An Unprecedented Day at the Tennessee General Assembly

 

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – In the wake of the developing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent declarations of emergencies by President Trump and Governor Bill Lee, the Tennessee General Assembly experienced its most unprecedented day in its history.

Monday started with access to the Cordell Hull Building limited to elected members, staff and members of the media. Anyone arriving at the home of the legislature would have been greeted to taped signs on the locked doors reading, “This Property is closed to the Public. If you need Assistance Call 741-7860.”

Not surprisingly under the conditions, the hallways, lobby areas, and cafeteria were all but deserted.

Originally, three meetings appeared on the calendar in addition to Monday’s usually scheduled Senate and House floor sessions. The two scheduled House meetings were cancelled, but the Senate Education Committee meeting scheduled for 1:30 was attended by 7 of the 9 members in Senate Hearing Room I.

It lasted all of two minutes, as Chairman Dolores Gresham (R-Somerville) read a statement, after calling the meeting to order in front of about a half dozen media representatives:

We indeed live in interesting times. It’s been the hallmark and tradition that each member that brings a bill to this committee can expect a fair hearing on their proposal. That member must put the bill on notice for a thorough hearing and there are other options that a member might have.

We have approximately 110 bills yet to have been heard in this committee, but these interesting times make that somewhat challenging.

So, our state’s priorities are clear, however.

We are required by our constitution to address a budget and appropriations plan.

Therefore, today, we will only consider briefly the budget for the Department of Education in order to refer it to Finance for their appropriate action.

Education bills are our next priority and hope to have an opportunity to consider those before we adjourn sine die, whatever that date may be.

Chairman Gresham moved the Department of Education budget to Finance, which was seconded by Senator Mike Bell (R-Riceville), with a unanimous voice vote.

With no further business, the committee adjourned.

As more and more legislative members arrived for their respective floor sessions, they began to gather in the halls, speculating on what was to come next and, in the case of the House, take a few minutes to celebrate the birthday of Representative Kelly Keisling (R-Byrdstown) with some cake and ice cream.

House members received personal emails to attend a special COVID-19 briefing in the House chambers. Attendance of members was staggered by even- and odd-numbered House districts in two separate 30-minute sessions.

Members heard from Dr. Chris Jones, a cardiologist and Chief of Staff at Centennial Medical Center; Dr. Jon Perlin, President of Clinical Services and Chief Medical Officer for HCA (Hospital Corporation of America) Healthcare and former CEO of Veterans Health Administration; Heather Rohan, CEO and President of the 19 hospitals in the tri-star division of HCA; and, world-renowned infectious disease specialist Dr. William Schaffner from Vanderbilt University.

Dr. Jones, a friend of House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Cookeville) from when they attended Oak Ridge High School together and continuing through their attendance at the University of Tennessee, contrasted the healthcare depletion resulting from the delayed response to COVID-19 in Italy to the early recognition and institution of measures such as social distancing in South Korea that has led to continued normalcy of healthcare operations.

Dr. Jones sought to address comments he has heard from concerned citizens.

Using the analogy of those who ignore the experts’ warnings of an impending hurricane, Dr. Jones said of the apparent low number of COVID-19 cases in Tennessee, “There aren’t many cases yet, but when it arrives, it will hit hard and fast – like a hurricane.”

Dr. Jones said that rather than a two-week shutdown, he cited President Trump’s reference to the critical nature of the next eight weeks, saying “His estimate is likely a good one.”

Rather than affecting only older people, Dr. Jones said that in South Korea where testing is performed, the highest percentage of cases appear to be in 20 to 40 year olds. While they may have mild symptoms and recover, it is not before infecting two or three more people, some of whom are vulnerable and develop severe illness or death.

Lastly, the fatality rate starts to dramatically increase in people 60 and older. Dr. Jones said he doesn’t usually think of people being 60 or 70 as being that elderly.

