Tag: Gov. Bill Haslam

Court Panel Eliminates Tennessee Limit on Punitive Damages

Jason M. Reynolds

A Tennessee statute capping punitive damages is unconstitutional, a panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit has ruled. The Sixth Circuit panel ruled 2-1 on Dec. 21 that state case law shows an award of punitive damages is a “finding of fact” that is allowed by jurors, Courthouse News Service reported. The case involved a dispute between Tamarin Lindenberg, individually and as guardian for her minor children, and Jackson National Life Insurance Co., which had a $350,000 life insurance policy on Lindenberg’s ex-husband. The panel’s ruling is available here. The panel cited the Tennessee Constitution of 1796 and its relation to the constitution and common laws of North Carolina when Tennessee adopted the document. The panel found that a right to jury trials and punitive damages existed at the time. The panel’s ruling states: Defendant Jackson National Life Insurance Company (“Defendant”) appeals from the district court’s judgment enforcing a jury trial verdict of $350,000 in actual damages, $87,500 in bad faith damages, and $3,000,000 in punitive damages in favor of Plaintiff Tamarin Lindenberg (“Plaintiff”), individually and in her capacity as natural guardian of her minor children, ZTL and SML. Plaintiff cross-appeals, challenging a statutory cap that the district…

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Three People Are Dying Each Day From Opioids In Tennessee

Admin
Bill Haslam

by Steve Birr   A new report reveals the deteriorating national opioid epidemic is hitting Tennessee particularly hard, killing three people across the state each day. Republican Gov. Bill Haslam created the Tennessee Commission on Pain and Addiction Medicine Education Jan. 24 to investigate the addiction crisis and develop new standards for the state’s medical educational institutions, in order to avoid the mistakes that led to the current epidemic, reports WMC. The report, published Thursday, identifies 12 areas perspective doctors in Tennessee must now master that are aimed at tackling the opioid crisis, including alternative treatments that limit use of the drugs and the most effective ways to treat addiction. “If the primary care provider doesn’t understand addiction and pain, then the primary care provider becomes part of the stigma against it,” Dr. David Stern of Memphis’s UT Health Science Center, who was part of the commission, told WMC. Tennessee continues to suffer from rampant opioid abuse, which killed 1,186 people in 2016. The death rate from opioids in Tennessee is a staggering 18.1 per 100,000 people. Officials say in the report that every day there are roughly three opioid-related deaths in the state. “In Tennessee we have a major problem around opioid addiction,” Haslam previously said,…

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Bill Lee Agrees With Gov. Haslam That Transgender Bathroom Issue Does Not Need Leadership From the State

Chris Alto
Bill Lee

Governor Haslam and Bill Lee propose the same approach to the use of school bathrooms and locker rooms by students whose choice of gender and anatomy may not match. Both Haslam and Lee have said that this issue does not require leadership from the state but instead, should be problem-solved at the local level. Shortly after a May 2016, “dear colleague” letter was issued by the Obama Department of Education advising school districts to protect access by students to bathrooms and locker rooms “consistent with their gender identity” or risk violating federal law and jeopardizing federal funds, Haslam issued the following statement: The White House itself has said what they issued last week is not an enforcement action and does not make any additional requirements under the law. Congress has the authority to write the law, not the executive branch, and we disagree with the heavy-handed approach the Obama administration is taking. Decisions on sensitive issues such as these should continue to be made at the local level based on the unique needs of students, families, schools and districts while working closely with the local school board counsel, understanding that this is an emerging area of law that will ultimately…

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Gov. Haslam Signs Legislation to Restrict Opioid Access, Punish Trafficking, Provide Treatment Help

Jason M. Reynolds
Bill Haslam

The state of Tennessee is adding restrictions to opioid prescriptions and measures to track and punish unlawful distribution of the powerful pain medications. Gov. Bill Haslam signed two bills and issued an executive order last Friday to support TN Together, the latest effort to fight the opioid crisis, WBIR reported, citing a press release from Haslam’s office. TN Together focuses on prevention, treatment and law enforcement. The legislation seeks to prevent opioid addiction, and misuse and abuse by limiting the supply and dosage of opioid prescriptions with an emphasis on new patients, according a statement on the governor’s office’s website. Initial prescriptions will be limited to a 5-day supply with daily dosage limits (40 MME or “morphine milligram equivalent”). Higher dosages of opioids have been associated with higher risk of overdose and death while proving ineffective at reducing pain over the long term. The legislation also addresses appropriate exceptions, including exceptions for individuals undergoing active or palliative cancer treatment or who are receiving hospice care for chronic pain. The second bill will better track, monitor and penalize the use and unlawful distribution of opioids by adding synthetic versions of fentanyl to the controlled substance schedules, among other updates, WBIR said.…

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Bill Lee Donated $164,000 to Federal and State Candidates, 99.3 Percent Went to Republicans

Tennessee Star Staff
Bill Lee

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee donated $164,540 to candidates for federal and state offices during the 19 year period beginning in 1999 and ending in 2017, according to records provided to The Tennessee Star by the Lee campaign. Of that amount, 99.27 percent, or $163,340, went to Republican candidates, while 0.73 percent, or $1,200, went to Democratic candidates. Notably, as The Star reported on Saturday, $1,000 of that $1,200 to state Democratic candidates went to Gov. Phil Bredesen’s re-election campaign in 2004. The majority of those donations–$130,640–went to federal candidates, while another $33,900 went to state candidates. (Note: $12,600 of the state candidate contributions were made by Bill Lee’s wife, Maria Lee, and $3,000 of the federal candidate contributions were made in 1999 by Bill Lee and his late first wife.) All of Lee’s donations to federal candidates went to Republicans. Three percent of Lee’s $33,900 to state candidates–or $1,200–went to Democrats. The Lee campaign did not provide a list of Lee’s donations to local candidates and committees to The Star. As The Star reported previously, Lee donated $500 to disgraced former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, a Democrat, and the Lee Company, which he owns and now serves as chairman…

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Lawmakers Call For Acting TBI Director to Resign Over Alleged Affair With High-Ranking State Employee at Taxpayer Expense

