complete a driver training program based on standards developed by the TDOE and the TDS prior to transporting any students. This bill also increases the minimum age for individuals seeking to obtain a school bus operator endorsement license from 21 to 25.</div>
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<b>UPDATE</b><br />
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Those in opposition to safety restraints on public school buses have apparently started a whisper campaign to say that the bill died in committee and that Haslam is passing it anyway. <br />
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The bill never died in committee. Pasted below is a screenshot of the actions in the bill. Not once was the bill ever killed in Committee. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesnpeVMuT950j9UImMcHpsxSL22Fre1YkWRV07r3EtJKPH6tJBAe6h80IDeJxDLpR8sWwllCXhbvOJWzWeQgk1n4ONry8BUAuPKkkdNiwiFaMCh26YPw95J17UnSexof9NbSS/s1600/GetImage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesnpeVMuT950j9UImMcHpsxSL22Fre1YkWRV07r3EtJKPH6tJBAe6h80IDeJxDLpR8sWwllCXhbvOJWzWeQgk1n4ONry8BUAuPKkkdNiwiFaMCh26YPw95J17UnSexof9NbSS/s1600/GetImage.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-36957003637862946422018-04-04T19:51:00.000-07:002018-04-04T19:51:34.916-07:00The Restroom Bill of 2016<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">From the birth of our nation there has never been any need for a bill to legislate which restroom students shall use. I wrote and filed the restroom bill to ensure that students have privacy when using the restroom at their public school; biological girls will use the girls’</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> room and biological boys will use the boys’ room. I wrote the bill because Barak Obama’s restroom directive was in the works – a directive from the US Dept of Education to force school districts to allow any student who claimed to be transgender to use the restroom of their choice. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">That is unacceptable to me and to most Tennesseans. My bill was designed to prevent the directive, which is not law but edict, from being applied in Tennessee schools. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Note that my bill did not apply to private businesses like Target - but to public schools in Tennessee. The bill filed last year was the language from my bill but it was not passed by the legislators. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, as a result of my bill, the ACLU found a plaintiff in Sumner County (a county I represented for eight years) and the ACLU served notice of their intent to sue if my bill passed. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">To set the scene, at the time, socialists Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton were running for President on the Democrat ticket, and several Republican candidates, including Donald Trump, were running on the Republican ticket. And tragically, during the course of running my bill, Judge Antonin Scalia died putting the future of the Supreme Court in grave question. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">We legislators had no idea what kind of future our nation faced but we did know this; Nashville is not a friendly venue for the ACLU’s case. So if a lawsuit was filed we would lose the first round. Upon losing, by court order, every single school district in the state of Tennessee would be FORCED TO ALLOW students who call themselves transgender to use the restroom of their choosing. In fact, this order would stand until a final ruling by the Supreme Court.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">With the Presidency in question, with Judge Scalia’s death and the balance of the SCOTUS in question, with a threatened lawsuit putting every student in our state in jeopardy – I prayerfully, tearfully, frighteningly choose another route and MY GOD who urged me, stood with me. We would go on the offense and challenge the Obama administration because they have no right to make any edict and especially not the restroom directive. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is true, few understood my decision. Politically it was stupid what politician would not pass such a bill in an election year? Certainly the best decision for me to make would have been to pass my bill and take all the glory for myself. However, I love the children of our state more than any seat so I chose the best course for the students – not the best course for me personally. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps you may recall, that I was faced with a similar choice in 2010 of whether to put others before myself – and I chose to put others first at that time too. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">So in 2016, Tennessee went on the offense in a friendly court venue; when Texas filed suit against the Obama bathroom directive Tennessee joined the suit and WE WON. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">On Sunday, August 21, 2016, a federal judge in Texas sided with Texas and 12 other states including Tennessee agreeing that the administration’s restroom directive policy usurps local control and threatens students’ safety and privacy.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">When the decision came down I made the follow statement; </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Tennessee delayed passage of my legislation so that we could become a party to this lawsuit, and I am delighted that Tennessee was successful with our case. I am also extremely pleased that this ruling proves that the strategy to delay passage of the restroom bill has clearly proven to be the right course of action for Tennessee.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">First, this ruling means that Tennessee schools can feel comfortable about ignoring the Obama Administration’s restroom directive - which as the Governor and Republicans said from the outset, does not have the force of law because it was not created according to law or administrative procedure.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Second, the Justice stated that his ruling does not apply to disputes that are already in court, which includes the cases in North Carolina and Virginia. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, because Tennessee never gave the opportunity for the ACLU to sue us this also means that the ruling perfectly applies to Tennessee because we have not been sued in court. This could have turned out very differently for Tennessee because had we passed my bill we know that we would have been sued in court by the ACLU and this ruling would not have applied to us – that would have been tragic.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Third, as stated in the decision, the ruling also does not apply to schools that already accommodate transgender students’ choice of restrooms. Tennessee schools have always supported biological identity for restroom use. Any student who claims to be transgender is offered a private, safe and secure alternative so Tennessee students are safe.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I think Tennessee played our hand very well. Now it is up to the voters to make the right choice in November because we know that a second Clinton Administration would aggressively pursue violating the privacy rights of biological boys and girls in our schools regardless of what the local school district decides is best for students.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Let me repeat these points; because we won the lawsuit in Texas, Tennessee schools could do what they have always done and that is have students who do not feel comfortable in the bathroom for their biological sex use a private restroom designated for them. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Had Tennessee been in a lawsuit, the Texas ruling destroying the Obama restroom directive WOULD NOT HAVE APPLIED TO TENNESSEE</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Had Tennessee already lost a lawsuit and a judge forced transgender bathrooms upon Tennessee, the Texas ruling destroying the Obama restroom directive WOULD NOT HAVE APPLIED TO TENNESSEE</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Praise God that Donald Trump won in November, 2016; after being sworn into office it only took him a few weeks to tear up the Obama Restroom directive – so it is no more. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">If I am wrong and the Obama directive is not dead why didn’t any lawmaker in Tennessee file a restroom bill this year?</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have protected every child in Tennessee including my six precious grandchildren. With Gods help WE DEFEATED THE OBAMA RESTROOM DIRECTIVE IN TENNESSEE! </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Every day I pray for wisdom and trust my Lord and savior. He carries me every day. I am His servant and I listen to Him – not to you. </span></span></span>...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-51577892125180050442018-04-04T17:48:00.002-07:002018-04-06T18:57:48.899-07:00The IMPROVE Act and SR 109<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">75% of respondents to my
<a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LcMGKEeahLqSdiqpPLVbs2MzeJXMuDKR" target="_blank">legislative survey</a> support the IMPROVE Act; 7% are against and 19% are unsure. Respondents are 100% Republican because I did not pay for the survey through my state account. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The IMPROVE Act was the largest single tax cut in Tennessee History - $250+ million of the $500+ million surplus was returned to Tennesseans through tax cuts on food and other items, and $250+ million was transferred to the Highway fund through strategic rate adjustments. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-no-proof: yes;">The SR 109 project that we broke ground on in early March, 2018 is due to the IMPROVE Act. It was planned in two phases and each leg was to take nearly two years - but because of the IMPROVE Act the entire project will take just two years. </span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: bold; text-indent: -0.25in;">Phase 1. From South of Dry Fork Creek to South of the Cumberland River @ $32 million.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Phase 2. From North of US-70 (SR24) to South of Dry Fork Creek @ $32 million.</b></b></b></b><b><i><br /></i></b></span><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Phase 1 </b>was announced in the 2016-17 TDOT Transportation Improvement Plan but never built due to land acquisition issues. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Phase 2 </b>is an IMPROVE Act project. It was passed into law last string, codified in law and named in the 2017-18 Transportation Improvement Plan; </span><br />
