Advocacy Group Poll Shows Tennessee Voters Support Right-to-Work Amendment

The committee advocating for a right-to-work constitutional amendment said a recent poll shows 64% of Tennesseans will vote “yes” to add the amendment to the state constitution.

The Vote Yes on 1 poll, conducted by Cygnal between Jan. 24-26, surveyed 500 likely general election voters. The poll had a margin of error of 4.34%.

Eighteen percent of those polled said they would vote against the amendment.

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State Building Commission Doubles the Budget for West Tennessee Megasite

Members of the Tennessee State Building Commission last week approved a budget that more than doubles the amount for infrastructure improvements at the Megasite of West Tennessee.

State Building Commission members and the State Building Commission’s staff did not return The Tennessee Star’s requests for comment Monday.

Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) serves on the Building Commission, according to the Office of the State Architect’s website.

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Tennessee’s Hall Tax Ends This Week, Promises New Economic Opportunities for the Volunteer State

Tennessee’s Hall Tax, as of this coming Friday, will cease to exist.

Experts say that will bring new opportunities to Tennessee and make the state’s economy more competitive.

The Hall Tax, instituted in 1929, applies a 6 percent tax to Tennesseans’ interest and dividend income. In 2016 members of the Tennessee General Assembly phased out the Hall Income Tax over years of scheduled reductions.

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Mayor John Cooper’s Latest Coronavirus Limit on Gatherings Is Similar to ‘Game of Duck Duck Goose,’ Conservative Watchdog Says

Nashville Mayor John Cooper has placed new limits on gatherings just in time for Thanksgiving, leading one conservative watchdog to liken all the mayor’s decrees to a “game of duck duck goose.”

With the dramatically named “Rule of 8,” Cooper announced a limit of eight for public and private gatherings. The limits start Monday.

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On New Podcast, Gov. Bill Lee Talks Juggling Public Safety Versus Keeping Tennessee’s Economy Going

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said this week that protecting public safety while also protecting the state’s small businesses during COVID-19 is his administration’s primary “balancing act” and it was “heartbreaking” to watch small businesses close.

Lee also said he and other state officials used stimulus money to help the state’s business owners.

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Tennessee School Boards Association Must Provide Records to the Public, Ruling Says

Members of the taxpayer-funded Tennessee School Boards Association may not like it, but public records laws apply to their organization and they must provide their information to the public.

This, according to a ruling that 20th Judicial District Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal filed this month.

As reported last year, the legal arm of the Beacon Center of Tennessee filed a lawsuit against the TSBA demanding access to the group’s records.

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Tennessee Counties Have a Spending Addiction, Beacon Center President Warns

  At least four local governments in Tennessee have proposed massive property tax increases totaling more than $200 million a year, according to a new column from the Beacon Center of Tennessee. Beacon is a Nashville-based free market think tank. Beacon President Justin Owen said in a column on the organization’s website that many local governments pass new budgets this time of year. Owen also referenced how Metro Nashville Council members just defeated a $154 million property tax increase — by a single vote. Hamilton County officials, meanwhile, are pushing for $34 million in new property taxes. “In Murfreesboro, the city has voted on a 34-cent tax increase, while Rutherford County officials are piling on with a 9.5 percent tax hike proposal on top of that,” Owen wrote. “Could it be that all these local governments are starving for revenue? Uniformly, these cities and counties don’t have a revenue problem, they have a spending addiction.” Owen said “Nashville has shelled out corporate welfare like no other city could imagine,” citing, among other things, $14 million for Opryland’s new water park. Hamilton County commissioners, meanwhile, operate what Owen called “their own slush fund, doling out nearly $1 million annually to their…

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Governor Bill Lee’s Proposal for Education Savings Accounts Passes Its First Hurdle in Tennessee House Subcommittee

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The bill that lays out the details of Governor Bill Lee’s proposal for Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) passed its first hurdle in the House Curriculum, Testing & Innovation Subcommittee. The 16-page amendment that “makes the bill” was presented by Speaker Pro Tem Bill Dunn (R-Knoxville), who is carrying the legislation as HB 0939 in the House before a standing room only House Hearing Room IV. Of note were the many attendees wearing “children are more than a test score” stickers, something with the color red, or red Vision 20/20 shirts showing support for the Tennessee Education Association, the state affiliate of National Educators Association, the largest union in the country. Earlier this year, Dunn was honored for his work on school choice when he was awarded the Tennessee Federation for Children’s 2019 Champion of Choice award, as reported by The Tennessee Star. In his introduction of the bill, Dunn said, it comes to us from Governor Bill Lee and his administration and deals with school choice and the idea that each student is a unique individual and unique circumstances lead to different needs when it comes to education. “We all know that Governor Lee, when he ran…

