Capitol Notes

Capitol Notes | Peggy Sue, the Beagle Hound

“Hungry Dogs Run Faster.”

With the adoption of SJR 1866 by Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson Thursday afternoon, April 28, 2022, the 112th General Assembly adjourned sine die, that is without a day to return. After the upcoming election cycle, the 113th General Assembly will convene at noon on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.

Top Five Legislative Enactments for 2022.

Balanced Budget (SB 2897 by Johnson / HB 2882 by Hazlewood). With around 1,500 bills each annual session to consider, only one has to pass, and that is the state’s appropriations bill which authorizes the expenditure of state funds and federal pass through funds. This bill will cover funding for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022, and running through June 30, 2023, and authorizes the expenditure of $52.8 billion, a record amount. Notable improvements include a four percent salary pool for state employees and teachers and higher education staffers; the Basic Education Plan is fully funded for the year before the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement formula goes into effect; the TennCare program is fully funded as is the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System. The budget also includes significant capital expenditures for the higher education campuses and the state parks system. Tax reductions come in a grocery food item holiday in August 2022, and a one year suspension of the state’s portion of the vehicle registration tax. The state’s two major reserve funds will increase to $2.6 billion, a record amount.

Redistricting (Chapter 596, State Senate, Chapter 597, Congress, and Chapter 598, State House). These three bills are also must pass bills, but they are only required once every ten years with the new federal census numbers. The ideal state house district has 69,800 people and an ideal state senate district has 209,400. A house congressional seat has 767,871 people. Litigation is pending for the state senate and house plans but will not affect the 2022 election cycle. The house congressional plan is most noteworthy for slicing Davidson County three ways and forcing Democratic incumbent Jim Cooper into retirement.

Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) (Chapter 966). TISA is Governor Bill Lee’s signature achievement for the 2022 session. Tennessee’s current funding formula, the Basic Education Program (BEP), was born in 1992 out of litigation brought by small school systems who prevailed in state courts claiming the state’s old formula violated the state constitution. The BEP is complex and is geared towards school districts. TISA is student based. Both the BEP and TISA continue Tennessee’s long tradition of funding based on a mix of state and local dollars. Both BEP and TISA maintain a local maintenance of effort requirement. TISA goes into effect for the 2023-2024 school year. TISA recognizes our state’s crisis in third graders reading proficiency with only 32% of students reading at grade level. TISA adds funding for literacy support in grades K-3. TISA states explicitly its status as a funding plan, not a spending plan. While the BEP formulas generated annual funding needs that the General Assembly has funded, TISA does not do so. Governor Bill Lee, however, is very clear on his commitment to recommend appropriate funding. On a statewide basis, the BEP established a 66% state and 34% local funding mix. TISA, while still complex, changes the mix to 70/30 and is admittedly easier to understand.

Campaign Finance (SB 1005 by McNally / HB 1201 by Sexton). After FBI worked their way through the Cordell Hull Building and various residences of State House Members, the noise level decreased, and many forgot about it. Then Representative Robin Smith pleaded guilty and resigned on March 7, 2022. A reform bill was inevitable, and SB 1005/ HB 1201 is the result. Interestingly, the requirement for the disclosure of certain expenditures by an organization that is tax exempt under Internal Revenue Code Sections 501(c)(4), (5) or (6) is the most noteworthy.

Criminal Sentencing (Chapter 988). If Chapter 966 is Governor Lee’s signature accomplishment, Chapter 988 is his largest disappointment. Coming on the heels of his 2021 reform efforts to seek a more humane system, most notably with technical probation and parole violations not leading to full reinstatement of the original sentences, the General Assembly responded with Chapter 988. Chapter 988 requires service of 100% of the original sentence without any release eligibility date or any reduction by earned sentence credits for the offenses of attempted first degree murder, second degree murder, criminally negligent

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