Jason M. Reynolds
TBI Chief

The acting director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is on paid leave and under investigation for an alleged affair at taxpayer expense, and some legislative leaders have called for his resignation, various media outlets reported. Acting Director Jason Locke will be off the job starting Wednesday, June 20, WKRN reported. Senior staff will oversee operations of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation until next Monday, June 25, when Knoxville Police Department Chief David Rausch takes over the agency. Gov. Bill Haslam on Monday named Rausch as the new director of the TBI, WKRN reported. Rausch visited the bureau Tuesday. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and House Speaker Beth Harwell called for Locke to resign, The Tennessean reported. “The allegations against Jason are extremely troubling,” McNally said in a statement, according to The Tennessean. “If I were advising him, I would counsel him to resign for the good of his family and the bureau.” Harwell commended Gov. Bill Haslam for “immediately launching an investigation,” The Tennessean said. There appears to be slight confusion on how the affair came to light. Most reports say Locke’s wife Kim emailed Haslam last week to report the affair. NewsChannel 5 reported that information, but in the same story,…

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State Sen. Mark Green Calls for Special Session of Tennessee General Assembly to Override Gov. Haslam Veto of Cancer Patient Bill

Tennessee Star Staff

State Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville) and State Rep. Bob Ramsey (R-Maryville) have called on the Tennessee General Assembly to reconvene for a special session to override the Governor Bill Haslam’s veto of the Cancer Patient Choice Act. That Act, which gives patients and their physicians the choice of proton therapy for cancer treatment, passed the Senate 29-1-1 and the House 85-13. “Let’s remember where this begins: A physician and patient. The physician makes a recommendation for what he thinks or she thinks is best for the patient. Next, the pa-tient decides they want that. But then, the insurance companies step in,” State Sen. Green, a medical doctor who is running for the Republican nomination for the House of Representatives in the 7th Congressional District, said. “Unfortunately, the Governor has chosen to side with the insurance companies and their vendors–ignoring what physicians and their patients have decided is best,” Green added. The authors of the bill agreed creating a special process was not ideal and placed the bill into summer study last year. The Haslam administration was given 18 months to find a solution, but when that failed, the General Assembly took action and overwhelmingly passed this bill to protect both…

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Nashville Draws $70 Million Corporate Finance Headquarters

Jason M. Reynolds

A global asset management firm will build a $70 million corporate headquarters in Nashville, the state announced in a press release Wednesday, May 2. Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe and AllianceBernstein L.P. (AB) officials made the announcement. The relocation of its company headquarters will create more than 1,000 corporate jobs, including positions in finance, IT, operations, legal, compliance, internal audit, human resources, sales and marketing, WSMV reported. “Tennessee is home to many world-renowned brands and we’re extremely proud to welcome AllianceBernstein, a global financial leader, to Nashville,” Haslam said in a press release. “Tennessee’s pro-growth policies continue to attract international companies to our state, providing fantastic job opportunities for our citizens. AB’s decision to bring 1,050 corporate office jobs to Nashville is an incredible win for our state and shows that Tennessee will lead in creating high quality jobs.” Rolfe said in the press release, “Since 2011, Tennessee’s financial industry has grown at the second fastest rate in the Southeast, creating approximately 24,500 jobs.” The year-long search for a new location started with 30 cities. In the end, Bernstein said Nashville was the clear choice, WSMV reported. AllianceBernstein’s headquarters are currently in New York…

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State Senator-Elect Mark Pody and Gubernatorial Candidate Mae Beavers Applaud the Exoneration of Wrongly-Convicted Lawrence McKinney

Christina Botteri

Gubernatorial hopeful Mae Beavers and state Senator-elect Mark Pody issued a joint statement Wednesday praising Governor Bill Haslam for his decision to exonerate Lawrence McKinney. McKinney was wrongly convicted in 1978 for the brutal rape of a Shelby County woman and sentenced to 100 years behind bars. Throughout the trial and conviction, McKinney maintained he did not assault the woman in any way. Decades later, The Innocence Project took up his case, and in 2008, DNA testing proved that of the samples collected by law enforcement at the time of the crime, none belonged to McKinney. In June of 2009, McKinney’s conviction was vacated and he was released a month later. In all, he served 31 years in prison. Despite his proven innocence of this heinous crime, however, Governor Phil Bredesen declined requests to exonerate McKinney – a move that would qualify him to file a unlawful imprisonment claim with the Tennessee Board of Claims. That all changed with today’s decision by Governor Haslam. Here is the full text of Beavers and Pody’s statement: Gubernatorial candidate and former State Senator Mae Beavers as well as State Senator Elect Mark Pody expressed extreme gratitude to Governor Bill Haslam, who earlier Wednesday formally exonerated Lawrence McKinney…

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As Governor, Democrat Phil Bredesen Diverted Road Money to Balance the Budget and Pay for TennCare

Chris Alto

Last week, Tennessee’s former Governor Phil Bredesen announced that he would run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by retiring Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) in the 2018 election. Even though Bredesen is a Democrat and Corker is a Republican, both disfavor President Trump, both have no aversion to raising taxes, and both are okay with diverting transportation money for non-roadway projects. By the time Bredesen left the governor’s office in 2009 after eight years in the job, several tax increases had been put on cigarettes and certain managed care companies. Other revenues were raised in the form of fee increases. Corker proposed raising the federal fuel tax in 2014. Congress hasn’t raised the federal gas tax since 1993, and in 1998, over $8 billion was diverted from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) to the general fund. This was before Corker’s time, but he still pushed his gas tax increase without tackling the diversion of HTF money for non-highway projects: A Government Accountability Office report found that 32% of the HTF didn’t go toward highway or bridge construction and upkeep from fiscal 2004-08. That rose to 38% in 2009, according to an analysis by Ron Utt, senior research fellow at the…

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Tennessee Capitol to Continue Prohibiting Handguns

Wendy Wilson

The Tennessee Capitol will continue to prohibit handguns despite a new policy at the new home for state lawmakers that will allow permit holders to have them, Gov. Bill Haslam said this week. Haslam told reporters Monday he has no intention of proposing a change in policy at the Capitol, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He earlier had released a statement to that effect. Haslam said he doesn’t want guns at the Capitol because of the numerous tour groups and school children it attracts. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) and House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) announced recently that permit holders will be allowed to carry firearms into the renovated Cordell Hull Building. Lawmakers are in the process of moving into their new offices and the building will open to the public next week. Lawmakers had tried to get guns allowed at Legislative Plaza, which they are leaving for the Cordell Hull Building. But their attempts failed because of the Haslam administration’s concerns about logistics for security at Legislative Plaza and the desire for it to have the same policy as the Capitol. The legislature last year passed a law giving it oversight of its building, paving the way for a change at…

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Tennessee Unemployment Rates Drop Below 5 Percent in All 95 Counties

Wendy Wilson

For the first time in recorded state history, unemployment rates in all 95 Tennessee counties fell below 5 percent in September, Gov. Bill Haslam announced last week. September was also the fourth consecutive month that the state had a historic low statewide unemployment rate. The 3 percent statewide unemployment rate is the lowest in the Southeast and eighth lowest in the nation. “With every county seeing unemployment rates below five percent and with a record statewide unemployment rate, Tennessee’s fiscal strength is clear and the investment in our workforce is paying off,” the Republican governor said in a news release. “Employers know that Tennessee is a place where they can find skilled workers, so they continue to expand and relocate here.” At 2.1 percent, Williamson County had the lowest unemployment rate in September, followed by Davidson County with the second lowest at 2.2 percent. Rhea County in East Tennessee continued to have the highest unemployment rate, but in September its rate fell from 6 percent to 4.9 percent. In January, the rate was 10.2 percent. Haslam credited foreign investment with helping bring down unemployment rates.

