(NASHVILLE) February 3, 2023 – This week, Senate committees voted on legislation and continued to hear reports from various agencies and organizations. Legislation passed committees to protect children from irreversible medical procedures to change their gender identity and inappropriate sexual performances. To help provide better care to children in state custody, Senators announced over fifteen bills aimed at improvements to DCS and adoption and foster care services. The Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA), a major education funding reform passed in 2022, is one step closer to being implemented in the 2023/2024 school year after the Joint Government Operations Committee gave a positive recommendation to the new TISA rules. In the Senate Health Committee, TennCare provided a report on their plan to phase out expiring federal funding from the pandemic and resume its income verification process. More information can be found on these issues and other Senate news in this week’s wrap-up.

Next week, Governor Lee will make his 2023 State of the State address on Monday, February 6 in a joint session of the General Assembly, where he will unveil his 2023 budget proposal.

Health Committee advanced legislation prohibiting irreversible medical procedures to change gender identity of child

Legislation that would prohibit minors from undergoing irreversible and harmful medical procedures to change their gender identity is one step closer to becoming law. Senate Bill 1, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin), was approved in the Health Committee this week. The bill seeks to ban medical interference that alters a child’s hormonal balance and procedures that remove body parts to enable the minor to identify as a gender different from their biological sex.

“This legislation is about protecting children from harmful, life-altering and experimental medical procedures with unknown long-term effects,” said Johnson. “But we know that children who have these procedures are forfeiting healthy reproductive systems and subjecting themselves to lifelong hormone treatment. The weight of these decisions is too heavy for children. As a society, we understand that minors need limitations, so we place many age-restrictions on activities for children that can have lifelong consequences such as smoking, drinking alcohol, buying lottery tickets and even getting tattoos.  It is reasonable to also put age-restrictions on these transformational elective medical procedures.”

If passed, a healthcare provider who violates the law can be sued in civil court by the minor injured, the parent of the minor injured or the Attorney General within 30 years of the violation.  Providers found to be in violation could face up to a $25,000 penalty per violation and have their medical license restricted.

The legislation ensures that doctors can still prescribe hormone treatment to minors for medically necessary purposes and makes exceptions for children born with chromosomal anomalies or congenital defects.

The legislation advances to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Legislation protecting children from exposure to sexually explicit adult entertainment passes Judiciary

Another bill that seeks to protect children from inappropriate activities was approved in the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. Senate Bill 3, sponsored by Johnson, aims to protect children from being exposed to sexually explicit performances. It would restrict adult cabaret performances that appeal to a prurient interest from being performed on public or private property if kids could be around to see it.

Under the bill, private establishments, such as bars or restaurants, that host sexually explicit shows must require patrons to show ID upon entry to ensure they are age 18 or older. Johnson says this is a common-sense protection that provides clarity regarding what performances are not appropriate for children.

“This legislation is about protecting children,” said Johnson. “There are certain performances, movies, and places that are inappropriate for children. Just as current law prohibits strip clubs from admitting children, this legislation would also prohibit sexually explicit adult entertainment from being performed on public property or any non-age-restricted private property where a minor could be present. This is a common-sense measure with broad support from Tennesseans.”

“It also gives confidence to parents that they can take their kids to a public or private show and will not be blindsided by a sexualized performance,” Johnson added.

A violation of this bill would result in a Class A misdemeanor, and a second or subsequent offense would result in a Class E felony.

The legislation now advances to the Senate floor to be considered by the full Senate.

Lawmakers propose bills to make adoption easier

On Monday, Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin) led the Adoption and Foster Care Caucus meeting where lawmakers announced over 15 bills aimed at improving the adoption and foster care process in the state such as removing red tape in the adoption process, increasing the number of children that someone can watch in their home and reducing the caseload of Department of Children’s Services (DCS) caseworkers.