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<a href="http://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/110/pub/pc0181.pdf" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Bill (pp 49, item 957)</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span id="goog_258998922" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></a><span id="goog_258998923" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">- </span><a href="https://advance.lexis.com/documentpage/?pdmfid=1000516&crid=223dd22e-bff8-4d80-b039-7d249f5522bc&nodeid=ACOAADAAJAAM&nodepath=%2FROOT%2FACO%2FACOAAD%2FACOAADAAJ%2FACOAADAAJAAM&title=67-3-912.+Use+of+funds+generated+by+2017+increases.&config=025054JABlOTJjNmIyNi0wYjI0LTRjZGEtYWE5ZC0zNGFhOWNhMjFlNDgKAFBvZENhdGFsb2cDFQ14bX2GfyBTaI9WcPX5&pddocfullpath=%2Fshared%2Fdocument%2Fstatutes-legislation%2Furn%3AcontentItem%3A5NKN-JPP0-R03J-T00T-00008-00&ecomp=g37_kkk&prid=06a92dc8-5201-4a5d-aad2-90e9f81ab8bf" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">TCA Code</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> - </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C8JnQdCjUs2arFDVqeReKI1s2h0q79xQ/view" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">IMPROVE Act Docs</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Phase 1 was put off in 2016 due to land purchase delays because TDOT must own all of the land before a project begins - they will not build into a bottle neck(s). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The land issues were not cleared up until last November 2017. But once cleared up - due to the IMPROVE Act TDOT had the money to compete both <b>Phase 1 </b>and <b>Phase 2</b>. The entire Project will be complete in just two years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />I held 11 Town Hall meetings on the IMPROVE Act. Over whelmingly, once voters heard the information they told me they supported the plan. </span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have an opponent who is claims that SR 109 is not an IMPROVE Act project. However, as I just proved above by linking to the primary source documents - it certainly is an IMPROVE Act Project. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>MORE INFO ON THE DOCUMENTS</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Language of the <a href="http://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/110/pub/pc0181.pdf" target="_blank">IMPROVE Act bill</a> - scroll to page 49, item </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(957)</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> it says; </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For the very FIRST TIME EVER all of the road projects in the IMPROVE Act were codified into the Tennessee Code including all of Wilson County's IMPROVE Act the projects in </span><a class="previewtextStyle" href="https://advance.lexis.com/api/document/collection/statutes-legislation/id/5NKN-JPP0-R03J-T00T-00008-00?cite=Tenn.%20Code%20Ann.%20%C2%A7%2067-3-912&context=1000516" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #004b91; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: 0.3s; vertical-align: baseline;">Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-3-912</a> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and you will see the following. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In January, 2017, as part of the information provided to us on the IMPROVE Act, TDOT provided
the legislators with a list of our counties many backlogged and new road projects. [Click <a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=1C8JnQdCjUs2arFDVqeReKI1s2h0q79xQ" target="_blank">link</a>]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As you can see, the
two SR 109 projects are on the backlogged list it indicates that the only funding needed is the construction funding - that is why it says <b>Construction</b> next to each project. The engineering and right of way were completed in previous years and so all that remained was the construction funding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Note that most of our new projects need funding for the entire project. Needed is funding for<b> PE</b>- preliminary engineering;
<b>ROW</b> – right of way acquisition; <b>CONST</b> – construction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-no-proof: yes;">In 2017, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">TDOT also provided us the the
plan for the IMPROVE Act to build all of these project with in the next twelve
years. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The
Improve Act readjusted Tennessee’s tax rates in order to move half of the
annual budget surplus from the General Fund to the Highway Fund; ensuring
funding into the future for $10.5 billion in backlogged road projects to be
built over the next 10 years; and used the other half of the surplus to cut
taxes for Tennesseans. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The Improve Act
lowered General Fund tax rates by $500+ million </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">(food tax, income tax, business tax, and low
income senior and veterans property taxes)</span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;">, and the Highway Fund fuel and electric car tax
rates were raised by $250 million. Assuring a net tax cut for Tennesseans of $250
million and also assuring that tourists, travelers through our state and
truckers contribute more to Tennessee's roads while they are here. </span><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p> </o:p></span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Due to the IMPROVE Act both
legs of the SR 109 project are now funded and the entire project will be
finished in just two years rather than waiting for each leg to be constructed
separately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="233" data-original-width="897" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA2nzNygjk3ncdS9OFmK4QZIbkpqG5MPzk0KnERc8vIoP7kAHHXLmD0NiQpRR6zx3hwD6GZmgq8DfTnYONpGEZtzqrLuiSr291EUuYeOnGroyMQycQ5iMZ2GD73T7kgL4CZDAL/s640/109+2017.JPG" width="640" /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b> </b>- </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Phase 2</b> - the leg from <b>North of US-70 (SR24) to South
of Dry Fork Creek @ $32 million</b>, was announced in the 2017-18 transportation
plan (see pic).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=13_NCEMLuU_DToBXMirV7q78FcaJsDscH" target="_blank">Entire 2017-18 TDOT Project List</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And, <b>Phase 1</b>, from<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> South of Dry Fork Creek to South of the Cumberland River @ $32 million </b>was carried forward and reauthorized in by 2017-2018 budget. Click here to see the project on the never completed SR 109 project on the 2016 project list; <a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=1iLUxefdIvq3_A0j8gJi16kcNNJW03IAi" target="_blank">2016-17 TDOT Project List</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnycw0ueVvGrlsW2DgARWMH0BQZTduvUiWRyL8kec4O7y8bxFQ1gURqdDo5dETNj7h9VLaEQM1VN0ACSgNupJXQGsGY3roo7c0koZEqGYJH-nanQDz-Rh42RKDvwx5Hiqn5mjF/s1600/109+creek+to+bridge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="748" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnycw0ueVvGrlsW2DgARWMH0BQZTduvUiWRyL8kec4O7y8bxFQ1gURqdDo5dETNj7h9VLaEQM1VN0ACSgNupJXQGsGY3roo7c0koZEqGYJH-nanQDz-Rh42RKDvwx5Hiqn5mjF/s640/109+creek+to+bridge.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-no-proof: yes;">The IMPROVE Act made it possible
to complete ALL of SR 109 in just two years. The 2017-18 budget included enough money for the entirety of SR 109.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>ENDING REMARKS</b></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I work hard to maintain a very good relationship with TDOT and they reward us with millions of dollars worth of road projects. TDOT has announced that SR 109 is an IMPROVE Act project. I do not know why anyone would poke TDOT in the eye by saying that they are lying about SR 109. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you know me, you know that I am a very exact person. I am a financial analyst for one of the largest accounting firms in the world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Perhaps because as a child my father strongly cautioned me “Young lady, if you are going say anything, you had better know you are are correct before you say it.” His words are deeply ingrained in me. As a state legislator, I work hard to understand the facts, and I keep important papers so that I can verify information in the future. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I hope that political foes realize how easy their rhetoric is to disprove. </span></div>
<br />...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-62630370343027081562018-02-25T16:19:00.002-08:002018-03-11T19:33:50.771-07:002018 Legislative Surey Preliminary Results<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>
View early results of the 2018 Legislative Survey at this <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SIqzy9XTdgJ8xQqisgeQ9pM6xnwvWY9k/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">link </a>-...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-35129875171680649662018-02-25T14:32:00.001-08:002018-02-25T14:32:19.096-08:00Press ReleasesKeep up with Representative Lynn's official press releases at this link;<br />
<a href="http://www.tnhousegop.org/newsroom/57/">http://www.tnhousegop.org/newsroom/57/ </a>...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-52731600011207416792018-02-23T03:38:00.002-08:002018-02-23T08:40:59.451-08:00Beware of Gifts<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I
don’t enjoy the high price of popcorn when I go to the movie theater; no one
can convince me that it costs very much to pop a bucket of popcorn.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>However, it is clear that there are high
operating expenses for the grand movie theaters around today, and by selling
overpriced popcorn, theaters are able to provide a great surround sound
experience, very comfortable seating and a choice of up to 14 different movies
to attend. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Let's
face it - bills fail every day at the General Assembly and most just professionally take it in stride. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The
failure of a gift card bill made the news this week.<span style="margin: 0px;"> The s</span>ponsor 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. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">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. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The
legislator explained that he had been given a gift card and never used it - the
dormancy fee angered him so he filed a bill - I totally validate his feelings.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The
bill isn't about the restaurant and store gift cards that are limited to a
single business. Those don't have dormancy fees. In their business model, the stores absorb the cards'
operating expenses because they figure that by buying the card, they are
guaranteed purchases at their store, and oftentimes purchases will total more
than the value of the gift card. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The
bill is about the gift cards that look like a bank credit card; the ones that
can be used anywhere that accept charge cards.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Under the business model for these credit card lookalikes, the operator recoups
the operational overhead for transactions made with the card through fees