HCA’s Dr. Perlin said their own hospital data shows that the rates of patients with COVID-19 and those under investigation roughly doubling every day for the last week. Colleagues in the insurance industry with a national footprint are reporting an increase in COVID cases of 33 percent daily.

Dr. Perlin predicted that the rates will increase and accelerate even faster as lab testing becomes more broadly available.

Quoting one of his most favorite colleagues in Washington, former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt and Director of Health and Human Services in 2007, Dr. Perlin said in the context of the current situation, “Everything we do before a pandemic will seem alarmist. Everything we do after a pandemic will seem inadequate.”

A major concern for HCA is staffing, especially as those who are parents with their children’s schools closing, clinicians will be torn between working and caring for their children.

By virtue of HCA’s national footprint and 35 million patient encounters at 2,200 sites, including 185 hospitals and over 300 freestanding urgent care centers and emergency departments, Dr. Perlin advised HCA has committed to sharing surveillance data with the Centers for Disease Control and other parts of Health and Human Services.

HCA’s CEO Sam Hazen is on the White House task force, where he provides valuable insights from both the healthcare as well as the perspective of a Fortune 60 corporation, while Dr. Perlin is on Governor Lee’s task force.

As legislators, Dr. Perlin said that they could set the tone for everyone to prepare, but not to panic.

He added that the help of legislators is needed to convene religious and other organizations to provide small-group child care for health care workers. He relayed that the governor of Washington state was considering putting teachers back to work providing such a service.

He asked for consideration as to converting manufacturing capacity for items that are in short supply worldwide, such as surgical masks.

Dr. Perlin concluded by quoting further from Governor Levitt, “Pandemics happen. They’re a fact of life, a fact of biology and a testament to history. Viruses are constantly mutating, adapting and attacking.”

He then emphasized with slower speech and movement of his hand, “Any community that fails to prepare with the expectation that the federal government can come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong.”

Saying that he knows that’s not the Tennessee way, Dr. Perlin closed with a final thought, “I’d rather regret over-preparing than being remembered for under preparing.”

Dr. Schaffner echoed and emphasized the comments of his colleagues, saying “They’ve really given you the essence.”

As an infectious disease expert, Dr. Schaffner said this is a new virus and that everyone around the globe is susceptible to it. He advised that it is very easily transmissible, mainly through very close contact of three to six feet.

Dr. Schaffner explained that the virus in the air that a person exhales and anyone within three feet will inhale some of what is exhaled with the virus travelling along.

There is not a vaccine or a therapeutic anti-viral yet, so to reduce the transmission of the virus is old- fashioned public health or social distancing, said Dr. Schaffner.

While testing is not where they would like it, Dr. Schaffner said it is rolling out “as we speak,” and will give a better sense of where the virus is and whether there are so-called “hot spots” across the country and how transmission is continuing.

With testing resources being somewhat limited across the country, Dr. Schaffner said the focus will be on people who are symptomatic and an assessment about how likely it is that the person has the coronavirus as well as older individuals and those with other underlying conditions.

Symptoms of the coronavirus and flu are very similar and difficult for even Dr. Schaffner to distinguish, and include a sore throat, a quickly-developing dry cough due to the bronchitis that occurs and the inflammatory response in the body that creates fever and feeling poorly.

At the severe end of the scale, the virus leaves the bronchial tubes and gets out into the substance of the lung and can cause pneumonia and subsequent difficulty breathing, advised Dr. Schaffner.

On an optimistic note, Dr. Schaffner said that if the virus is out there as widespread as they think it is in Tennessee and across the country, there has not been a surge of patients presenting with pneumonia at hospitals as they did in China.

Dr. Schaffner did not know whether to attribute that to being ahead of the curve with social distancing or the overall health here as compared to that in Wuhan, China, but he was of the guarded optimism that we won’t hit the worst end of the spectrum.