“As a pro-life lawmaker, it is imperative we protect life not only of the unborn but also beyond the point of birth. This means we have to strengthen the social welfare system that takes care of children in Tennessee,” said Haile. “We need to make adoption and foster care cheaper, easier and quicker so that we can increase the number of adoptive and foster care families in Tennessee. I am very proud of the work we have done over the last six months to craft legislation that will make a positive impact in the lives of Tennessee children.”

Among the legislation is a comprehensive bill that aims to make improvements to the adoption and foster care process by eliminating red tape. Senate Bill 528, sponsored by Haile, would allow more time for adoptive parents to pay for birth related expenses, allow foster parents to be involved in court proceedings, prohibit the overturning of adoptions after six months and increase options for pre-birth and post-birth surrenders.

TISA Rules pass Joint Gov Ops Committee

The Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) cleared an important hurdle Monday morning that ensures its implementation for school districts across the state next school year. The Joint Government Operations Committee gave a positive recommendation to new rules that will govern TISA when it replaces the Basic Education Program (BEP) in the 2023/2024 school year. TISA invests a billion dollars into K-12 education and will fundamentally change the way public schools are funded to be based on individual student needs.

TISA specifically requires rulemaking in certain areas to further flesh out the law, define terms, and establish processes and procedures for funding. The TISA rules approved Monday by the Joint Government Operations Committee include a number of changes resulting from an extensive public engagement process last year.  Some of the new rules approved include:

• New language emphasizing special education students be taught in the least restrictive environment.
• Clarification that high schools can utilize the early warning system already in place statewide to identify students with Dyslexia.
• Utilizing English proficiency scores to determine eligibility for English learner bonuses.
• Funding Career Technical Education (CTE) programs by a ranking system of in-demand and high-wage earning career data.
• Bonuses for English learners and students with disabilities to be consistent across all grade levels.

In Brief

TennCare to restart annual income reviews post-pandemic – In the Senate Commerce and Insurance Committee on Tuesday, TennCare reported that it will resume its income verification process on April 1 after being suspended for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. TennCare says it is updating its renewal process to make it as easy as possible for enrollees to renew their plans. During the pandemic, the state received funds from the enhanced Federal Matching Assistance Program (eFMAP). which suspended enrollment verification and prevented TennCare from removing enrollees who otherwise would have been ineligible. As a result, TennCare has record high enrollment. These federal funds will be phased out over 4 quarters in 2023 which will allow TennCare to remove ineligible enrollees. Once the renewal process is completed, it is estimated that TennCare enrollment will be back to pre-pandemic levels.

2023 state budget outlook — The Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee this week hosted the Sycamore Institute, a nonpartisan research center for Tennessee, for a presentation on the 2023 state budget projections. The presentation reviewed the historically high end-of-year budget surpluses the state has seen since 2021. The state funding board estimates that overcollections in 2023 will be around $2.6 billion more than the budgeted estimate of $19.6 billion. In 2024, surplus revenue is expected to reach $2.9 billion.

Another part of the presentation touched on Tennessee’s rainy-day fund, which is at historic highs. Just before the Great Recession, the fund had amassed about $1.1 billion before it was spent down to $422 million. Since then, the legislature has consistently replenished the fund, which is set to reach $3.1 billion in 2023. That includes both the reserve for revenue fluctuations and TennCare. The rainy-day fund alone could cover General Fund operations for a total of 62 days based on 2021 fund levels.

Exploring alternative transportation funding sources — As the legislature is expected to address ways to improve funding to the state’s highway fund, a couple of presentations on alternative transportation funding options were delivered at the Senate Transportation and Safety Committee this week. The presentations centered on mileage-based user fees (MBUFs) as a potential replacement of the state’s fixed-rate gas tax, which has been the primary funding source for transportation in Tennessee for over 100 years. Baruch Feigenbaum, senior managing director of the Reason Foundation, pointed out flaws with the state’s gas tax due to the increasing prevalence of electric and hybrid vehicles and improving fuel efficiency of conventional vehicles. He also noted the fuel tax has lost 50% of its purchasing power over the last 30 years.