charged to the lost/unused cards that will likely never be redeemed, and not
from consumers' individual purchases made with the cards. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>These cards are already highly regulated under
federal law, and per federal law, a card is considered lost/unused, if it is unused
for a year. On the back of the card, it very clearly informs card purchasers
and owners about the $2 fee.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Further, if you use the card after the dormancy fee begins to be charged, not only does the
one-year clock reset and the fees stop but upon request, most banks will refund
any dormancy fees charged within the current year. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Obviously however, to avoid the fee, simply
use the gift card.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">These
cards have unique features;</span></span></div>
<br />
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">They look like
a credit card.</span></li>
<li style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">They are a
good option for anyone who doesn't have a credit card but needs to make purchases with a credit card. </span></li>
<li style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">The cards have
an option to be registered with the bank in your name so that if lost, the card
can be canceled and you can get the remaining balance refunded to you.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></li>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="a">
<li style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">In that way too, you or anyone else can prove your payment or proof
of purchase.</span></li>
</ol>
<li style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">However if
unregistered, the transactions are untraceable to you...[insert mischief here
:-(]<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span> </span></li>
<li style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">The card can
be "refilled" with funds so that more purchases can be made - helpful
for college students away from home. </span></li>
<li style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">The card can
be used anywhere that takes credit cards and no per purchase fee is
charged.</span></li>
<li style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">Again, on the
back of the card it states in large letters that if you do not use the
card in a year (for some cards two years} the card will be charged a two
dollar per month dormancy fee.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">While
these cards make a convenient gift, and help those without access to credit, they
also have a nefarious side. Because unless you register the card, the
transactions are untraceable which leads some to buy the card purely for the
ability to make untraceable purchases that require a credit card. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Still
others use the cards as a form of currency.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>They buy the card and trade with it, often for drugs. Police know
that cards like this are traded again, and again, and again. I bet
criminals don’t like to learn that a dormant card is now $2, $10 or $20 less
than was presented to them when the “deal” was made to trade for the
card. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">However,
as I stated, the business plan calls for the operational costs of the card to
come out of the dormant funds of the lost/unused cards – not out of the cards
that people use right away as most people do.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">In
economics we are taught that there is no free lunch. If you go to the
jazzed-up movie theater with all of the whistles and bells, you will pay a
higher price for tickets and popcorn. If you purchase a gift card and
give it as a gift, your recipient can use it like cash at anyplace that takes a
credit card with no additional charges to them. The cost of operations is
taken out of the lost/unused cards, not from the people who used them as
intended. It would be a different matter if the fee wasn't fully disclosed
on the back of the card and packaging - that would be theft.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
We have too many legislators today who try to use the strong arm of government to <span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">run the economy, legislate every
product to their own personal liking, and rewrite business plans for movie theaters and everyone else.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">In
Tennessee, we have been about getting government out of the way not dictating how
to price a product or to operate a business.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>We have made tremendous government policy changes in Tennessee to get
government out of the way.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We have
lowered taxes by $800 million dollars and deleted regulations.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Today, Tennesseans pay less in taxes than
they did seven years ago.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">When
I go to the movies or buy a gift card, I simply try to make the best consumer choice
for me; I generally buy the popcorn and give the store gift cards. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Legislators should not use the power of government to
dictate or do away with our own pet peeves just because we might be able to get away with it.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">We
regulate monopolistic utilities because consumers are captive customers. We
ensure restaurants are clean because too often they proved an extreme danger
and people have became sick and even died. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">When
we regulate business, it is always with a mind to prevent, deter or punish genuine
fraud, or to prevent, deter or punish harm done to one's body or to one's life
as a result of the product or offering.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
Don't misunderstand, I am not defending this or any other product. I have simply articulated the business model for the product in question. <br />
<br />
We won't like every business model - but it is the business' business model - it is not the state's business model - and we don't dictate business models. If a business is not a monopoly, not committing fraud, if a product is not harmful to life or safety, legislators do not have the right to use legislative force - our founding fathers called that tyranny. <br />
<br />
Like it or not, as <span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">lawmakers, we may agree with the spirit of a bill - there are a lot of things I
don't like but to prevent tyranny at every level we must acknowledge that we don't simply have the right to target every personal pet peeve
we have.<span style="margin: 0px;"> There must be proven fraud, or physical harm. </span>Emotion cannot reign, we must
have data and facts to prove a case for regulation.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13.33px;">
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span>...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-32123368974775151532018-02-18T19:11:00.001-08:002018-02-18T19:11:50.258-08:002018 Legislative Survey<script src="//www.powr.io/powr.js?external-type=blogger"></script>
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...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-14012313969258377392017-11-14T13:24:00.002-08:002017-11-14T13:24:09.275-08:00State Representative Susan Lynn To Serve On New Wellness Caucus<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #fdfdfd; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Panel tasked with improving health and well-being for Tennesseans</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">(NASHVILLE) — <b>State Representative Susan Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet) </b><span class="Object" id="OBJ_PREFIX_DWT80_com_zimbra_date" style="color: darkblue; cursor: pointer;"><span class="Object" id="OBJ_PREFIX_DWT84_com_zimbra_date" style="cursor: pointer;">today</span></span> announced that she will serve on a new Wellness Caucus created by members of the Tennessee General Assembly and in collaboration with the Governor’s Foundation for Health and Wellness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The caucus is chaired by <b>State Representative Ryan Williams (R-Cookeville)</b> and <b>Senator Bo Watson (R-Hixson)</b>. It consists of 37 members — including 28 Republicans — from both the House and Senate who will study and propose new solutions to important health and wellness issues in communities across the state. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">While Nashville is considered a health care hub for our entire nation, Tennessee still remains one of the least healthy states in the country. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Approximately one in four adults smokes, and one in five high school students uses tobacco. Additionally, 33 percent of the state’s population is classified as obese, and type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure are at near-epidemic levels in all regions of the state.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Caucus members will help shape future public policy so that Tennesseans impacted by some of these adverse health conditions are able to make lifestyle changes that will improve their overall health outcomes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">“As an elected official, the health and well-being of our residents is one of my main priorities,” said Representative Lynn. “I believe this opportunity will provide unique perspective into some of the health issues impacting our citizens; additionally, it will allow us to create new solutions to these issues which will lead to improved health trends across our state.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">For more information about the Governor’s Foundation for Health & Wellness, please visit: </span><span class="Object" id="OBJ_PREFIX_DWT81_com_zimbra_url" style="color: darkblue; cursor: pointer;"><span class="Object" id="OBJ_PREFIX_DWT85_com_zimbra_url" style="cursor: pointer;"><a href="http://healthiertn.com/" style="color: darkblue; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://healthierTN.com</span></a></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Susan Lynn serves as the Chair of the House Consumer & Human Resources Subcommittee. Lynn is also a member of the House Consumer & Human Resources, House Finance Ways & Means and House Ethics Committee, as well as the Joint Fiscal Review Committee. She lives in Mount Juliet and represents House District 57, which includes Wilson County. Lynn can be reached by email at <span class="Object" id="OBJ_PREFIX_DWT82_com_zimbra_email" style="color: darkblue; cursor: pointer;"><span class="Object" id="OBJ_PREFIX_DWT86_com_zimbra_email" style="cursor: pointer;"><a href="mailto:Rep.Susan.Lynn@capitol.tn.gov" style="color: darkblue; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Rep.Susan.Lynn@capitol.tn.gov</a></span></span> or by calling (615) 741-7462.</span></div>