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Hankook Tire in Clarksville Holds Grand Opening

Wendy Wilson

Hankook Tire in Clarksville held a grand opening celebration Tuesday attended by Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-7). The first Hankook plant to open in the U.S. and the eighth worldwide, it is expected to bring 1,800 jobs to the area. The South Korean tire maker broke ground on the facility in 2014, investing $800 million, reports WKRN News 2. The company’s North American headquarters recently moved to downtown Nashville. Haslam has been working to attract more business from Asia. Hankook tire executives and dealers were at the grand opening, as well as Korean Consul General Seong-jin Kim and local government officials. The event included a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The 1.5 million-square-foot facility sits on 469 acres. “This plant is a major boon for the Clarksville area,” Blackburn said on Facebook. Blackburn, whose 7th Congressional District includes the Clarksville area, recently announced that she is running for the U.S. Senate. “I was honored to take part in the ceremony and thank the company’s leadership for bringing their first U.S. plant to Montgomery County,” Blackburn said.    

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Gov. Haslam Has Not Kept Campaign Promises to Curb Illegal Immigration in Tennessee

Chris Alto

Broken promises from Bill Haslam’s 2010 campaign could figure prominently in any run for Bob Corker’s Senate seat.  While campaigning for governor, Haslam repeatedly raised the issue of illegal immigration and how he, as governor, would work to insulate Tennessee from the negative fiscal effects of illegal immigration and from becoming a magnet for illegal immigrants. In his “Jobs4TN” written campaign materials Haslam tied job development and employment for Tennesseans to the problem of illegal immigration and promised: In order to keep Tennessee a great state, we must also work to provide more and better job opportunities for Tennessee residents. An important part of that effort must be making sure that available jobs are only going to individuals who are legally resident in the state. Tennessee is paying a price for the failure of the federal government to effectively secure our nation’s borders and enforce our immigration laws. As governor, I will enforce the state laws on the books and do everything within my authority to be sure that Tennessee does not attract illegal activity. After he was elected, however, Haslam began to incrementally retreat from considering illegal immigration a negative fiscal and/or employment issue. In 2009, during the Bredesen administration, Managing…

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Tennessee to Reinstate Work Requirement for Food Stamps

Wendy Wilson

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced this week that the state will bring back the federal work requirement for able-bodied adults receiving food stamps that was waived in 2008 because of the recession. The requirement, to be reinstated across most of the state starting Feb. 1, will affect adults without dependents in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), according to a news release issued Monday. The waiver will remain in place in 16 counties considered economically distressed and that have a labor surplus. More than one million Tennesseans currently receive food stamps. The reinstated work requirement will likely impact 58,000 adults currently not meeting the requirement. The state has a total population of 6.65 million. As the economy has recovered nationwide, many other states have fully or partially restored their work requirements. “This waiver was necessary at a time when people were hurting from the recession,” said Haslam, a Republican. “But nearly a decade later, Tennessee is one of the top locations in the Southeast for high quality jobs, and it’s now difficult to justify waiving the work requirement for adults without dependents who are able to work. We have experienced record low unemployment rates and substantial job growth in Tennessee, and if…

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Christian Hymn Singing Fills Grand Ole Opry

Wendy Wilson

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee — The Grand Ole Opry House was filled Monday evening with the sound of Christians singing hymns old and new. Hymn-writers Keith and Kristyn Getty led a spirit-filled event related to a conference they are leading this week at Brentwood Baptist to promote congregational singing. The husband and wife duo from Northern Ireland divide their time between Northern Ireland and a home in Nashville. Monday’s event at the Grand Ole Opry featured several surprise guests, including Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, who offered welcoming remarks and read from the Old Testament book of Zephaniah, where the Bible talks about how God “will take great delight” in his followers and “rejoice over you with singing.” Surprise musical guests included country and bluegrass singer Ricky Skaggs and singer-songwriter Buddy Greene, also known as a harmonica stylist. In addition, Gary Haugen, the CEO and founder of the International Justice Mission, was introduced on stage so he could briefly talk about his group’s mission. A faith-based ministry supported and promoted by the Gettys, the IJM works to stop human trafficking. Alistair Begg, a native of Scotland who pastors a nondenominational church in Ohio and hosts a Christian radio show, also spoke briefly. The Gettys…

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Governor Haslam Echoes Lamar Alexander’s Sense of Urgency to ‘Fix’ Obamacare at Senate Hearings

Laura Baigert

  The second of four hearings scheduled by U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander from Tennessee and Patty Murray of Washington as Chairman and Democratic Ranking Member, respectively, of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on the topic of “Stabilizing Premiums and Helping Individuals in the Individual Insurance Market for 2018,” had the same themes from five Governors as the five Insurance Commissioners from the day prior. In addition to Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, the other four witnesses were Governors Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, Steve Bullock of Montana, Gary Herbert of Utah and John Hickenlooper of Colorado. In their opening comments, all five governors echoed the comments of the Insurance Commissioners’ testimony and that of Sen. Alexander to achieve premium stabilization in the individual market for 2018. Measures the governors and insurance commissioners encouraged Congress to take included continuing the cost sharing reductions (CSRs), seeding state reinsurance programs and streamlining the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Section 1332 Waiver process. CSRs, subsidies that lower out-of-pocket expenses of co-pays and deductibles for individual market participants who purchase a specific subsidized plan sold on the healthcare.gov exchange, are funded on an annual basis. The consensus from committee members and witnesses is…

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State Rep. Judd Matheny Calls on Gov. Bill Haslam to Use Influence to Stop Players with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns from Dishonoring National Anthem