Known also as a road usage charge or vehicle miles traveled fee, MBUFs charge motorists a fee based on the number of miles driven as opposed to the amount of gas consumed. The fee is typically between 1.5 cents to 2 cents per mile. More than 20 states have or will soon implement an MBUF pilot program, including Tennessee’s neighboring states of North Carolina and Georgia, and three states have permanent MBUF programs, one of which is Virginia.

MBUFs are only one option to address highway funding. Governor Lee has proposed new ways to increase funding to the state’s highway fund without changing the gas tax. The Transportation Committee will consider these proposals in the coming weeks.

State Apiarist shares ways to help increase bee population in Tennessee  – The Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee heard from Tennessee State Apiarist, Mike Studer, who emphasized the decline in the bee population and said that education was needed to increase the number of bee colonies in Tennessee. If the bee population continues to suffer, food and crop production in Tennessee might be harmed because of the lack of bees to pollinate plants. Studer said to increase the bee population, beekeepers need more education on how to safely remove varroa mites, which transmit diseases among bees, and how to safely use pesticides. These mites and misuse of pesticides are leading contributors in the death of bees.

Joint Ad Hoc Committee on Juvenile Justice announces its recommendations

(NASHVILLE) January 26, 2023 – The General Assembly wrapped up its organizational session on Saturday, Jan. 20, following the inauguration of Governor Bill Lee to his second term in office. This week the Senate began its regular orders of business. Committees held their first meetings of the 113th General Assembly to hear from state departments with reports and budget requests.

On Wednesday, the General Assembly’s Joint Ad Hoc Committee on Juvenile Justice met to announce its legislative recommendations to improve the Wilder Youth Development Center in Somerville as well as the broader juvenile justice system in Tennessee. In June 2022, Lt. Governor Randy McNally and House Speaker Cameron Sexton tasked the committee with examining all aspects of juvenile detention and probation in the state of Tennessee.

“These are issues we really dug into. We looked, we listened, and we traveled to come up with our best recommendations,” said Senate Co-Chair, Page Walley (R-Savannah). “We know there is no final solution that will solve all the challenges at DCS, but our proposals are a significant step in the right direction. I appreciate Lt. Governor McNally and Speaker Sexton for appointing this committee and look forward to working with my colleagues in the General Assembly, Governor Lee and DCS as they consider these recommendations. I am confident we will make remarkable investments and improvements in DCS and the lives of children.”

The recommendations will be implemented through both the budgetary and legislative processes during the 2023 session of the General Assembly.

Throughout 2022, the committee met seven times and conducted an exhaustive study on juvenile justice issues. The committee’s recommendations are based on months of fact finding with hearings from various state agencies, non-profits, local law enforcement, district attorneys, juvenile judges and health care professionals.

