(NASHVILLE) March 2, 2023 — Legislation to modernize Tennessee’s infrastructure and address traffic congestion, prolonged project delivery timelines, and the deteriorating revenue stream for road funding advanced in the Senate Transportation and Safety Committee this week. Senate Bill 273, dubbed the Transportation Modernization Act of 2023, is one of Governor Lee’s key legislative proposals this year, and seeks to address a $26 billion backlog of congestion-related needs. The measure is sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) and is being guided through the Senate by Transportation and Safety Committee Chair Becky Massey (R-Knoxville).
“When it comes to transportation and mobility in Tennessee, we are at a critical juncture,” said Massey. “We are fortunate to live in a state with so much going for us – a direct result of our sound economic policies, high quality of life, and ranking as one of the lowest taxed states in the country. While this yields economic opportunity, it also presents challenges in our ability to move people, goods, and services more seamlessly across our state. Our position as a critical artery of commerce necessitates our focus to ensure freight, visitors and citizens get where they need to be on time. We need to have the courage to make tough decisions to adequately fund the needs of both our current citizens and our future generations. The Transportation Modernization Act addresses these needs while maintaining Tennessee’s fiscally responsible management of state funds.”
This major legislation issues no new taxes, no road debt and ensures that funds are proportionally allocated to urban and rural areas of the state.
“Tennessee is a pay-as-you-go state, meaning we don’t borrow money to build our roads,” said Johnson. “And I am very proud of that. We’re one of only a handful that doesn’t have any road debt, and we need to keep it that way. This proposal does that. It is an innovative, fiscally conservative approach to solving our road and traffic congestion problems that will serve all Tennesseans across the state.”
Choice Lanes
The legislation would allow the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) to form partnerships with private entities to create choice lanes to address congestion. Choice Lanes allow drivers to decide whether to use the existing free lanes or pay an additional user fee to enter the new lanes for a guaranteed minimum speed. No fee would be charged to use the general purpose lanes and the number of general purpose lanes would not be reduced.
Choice lanes provide additional capacity in heavily congested corridors, benefiting those who use the choice lanes as well as those who decide to remain in the general purpose lanes. In the free, general purpose lanes, data has shown in other states their traffic is reduced by about 30%.
Alternative Delivery Model
The legislation expands TDOT’s ability to use alternative delivery contracting, which has been proven to save time and money when used for the right projects. The move would put TDOT in a strong position to optimize the delivery of increasingly complex infrastructure solutions. TDOT’s alternative delivery program has saved $22 million in costs and resulted in 70% faster delivery compared to the traditional delivery model.
Electric Vehicle Parity
Additionally, the legislation addresses the eroding effect that the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid vehicles will have on the state’s gas tax collection as their adoption increases. It establishes parity between what the drivers of combustible engine vehicles and their EV and hybrid counterparts pay in gas taxes by increasing the registration fee for EVs to $200 for the first three years following passage and $274 by 2026. For hybrid vehicles, a $100 fee would be set immediately following passage.
Transportation Modernization Fund
This bill establishes the Transportation Modernization Fund and invests $3.3 billion to fund critical infrastructure projects in rural and urban areas of TN. Each of TDOT’s four regions would receive $750,000,000, while the State Aid Program, which provides funds to counties for local transportation projects, would receive $300 million. At the current rate of investment of $29 million per year, it would take 15 years to allocate $300 million to the State Aid Program.
“It is estimated that our congestion costs Tennessee road users $800 million in lost productivity each year,” added Massey. “By passing this bill, we are telling Tennesseans and our visitors that we recognize their time is valuable and we are willing to do something about it.”
Legislation to protect children set to become law – On Thursday, Governor Bill Lee signed legislation into law to protect Tennessee children from exposure to sexually explicit performances. Senate Bill 3, sponsored by Leader Johnson, restricts adult cabaret performances which are sexually explicit from being performed on public or private property if kids could be around to see it. The law will go into effect on April 1, 2023. Senate Bill 1 was also signed by Gov. Lee on Thursday to protect children from irreversible and harmful hormonal treatment or surgical procedures to change a child’s gender identity. This law, also sponsored by Johnson, is set to go into effect July 1, 2023.
Prohibiting Tennessee tax dollars from going towards abortion – Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee passed legislation that would prevent any city, county or metropolitan government from using taxpayer dollars to directly or indirectly assist with obtaining an abortion. Under Senate Bill 600, sponsored by Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald), the prohibition would include spending taxpayer funds as part of a health benefit plan or for travel to a state where abortion is legal. Hensley says it is inappropriate to use taxpayer funds to transport a pregnant woman across state lines for an abortion.
