“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
The date for filing new bills for the 2020 session closed last Wednesday. There are 2,901 bills filed for this year compared with 2,727 last year. I believe that we normally pass about 500 bills per year. As you can see, there are many new ideas and changes introduced, but only about 15-20% pass and become laws.
I typically start out a legislative session with around 15 bills, which is the maximum a House member can have. As the bills move along, we sometimes find out that the legislation is not needed because an identical bill or the specific Department enacts a procedure that corrects the problem. I would guess that 20-30% of our yearly bills are submitted to eliminate outdated or unnecessary rules and regulations that are on the books. Some bills to add new laws-some bills to drop old laws.
Almost all of our committees are now meeting weekly and we are closely studying the bills going through the House. There are a few things I thought you would find especially interesting. The Holly Bobo Act was introduced this week. HB 2308 would expand our current emergency alert system to include missing or endangered young adults under 21 years of age. This not only extends the TBI’s current program for children and senior citizens, but it adds the system to our Tennessee Code.
The House is continuing our work on cutting taxes. Over the last nine years, we’ve seen more than $645 million in tax cuts. We introduced HB 2301 this week to begin the process of reducing the corporate tax on businesses from 6.5% to 6%. In the event of an economic downturn, the bill has built-in safety mechanisms based on state revenue collection. Our current corporate tax assessment is one of the highest in the entire southeastern region. Reducing this tax will provide additional revenue so these businesses can reinvest by expanding operations and creating new job opportunities.
We are also working to address the issues many people across the state have been experiencing at the DMV while trying to get their REAL ID due to high demand and limited staff. The Governor has proposed adding 80 additional positions and increasing funding to help reduce wait times. As a reminder, all Tennesseans must have their REAL ID (or a valid passport) by October 1, 2020 for access to all federal buildings, entrance to nuclear facilities, and travel onboard domestic US flights. This federal measure was passed in 2005 to make sure every state was in compliance with the updated minimum federal security standards that were needed following 9-11.
Another huge item of interest is a new program from the Department of Labor & Workforce Development called ApprenticeshipTN. The goal is to raise awareness of the benefits of Registered Apprenticeships. ApprenticeshipTN.com provides information about these programs in our area. It details all the information needed to explore the process and find out how to become involved. In addition, they are holding an Apprenticeship Q&A, moderated by the Apprenticeship TN Director Tyra Copas on February 19th, 9:30am at TCAT Shelbyville. All businesses are encouraged to attend and should contact Shannon Long at 931-581-4850 or [email protected] for more information. This new initiative is another way we are trying to make Tennessee the top state in the nation to work and do business.
We had several groups stop by from the District to let me know what’s happening in their industry and associations. On Tuesday, Ted Cox, Brett Young, and Chris Cox from Bedford County Emergency Medical Service came to the office to fill me in on their funding request for this year’s budget. Then on Wednesday, our District Attorney General Rob Carter stopped by for a visit. We later had the opportunity to continue our talk at their evening reception. DA Carter is doing a great job and has been very helpful to me in my state representative job.
Also on Wednesday night, the TN Bankers Association had a big reception and I got to see Tommy Anderton, of Shelbyville, who is now President of Citizens Bank. I visited with Scott Cocanougher with Bedford County’s First Community Bank where he serves as chairman of the bank. Scott had most of the board of directors with him and we had a wonderful dinner after the reception.
On Thursday after Session, I went to a big event in College Grove that our very own Jim Tracy helped put together. The US Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, was there to help announce a $40 million ReConnect Grant for rural broadband from the USDA. Middle Tennessee is going to benefit tremendously from this money. In conjunction with matching funds from United Communications, the Petersburg area of Northern Lincoln County will receive a total of $1 million dollars to go towards providing broadband internet services for this underserved area. The plan is to continue to expand service even further in the future. I left this event feeling very optimistic and I’m looking forward to seeing this all take place.
I’m excited to say I’ve decided to run for re-election. I’ve already filed the necessary paperwork with the Bedford and Lincoln County Election Commissions and I look forward to being on the ballot again this fall. I appreciate all your support and hope to be able to continue to serve District 62 for another 2 years. If you are ever in the Nashville area, please feel free to stop by my office in the Cordell Hull Building, Suite 676. You can also reach me at (615) 741-6824 or by email at r[email protected].