HCA’s Heather Rohan, who is also a registered nurse, had toured CHB and the Capitol and has ideas on how to make it safer. She also talked about collaborations between HCA and the departments of health and other organizations in locales around the state to coordinate approaches and protocols.

Each of the two House COVID-19 briefings included a question and answer period. A few minutes after the conclusion of the two briefings, the House floor session was called to order by Speaker Sexton. A few legislators opted not to sit in close proximity on the House floor, but to move to the empty galleries.

After dispensing with the usual matters in a rapid-fire matter, the clerk announced that all committee meetings scheduled for Tuesday were cancelled.

As members were pushing their buttons for the ending roll call, Speaker Sexton expressed appreciation to the leaders and chairs of both caucuses.

We have been working together to figure out the pathway of how we’d like to proceed in these extraordinary times and unprecedented circumstances.”

We have decided that the best route is to pass a bare-bones budget that we shall receive on Wednesday from the Governor. As we look at it, we shall pass bills that are essential to state government. We will have those bills ready to look at by Wednesday, when we start committees. Then, we will hopefully tomorrow come back in for a few minutes onto the House floor to pass the flow motion, so we can start the process so we can do what we need to get done. Hopefully, we will be out of here by Friday or Saturday.

We are hopeful that on both sides of the aisle during this difficult time continue to work and cooperate together and do what’s best for the state of Tennessee.

We will take a recess at that point in the time at a date in the future to come back to finish conducting the people’s business, as we go through this scenario.

As we go through this, please be mindful of the recommendations that are set forth. We’re going to mindful of limiting time on the House floor, and we will continue to keep you updated on a daily basis once or twice a day about what’s happening and how we’re going to proceed.

Feel free, if you have any questions, to call any of the leadership or call the Speaker’s office and we’ll be happy to address any concerns, issues or just keep you updated.

Speaker Sexton reiterated that an order has been put out to any staff members who have health issues, recommending that they stay at home and work from home with pay and benefits.

Any member of the House that feels they need to be home, will be excused as well, advised Speaker Sexton.

He thanked members for their patience as they work through the process during this extraordinary time.

House Republican Leader William Lambeth (R-Portland) was recognized and he thanked Speaker Sexton for his leadership, which received applause.

“None of us, literally, have gone through anything like this in our lifetimes,” continued Leader Lamberth, “but I am confident with your good leadership, and with my friend Leader [Karen] Camper (D-Memphis), and the entire Democratic caucus joining with the Republican caucus, that regardless of what storm may hit, we will weather it just fine for the people of the great state of Tennessee.”

After little more than a 10-minute floor session, Leader Lamberth moved that the House stand in recess until 9 a.m., Tuesday, March 17.

Meanwhile, during the Senate floor session, Lt. Governor Randy McNally thanked the leaders of both caucuses for being willing to work together.

“We’re in a very difficult time, a time in which we don’t really know what the correct answer is. We’ll now maybe a year from now.”

“Certainly, the action that you have taken, I think demonstrates the type of body that this Senate is, and I thank all of you very much for what you’ve done.”

The Senate modified schedule, adopted during the floor session, includes meetings of the Senate, Finance, Ways and Means, State and Local Government, Commerce and Labor, Judiciary, and Government Operations committees on Tuesday, March 17 with a floor session scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) said that after this week, they would recess until the latter part of May or first of June. “Hopefully,” he added, “that will be ample time for this virus to run its course and allow us to get back to normal.”

Leader Johnson added that he thinks it is altogether appropriate to act in a manner this week that addresses the possibility that they are not able to resume their session.
As such, they will go through the bills that are necessary for the full function of government, such as sunset bills, appointments, revenue, federal compliance issues and make a best effort to get those dealt with this week while moving forward in Finance, Ways and Means Committee to get a budget passed, explained Leader Johnson.

The schedules and calendars for the Senate and House can be viewed here.

The video of the House COVID-19 Briefing can be viewed here.
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Laura Baigert is a senior reporter at The Tennessee Star.