The Tennessee Constitution gives the State of Tennessee authority over local government bodies and allows the state to preempt a local government as long as it does not violate a right guaranteed by the State Constitution.
Improving the Juvenile Justice System – The Senate Judiciary Committee this week advanced two legislative recommendations from the Joint Ad Hoc Committee on Juvenile Justice, which met throughout 2022 to conduct an exhaustive study of the state’s juvenile justice system. State Sen. Page Walley (R-Savannah) co-chaired the ad hoc committee and is sponsoring Senate Bill 610 which seeks to give juvenile court judges a full picture of a juvenile’s record. It allows district attorneys general to request the release of information from the Department of Children’s Services, and those DAs can present the information to Juvenile Court judges. Currently, juvenile records such as programs and services received, adjudications, and what has been successful and unsuccessful do not follow juveniles to different jurisdictions across the state. This change would help judges make more informed decisions about youth who will be treated at the Wilder Youth Development Center but are from another county in the state.
Another bill co-sponsored by Walley, Senate Bill 616, would provide a stronger clinical mental health presence at youth development centers by requiring 24/7 access to psychological and behavioral health treatment services for children who are placed in juvenile detention facilities and youth development centers.
Reflecting Tennessee’s Volunteer Spirit in State Motto – The Senate State and Local Government Committee advanced Senate Bill 810, sponsored by Sen. Page Walley (R-Savannah) to add “Send Me” to the State’s official motto of “Agriculture and Commerce” which has been on the seal of Tennessee since 1801. Adding this to the Volunteer State’s motto, would reflect the well-known volunteer spirit of Tennesseans.
Protecting against unwanted surveillance / drones – The Senate State and Local Government Committee advanced legislation this week that prohibits local law enforcement agencies from purchasing drones from corporations or entities which are banned under the National Defense Act of 2019. Senate Bill 776, sponsored by Senator John Stevens (R-Huntington), aims to protect Tennesseans from surveillance by the Chinese Communist Party and other foreign actors.
Cracking down on TikTok use at Tennessee college campuses – The Senate gave final approval to legislation to prohibit the Chinese-owned social media platforms TikTok and WeChat from being accessed on Tennessee public higher education institutions’ internet networks. Senate Bill 834 is sponsored by Education Chairman Jon Lundberg (R-Bristol), a former Captain in the United States Navy who says these platforms pose serious national security risks to the United States. The State of Tennessee and the Federal government have taken similar steps to mitigate the security risks of TikTok by prohibiting government internet networks and devices from supporting the social media app.
Correcting injustices for surviving spouses – Senator Page Walley (R-Savannah) presented Senate Bill 97 to the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee this week. The bill expands death benefits for surviving spouses and dependents of individuals killed in workplace accidents. Two women, widows affected by workplace deaths, spoke on how the bill would help families who receive death benefits. In addition to the increased payments, the bill also allows for benefits to continue to dependents if a surviving spouse remarries. Senate Bill 97 was unanimously approved and advances to the Senate floor.
Vehicle Immobilization Devices – The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee unanimously approved legislation this week to establish statewide standards to protect consumers from unscrupulous practices of booting vehicles. Under current law, companies which place vehicle immobilization devices or “boots” on illegally parked vehicles can be regulated by local government authorities, but there is no statewide regulatory standard. Senate Bill 649, sponsored by Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin), clarifies that companies must remove the vehicle immobilization device, or “boot,” when the owner of the vehicle pays the company; if there is a problem with the payment, the company must issue a notice and take the boot off immediately. It also caps the boot removal fee at $75 a day. This bill only applies to private parking lots and clarifies that employees cannot earn commission or be contracted to remove or install boots. It allows the Attorney General to prosecute violations of this measure through the Consumer Protection Act.
Expanding Medical Assistants Responsibilities – Two years ago, the General Assembly passed legislation that allowed medical assistants working in outpatient clinics to perform certain tasks. Senate Bill 679, sponsored by Senator Shane Reeves (R-Murfreesboro), identifies several other practices that certified medical assistants can perform including: preparing medications to be given by a medical provider, giving rectal medications, and giving vaccines from multi dose packaging. The legislation also specifies that medical assistants cannot give medication or vaccinations that require a dosage calculation.
Rural Schools Innovation Act – Senator Ken Yager (R-Kingston) sponsored Senate Bill 999 which advanced out of the Senate Education Committee this week. The Rural Schools Innovation Act creates a two year pilot program in which at least two rural school districts would partner together to expand access to high-quality, robust college and career pathways. It allows students in one school district to take advantage of Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes at another school district. This bill will allow school districts to focus their funding in their already exceptional CTE programs while still providing their students opportunities to take more and varied classes. The legislation now advances to the Finance, Ways, and Means committee.