...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-30023464623418745932017-09-12T06:06:00.001-07:002017-09-12T06:09:51.970-07:00New Report on the Local Burden of Housing State Prisoners in County JailsTACIR has completed its report on the financial burden and other effects on county
governments from housing state prisoners in county jails, prepared at the request of
commission members at the May 2016 meeting.<br />
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This report revisits the
2007 report Beyond Capacity: Issues and Challenges Facing County Jails. TACIR staff conducted a examining the number of state prisoners being held in county jails and whether
the number is increasing, capacities and overcrowded conditions in county jails, the cost
borne by counties for medical care (including addiction treatment) of state prisoners
held in county jails, whether the current amount the state reimburses a county for
housing a state prisoner is reasonable, how the state chooses which prisoners are left in
county jails, how state prisoners are assigned jobs like cooking or laundry service, and
contractual obligations and limitations to housing state prisoners in prisons operated
for counties by private contractors.<br />
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The final report suggests three recommendations:<br />
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First, Tennessee could improve
access to the behavioral health services provided by the Department of Mental Health
and Substance Abuse Services’ criminal justice liaison program by expanding the
program statewide.<br />
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Second, Tennessee could target funding to improve outcomes by
providing financial assistance to counties to help implement programs proven to reduce
recidivism and improve outcomes for prisoners and communities, rather than only
increasing per diem reimbursements to cover basic costs.<br />
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Finally, because adequate
oversight and regulation of local jails is necessary for the state to balance its need for
fiscally responsible management of the felon population with the responsibility to
achieve the best prisoner and public safety outcomes, state law should be amended to
give the Tennessee Corrections Institute clear legal authority to require local
correctional facilities to comply with set standards, including authority for its Board Control to recommend that the Tennessee Department of Correction remove state
prisoners from noncertified jails when conditions warrant.<br />
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This report is available on the Internet at http://www.tn.gov/tacir/topic/tacirpublications-by-date....http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-90761809103308201992017-09-08T07:57:00.002-07:002017-09-08T07:57:50.316-07:00TNECD NOW ACCEPTING BROADBAND ACCESSIBILITY GRANT APPLICATIONS<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Program to award $10 million to projects that expand broadband to unserved areas</div>
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NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) announced that it is now accepting Broadband Accessibility Grant applications until November 17, 2017.</div>
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Established by the recently enacted Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Act (TBAA), this program aims to spread broadband access to more Tennesseans while promoting practices that increase deployment and encourage adoption. In total, $10 million is available in the first round of grants.</div>
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“Rural economic development is a top priority for TNECD and reliable broadband is a lynchpin of our efforts to encourage job growth in Tennessee’s rural communities,” TNECD Commissioner Bob Rolfe said. “About one-in-three residents in rural Tennessee do not have broadband access at recognized minimum standards. It is critical that we address this gap and ensure all Tennesseans have reliable internet access. Thanks to Governor Haslam’s leadership and the overwhelming support of the Tennessee General Assembly, TNECD will now be able to provide grants to help make broadband available to residents and businesses that currently go without it.”</div>
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The Broadband Accessibility Grants are meant to help offset the capital expenses of deploying broadband in currently unserved areas. Projects must serve locations without access to download speeds of at least ten megabits per second (10 Mbps) and upload speeds of at least one megabit per second (1 Mbps). Preference will be given to areas that are unlikely to receive broadband service without grant funding. Applicants must be authorized to provide retail broadband in the proposed service area.</div>
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Following the close of the application period, TNECD will hold a three-week online public comment period to receive additional input and information regarding submitted applications.</div>
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TNECD anticipates announcing grantees in January 2018 with projects underway in early in 2018.</div>
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More information on Broadband Accessibility Grants and TNECD’s broadband initiatives can be found here.</div>
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About the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development</div>
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The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s mission is to develop strategies that help make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs. To grow and strengthen Team Tennessee, the department seeks to attract new corporate investment in Tennessee and works with Tennessee companies to facilitate expansion and economic growth. Find us on the web: <a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="async" data-lynx-uri="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ftnecd.com%2F&h=ATNAoXxVKZ-ReK0gkuEteBnQYfnpbE_qP6jL1ZtGdNo4fxONfaII0TGc7CzV1e0__RMeGY3iJijL7vpkTohcohkAByCopKouWWYkErLkICrQO7rXMHFZig8NFOhVcWjGubip-u0LbCZQIFen1eQJdA0uh5HitTB3-tTF0Jr_NPUyJgDSSp0O5PDhQUe1dM3_hjjcizjFLXl3LRw6WwiSnrkU0oHoopRn3Rbz6uUghyo-XM2t3K3goxJohSiMRY-qzpJidGGY4A4pzYO4oGHZhY66o4-GdlUrJ1g" href="http://tnecd.com/" rel="noopener" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">tnecd.com.</a> Follow us on Twitter: @tnecd. Like us on Facebook: <a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" href="https://facebook.com/tnecd" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">facebook.com/tnecd</a>.</div>
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...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-88285460445490370602017-09-08T07:46:00.000-07:002017-09-08T07:46:03.987-07:00School Bus Driver Shortage Solution?<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
News accounts of Wilson County Schools bus driver shortage are not unique; a similar situation can be found all over the <span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">state. No wonder too; driving a school bus is a great responsibility, that is filled with stress, distractions and is prone to criticism.</span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">.<br />The Lap and Shoulder Belt Bill may provide a solution to aid this stubborn problem. The school bus is the only vehicle on the road today for which a lap-shoulder belt is not federally mandated. The argument against school bus lap-shoulder belts wears thin as one considers that across the country there are about 20,000 injuries on school buses each year...a school bus accident locally last week certainly unnerved many. Parents wonder, "Why does my child leave the safety of my car where their car seat or lap-shoulder belt ensures the highest degree of safety, to get onto a school bus without any restraint system at all?<br />.<br />Two weeks ago I observed a simulated but very real school bus accident in Indiana. A big rig was driven into the side of a school bus at 35 mph. The bus was fitted with cameras and other data collection equipment. In the bus, crash dummies were both belted and unbelted. The horrific crash proved "fatal" for some unbelted dummies while the belted remained safely restrained.<br />.<br />A safety supervisor who began phasing in safety belts on all buses in his school district 5 years ago, told me of the benefits of the restraints beyond obvious improved safety. Because the students are buckled, discipline issues have reduced by 90%, and better behavior has considerably reduced driver distraction. Initially, only a few drivers wanted to drive the buses with restraints but as the other drivers saw how much improved the students' behavior was, they began to request buses with lap-shoulder belts. Before long all the drivers wanted safety belts on their buses.<br />.<br />Bullying is now minimal on district school buses. The penalty for bullying is suspension from school, and suspension is often a catalyst for dropping out. In his district, the safety belts have positively affected student retention. Today, not buckling up is now the most common offense. Because the rule is that if they don't buckle they don't ride; parents quickly fix that problem because not riding inconveniences them.<br />.<br />I asked if it was difficult to get the students to buckle up. He said that today, kids expect to wear a lap-shoulder belt so it wasn't hard at all. He added that even parents of kindergartners like the system as the first row or two are reserved for their little ones. A seat quickly converts from a lap-shoulder belt to a 5 point system. Parents get on the bus and buckle their wee one; upon arrival at school, the buckle is quickly released by the child with only 2 lbs of pressure.<br />.<br />Besides overall safety, two of the most important daily effects are that driver satisfaction and retention has greatly improved - which helps avoid shortages - and many parents who had previously driven their children to school, now send their kids</span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;"> on the bus because the bus now has a safer and calmer atmosphere.<br />.<br />Every day we entrust the safety of our community's children to our bus drivers. We count on them to ensure our children get to school and return home to us, each day, safely.<br />.<br />We also know that we need to attract the best, and ensure our best want to stay, by making their jobs less stressful and more rewarding.<br />.<br />The solution to both problems, it turns out, may be the same: let's pass <a href="http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=HB0395&GA=110" target="_blank">House Bill 395</a> so that every student has a safe ride, and every driver has a safe bus.</span></div>
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...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-87001513818002812002017-08-02T12:29:00.001-07:002017-08-02T12:29:05.890-07:00GRANT AWARDED TO MT JULIET<div class="MsoNormal">
Representative Susan Lynn today announced that the city of
Mt. Juliet has received a grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation
to complete the second phase of the Woodridge Place Sidewalks Project.
