Serving Hohenwald, Lewis County Tennessee Since 1898
Serving Hohenwald, Lewis County Tennessee Since 1898
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Senate prioritizes legislation to protect children Health Committee advanced legislation prohibiting irreversible medical procedures to change gender identity of child Legislation that would prohibit minors from undergoing irreversible and harmful medical procedures to change their gender identity is one step closer to becoming law. Senate Bill 1, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson and which I co-sponsored was approved in the Health Committee this week. The bill seeks to ban medica...
State Legislature sets the stage for 113th General Assembly Human trafficking prevention remains top priority for Tennessee legislature January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. This and every month of the year it remains a top priority of our General Assembly to bring an end to this terrible crime in Tennessee. Often described as a hidden crime, human trafficking includes both forced labor and sex trafficking. Not long ago, Tennesseans saw human trafficking as a third world...
State Legislature sets the stage for 113th General Assembly in organizational session Upon completion of organizational tasks, the General Assembly will get to work on issues facing Tennessee including some of the following issues. Abortion Laws On June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. This action returned abortion law to the individual states and triggered Tennessee’s Human Life Protection Act into effect. Alm...
Preview of the 2023 Legislative Session of the 113th General Assembly Upon completion of organizational tasks, the General Assembly will get to work on issues facing Tennessee. Budget Passing a balanced budget is the most important Constitutional duty of the Tennessee General Assembly and its only required task. The state is in great financial condition despite challenges including inflation, which is impacting not only Tennessee, but the entire country and world. For fiscal year 2022-2023, the...
7 Legislative Preview: Improving Juvenile Justice System We are preparing for a busy 2023 Legislative Session in Nashville where we will address a variety of important issues facing Tennesseans including improvements to Tennessee’s juvenile justice system. Following allegations of abuse and ongoing insufficient resources and facilities at the Wilder Youth Development Center, the Senate and House speakers formed the Joint Ad Hoc Committee on Juvenile Justice to examine the specific challenges...
7 Legislative Preview: Tennessee Department of Children’s Services will be top issue A top issue of the 2023 legislative agenda will be improving services, facilities, and record-keeping technology at the Department of Children’s Services (DCS), which is facing considerable challenges with staffing shortages and housing facility needs. An audit by the Tennessee Comptroller found that “the safety, permanency, and well-being of Tennessee’s most vulnerable children is in jeopardy” by the depar...
New Year rings in enactment of several important new laws set to go into effect January 1 A collection of bills passed this year will become effective on January 1, 2023. Among them is key legislation that provides tax relief to farmers. That law exempts farmers from sales tax on items and services used for agriculture production, including building materials, repair services, and labor, among other expenses used in agriculture production. The tax reduction totals $2.8 million, and does not...
The ultimate Christmas gift and the importance of gift giving Christmas is a special time of year. It is a season of celebration, as we rejoice in the birth of Christ. It is a season of giving -- an expression of love and joy. When you give something away, you are making a sacrifice for another person because you care for them and desire to see them happy, comforted, or peaceful. Giving is important because it is the spirit of giving that fosters unity among mankind. More than 2000 years ago, Ch...
Tennessee in strong financial position despite challenges Passing a balanced budget is the most important duty of the Tennessee General Assembly. While the budget isn’t usually presented to the General Assembly until February, there’s plenty of pertinent information and news to be aware of. Departments are already announcing requests, economic statistics are being published regularly and experts are providing valuable testimony at recent meetings. The state is in great financial condition des...
ennessee Department of Education requests $350 million budget increase Tennessee’s Department of Education is requesting a recurring $353.3 million state budget increase starting in fiscal year 2023-2024. The request, which comprises 16 line items, was presented to Gov. Bill Lee and the state’s executive budget team during budget hearings in November. The hearings were an opportunity for government agencies to provide updates on their budgets and identify needs for the future. Education is alw...
Transportation infrastructure will be a highlight of upcoming 2023 legislative session The 2023 Legislative Session is set to begin on January 10, 2023. Lawmakers will address many different topics and issues in this first session of the 113th General Assembly. Governor Lee recently held budget hearings where government agencies provided updates on their budgets and identified needs for the future. Transportation funding and infrastructure needs emerged from these budget hearings as a...