Wendy Wilson

  State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) on Tuesday called on Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam to do what he can to stop NFL players from taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem. Haslam’s brother, Jimmy, is owner of the Cleveland Browns in addition to being CEO of the Pilot Flying J chain of gas stations and convenience stores. Matheny, who is running for Congress in the Sixth Congressional District, posted the following on Facebook Tuesday morning along with a photo of Cleveland Browns players taking a knee at a game Monday evening. A dozen players were reported to have taken a knee. Governor Haslam, your family owns the Cleveland Browns. Would you please use your influence to put an immediate stop to the behavior displayed in the NFL last night. These individuals who disrespected our flag and anthem should be returned to normal jobs and help build our community. Their actions only set poor examples for our youth to follow-all this in a time when we need national cohesion worse than ever. Would the citizens of Tennessee, Ohio and the rest of the country please DEMAND this behavior stop. We cannot let public figures continue to get away with…

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Senator Lamar Alexander Joins Calls to Remove Bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest from Tennessee Capitol

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander has joined demands to remove a bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest from the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville, reports WKRN News 2. The Tennessee Republican spoke to reporters Tuesday about the issue when he was in Nashville for an event. Alexander said the Civil War can be remembered at museums, birthplaces and battlefields, but that “a place of honor” should be for Tennesseans “who inspire all of us,” such as Roots author Alex Haley, Senator Howard Baker or World War I hero Sgt. Alvin York. The bust of Forrest was installed at the Capitol in the late 1970s. In 1980, when Alexander was Tennessee governor, he was against removing the bust. Acknowledging that he has changed his mind, Alexander said Tuesday that when he was governor he “thought it was more important to appoint the first African-American Supreme Court justice in Tennessee, which I did. More important to pass the Martin Luther King holiday, which I did. More important to (appoint) the first black chancellor in the state, which I did.” Bill Haslam, the current Tennessee Republican governor, as well as activists, have called for the removal of the controversial bust. A Tennessee native, Forrest was a slave…

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Nashville To Get Direct Flights To London

Wendy Wilson

  Nashville International Airport will offer direct flights to London on British Airways starting in May 2018, Gov. Bill Haslam announced at a press conference Tuesday morning. Haslam was joined at the press conference by Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and Simon Brooks, British Airways senior vice president for North America. It will be the first time the city has offered nonstop flights to London since American Airlines scaled back its operations more than 20 years ago. Tuesday’s announcement followed years of effort on the part of community and business leaders. “This is an exciting day in Nashville, an exciting day for the state of Tennessee,” Haslam said. “It’s a day that many of us have worked long and hard to see happen.” Haslam said that when he was traveling overseas about a month ago, “no matter where we went throughout Europe, there was a great deal of excitement about this flight.” The flights will help facilitate business travel between various European cities as well as various cities in Tennessee, not just Nashville, said Haslam, who expects travel to outperform projections. “This is truly a game changer for the city, and the region and the state,” he said. Brooks of British…

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Vice President Mike Pence Visits Nashville, Thanks Tennesseans For Supporting President Trump

Wendy Wilson

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday personally thanked the Volunteer State for helping put President Trump in office. “We were counting on Tennessee last fall and Tennessee delivered,” Pence said during his keynote speech at the Tennessee Republican Party’s Statesmen’s Dinner. The annual fundraising event was held at the Music City Center in downtown Nashville. Republican Gov. Bill Haslam gave opening remarks. In November, Trump won 61 percent of the vote in Tennessee, taking all but three counties – Davidson, Shelby and Haywood. Pence in his speech also celebrated the news that broke Thursday about West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice switching from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. Pence devoted most of his speech to praising Trump’s successes in office and his plans for the coming months. He said Trump is slashing more regulations than any other president in American history, and noted the president’s efforts to roll back progressive environmental policies, such as ending the “war on coal” and withdrawing from the Paris climate accord. Pence also lauded Trump for increasing defense spending, strengthening border protection and cracking down on gangs such as MS-13. In the area of foreign policy, Pence said other countries know that…

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Tennessee Unemployment Rate Hits Record Low

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  Tennessee’s unemployment rate for June of 3.6 percent was the lowest in the state’s recorded history. Gov. Bill Haslam and Burns Phillips, commissioner for the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, shared the news last week. The previous low was 3.7 percent in March 2000. The state has not had an unemployment rate below 4 percent since it was 3.9 percent in February 2001. “Today more than ever, businesses have a choice of where to grow or expand, and because of the policies this administration has put in place working with the General Assembly, we’re seeing the job growth that comes when businesses choose Tennessee,” Haslam said in a news release. Phillips credited Haslam for making high quality jobs a priority, noting that seven years ago more than 10 percent of Tennesseans were out of work. The national unemployment rate for June was 4.4 percent, a slight increase from 4.3 percent in May. The national rate has seen 10-year lows in recent months. The unemployment rate has been dropping steadily over the past few years after rising sharply during the recession.

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Tennessee Businessman William F. Hagerty Confirmed As Ambassador To Japan

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  William F. Hagerty was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday to be President Trump’s ambassador to Japan. Senators voted 86-12 to to approve Hagerty’s nomination, the Associated Press reports. Hagerty is a founder and the managing director of the private-equity firm Hagerty Peterson and Company, which has corporate offices in Nashville and the Chicago area. From 2011-2014, the Tennessee native served as Gov. Bill Haslam’s economic development commissioner. He served as Mitt Romney’s national finance chair in 2008, and earlier in his career, served under former President George H.W. Bush as a White House fellow, reporting to the vice president on matters related to international trade, commerce, treasury, defense and telecommunications. A supporter of Jeb Bush early in the 2016 presidential election cycle, he switched to Trump after he secured the nomination. Hagerty was then instrumental in Trump’s campaign and later became director of presidential appointments for Trump’s transition team. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Hagerty’s nomination last month after he assured Democrats that he had no role in the screening of Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser. Flynn is a key figure in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia.…

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Delaware Governor John Carney Signs Pro-Abortion Legislation