The grant was submitted by the Mt. Juliet BPAC. In recent months BPAC has
also received the Safe Routes To Schools (SRTS) grant, twi the grants for the
Cedar Creek Greenway projects and a grant to build a guard rail for the Eagle
Park bicycle park for children.<o:p></o:p></div>
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State Representative Susan Lynn further commented “When the
state legislature funds TDOT’s budget it makes grants like this possible.
I am very proud to be supportive of transportation and to be an advocate for
these grants because I know how important these projects are to my constituents’
safety and quality of Life.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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The project will be administered by the city of Mt. Juliet;
the grant funds will enable Mt. Juliet to move ahead with engineering
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...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-53346895958700464812017-08-01T12:50:00.002-07:002017-08-01T12:50:52.191-07:00The State of Education in Tennessee<div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px;">The state has the highest graduation rate in Tennessee history.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px;">The state has the highest average ACT composite in Tennessee history.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px;">More students than ever before are earning postsecondary credits while in high school.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px;">The state has continued to invest more in education, including a $100 million increase for teachers’ salaries and $22 million for English learners.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px;">The department’s Read to be Ready coaching network, which is helping educators to improve how they teach elementary-aged students reading and literacy skills, has expanded to include 200 coaches that serve 83 school districts, ultimately reaching more than 2,500 teachers who teach 44,000 students.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px;">This summer, over 9,000 elementary students who are not on track in reading are being served in statewide Read to be Ready camps across 107 school districts.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px;">The department, along with thousands of education community members across the state, developed a robust plan to transition to the new federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act, and aligned that plan to Tennessee Succeeds. It refines and deepens our work in areas like school improvement, how we support historically underserved student groups like English learners, and well-rounded school accountability.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px;">Through a new Ready Graduate indicator, we have a renewed focus on ensuring all students are truly ready for their next step when they graduate high school, whether that’s through taking early college courses, earning industry credentials, or meeting scoring benchmarks on the ACT or military entrance exam.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px;">Commissioner McQueen has now met with more than 13,000 teachers and visited 770 classrooms in 118 school districts through her Classroom Chronicles tour.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px;">And with the release of new scores from the most recent National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) science tests, Tennessee now ranks in the top half of all states on three key national assessments – a tremendous improvement from just a decade ago, when the state began to think differently about how it approaches education after receiving two “Fs” from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for how students were being prepared.</span></li>
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You can read more about the state of education in Tennessee on the <a href="http://tnclassroomchronicles.org/will-continue-create-opportunities-students-2017-18/" target="_blank">department’s blog</a> and in a <a href="https://tn.gov/assets/entities/education/attachments/Letter-from-Commissioner-McQueen.pdf" target="_blank">letter</a> she is sending to stakeholders this week. The strategic plan update is available on the <a href="https://tn.gov/assets/entities/education/attachments/Tennessee-Succeeds-State-of-Education-2017.pdf" target="_blank">department’s website</a>.</div>
...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-12918284627389900712017-07-31T17:33:00.002-07:002017-07-31T17:33:58.378-07:00TNReady high school scores improve across all subjects in second year of new assessment<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Thousands of additional students now meeting or exceeding course expectations</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">NASHVILLE—Education Commissioner Candice McQueen announced today that Tennessee high school students improved </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">across all </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">subject areas – English, math, science, and U.S. history – on the 2016-17 TNReady end-of-course exams. Thousands of additional students are meeting course expectations compared to last year, and </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">the state reduced the percentage of students scoring at the lowest achievement level across all subject areas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">TNReady is the statewide assessment administered to all students in grades 3-11. It is a more rigorous assessment, compared to past state tests, that is fully aligned to Tennessee’s academic standards, which are based on what students need to know and be able to do each year to ultimately be prepared for college and their careers. In 2015-16, high school students set a new baseline in the first year of TNReady, and as expected, their scores are beginning to increase as teachers and students adjust to higher standards that ensure students are ready for the next step in their academic journey.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">“This growth is encouraging, and it shows our students are capable of reaching the high bar we’ve set with our expectations in Tennessee,” McQueen said. “It’s also promising to see not only overall improvement, but some bright spots in the performance of historically underserved student groups. The results from TNReady shine a light on what’s working and help us to identify where we need to better support students and teachers – so every student in Tennessee reaches his or her fullest potential.”</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">Students show growth in all end-of-course subject areas</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Overall, scores improved in all subject areas and on nearly every end-of-course exam. Students’ scores on TNReady fall into one of four performance categories: <i>below</i>, <i>approaching</i>, <i>on track</i>, or <i>mastered</i>. Those students who score <i>on track</i> or <i>mastered</i> met or exceeded course expectations.</span></div>
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<ul style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<li><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In English, students take three end-of-course exams in high school: English I, II, and III. Results on each exam improved this year, and across all three tests, 34.3% of students performed <i>on track</i> or <i>mastered</i>, a jump from 30.4% in 2015-16. Students had the biggest gains in high school English, with more than 11,000 additional students scoring <i>on track</i> or <i>mastered</i> compared to last year.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px;"><br /></span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<li><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Across all high school math courses, 21.5% of students performed <i>on track</i> or <i>mastered</i>, up slightly from 20.8% last year. Altogether, over </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">4,000 additional students scored <i>on track </i>or <i>mastered </i>on high school math in 2017 compared to 2016.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<li><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In high school math, districts choose one of two tracks: algebra I, geometry, and algebra II <u>or</u> integrated math I, II, and III. Integrated math combines algebra and geometry throughout the three courses.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">On four of the six math exams, the percentage of students who scored <i>on track</i> or <i>mastered</i> improved, and there were slight dips on two tests: algebra II and integrated math II. Notably, the districts participating in these two tests shifted as some districts continue transitioning to integrated math track.</span></span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<li><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">There are two end-of-course exams offered in science: biology and chemistry. Results on both improved. This year, 51.0% of students scored <i>proficient</i> or<i>advanced</i> on the high school science exams – up from 48.9% last year. That means about 4,600 more students were at or above course expectations.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0in;"><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<li><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The science exam has yet to transition to TNReady and includes the performance levels from the old TCAP: <i>below basic, basic, proficient</i>, and<i>advanced</i>. In 2018-19, Tennessee schools will transition to new, more rigorous Tennessee academic standards in science, and that year, students will take a TNReady exam aligned to those higher standards.</span></span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<li><span style="font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In U.S. history, there was also an uptick in the percentage of students who performed <i>on track</i> or <i>mastered</i> – 30.8% in 2017 compared to 29.9% in 2016. That means about 2,800 additional students are now meeting course expectations in U.S. history.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">Student groups show encouraging growth and highlight areas to improve</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This year’s results also show some encouraging performance from Tennessee’s historically underserved student groups. In particular, for end-of-course exams in English, all student groups – students with disabilities, English learners, economically disadvantaged students, and Black/Hispanic/Native American students – improved on TNReady.