Month: February 2017

Eight Alternative Ways to Pay for Highways in Tennessee

Tennessee Star Staff

Increasing the tax on gasoline from 21 cents per gallon to 28 cents per gallon, as Gov. Bill Haslam has proposed, is not the only way to pay for new highways in Tennessee. The 2015 Comptroller’s Report, for instance, lists these eight additional ways: (1) Variable Rate and Indexed Fuel Tax Rates (2) Vehicle Registration Fees (3) Tolls (4) Debt Financing (5) Fees or Taxes on Alternative Fuel Vehicles (6) Local Funding Options (7) Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Tax (8) Public-Private Partnerships Here’s how that report breaks those eight additional ways down: (1) Variable Rate and Indexed Fuel Tax Rates  Since 1989, when Tennessee last increased its gas tax rate, general inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has increased 85 percent. The Federal Highway Administration’s measure of highway-related construction costs increased 56 percent, with greater fluctuations above and below the CPI. o Several states (18) have implemented variable rate taxes on fuels to allow fuel taxes to better adjust to changes in purchasing power over time. Measures used to adjust the rates include the CPI and/or the wholesale or retail price of fuel. Most states have placed limits on the variable rate to control for the potential…

Read the full story

Baptist Pastor Resigns From Board Over Mosque Dispute

Wendy Wilson

The pastor of a large church near Knoxville has resigned from the board of a Southern Baptist missionary agency because of the board’s support for the construction of a New Jersey mosque involved in a legal dispute. Dean Haun, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Morristown resigned in November from the International Mission Board (IMB), on which he had served as a trustee. Haun objected to the IMB joining a friend of the court brief last May supporting the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge, N.J., in a religious discrimination lawsuit. Haun told the Baptist Press that Southern Baptists and Muslims advocate different doctrines and that Scripture forbids “unholy alliances.” “I understand the religious liberty aspect of the entire argument. But I do not understand why the International Mission Board, with our mission to reach the world for Christ, would have to jump into the fray of a mosque being built in New Jersey,” Haun said. In December, a judge ruled that a local planning board violated federal law by requiring the mosque to include more parking than is required for churches and synagogues. The township, which is considering an appeal, maintained that more parking was needed because of the mosque’s unique…

Read the full story

Tennessee Has Paid for Highways With a Gas Tax Since 1924

Tennessee Star Staff

Tennessee has paid for highway construction and maintenance with a gas tax since 1924, when a 2 cent per gallon tax Gov. Austin Peay proposed and the General Assembly passed the previous year went into effect. At the time, Tennessee’s roads were so poor the Volunteer State was often referred to as a “detour state,” according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation website: Tennessee’s funding resource for transportation is called “dedicated funding,” because the funding resource is directly related to the service or product provided. That philosophy began in 1923 when Governor Austin Peay recommended to the state legislature the burden of highway improvements be transferred from property owners to motorists to fund faster work on state highways. During the 1920’s, Tennessee had become known in the southeast as a “detour state” because it hadn’t kept up with road improvements like sister states. The first gas tax of two cents was passed and enacted in 1924 specifically for highway purposes. Peay, who was the only Tennessee governor to die in office, put the revenue generated by the gas tax to good use, as the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture notes: By the time of his death in 1927, Tennessee’s…

Read the full story

Grassroots Pundit: What Does Governor Haslam’s Revenue Neutral Gas Tax Increase Mean to Tennessee Families?

Laura Baigert
Family

Governor Haslam introduced his “revenue neutral” IMPROVE Act (Improving Manufacturing, Public Roads and Opportunities for a Vibrant Economy) late last month. The proposed bill focuses primarily on increasing the fuel (gas and diesel) tax to fund transportation initiatives and offsetting the increases with other tax cuts. Under the governor’s proposal, the state tax on gasoline will increase from 21 cents per gallon to 28 cents per gallon. The state tax on diesel fuel will increase from 18 cents to 30 cents per gallon. Ominously, the tax will be indexed to increase each year based on inflation. The plan proposes tax cuts of $270 million annually, while increasing revenues through taxes and fees by $278 million this year. The taxing procedure that allows government to receive the same amount of money despite changes in tax law is the definition of “revenue neutral.” This was a strategic move by the Governor to combat the obvious and predictable opposition to any tax increase given the state’s budget surplus in excess of $1 billion. But how neutral is the IMPROVE Act for Tennesseans? At least one group is trying to explain what the gas tax increase would cost the average driver. The Transportation Coalition…

Read the full story

Professional Educators of Tennessee to Sponsor The Tennessee Star Constitution Bee

Tennessee Star Staff

Professional Educators of Tennessee announced on Monday they will be sponsoring The Tennessee Star’s Constitution Bee. “It is vital that we rediscover the importance of our Constitution, and pass it along to the next generation,” J.C. Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, tells The Star. “We think a Constitution Bee is a good step to encourage that effort. The preservation of our liberties is an ongoing battle, something our Founders understood,” Bowman says. The event, to be held on Saturday, September 23 at a venue in Middle Tennessee still to be selected, is open to all secondary students in grades 8 through 12 who live in Tennessee. It is designed to focus on student knowledge of the Constitution and civics in the same way as the National Spelling Bee and the National Geography Bee. The top three students in each grade (8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th) will receive small cash prizes and be featured in profiles at The Tennessee Star. The five champions of the different grade levels will then compete for the title of Overall Champion of The Tennessee Star’s Constitution Bee. That overall champion, and a parent, will win a trip to Washington, D.C. Judges…