Wendy Wilson
Fetus on Health

Delaware has passed a bill to guarantee abortion rights in the state should Roe v. Wade be overturned, a move that removed restrictions in current law. Pro-life advocates strongly opposed the legislation, signed last week by Gov. John Carney, a Democrat. “With a pro-life President in the White House and already one pro-life Justice nominated and confirmed, abortion advocates are running scared,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List, in a June 6 news release written to rally support for defeating the bill. “Planned Parenthood and the ACLU are using Delaware as a testing ground for their extreme legislation to ensure abortionists can carry out abortions without limit – even on healthy children hours from birth.” Before the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling, laws about abortion were left entirely to the states. The court in Roe v. Wade ruled 7-2 that banning abortions denied women a right to privacy protected by the 14th Amendment. The decision gave women total autonomy over pregnancy during the first trimester but allowed states some say over the second and third trimesters. The new law in Delaware removes existing restrictions on abortion, including a parental consent law for minors and a 24-hour waiting period, until viability,…

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Gov. Haslam Signs Gun Bill Opposed By Nashville Mayor Megan Barry

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a law requiring cities to spend more on security or allow people to carry handguns at parks, fairs, auditoriums and other public venues. Nashville Mayor Megan Barry had asked Haslam to veto the bill. The city of Knoxville was also opposed, as were gun control advocates, including the Safe Tennessee Project and Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America. The National Rifle Association supports the measure. According to a May 12 press release, the Tennessee Firearms Association said of the law signed by Gov. Haslam that it “could have been a good bill but that may have been intentionally amended to make the situation worse for gun owners. This bill significantly changes Tennessee law for the worse and we suspect most legislators who voted on it were not even aware of the problem in the bill.” The law provides lawful gun owners with a private cause of action to challenge local gun control policies that run counter to state law. The new Tennessee law “leaves to local governments the ultimate decision of whether to prohibit firearms in local government buildings, and the new provisions in this bill give local governments and their permittees more…

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Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Wants Gov. Haslam To Veto Gun Bill

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry is asking Gov. Bill Haslam to veto a bill that would require cities and counties to enhance security at public venues or allow permit holders to carry handguns. The legislation would apply to parks, zoos, buses, auditoriums, museums, fairs and more. Places like Bridgestone Arena and Nissan Stadium that already have heavy security and ban handguns are not included in the legislation. Schools, libraries and law enforcement offices are also exempted. Passed earlier this month by the state legislature after much debate, the bill also provides lawful gun owners with a private cause of action to challenge local gun control policies that run counter to state law. Haslam is expected to sign the bill because it passed overwhelmingly in both the House and the Senate. But opponents are still working to persuade him otherwise. The Safe Tennessee Project and Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America are also opposed to the legislation. However, the National Rifle Association and the Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) back the measure. The groups represent individuals who want their gun rights enforced and a limit on gun-free zones where citizens may be targeted by criminals who don’t abide by the rules. “The portion of the law which gives…

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SC Gov. McMaster Vetoes Gas Tax, In Stark Contrast to TN Gov. Haslam, Who Championed It

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

  South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster posted a video “Gas Tax Veto” to his Facebook page, saying “Today I vetoed the General Assembly’s gas tax bill, and I would like to tell you why.”  He continued, “Unfortunately, raising taxes was the only solution seriously considered by the legislature.” Quite a contrast to recent events in Tennessee, where Governor Haslam was the one who would only accept a gas tax increase to fund roads through his IMPROVE Act.  The Governor persisted in his “my way or the highway” solution to road funding, despite other alternatives being offered by some members of the House of Representatives, and nearly half of his own party at 35 of 37 Republican Representatives, voting against it. Tennessee suffers from much the same problem as South Carolina, as stated by Governor McMaster, “Right now over one-fourth of your gas tax dollars are not used for road repairs.  They’re siphoned off for government agency overhead and programs that have nothing to do with roads.” As previously reported by The Tennessee Star, some of the current road “user fees” are diverted from the Highway Fund, and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) “overhead” has grown 63 percent under Governor…

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Gubernatorial Candidates Randy Boyd and Karl Dean Will Fight for Votes of Political Moderates

Chris Alto
Tennessee Star

  Four months into his 2015 appointment as the new Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, and two years before he announced his run for governor, Randy Boyd told his hometown weekly that, “I’m probably the most hated, disrespected, untolerated political entity in existence… I’m a moderate.” Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, the first declared gubernatorial Democrat candidate also describes himself as a moderate and recognizes that he will need “moderate Republican votes” in order to win. Both candidates say education and economics are the top priorities, both say they are business-friendly and both shower admiration on Haslam’s leadership. For voters, however, even those who identify as “moderate” or “independent,” it will be difficult to distinguish between Boyd and Dean, except perhaps for choosing whether to vote in the Republican or Democrat primary. Political analysts suggest that states with open primaries like Tennessee, work to the advantage of moderate candidates. Both candidates have been married to the same partner for a long time and while Boyd made his fortune by copying a similar commercially available product, Dean married into his wealth.  His wife Delta Anne Davis, is an heir to the millions her uncle Joe C. Davis made through the coal…

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House of Representatives In Turmoil Going Into Day Two of Budget Review

Laura Baigert

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee — After nearly a six and a half hour day, the Tennessee House of Representatives appears to be no closer to having a finalized budget for fiscal year 2017-18 when it goes back into session Friday at 9 a.m., as the first bill to approve the budget appropriations did not make it to a vote on Thursday. As the first legislative year of the 110th General Assembly draws to a close, the last of the bills are being heard and the budget for fiscal year 2017-18 needs to be approved.  The budget passed the House Finance Ways & Means Subcommittee and full Committee on Wednesday and was placed on the calendar for the House floor session to convene at 9 a.m. Thursday. After dozens of resolutions and bills were passed, but prior to the discussion of the four bills that make Governor Haslam’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year, at 10:34 a.m., Republican Caucus Chairman Ryan Williams (R-Cookeville) requested a recess until 11:30 for a caucus meeting.  While a handful of members responded with their own comments, the real purpose of the Republican caucus meeting was to allow “leadership” to “encourage” support of the budget.  Leadership was…

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Follow The Money: Campaign Receipts May Shed Light on Why Some Republicans Voted For The Gas Tax

Laura Baigert

  “Follow the money” is a catchphrase made popular in the 1976 movie, “All The President’s Men,” based on the actual events of the Watergate Break-in and suggests a money trail or corruption scheme within the political arena. While campaign receipts are no guarantee of how an elected official will vote on a particular issue, when a politician’s vote comes as a surprise to their constituents and political pundits, the behind-the-scenes world of money and power may shed light on the matter. The situation of campaign financing in the state of Tennessee is a complex web of individual and Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions and receipts to and from each other. The Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance defines a PAC as a “multi-candidate politician campaign committee that participates in any state or local election.  ‘Multi-candidate committee’ is defined as a committee that makes expenditures to support or oppose two or more candidates for public office or two or more measures in a referenda election. T.C.A. 2-10-102(9).” The State of Tennessee’s Online Campaign Finance webpage includes a searchable database for contributions and expenditures to candidates and PACs and from candidates, PACs, private individuals or businesses/organizations. The complexity, special interests…

