Weekly Wrap: The first half of the 109th General Assembly will start differently than most years, as lawmakers will be heading into an Extraordinary Session on February 2nd to begin debate on Governor Haslam’s Insure Tennessee proposal, a two year pilot program unveiled earlier this year with the goal of providing healthcare and Medicaid coverage to Tennesseans who currently do not have access to health insurance or have limited options. After choosing not to expand traditional Medicaid two years ago, Governor Haslam believes his new proposal forges a different path and is a unique Tennessee solution to providing healthcare coverage for low-income Tennesseans. This year’s Extraordinary Session will be the 58th Extraordinary Session in the history of the state. The most recent Extraordinary Session prior to this year was in January 2010, which focused on education reform. Of the 57 Extraordinary Sessions in the state’s history, five were called by Governor John Sevier, the State’s first Governor, and 31 were called before the year 1900. In addition, 55 of the 57 Sessions were called by the Governor as provided in Article III, Section 9, of the Constitution of the State of Tennessee, while two were called by the Legislature as provided in Article II, Section 8. The Extraordinary Sessions of 1971, 1982, and 1996 each lasted only one day; the Second Extraordinary Session of 1890, the Extraordinary Session of 1936, and the Extraordinary Session of 1944 each lasted four calendar days. The Second Extraordinary Session of 1866 lasted from November 5, 1866 until March 11, 1867 and is the longest in state history. The 2015 Extraordinary Session is expected to last around a week or two. Tennessee Named Announce 2014 State Of The Year Last week, Business Facilities magazine, a leading national publication focused on economic development, officially named Tennessee its State of the Year for the second year in a row. With this award, Tennessee becomes the first state in the award’s history to win back-to-back honors for economic development efforts and the first state to win the designation three times—in 2009, 2013, and 2014. While politicians in Washington and around the country continue policies of reckless spending and partisan bickering, lawmakers in Tennessee have proudly passed state budgets that exercise fiscal restraint, save money for the future, cut taxes for all Tennesseans, and fully-fund our state’s educational priorities. Some of Tennessee’s top economic development projects in 2014 included Volkswagen Group of America’s Chattanooga expansion creating 2,000 jobs with an investment of $600 million, Under Armour’s new Mt. Juliet fulfillment center creating 1,500 jobs and an investment of more than $100 million, SL Tennessee’s Clinton expansion creating 1,000 jobs and with an $80.5 investment, and Conduit Global’s new Memphis call center creating 1,000 jobs with an $8 million investment. Tennessee has rapidly climbed the ladder over the last three years as one of the overall best-managed states in the nation. Coupled with the fact that Tennessee is one of only a handful of states with a higher bond rating than that of the federal government — a major indicator that showcases our state’s stable fiscal environment — it is easy to see why so many are looking to us for economic guidance. For more information on the State of the Year competition, visit BusinessFacilities. Following the inauguration of Governor Bill Haslam on Saturday, House Speaker Beth Harwell announced committee appointments for the 109th General Assembly. I have been placed on the following committees: Vice-Chair, House Finance, Ways and Means Committee Member, House Transportation Committee Member, House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee Member, Joint Pensions and Insurance Committee capitol.tn.gov/
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 19:05:41 +0000
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