Budget Discussion Begins On House Floor
This week in Nashville, lawmakers began discussion and debate regarding the state’s annual budget amongst the full legislative body on the House floor.
As originally proposed, the $37 billion budget cuts taxes, puts $132 million in the state’s Rainy Day Fund, fully funds Tennessee’s educational system, and focuses in on job recruitment and infrastructure investments. For a second year in a row, and the second year in Tennessee recorded history, the proposed state budget does not take on any new debt.
When Republicans became the General Assembly’s majority party in 2010, Tennesseans asked for fiscal responsibility to be a priority looking forward. The proposed 2017-2018 budget holds true to that principle while ensuring Tennesseans get the services they expect from state government.
As other states are mired in partisan gridlock and out-of-control spending, Republicans in Tennessee have made responsible decisions that will continue to ensure the state is positioned to be a top leader in the country on jobs. Since January of 2011, over 265,000 new private sector jobs have been created in Tennessee. Additionally this year, Tennessee remains the lowest debt and lowest taxed state in the entire nation.
House members are expected to continue budget discussions into next week.
House Republicans Team Up With Traveling Sports Physicians To Improve Care And Limit Opioid Use
This week, lawmakers passed legislation that permits traveling team physicians to practice sports medicine in Tennessee under guidelines established by the state.
House Bill 952, known as the Visiting Sports Team Act, was initiated by the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine. It allows traveling team physicians at the collegiate, amateur, and professional level to use their existing medical licenses to treat athletes, coaches, and team staff who are 18 years of age or older.
The Visiting Sports Team Act also limits the distribution of controlled substances — including opioids — as part of a team physician’s method of treatment. Under the law, physicians are required to report information related to the dispensing of a controlled substance to both Tennessee’s controlled substance database, as well as the controlled substance database in the state where the physician is licensed.
Supporters of the bill agree the legislation is long overdue and will ensure that visiting athletes and coaches receive the treatment they need in order to perform at the highest level while also helping to curb the over-prescribing of opioids and other controlled substances.
Tennessee continues to be one of the worst states in the nation for opioid abuse. Currently, an estimated 69,100 Tennesseans are addicted to prescription opioids and require treatment for prescription opioid abuse. Additionally, 151,900 Tennesseans are using prescription opioids in ways that could be harmful and may benefit from early intervention strategies.
House Republicans Support Legislation Designed To Assist Gatlinburg Fire Victims With Cleanup Efforts
House lawmakers unanimously approved legislation this week to provide additional assistance to Gatlinburg fire victims during ongoing cleanup and recovery efforts.
House Bill 1166 grants county highway departments access to private property, at the request of the property owners, in order to assist with debris removal following last November’s wildfires. The legislation also allows for reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for cleanup costs once the work has been completed.
The passage of House Bill 1166 follows additional efforts by House Republicans to assist those impacted by the Sevier County wildfires: earlier this year, lawmakers passed legislation to prorate the 2016 tax assessment for a homeowner’s real property or a business owner’s personal property if it sustained damage from the FEMA certified disaster area last year. This bill was modeled after similar legislation that granted tax relief to victims of the 2010 floods in Nashville.
Last November, more than 17,000 acres burned in the Sevier County area. In Gatlinburg alone, 2,460 structures were damaged or destroyed, and 14 deaths were attributed to the fire. The Gatlinburg wildfires caused more than $500 million in damages; cleanup and recovery efforts continue several months later.
The full text of House Bill 1166 can be accessed by visiting the Tennessee General Assembly website at: http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/110/Bill/HB1166.pdf
Thirty-Five Years Ago This Week, 1982 World’s Fair Opens In Knoxville
Thirty-five years ago this week, the 1982 World’s Fair opened in Knoxville. At the time, Ronald Reagan was President, a postage stamp cost just twenty cents, and E.T. was the number one movie at theaters.
Officially known as the “Knoxville International Energy Exposition,” this was the second World’s Fair held in Tennessee, following the Tennessee Centennial Exposition of 1897, which was held in Nashville.
The 1982 World’s Fair led to a unique event in Tennessee history: On May 12, 1982, the 92nd General Assembly convened in an Extraordinary Session (EOS), having already adjourned a week earlier on May 6. This was the 49th Extraordinary Session in the history of the state, and only the second EOS called by legislative petition instead of governor’s proclamation.
This Extraordinary Session, though, convened in Knoxville, not Nashville, to celebrate the World’s Fair, making it the only EOS in the history of Tennessee to not convene in the capital city of the state.
The only other meeting of the General Assembly in any city other than Nashville was on July 6, 1974, when the General Assembly met in Jonesborough for one day. However, this was the last legislative day of the Regular Session, not an Extraordinary Session. The 88th General Assembly recessed on April 25 and re-convened in Jonesborough on July 6 to celebrate Jonesborough Days before officially adjourning for the year.
The Knoxville International Energy Exposition, or the 1982 World’s Fair, lasted from May 1 until October 31.