Recommendations  

• Share juvenile records among judges – One recommendation is to allow confidential juvenile records to be shared among juvenile court judges across the state, to provide a full picture of a juvenile’s record. 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. In addition, each court has its own system which makes it very difficult to combine data. This legislation is a first step towards addressing a large data sharing issue.
• Expand bed capacity – The state needs approximately 180 – 190 additional male beds and 25 additional female beds at DCS facilities. The consulting group Ernst and Young (EY) has conducted an audit of DCS facilities and will soon release their report with recommendations on the best way to increase the number of beds.
• Disincentivize escapes at youth development centers – One of the recommendations is to increase penalties for juveniles in youth development centers who try to escape. The proposed legislation would allow juvenile escapees to be charged as an adult and moved to a Tennessee Department of Corrections facility. Under the bill, the juvenile would only be charged as an adult for the crime of escaping.
• Expand incorrigible designation – Legislation is being proposed to lower the age eligible for an incorrigible designation from 18 to 17 years old. This would allow superintendents at Wilder and other youth development centers to transfer extremely uncooperative and violent 17-year-olds to Department of Corrections facilities.
• Separate violent juveniles based on age – Another measure requires children in DCS custody who are 16 years of age or older and retained in a Level III or Level IV juvenile detention facility to be separated from children under 16 years of age.
• Improve employee training and compensation – Part of the committee’s recommendations include legislation to expand employee training for youth services officers on best practices for behavior management and conflict resolution when supervising juveniles with severe behavioral issues. Additionally, to help attract and retain personnel the committee is working with DCS to support salary improvements for DCS officers in the 2023/2024 state budget.
• Create a Juvenile Justice Review Commission – To continually improve practices, the committee is proposing legislation to create a Juvenile Justice Review Commission under DCS and the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth (TCCY). The commission would regularly review juvenile justice cases and provide an annual report with recommendations to the General Assembly. It would be modeled after the Second Look Commission which reviews severe child abuse cases.
• Expand DCS prevention grants – With the number of juveniles in DCS custody steadily increasing, it is becoming more important than ever to focus resources on preventing children from entering state custody. The committee is proposing legislation to improve prevention services by expanding DCS prevention grants that provide after school care, curfew checks, school attendance checks and mental health care. Tennessee currently has two prevention programs with over a 90% success rate. The programs serve 55 youth per year in East and West Tennessee.
• Establish a juvenile step-down pilot program – In order to incentivize good behavior among juveniles, legislation is being proposed to establish a pilot program with DCS on compliance programming. It would provide ways for juveniles to step down from secure facilities into a homelike setting with more freedom.
• Require 24/7 mental health services – The committee is recommending legislation to provide a stronger clinical presence at youth development centers by requiring 24/7 clinical mental health treatment services.
• Make available chaplain services – Part of the legislative package also includes legislation to offer chaplain services at all DCS youth development facilities.

The proposed legislation will be sponsored by members of the committee: Sen. Page Walley (R-Savannah), Sen. Ed Jackson (R-Jackson), Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis), Rep. Mary Littleton (R-Dickson), Rep. Lowell Russell (R-Vonore), Rep. Ron Gant (R-Piperton), Rep. Andrew Farmer (R-Sevierville) and Rep. Johnny Shaw (D-Bolivar).

Tennessee airport officials request $125 million in state funding

During a Senate Transportation and Safety Committee meeting this week, Tennessee Association of Air Carrier Airport officials requested $125 million in annual state funding for the state’s five commercial and 73 general aviation airports. The 2022 allocation for Tennessee airports was $72.8 million.

Airport officials say the funding increase is needed to pay for the infrastructure needs of Tennessee’s airports and keep them competitive with those in neighboring states. Tennessee airports have seen a decline in funding from fuel taxes since the state capped annual fuel tax payments in 2015.

The funding request increase comes as Tennessee’s five commercial airports realize expansion plans. At the Nashville International Airport, the new Satellite Concourse with eight domestic gates and seven concessions locations will open in October of 2023. That project is expected to bring between 2.5 million and 3.5 million additional passengers a year through the airport.

With additional funding, BNA also plans to add 15 new domestic gates in FY 2024-2025. A future runway extension is also being planned to enable nonstop service to Asia.

The Memphis International Airport is planning to modernize and make seismic upgrades to its terminals. The airport is also planning to rehab and later expand its runways to bring additional long-haul flights from Europe and Asia.

The Metropolitan Knoxville Airport is planning a concourse gate expansion that would bring six additional airline gates, expand the airline ramp to accommodate the demand for larger aircraft and more flights, allow new airlines to add flights with larger aircrafts to more cities, and provide additional terminal hold room capacity needed to meet demand for larger aircraft with more seats.

The Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport is currently constructing more than 40,000 square feet of hangar space and is planning to construct a new 1,300-space parking garage as well as expand the terminal building to add three passenger boarding gates with capacity to process an additional 492,000 passengers annually.   

In Brief…

Small business support — The Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee this week signed off on a budget expansion request for a program that provides loans to small businesses and entrepreneurs throughout Tennessee. Dubbed Fund Tennessee, the program will see $117 million in federal funds that will be dispersed to the Volunteer State in three tranches. To receive the federal funds, the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development is requesting a budget expansion of $120.7 million.