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Haslam’s Gas Tax Increase May Force Tennessee Lawmakers to Violate the Copeland Cap Amendment to State Constitution

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

Governor Haslam’s 2017-18 budget that incorporated IMPROVE Act and other spending promises now exceeds the constitutional budget growth limit established by the 1978 amendment to Article II, Section 24 of the Tennessee Constitution that states, “In no year shall the rate of growth of appropriations from state tax revenues exceed the estimated rate of growth of the state’s economy as determined by law.” The amendment is known as the Copeland Cap, named for its author former state Representative David Copeland of Ooltewah. The General Assembly will now be forced into a position of voting to break a constitutional commitment to the taxpayers, or appear as the “villains” by taking away the “gifts” the Governor has promised. The 2017-2018 budget estimates appropriations from state tax revenues will be $17.9 billion, which represents an 8.3 percent growth over appropriations from tax revenues in the 2016-2017 state budget at $16.5 billion. The estimated rate of growth of the state’s economy for the 2017-18 budget year, as defined by state law, is 4.6 percent over the 2016-17 budget year. The governor’s budget, as currently structured with the IMPROVE Act, will therefore violate the Copeland Cop by 3.7 percent. The relevant law, Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) 9-4-5201 states that the basis…

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State Rep. Tillis Responds to ‘Group That is Calling Me A Liar’ for Supporting Gas Tax Increase ‘After I Had Said Publicly That I Could Not’

Tennessee Star Staff

Constituents of State Rep. Rick Tillis (R-Lewisburg) have a message for him after he switched from a “no” vote on Gov. Haslam’s gas tax increasing IMPROVE Act to a “yes” vote. A red and white banner questioning his truthfulness was prominently displayed just below a large billboard by the side of a major road in Lewisburg promoting his jewelry business in town. Last week, Tillis was one of the 37 Republican members of the Tennessee House of Representatives who voted in favor of Gov. Haslam’s IMPROVE Act, which will increase the gas tax by 6 cents per gallon (28 percent) and the diesel tax by 10 cents per gallon (55 percent). The bill passed the House 60-37 and subsequently passed in the Senate. On Monday, the House approved the Senate version of the bill, and it is set to become law after Gov. Haslam signs it. Tillis attempted to explain his vote switch on Monday. “The first thing to address is why I voted for it after I had said publicly that I could not,” Tillis wrote in a Facebook post on Monday. “The bill changed,” Tillis claimed. “And as far as the survey that is here on Facebook and…

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Gov. Haslam Joins Forces With Rhode Island’s Democratic Governor to Push Free College Tuition

Tennessee Star Staff

“The Republican governor of Tennessee, a national leader in the push for tuition-free education, joined Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo on Thursday to support her push to launch such an initiative in Rhode Island,” WPRI reported yesterday: Raimondo’s proposal, Rhode Island’s Promise, is notably more expansive than Haslam’s – she wants to offer two tuition-free years at all three of the state’s public colleges, including its two four-year institutions. Her staff has conferred with Haslam’s aides as they developed their proposal. “Quite honestly this is a good idea, and it’s a bipartisan issue,” she said. On Thursday, Governor Haslam pushed his free college tuition ideas to Rhode Island business leaders the same way he has done with business leaders here in the Volunteer State: On a conference call with Rhode Island business leaders Thursday morning, Haslam said he was spurred to create Tennessee Promise based on forecasts projecting a rapid rise in the share of jobs requiring a post-high-school degree. He said he feared the state’s work force would not be equipped to obtain good-paying work unless more residents furthered their educations. “Everything Gina’s saying is right,” Haslam said. “She is not making any of that up. It is critical to…

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6 Things Boss Doss Got Wrong In His Sales Pitch For Governor Haslam’s Gas Tax Increasing IMPROVE Act

Laura Baigert

  As the House sponsor of the IMPROVE Act Tax Cut Act of 2017 (HB 534), State Rep. Barry “Boss” Doss (R-Leoma) was well versed on all of the related subject matter and respectful throughout his long and challenging sales pitch for Governor Haslam’s IMPROVE Act to the various committees and on the House floor. There were, however, several things Rep. Doss got wrong.  And, as former Majority Leader Gerald McCormick (R-Chattanooga) said several times through the process, “You can have your own opinions, but you can’t have your own facts.” Here are the top six things Boss Doss got wrong: 1. “I’ve been proud that we cut taxes by $300 million so far.” The state portion of the annual budget has grown from $13.7 billion in 2011-12 to a recommended $16.5 billion for 2017-18.  Since state law requires that all of the revenues be allocated, that’s a $2.8 billion, or 20 percent, increase in state spending in just six years. 2. The average family of 4 will recognize a monthly increase of $5.54 from the gas tax hike versus a savings in their food tax of $7.72, for a net savings of $2.18 per month. In terms of the…

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Letter to the Editor: Governor Tim Burchett?

Tennessee Star Staff
Burchett

  Dear Tennessee Star, With Dr. Mark Green’s nomination to be the next Secretary of the Army it has left many in the state desperately trying to find a true conservative candidate they can support in next years gubernatorial race. There is one person that all conservatives can support, that person is Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, if he decides to throw his hat in the race. ● Why Burchett? As mayor he’s proven himself to be a fiscal conservative. Burchett isn’t afraid to stand up to anyone in his fight for limited government, even special interest groups that are influential at the local level. During one of his ‘budget fights’ with the schools he had this to say, “I want to very respectfully say that it is easy to claim that more money will solve our problems, but we need only to look to Washington, D.C., though, to see that this is simply not true.” When the big government folks on the School Board wanted more money which would have resulted in a tax increase he pledged to veto any measure to raise taxes. Gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd even testified before the Knox County Commission in support of the massive…

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House Republican Conservatives Put Up a Valiant Fight Against Gov. Haslam’s Gas Tax Increase, Setting Stage for 2018 Election