Read the full story

Grassroots Pundit: Sumner County’s Role in the Governor’s Gas Tax Increase Story

Laura Baigert

The story of the Governor’s proposed gas tax increase introduced on Wednesday was being written for nearly two years in Sumner County. The most recent chapter was added with the attendance of County Executive Holt and Jimmy Johnston of Forward Sumner, the county’s hired provider of economic and community development services, at the Governor’s press conference Wednesday. In preparation for the budget year that runs July 1 to June 30, the Sumner County Budget Committee holds several workshop-like sessions in April and May to review all of the required and requested budget line items. This was the case in 2015, the first budget to be set after the 24% property tax increase. As an outcome of a Highway Commission meeting, an additional $100,000 was proposed for the Highway Department. The proposal came out of the Highway Commission to address the poorly received stoppage of brush pick up, especially in light of the considerable property tax increase. Initially, the $100,000 was added to the proposed 2015-16 budget. But, then at the Budget Committee meeting of June 8, 2015, after County Executive Holt made the argument that funding to the Highway Department would have to be maintained in the future, it was…

Read the full story

Fox’s quarterly earnings lifted by TV, but film revenue declines

Tennessee Star Staff

LOS ANGELES — Media conglomerate 21st Century Fox reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings boosted by the World Series and Fox News, but shares were down slightly in after-hours trading Monday after the company whiffed on revenue due largely to weaker film results. Fox posted fiscal second-quarter earnings of 53 cents per share for the October-through-December period, with…

Read the full story

French Terrorist Was Egyptian Citizen On Tourist Visa

Tennessee Star Staff

February 3, 2017 Saagar Enjeti Posted with permission from Daily Caller News Foundation The Islamic terrorist who tried to attack French soldiers with a machete at the famous Louvre Museum Friday was an Egyptian citizen on a French tourist visa, BBC News reports. The 29-year-old man was reportedly a resident of the United Arab Emirates and arrived in France Jan. 26 on a one-month visa. The terrorist was shot five times in the abdomen by French soldiers and remains in critical condition. French President Francois Hollande confirmed the attack was a terrorism incident. The attack also garnered a response from President Donald Trump early Friday morning. Trump’s warning comes a week after he signed his controversial travel suspension for refugees from seven terror-rife countries and an indefinite pause on the Syrian refugee program. Trump’s executive order directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to prepare “extreme vetting” procedures for travelers from seven terror-prone countries after a period of 90 days. The DHS similarly has 120 days to strengthen security procedures for refugees who are not from Syria. The attempted attack in France occurred when a man rushed towards soldiers with a machete, before being shot in the abdomen. Reports indicate…

Read the full story

Religious Savagery Must Not Go Unchecked

Tennessee Star Staff

February 5, 2017 Reprinted with permission from the personal blog of Mateen Elass, Random thoughts from an Arab, Reformed theologion By Mateen Elass News of the recent heinous attack on a Muslim house of worship in Quebec City, Canada, was reported around the world. The perpetrator has been arrested and charged with five counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder. As yet, nothing about Alexandre Bissonnette’s motives has been released to the public. It’s a bit surprising that he has not been charged with any terrorism-related crimes at this point, but there is much to which the public is not privy for now. What we do know is that hundreds of lives are now shrouded with grief and anger over this hateful attack. Our prayers are important — may God grant the families and friends of the victims comfort and peace. Unfortunately, this attack is not the only violence against worshipers in the month of January. About two weeks ago, in a largely Muslim community, another house of worship was attacked during evening prayers, this time by a mob of about 90. They broke into the building, cornered roughly half the worshipers who had not been able to…

Read the full story

DeShaun Watson comments on rumors that he’s trying to avoid the Browns

Tennessee Star Staff

Brad Rowland, FanBuzz Writer Posted with permission from FanBuzz The Cleveland Browns hold the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming 2017 NFL Draft and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson figures to be in the mix at that spot. However, Watson reportedly did the opposite of what the Browns asked him to do in spurning the Senior Bowl and that only added to the perception that the title-winning QB does not want to play in Cleveland. With that in mind, Watson was prompted about the topic during an interview with the NFL Network on Thursday and Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk brings word of the specifics: “That’s wrong, false information. I talked to [Browns coach] Hue Jackson, we had a great conversation right after the national championship game and I told him, ‘Hey, this is what I’m thinking about’ and he understood everything. I talked with my family, my agent, my trainer, all the coaches at Clemson, and it was just best for me to go ahead and get started in the draft process. I moved to California, so it was just a lot moving from Georgia to California [to train ahead of the Scouting Combine] and then trying to…

Read the full story