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In many cases, student groups had fewer students who scored in the lowest performance level, either <i>below </i>or <i>below basic, </i>compared to last year. For example, last year on English I, 33.7% of economically disadvantaged students scored as <i>below</i>, but this year that percentage dropped to 20.7%. Notably, the percent of student with disabilities scoring at the lowest level of achievement decreased in every individual content area and fell by over 19 percentage points in English I. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">And, in a couple of cases, performance gaps narrowed between student groups and all students. On high school science, Black/Hispanic/Native American students outpaced the larger student population, and on high school math, the gap between students with disabilities and all students also narrowed. The progress shown by students with disabilities is particularly encouraging given that there has been an increase in the number of students with disabilities who participate in TNReady over the past two years, since the elimination of the modified TCAP.</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">Transition to online assessments continues</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">For the first time this year, high school students in 24 districts took TNReady online. This was the first year of a three-year transition to online assessments, and in 2017-18, all high school students will take TNReady end-of-course exams online. Additionally, districts will have the option for students in grades 5-8 to take TNReady online in 2017-18 before fully transitioning those students to online assessments in 2018-19.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In consultation with national experts, psychometricians with Questar and the department analyzed the results this year to ensure that scores are comparable regardless of whether the student took TNReady online or on paper.</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">Additional information coming soon</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The release of the statewide end-of-course results starts the cascade of additional TNReady information that will follow over the next few months. Within the coming weeks, school districts will receive their embargoed district-level end-of-course results, as well as TVAAS growth data and their <a href="http://www.tn.gov/education/article/tnready-score-reports" target="_blank">parent and teacher score reports.</a>District-level high school end-of-course results will be released publicly after districts have had a chance to review their data. This fall, the department will finalize the scores and release the results for grades 3-8 at both the state and district level.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">For more information on TNReady and the results, including specific details and additional data about today’s announcement as well as more information on the 2017-18 assessment, please visit the department’s website at </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/ca18974/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/D7Z8Z9HU/tnready.gov" target="_blank">TNReady.gov</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">. For media inquiries, contact Sara Gast at 615-532-6260 or </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="mailto:sara.gast@tn.gov" target="_blank">sara.gast@tn.gov</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">.</span></div>
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...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-91234839285834899782017-07-25T15:51:00.001-07:002017-07-25T15:51:53.127-07:00CHILDREN’S SERVICES EMERGES FROM FEDERAL COURT OVERSIGHT<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">HASLAM, HOMMRICH ANNOUNCE
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN’S SERVICES EMERGES FROM FEDERAL COURT OVERSIGHT<br />
</span></b><i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Judge’s signature
marks more than 16 years of sweeping foster care reform</span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill
Haslam and Commissioner Bonnie Hommrich today announced that after more than 16
years of system-wide reform and a massive turnaround, Tennessee Department of
Children’s Services (DCS) is now free of federal court oversight.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">U.S. District Court Judge Waverly
D. Crenshaw has approved the historic agreement between the state and
Children’s Rights, the New York-based advocacy group that in 2000 filed litigation
known as the Brian A. lawsuit that charged that Tennessee youth in foster care
suffered in an overburdened system, describing children in crowded congregate
care shelters and social workers with overwhelming caseloads. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Tennessee now has a thoroughly
reformed foster care system. The reform comes after years of collaboration with
Children’s Rights and the Technical Assistance Committee, a panel of nationally
recognized child welfare experts that served as the federal court monitor for
the Brian A. consent decree.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">“This is monumental for
Tennessee’s children and the state. After years of intervention, the federal
government is saying that Tennessee is providing service to children in a way
that models what it should look like for the rest of the country,” Haslam said.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">“This stage in our journey
represents the hard work, commitment and innovation it has taken to get here.
So on behalf of our children, families, staff and partners, I can say that
we’re just thrilled and thankful,” Hommrich said. “But the work goes on. We
will always have tough problems before us. At DCS, we promise to bring our full
energy and attention to whatever lies ahead, and we will use the same focus and
dedication that has brought us to this point today.”</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">The reform follows intense work
with a wide range of institutions, including Tennessee’s private provider
network, the state’s leading universities, the University of Chicago’s Chapin
Hall Center for Children, the state’s juvenile courts and the Tennessee General
Assembly.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">DCS achieved its court-required
performance during 2015, and the Brian A. agreement stipulated that Tennessee
maintain that performance throughout 2016.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Highlights
of the department’s reform include:</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Among the nearly 140 foster-care benchmarks DCS achieved
are measures of time to reunification, time to adoption, re-entry into the
foster-care system, length of time in placement, parent-and-child visits
and case-manager caseloads.</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">DCS emphasizes family-style placement for youth in
foster care, in place of institutional settings such as orphanages.</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">DCS has become a national leader in timeliness to
adoption and in implementing a child-and-family teaming model that
encourages birth parents, case managers, care providers and foster
families to work together on behalf of a child.</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">DCS has developed a process that has put the department
on a path to a more professional workforce, with bachelor’s and master’s
degree programs for case managers and supervisors.</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">DCS has built a robust, modern case-management computer
system, TFACTS, that handles everything from case notes, management tools
to billing days. It replaced a patchwork of computer systems that did not
always work together reliably.</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Although not a Brian A. requirement, DCS has achieved
re-accreditation by the Council on Accreditation. Tennessee is one of the
few states in the nation accomplish this.</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tennessee
is the first state in the U.S. to offer independent living services to 100
percent of the youth who age out of foster care. This program is an
outgrowth of pioneering work with private provider Youth Villages.</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Today
there are approximately 7,300 children in Tennessee foster care. The department
is also responsible for the approximately 1,100 youth who comprise the state’s
juvenile-justice population. These youth were not part of the Brian A. suit.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">For more information on the Brian
A. lawsuit, please contact Rob Johnson at <a href="mailto:Rob.Johnson@tn.gov">Rob.Johnson@tn.gov</a>.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">###</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span>...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-5877443608018575392017-07-24T10:56:00.001-07:002017-07-24T10:56:20.628-07:00OREA Publication on the IMPROVE Act<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The state Comptroller has created a publication on the IMPROVE Act through the Office of Research and Education Accountability.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Link: </span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">http://www.comptroller.tn.gov/Repository/RE/OREA%20IMPROVE%20Act_July%202017.pdf </span></span><br />