Laura Baigert

  When the Tennessee House of Representatives passed Governor Haslam’s gas tax increase bill by a 60 to 37 margin on Wednesday, a bare majority of Republicans–37 for and 35 against—voted yes in favor of the unpopular tax increase. The 35 conservative Republicans who stood for the foundational principle of limited government were not sufficient to withstand the huge financial and political pressures mounted by the special interests who wanted the bill to pass. Those forces arrayed against the conservative opposition were significant, beginning with Governor Haslam’s taxpayer funded statewide tour that promoted a 962 road project list in all 95 counties, the support of lobbying groups numbering in the thirties, tax reductions for a select group of businesses, and a reported $250 million taxpayer funded deal for the Democrats. These conservatives lost the battle in 2017, but the war for the Tennessee General Assembly election in 2018 has just begun. The arguments made by these 35 stalwarts on the floor of the House on Wednesday will resonate throughout the state over the next year and a half. The process through the House subcommittees and committees was not without controversy including the make up of the Transportation Committee, procedural issues, breaking…

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Mark White’s In-State Tuition for Illegal Immigrant Students Will be Back in 2018

Chris Alto

  In the House Education committee today, State Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) moved his second bill, HB660 that would legalize in-state tuition for illegal immigrant students in Tennessee, to the 2018 legislative session. Last week when this bill failed in committee on a 6-6 vote, White indicated he would seek a motion for the committee to reconsider their action on the bill, but likely discovered that he could not overcome the required procedural hurdle. Moving his bill to 2018, allows him to avoid having the motion to reconsider fail, earning yet another strike against his campaign to secure in-state tuition for illegal immigrant students. White’s first bill this year that would have granted in-state tuition to illegal immigrant students, HB863, was voted down in committee in a 7-6 vote.  This bill closely tracked the language of his 2015 bill, HB675, that failed on the House floor by one vote. During an earlier House Education subcommittee hearing on White’s HB660, concern was raised by Chairman Harry Brooks, as to whether Section 5 of the bill would allow the school governing boards to offer in-state tuition to illegal immigrant students because that section removes the paying of in-state tuition from being a state…

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Haslam Reduced Highway Fund Budget By 13 Percent, Grew State Budget By 20 Percent Before Proposing Gas Tax Increases

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

Governor Haslam reduced the Highway Fund budget by 13 percent, while he grew the State budget by 20 percent during his first six years in office. Only after he made these reductions in the Highway Fund budget did he propose the gas tax and diesel tax increases included in the IMPROVE Act when he introduced it in January 2017. From Governor Haslam’s first budget year of 2011-12 to the most recent 2016-17, Highway Fund allocations went from $867 million to $757 million, a reduction of 13 percent. HIGHWAY FUND ALLOCATIONS Link 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17  Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual Estimated DOWN  Budget $ $866,886,300 $823,104,600 $683,800,400 $792,219,800 $740,645,600 $756,856,000 -13%  Sheet 54 of 656 54 of 545 54 of 542 54 of 550 54 of 558 54 of 558 Page A-22 A-22 A-22 A-22 A-22 A-22 During that same period, the state portion of the budget, excluding the unpredictable and heavily mandated federal funding, grew from $13.7 billion in 2011-12 to $16.5 billion in 2016-17, representing a 20 percent increase. STATE BUDGET IN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS Link 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual Estimated INCREASE  Billion $ $13.7 $14 $14.6 $14.8 $15.3…

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Haslam’s IMPROVE Act Includes Same ‘Economic Development’ That Lost Millions in TNInvestco

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

  “A performance audit from the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office has revealed the State of Tennessee has only recovered $5.3 million of its initial $200 million investment in the TNInvestco program,”  according to a statement dated November 10, 2016, under the name of Justin P. Wilson, Comptroller, referring to a performance audit report. The statement from the Comptroller focused primarily on the TNInvestco program from the 60-page October 2016 “Performance Audit Report” produced by the state’s Comptroller’s office on Governor Haslam’s Department of Economic Development and Tennessee Technology Development Corporation. The Report was conducted by the Comptroller’s Department of Audit, Division of State Audit, with the report dated October 25, 2016, signed by Director, Deborah V. Loveless, CPA and addressed to The Honorable Ron Ramsey, Speaker of the Senate; The Honorable Beth Harwell, Speaker of the House of Representatives; The Honorable Mike Bell, Chair, Senate Committee on Government Operations; The Honorable Jeremy Faison, Chair, House Committee on Government Operations; and, Members of the General Assembly; and The Honorable Randy  Boyd, Commissioner, Department of Economic and Community Development. At the time of the audit, the program was in in its sixth year, having been approved by the Tennessee legislature in 2009.  With…

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TDOT Reduces Backlog From $6 Billion to $4.7 Billion, But Total ‘Project Needs’ Grow to $10.5 Billion

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

  The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) list of projects issued at the end of 2015 totaled $6.1 billion.  The updated project list included with the 2017 IMPROVE Act, on its surface, has a bottom line figure of $10.5 billion with the backlog potion being $4.7 billion. A spreadsheet document dated 11/9/15 was issued on TDOT letterhead titled “Current Backlog,” defined in the secondary heading as “Projects Approved by the TN General Assembly and Currently Under Development.”  The last line of the 13-page document states “Total Estimated Cost of Remaining Phases of Work” with a reported total of $6,095,023,692. The 2015 backlog list included a total of 252 projects in 62 counties with Shelby and Blount counties having the highest number of projects at 25 and 10, respectively. Contrasted to the projects in the IMPROVE Act listed in a report generated by TDOT dated 1/12/17, there are now 962 projects in all 95 counties at a cost of $10.5 billion. TDOT’s slick and interactive SPOT – Statewide Project Overview Tracker – displays the IMPROVE Act projects in map and grid form.   Utilizing the “grid” feature of the “project needs” page, as it is named, facilitates sorting by “yes” or “no”…

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No Evidence Haslam Administration Requires Reporting of Female Genital Mutilation to Tennessee Department of Health, Despite High Potential Risk in Nashville

Chris Alto

  The Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin Metropolitan Statistical Area is ranked 20th in the country for the potential risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) being performed on women and girls, as reported by the Population Reference Bureau. Among state rankings Tennessee is number 18  overall for risk to women and girls from FGM. Yet under the administration of Governor Bill Haslam, the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) does not require any reporting of FGM by Tennessee healthcare providers to the TDH, so far as The Tennessee Star can determine based on publicly available records. The 2017 mandated reporting to the TDH by healthcare providers of “diseases, events, and conditions” which includes both communicable diseases and “events” such as lead levels and carbon monoxide poisoning, but does not include any form of female genital mutilation (FGM), despite a state law passed in 2012 specifically for the purpose of reporting FGM. The TDH’s Maternal and Child Health Services Title V Block Grant FY 2017 Application and Annual report which is administered in part for TDH initiatives related to Maternal and Child Health (MCH), specifically references the FGM prohibition as one of the state laws that provide “basic protections for the MCH population” and which applies to TDH’s use of…

