LEGISLATIVE COLUMN
Capitol Notes | Peggy Sue, the Beagle Hound
If you want a friend in this town, get a dog. —President Harry Truman 2020 Session The 111th General Assembly is fully engaged in its 2020 annual session. Some dogs say that the session does not really begin until the Governor files his proposed budget, and that seems to be the case this year. Speaking of Governor Lee, feelings are a little tender with our legislative friends now. Legislative leaders typically do not like surprises. With the sudden unveiling of two recent decisions concerning refugee resettlement and paid family medical leave for executive branch employees, both speakers were caught flatfooted and more than a little bit surprised. Perhaps it is time for Governor Lee to ponder a new puppy. Governor Bill Lee Beginning his sophomore year, Governor Lee still enjoys his role as a former political outsider now on the inside. In March 2019, Governor Lee established the Criminal Justice Investment Task Force through Executive Order 6. In July, the Task Force sought the technical assistance of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) to engage in a comprehensive review of Tennessee’s criminal justice system. JRI is an initiative of the Coun
cil of State Governments and is funded in part with a grant from the US Department of Justice. The Task Force submitted its report with 23 recommendations in December 2019. The task force findings reflect that Tennessee’s system is heavy on incarceration and a high rate of recidivism and that our communities are no safer than those in other states. The report notes a powerful need for mental health and substance abuse treatment services. The report also notes the harshness of our present parole board practices of granting parole with the condition that an offender seek mental health or substance abuse treatment services before being released on parole. Of course, the department of correction has a shortage of those services, so the state finds itself in the position of releasing an offender who has completed his or her sentence before he or she may be released on parole. Otherwise known as a system only Kafka would have loved. TennCare Block Grant News On November 20, 2019, Tennessee submitted its TennCare Block Grant Proposal to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). A week later, CMS notified the State that the proposal was complete and accepted and opened a 30-day federal comment period which ended on December 27, 2019. As was the original draft, the final proposal was still skinny on details and long on generalized rhetoric. The process will become murkier now as the state and CMS begin negotiations to reach an agreement. Any agreement must be ratified by the General Assembly before it becomes effective. An agreement is not expected, if at all, before summer. Governor Lee has stated that he is not averse to calling a special legislative session for the required legislative ratifica-
tion if CMS and the State reach a deal. Who Knew? While we prefer biscuit hunting to more formal dog work, who knew Tennessee has a National Bird Dog Museum in Grand Junction in Hardeman County, just a few hunts east of Memphis. The museum has a Field Trial Hall of Fame in addition to the Sporting Dog Wing, a Retriever Field Trial Hall of Fame, and the Wildlife Heritage Center. Check it out at BirdDogFoundation.com. Checklist for February & March 1. Be sure that your family members and all others you care about are registered to vote—and then vote. We must exercise our voting muscles just like our other muscles or we will become weak. Here is a link to register or revise one’s registration online: ovr.GoVote.tn.gov. 2. Census Day is April 1. Be sure to be counted. Your community depends on you to do so. 3. Watch for the April 2 qualifying deadline for candidates filing to run for our state legislative offices and our federal congressional offices. That date sets the field for the August and November elections. Calendar Notes State and NBA offices will be closed on Monday, February 17, for Presidents Day. The first day of the early voting period in the Tennessee presidential and local office primary is Wednesday, February 12. The official precinct based primary election day in Tuesday, March 3. n PEGGY SUE is fond of the classic 1957 Buddy Holly song. When hunting legislative news or biscuits, she is hard to contact.
FEB/MAR 2020 | NASHVILLE BAR JOURNAL
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