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...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-63060653591584083152017-07-24T10:53:00.000-07:002017-07-24T10:53:27.304-07:00Historically Low Unemployment in Tennessee <span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The unemployment rate in Wilson County is at an historic low; 2.2% and for the state it is 3.6%. As a member of the Workforce Development Board I am very proud to see these historic numbers. This means that Tennessee will be growing - both in population and capital investment in order to keep up with demand.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-8267457923648986952017-07-16T19:53:00.002-07:002017-07-16T19:53:48.085-07:00Simple Thoughts...<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">This may seem like a weird post but I sort of feel divinely inspired to write these words so here goes. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Until just recently, I never took much time to think about the powerful emotion of shame. Most probably think of shame as a very painful emotion, and if used as a cruelly by someone in order to hurt us shame is very painful. But when shame is experienced in the natural course of events either through our own conscience or due to instructive words from someone who genuinely cares for us or due to just ordinary conversation, it is a very constructive emotion if we allow ourselves to experience it, to learn and to grow because of it. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Shame helps us to understand when we have done something wrong or to realize that we want to improve ourselves. It helps us to correct our own behavior and actions, to strive harder, and to seek beneficial changes. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">As Christians, shame should lead us to pray to our heavenly Father for forgiveness, to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and to show us how to make changes in ourselves so that we can function better in our lives and relationships. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Some people are very shame-adverse. Unfortunately, being shame-adverse keeps children and adults from growing and from maturing to healthy relationships. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Psychologists say that people who have an aversion to feeling shame will do several frustrating things to avoid the pain of ever feeling this emotion. They can become very easily offended by what we consider to be normal conversation. They will blame-shift – that is they will immediately point out something we do wrong as if this makes any difference to the subject at hand. They will fog – which is to claim that they don’t remember the event or claim that it didn’t happen as we know it did. They will also keep mental lists which they quickly pull out in order to attempt to hurt us back by reciting our warts and faults which can be confusing, hurtful or irritating because all along we didn't realize the conversation caused them to feel shame and thus was painful to them. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The problem is, young or old, we all need to feel shame from time to time and to examine it. It is a tool to help us seek ways to make constructive changes in ourselves in order to achieve personal growth, and to develop integrity, healthy relationships and a clear conscience. Shame, when not used as a cruelty, is a very constructive emotion which helps us grow and mature. By diving in and fully allowing ourselves to feel shame we can know to pray and seek guidance. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I know that this is sort of weird post but due to some of my reading lately I felt strangely moved to write about this emotion – maybe I was divinely inspired to write these words for someone and they will help them and I will never know…I hope so. Or maybe I need to do some praying for me </span><span class="_47e3 _5mfr" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle;" title="smile emoticon"><img alt="" class="img" height="16" role="presentation" src="https://www.facebook.com/images/emoji.php/v9/fa5/1.5/16/1f642.png" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: -3px;" width="16" /><span aria-hidden="true" class="_7oe" style="display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0px; width: 0px;">:-)</span></span>...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-6361150259699155422017-06-28T11:14:00.001-07:002017-06-28T11:14:11.498-07:00Speaker Harwell Communication on Proposed Metro Ordinances<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="10vp5" data-offset-key="83s5k-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #4b4f56; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span data-offset-key="83s5k-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Speaker Beth Harwell has just shared developing news with members regarding Metro's attempt to create a sanctuary city. The Speaker included the legal opinion which clearly says that the Metro Council's ordinance, if passed, cannot affect the Sheriff's duties - read it here; https://tinyurl.com/yawddqyx </span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="6uusg-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Many of you are concerned about Metro Nashville’s proposed ordinance concerning immigration enforcement, and I want to share an update with you. Since last week, I have been talking to Metro Sheriff Daron Hall and Metro Council members opposed to the measure. At their request, Senator Tracy and I requested an Attorney General’s opinion.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="fftco-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Today, I am pleased that Metro Legal Director Jon Cooper released an opinion stating that the ordinance is not enforceable. I have attached a copy of the opinion for your review.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="5d97p-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">The Tennessean’s story on this development is online at: http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2017/06/27/nashville-immigration-ordinance-not-enforceable-metro-attorney-says/431407001/</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="82g8q-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">It includes my comments:</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="b55a1-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">I strongly concur with Metro’s legal director, Jon Cooper. Sheriff Daron Hall’s powers cannot be restricted by the Metro Council. The sheriff is a state constitutional officer, and his duties are prescribed by the General Assembly. Our local, state, and federal law enforcement officials must be able to work together to keep our children, families, and communities safe, and I will make sure they have the power to do that.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="f60q8-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">I will keep you posted on this issue. Thank you for working together to address this issue.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="a3205-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Beth</span></div>
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...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-1349850568070666292017-06-27T13:18:00.003-07:002017-06-28T09:48:13.420-07:00Lynn Calls Out Pettiness of Opponent<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
I don't generally acknowledge the pettiness of opponents however today I probably need to say something.</div>
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My opponent sent a press release to the fake newspaper the Tennessee Star today condemning me for not signing on to a group press release by some legislators that condemned the Metro Council for their attempt to turn Nashville into a sanctuary city.<br />
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However, Rep. Kevin Brooks and I issued much stronger press release of our own on Monday strongly condemning Metro's attemp<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">t to create a sanctuary city; <a href="https://tinyurl.com/ybdpo6gw" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/ybdpo6gw</a><br />.<br /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">The reason Rep. Kevin Brooks and I didn't sign-on to the group press release is because it wasn't very strong - for instance, they wrote "We implore you..." in the letter to the Metro Council. Well to implore is "to beg" or "to plead". Rep. Brooks and I felt that it is totally inappropriate for state legislators to beg the Metro Council not to pass the ordinances. We requested edits to change this wording yesterday morning to make the press release stronger but were turned down.</span><br />.<br />Request for edits <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y8evpwe3" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/y8evpwe3</a><br />Request turned down <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y7ytldg8" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/y7ytldg8</a><br />.<br />Rep Brooks noticed this morning that the Star wrote about the other legislators press release but not ours. His sixth sense felt that we should notify the Star of our press release which went out earlier than the group press release so he telephoned me. I agreed and we notified the Star this morning, and asked to be included in their article. <span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , "geneva" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">https://tinyurl.com/ydcag354</span>. However, so far we have been ignored.<br />.<br />Now the fake news Star has published an attempt by my opponent to zing me which he submitted to the Star some time today - he mistakenly calls me out for not standing up against Metro.<br /> .<br />My father's wise words come to mind regarding my opponent's petty actions; my father always said "If you are going to say something publicly, you had better be right!"<br /> .<br />Opponent - do your homework first.</span></div>
...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-36543894560599200772017-06-27T12:58:00.002-07:002017-06-27T18:58:53.599-07:00Email to Fake News at 8:30 am<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpW-j_QFa9FEsNWEVPx1CljyJOfudvJYc-x9spiSlglyFH8pMygGWGSdafecNT5jG8kXsZXbycWSoW2YZ6XDfQPzQ848Blp_ecW6_kblLCHsjKRFs47OEfcDjjFB7uu9OFimj5/s1600/tn+star.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="1600" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpW-j_QFa9FEsNWEVPx1CljyJOfudvJYc-x9spiSlglyFH8pMygGWGSdafecNT5jG8kXsZXbycWSoW2YZ6XDfQPzQ848Blp_ecW6_kblLCHsjKRFs47OEfcDjjFB7uu9OFimj5/s640/tn+star.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-30162299508766089182017-06-27T12:50:00.001-07:002017-06-27T13:23:22.819-07:00Email Where Rep. Brooks and my Edits Were Turned Down<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Email Where Rep. Brooks and my Edits Were Turned Down</div>
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So we issued our own press release opposing the metro Sanctuary city ordinances</div>
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<br />...http://www.blogger.com/profile/02992405281123081451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26975600.post-30298754410595319542017-06-27T12:37:00.001-07:002017-06-27T13:24:02.320-07:00Requested Edits to Matheny/Butt Press Release<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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FULL TEXT OF MY EMAIL REQUESTING TO MAKE THE PRESS RELEASE STRONGER<br />
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Dear Jan,</div>