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Gas Tax Increase Lobbyists Begin Advertising Campaign on Ralph Bristol’s WWTN Show

Laura Baigert

Regular listeners to Nashville’s Morning News With Ralph Bristol on 99.7 FM WWTN may have noticed a new advertiser on Thursday–the Transportation Coalition of Tennessee. The Coalition is a group of 39 lobbying groups that support Governor Haslam’s IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017,” the majority of which will directly benefit from the additional $10 billion in taxpayer-funded road projects. Several of the lobbying groups, such as the Tennessee County Highway Officials Association, Association of County Mayors and Tennessee County Commissioners Association, are funded by membership dues paid for by taxpayers through county budgets. Reports indicate that the ads are only being played on WWTN during Nashville’s Morning News with Ralph Bristol. Bristol has been a proponent of the IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017” since its introduction and continued his support in the second hour of Thursday’s show with an 8-minute “rant,” as Ralph often refers to them. The full transcript can be found here. In the third hour of the program, the one-minute advertising “spot” by the Coalition went like this: “Governor Bill Haslam’s IMPROVE Act responsibly funds important road and bridge work in all of Tennessee’s 95 counties. The IMPROVE Act funds transportation infrastructure and at…

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The 962 Road Construction Projects Costing $10.5 Billion in The Gas Tax Increase Bill Can Be ‘Modified’ by TDOT

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

Governor Haslam and other administration officials have stated since announcing the IMPROVE Act , now the “Tax Cut Act of 2017,” on January 18 that the purpose of the gas and diesel tax increases included in the bill is to fund 962 needed road construction projects in all 95 counties for a price tag of $10.5 billion.

These projects, however are the seventh in priority in a list of seven things for which the additional funds raised in the bill can be used.

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Letter to the Editor: Haslam’s ‘Tax Cut Act of 2017’ Straight Out of Orwell’s 1984

Admin
Tennessee Star

  Dear Tennessee Star, In George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece 1984, the unfortunate character Winston is battling desperately to grasp objective truth. Meanwhile the power mongers ruling the Ministry of Truth tell him, “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” Orwell thought he was writing satire; too bad he couldn’t witness our Tennessee General Assembly, where a tax increase is hawked as a tax cut. Gone is the IMPROVE Act; now we have the “Tax Cut Act of 2017.” Same steaming cowpie, just an added dash of Haslamian perfume. We must assume our politicians dreamed this up supposing that average Tennesseans are complete imbeciles who salivate at the mere mention of tax cuts. Well, tax cut for whom, you may ask? Good question. Short answer – it ain’t us. Longer answer – the bulk of the tax cuts are specifically in the Franchise and Excise tax, targeted to save some of Tennessee’s largest corporations about $113 million. Most conservatives might be fine with reasonable corporate tax reductions as the state runs a $2 billion surplus, but not in the same bill that seeks to slam average Tennesseans with a huge increase in fuel taxes. The Governor and his political…

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Despite Ethics Cloud, ‘Proud’ Barry Doss Presented ‘New and IMPROVED’ Gas Tax Bill for ‘Rebranding’ as ‘Tax Cut Act of 2017’

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

  Rep. Barry Doss (R-Leoma) told the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday he was “proud to bring the bill before you,” as he presented Governor Haslam’s IMPROVE Act, the gas tax increase proposal he co-sponsors, for consideration.   Rep. Doss continues to sponsor and present the bill, despite the call for an ethics investigation by the Tennessee Republican Assembly over potential Tennessee Department of Transportation contracts for his company. Doss statement of pride in the gas tax increase proposal came both in his opening statement and again later in response to Rep. David Hawk (R-Greeneville). Hawk said he would continue to work to “present a plan our colleagues can vote for, as opposed to presenting a plan that our colleagues may have to hold their nose and vote for.” Doss took exception to Hawk’s comments, and said again that he was proud to sponsor the gas tax increase bill and that he is “not holding my nose today.” He conceded, however, that it’s “going to take some education of our constituents,” something he said he has “been doing for a solid year.” Although he has served two previous terms in the House of Representatives, Rep. Doss has not been a member…

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Speaker Harwell Says She Will Have a Road Funding Plan That Does Not Raise The Gas Tax

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

  Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) says that she and many other members of the Tennessee House of Representatives will introduce an alternative plan that will not increase gas taxes when the IMPROVE Act “Tax Cut Act of 2017” comes before the House Finance Ways and Means Committee on Monday for consideration. “When you buy a car in the state of Tennessee, whether used or new, you pay a sales tax on that.  We want to take that sales tax and put it to our roads program.  That brings in a tremendous amount of money and we think that’s an appropriate, new, dedicated source of funding for our roads, which then we would not have to raise the gas tax,” Harwell said in an interview with Ralph Bristol, host of  99.7 FM WWTN’s Nashville’s Morning News on Monday. Full details of the plan are being finalized, with input from other House members, Speaker Harwell said. But the plan will use existing revenues from the sales tax of new and used vehicle sales already collected by the state and dedicate those revenues to funding road projects, she added. Allocating the state portion of the vehicle sales tax revenues toward roads would result in…

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Tennessee Farm Bureau Supports Haslam’s Gas Tax Because They Don’t Have to Pay It

Chris Alto
Tennessee Star

  Since January 2008, Tennessee farmers have benefitted from expanded agricultural tax exemptions, including sales and use taxes on “gasoline or diesel fuel used for ‘agricultural purposes’ as defined in Tenn. Code Ann. Section 67-6-102.” Farmers in Tennessee who own or lease “agricultural land from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold during the year, including payments from government sources,” are exempt from paying tax on “off road” use of gasoline and diesel fuels. A full year before Governor Haslam released his “IMPROVE Act” that raises the tax on gas and diesel fuel, Tennessee Farm Bureau’s (TFB) president Jeff Aiken said: “We could support a fiscally responsible state fuel tax increase, if and only if the money that was taken out of the funds under the Bredesen administration were first returned to the fund, and as long as the monies collected would go toward building and maintenance of roads and bridges in the state and nothing else.” Despite Haslam explicitly admitting that that up to $70 million of the gas tax can be spent on mass transit by cities and counties, the TFB has not withdrawn their support for the proposed fuel tax increases. In fact, last…

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