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The Tennessee Star Report: Justin Owen from the Beacon Center Talks About Governor Lee’s Plan to Reform the Tennessee Criminal Justice System

In a specific discussion on Monday morning’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – host Steve Gill talked in depth with the Beacon Centers CEO, Justin Owen about the Beacon’s support of Bill Lee’s criminal justice reform proposal and the implications of offering non-violent criminals a chance to receive education and enter the workforce instead of returning back through the prison’s revolving doors. The men ended the segment covering the aspect of vocational training reform and it’s implementations effect on Texas. Gill: Justin Owen is the President and CEO of the Beacon Center and here to explain what is the rationale for the support that the Beacon Center is giving to, among other things the college for criminals plan that Governor Bill Lee is putting out. And Justin good to have you with us. Owen: Good to be on Steve, thanks for inviting me on. Gill: A lot of stuff on this issue. The Governor hadn’t put out a lot of details, they’ve not answered questions that we’ve submitted to them about how much it’s going to cost and…

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Gov. Bill Lee Announces Criminal Justice Reform Proposal, May Include Free College Education for Felons in Prison

“Free” college education is all the rage, and now it appears that felons are joining in as Gov. Bill Lee proposes to use taxpayers’ money to pay their way to a degree. Lee’s plan could join other “free” education programs. In December Metro Nashville announced a program to spend millions per year offering “free” college to select students, building on similar programs like Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect. Lee on Thursday announced a number of changes to the criminal justice system leading up to his State of the State address on Monday. A press release on his plan is here. “We must significantly improve public safety in our state and I believe that starts with our criminal justice system,” Lee said in the press release. “We will focus on helping individuals to ensure there is a pathway to a productive life beyond crime and ultimately make our state a safer place.” Laine Arnold, Lee’s press secretary, did not reply to questions asking these questions: What is the total cost to implement the criminal justice reforms? Will the inmates pay anything? How much will taxpayers pay for the bachelor’s degree program at Turney Center Industrial Complex and high school education? Lee’s…

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School Choice Provides Flexible Options That Fit Students’ Unique Needs, Beacon Center Says at Jackson Event

The Beacon Center on Monday hosted a meeting on school choice issues in the upcoming legislative session for 2019. Taylor Dawson, outreach coordinator for the Beacon Center, spoke about the organization’s legislative goals regarding school choice and the ways in which volunteers can help. The meeting was held at Brooks Shaw’s Old Country Store in Jackson. Beacon’s Justin Owen, president and CEO, also wrote in the Jackson Sun, “Parents should decide the best educational environment for their child. This National School Choice Week, we should remember how educational choice works to empower parents to customize their child’s education that fits his or her unique needs.” In the op-ed, Owens touts the benefits of Educational Savings Accounts (ESAs), which the General Assembly authorized in 2015 for parents of children with special needs. According to a Beacon special report, summarized here, ESAs “provide families a more flexible option than traditional voucher programs. ESA funds can be used to create a truly customized education experience including tutoring, speech and other education therapy, private school tuition, homeschool curriculum and supplies, education technology, and even help save for college.” Beacon’s two-part series is titled, “Counting Dollars and Cents: The Economic Impact of a Statewide Education Savings…

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Beacon Center Calls ‘Cut’ on Wasteful Tennessee Film, TV Subsidies Such as ‘Nashville’

film crew

The TV show “Nashville” may finally be ending, but taxpayers have been stuck with the tab for this and other “flops,” conservative think tank says in a new report. The Beacon Center of Tennessee released the “Calling Cut on Film Incentives” report Wednesday to decry the bad “investments” the state had made in spending tax dollars on shows, movies and commercials. “Nashville” is only one example highlighted in the report. The show, on the eve of its series finale, has been canceled twice in three years and cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, the Beacon Center said. The current home is CMT, which picked it up after ABC dropped it. Beacon Center CEO Justin Owen said, “While we are against all forms of corporate welfare, film incentives have unquestionably proven to have the worst return on investment of any type of handout. Studies show that film incentives have a return on investment of anywhere from just seven cents per dollar to 28 cents per dollar, an investment that only the government would make. “It seems like Tennessee government officials were throwing darts blindly when they picked what productions to subsidize,” Owens said. “In fact, over 40% of the films that received…

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