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I would like to request a couple of changes and the correction of a typo. </div>
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I personally do not like the use of the word "implore" at the end of this resolution, and I request that it be changed in order to strengthen the last line. The word implore means to beg, to plead or to pray. I feel that the word implore is inappropriate for this letter. </div>
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I propose to strengthen the last sentence to say something like; </div>
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In conclusion, as members of the 110th General Assembly, we are writing to make you aware that if enacted, these resolutions are in clear violation of state law. Further, state law grants citizens legal recourse against Nashville. Finally, the Counsel can be assured that we, the co-signing members of the 110th Tennessee General Assembly, will take this matter up in the next half of the 110th General Assembly with the intent to strengthen the law. </blockquote>
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Also, there is a typo - "the proposed Resolutions are in violations" it should read "in violation" </div>
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I will never forget the Wilson's, a couple from Mt. Juliet who was killed by an illegal alien with 14 priors. In order to give a relevant example from Tennessee I offer the paragraph below.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">On June 8, 2006, Gustavo Reyes Garcia an illegal alien who had fourteen previous arrests, including four DUIs, slammed his SUV into a sedan driven by Sean and Donna Wilson of Mt. Juliet, Tenn., killing them both. At the time of the accident Mr. Wilson was driving Mrs. Wilson to her chemotherapy appointment. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This tragedy was the catalyst to finally end the issuance of drivers licenses to illegal aliens in Tennessee. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
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Thank you everyone,</div>
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Susan Lynn</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><b>From:</b> Jan Kirk Wright<br /><b>Sent:</b> Monday, June 26, 2017 8:53 AM<br /><b>To:</b> Andrew Farmer; Andy Holt; Art Swann; Barry Doss; Beth Harwell; Bill Dunn; Bill Sanderson; Bob Ramsey; Bryan Terry; Bud Hulsey; Cameron Sexton; Charles Sargent; Courtney Rogers; Curtis Halford; Curtis Johnson; Dale Carr; Dan Howell; David Alexander; David Byrd; David Hawk; Dawn White; Debra Moody; Dennis Powers; Eddie Smith; Gary Hicks; Gerald McCormick; Glen Casada; Harry Brooks; Jason Zachary; Jay D. Reedy; Jeremy Faison; Jerry Sexton; Jim Coley; Jimmy Eldridge; Jimmy Matlock; John B. Holsclaw, Jr.; John Crawford; John Forgety; John Ragan; Judd Matheny; Kelly Keisling; Kent Calfee; Kevin Brooks; Marc Gravitt; Mark Pody; Mark White; Martin Daniel; Mary Littleton; Matthew Hill; Micah Van Huss; Michael Curcio; Mike Carter; Mike Sparks; Pat Marsh; Paul Sherrell; Rick Tillis; Roger Kane; Ron Gant; Ron Lollar; Ron Travis; Ryan Williams; Sabi Kumar; Sam Whitson; Sheila Butt; Steve McDaniel; Susan Lynn; Terri Lynn Weaver; Tilman Goins; Tim Rudd; Tim Wirgau; Timothy Hill; William Lamberth; Rick Tillis; Kevin Vaughan<br /><b>Subject:</b> Urgent Sanctuary Press Release- we need you</span><br />
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Good Morning Colleagues,<br />
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Representatives Judd Matheny, Bryan Terry and I have drafted this Press Release and currently have 23 Members committed to being named in this press release as supporters. If you want to be named in this press release (see attached) then my assistant Jan must have your signature stating you want to be named by <b>3.30 pm</b> this afternoon.<br />
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We hope you will all read this press release and take the opportunity to join with us in alerting citizens and informing Metro and Davidson County that the General Assembly has no intention of allowing Nashville to become a Sanctuary City. It is our duty to protect our citizens and our state.<br />
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Please add your signature through your office by (today) <b>Monday 3.30 pm</b> and the press release will go out immediately following. Again, your signature will not be in the press release, this just allows us to use your name in the press release. <br />
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Thank you so much. It is an honor serving with you.<br />
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My Best, Sheila Butt<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;">House of Representatives</span></b><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 18pt;">State of Tennessee</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 26, 2017</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Representative Judd <a href="mailto:Matheny-rep.judd.matheny@capitol.tn.gov" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext;">Matheny-rep.judd.matheny@capitol.tn.gov</span></a> (615-741-7448)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Representative Sheila Butt- <a href="mailto:rep.sheila.butt@capitol.tn.gov" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext;">rep.sheila.butt@capitol.tn.gov</span></a> (615-741-3005)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Representative Bryan Terry- <a href="mailto:rep.bryan.terry@capitol.tn.gov" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext;">rep.bryan.terry@capitol.tn.gov</span></a> (615-741-2180)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 19pt; line-height: 29.1333px;">Republican Lawmakers Call For Metro Council Not To Enact Sanctuary City Ordinances</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext;">(NASHVILLE) — </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">With the Second Reading of the Ordinances filed by Metro Councilmen Bob Mendes and Colby Sledge having passed and a vote pending from the Metro Council, we are compelled to make public the intent and purposes of this Ordinance and to make it known that as Representatives of the State of Tennessee, we soundly object to their their passage. Tennessee is currently being represented by the Thomas More Law Center in a lawsuit questioning the ongoing practice of settling refugees in Tennessee through various non-governmental organizations without the proper vetting, channels or protocol being followed.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">The Ordinances would formally put policies in place that would officially make Nashville a Sanctuary City.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">In essence, the Ordinances would:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">1)<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">Prohibit Metro Nashville employees from inquiring into anyone's immigration status, effectively enabling illegal aliens to access public benefits they would otherwise be barred from using. This practice is not in line with State and Federal law and would a huge financial strain on our public benefit services and budgets.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">2) Prohibit Metro Council from continuing a contractual arrangement with the U.S. Marshals Service that enables the Davidson County jail to detain illegal criminal aliens for ICE pick-up, and would "require Metro to exercise its rights to terminate the contract, and negotiate new terms subject to Council approval." The Council could decide not to renew any contract that allows for compliance with ICE detainers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">While other states list crimes (generally those with acts of violence involving a weapon, anything involving terror, or any major drug offenses to name a few) that trigger cooperation with ICE detainers leading to deportation, the Metro Ordinance of Mendes would allow illegal immigrants who commit all types of crimes, without exception, to be released back into our communities instead of facing possible deportation by ICE.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">Tennessee Code Annotated Section 7-68-103 states:</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">(a) A local governmental entity or official shall not adopt any</span><span style="background: white; color: #1f497d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">ordinance or written policy that expressly prohibits a local governmental entity, official, or employee from complying with applicable federal law pertaining to persons that reside within the state illegally.</span><span style="background: white; color: #1f497d; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">(b) An official shall not materially interfere with the ability of a local governmental entity, official or employee of a municipality or a county to comply with applicable federal law pertaining to persons that reside within the state illegally.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">These proposed ordinances would be a clear violation of Tennessee law and it is our intent as legislators to protect the safety of all Tennesseans to the greatest extent. After the murder of Kate Steinle in California by an illegal immigrant who had already been convicted of seven felonies and deported five times, we should be actively encouraging our law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities involving illegal aliens who commit crimes.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">The proposed Ordinances are violations of current law and place Tennesseans at risk. The citizens of Nashville and Metro Davidson County should contact their Councilmen immediately and request that their respective Representatives vote NO on these two Ordinances. The passage of these ordinances may empower additional liberal enclaves to follow suit. It is important for Tennessee to take the lead in solving this issue now.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">It is entrusted to the General Assembly to keep the citizens of our state safe, keep Tennessee financially sound, and to enact laws that will accomplish that end. We will not hesitate to act if these Ordinances should pass.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt;">The following members of the TN General Assembly implore you NOT to not pass this ordinance, (23 members have added signatures to this press release)______________________________________________________________________</span></div>
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