The federal funding is from the second installment of the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), a program that will be offered for 10 years. The 2021 American Rescue Plan Act reauthorized and funded SSBCI with a combined $10 billion to states.

The funding is intended for businesses owned or controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who have historically lacked access to capital. In Tennessee, those living in about 55% of census tracts, including rural and metropolitan areas, would qualify for the program. Technical assistance grants are also being offered through the program to assist businesses applying for these loans.

School Turnaround Pilot Program has fast success – The Senate Education Committee met this week to hear an update on the School Turnaround Pilot Program, which was created from legislation passed by the General Assembly in 2021 to improve student progress in struggling schools in each grand division on the state’s priority list, which is the bottom five percent of schools in Tennessee. Officials from the Department of Education and Shelby County Schools as well as the approved vendor working with the schools, Cognia, touted the fast success of the program at Hawkins Hill Elementary School and Trezevant High School, both in Shelby County. For the first time in a decade, these two schools have come off the priority list as a result of the turnaround program.

Cognia is a global nonprofit organization that works with other states on school turnaround. Some of Cognia’s programs and development include teacher mentorships, instructional leadership and ways to combat chronic absenteeism. Chronic absenteeism is a big problem in the two Shelby County schools highlighted, so Cognia has partnered with the Tennessee Home Builders Association to provide incentives to parents whose children meet attendance milestones.

The other three schools involved in the program are also making progress. With two years left of the pilot program, the goal is for all five schools to come off and stay off the priority list.

Grow Your Own Teacher Apprenticeships Strengthen Tennessee’s Educator Pipeline – The Grow Your Own initiative aims to set a new path for the educator profession and for Tennessee to be the top state in which to become and remain a teacher and leader.  This week, the Tennessee Department of Education announced that two additional educator preparation providers (EPPs) – the University of Memphis and Arete Memphis Public Montessori – have been approved to offer teacher apprenticeships, bringing additional educator talent to the state to increase high-quality academic opportunities for Tennessee students. Tennessee was the first state to be approved by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) to have Teacher Apprenticeship programs between school districts and EPPs. In addition to the previously approved 7 EPP programs, Tennessee now has 9 total approved EPP programs, offering registered teacher apprenticeships to 30+ districts and serving 200+ candidates. This builds on the nearly 650 candidates served through the initial 65 district/EPP partnerships that started in 2020. These two new models will bring additional opportunities and innovative programs.

Gov. Lee delivers second inaugural speech — Tennessee Governor Bill Lee addressed Tennesseans during his second inauguration at War Memorial Plaza on Jan. 21. During his speech, Lee applauded Tennessee’s strong economy, noting the state’s finances have been “stewarded in such a way that affords us the lowest tax rate per capita in the nation, the lowest debt rate per capita in the nation, and the fastest growing economy of all 50 states.” Lee praised Tennessee’s education investments as well, remarking that while rural America has been in decline for decades, rural Tennessee is “proving to be the exception, thanks to historic investments in vocations, technical and agricultural education that are shaping Tennessee’s future workforce.” Lee’s speech also included musings on faith, personal hardships and civility. “We can disagree and stand firm for our beliefs and our principles, but we should never forget the dignity of the other human being,” Lee said. “Civility is not a weakness. In fact, it has been and it should always be the American Way. And I know it can be the way in Tennessee.”

Gov. Lee to present State of the State address Feb. 6 – Gov. Lee’s office announced this week that he will deliver the annual State of the State address on Monday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. The address will take place in a joint session of the General Assembly in the House Chamber. Gov. In the speech, Gov. Lee will announce his budget and legislative priorities for the 2023 session.

Introducing the new Health Department head — Dr. Ralph Alvarado, the new commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health, introduced himself to the Senate Health and Welfare Committee this week. Alvarado brings decades of diverse professional experience to Tennessee, including hospital management and nearly 30 years of service as an attending physician. Alvarado earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from Loma Linda University and completed his residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of Kentucky. Alvarado also served in the Kentucky State Senate where he led the Senate Health and Welfare Committee as chairman.

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