Happy Thanksgiving and don’t forget to shop local on Small Business Saturday Thanksgiving is a special and truly American holiday. What started as a shared Autumn harvest among Plymouth colonists and Native Americans has evolved to include family reunions, delicious food, football and parades. But the heart of the holiday remains the acknowledgement to God for his bountiful blessings on our lives, and the precious gift of gathering with friends and family to celebrate. The celebration now r...
New legislation will protect minors from irreversible procedures to change their gender identity The Tennessee General Assembly is at the forefront of a fight to protect minors from irreversible elective procedures to identify as a gender different from their biological sex. New legislation filed proposes the strongest protections in the nation to prohibit physicians from removing healthy body parts on minors or medical interventions that alter a child’s hormonal balance. These practices are e...
Comptroller report highlights Tennessee workforce alignment accomplishments, goals The Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury this month released a comprehensive report on recent and potential efforts to align the workforce in Tennessee. In this column I will discuss several highlights of the report. Workforce alignment occurs when the supply of qualified workers matches up with employers’ demands. In other words, it ensures workers throughout the state possess the skills and qualifications emplo...
The General Assembly removed roadblocks to obtain a Commercial Driver License in Tennessee to help our economy and communities From school bus drivers to trucking, the lack of Commercial Driver Licenses (CDL) in the state of Tennessee is hurting our communities in many ways. Consumers everywhere have felt the effects of the backlog in moving freight across the country. As the holidays approach, which is a busy time for retailers, this issue is going to become more prominent. The American...
Truth in Sentencing Across the country, people are mourning the lives tragically stolen from individuals of the Memphis community. As we reflect on the events that led up to these murders, it is clear that the system failed to protect citizens from dangerous criminals. We need to do better. The two men who committed these heinous crimes, are repeat violent offenders who should have still been in prison at the time these crimes were committed. Instead, they were both released early from their sentences and allowed to terrorize innocent citizens...
Age-Appropriate Materials Act enhances transparency and oversight of school materials Passed by the General Assembly this year and currently in effect is the Age-Appropriateness Materials Act of 2022. This important legislation enhances transparency and oversight of books and other materials in school libraries and ensures those materials are appropriate for the age and maturity levels of the students who may access them. The legislation has received considerable media attention of late and there have been numerous false or misleading claims...
Recent efforts are enhancing safety in schools With the new school year underway, Gov. Bill Lee this week announced recent efforts to enhance school safety. The announcement follows a June executive order that directed state agencies to engage parents, increase transparency and collaborate with local law enforcement and school districts. I applaud the Governor’s efforts, some of which I’ll summarize below, and I’m confident they’ll enhance safety at Tennessee schools. More than 10,000 Tennesseans are using the SAFE TN app, a free resource to qu...
Senior Centers can increase the quality of life for many citizens $80,000 in state grants going to senior centers in Senate District 28 As a physician and senator, I know firsthand that senior citizens who are engaged in their communities and lead an active lifestyle tend to have a higher quality of life. Senior Centers offer great services that can lead to better health outcomes for aging citizens. They are a tremendous place for seniors to connect with their communities and provide opportunities to participate in activities such as bingo and...
These new laws will improve public education in Tennessee Education was a primary focus of the 2022 legislative session, adding to the books a variety of new laws that will improve our public school system in Tennessee. With the new school year upon us, I’ll summarize in the following paragraphs a few of these important laws, several of which I am proud to have sponsored. I sponsored two bills aimed at ensuring fairness in both girls’ sports in K-12 public schools as well as NCAA women’s sports in public colleges in Tennessee. The latter prohi...
Parents can download SafeTN app as part of back-to-school preparations The first day of school for many students, teachers and parents can elicit mixed emotions. There is much preparation that leads up to the first day of school. Students worry about if they will have friends in their class, what their schedules will be, and what their new teachers will be like. Teachers finalize new lessons plans and refine old ones. They organize and decorate their classrooms for eager young learners to spend...
On August 25th, Tennessee’s Human Life Protection Act, also known as the Trigger Act, will take effect. Passed in 2019, the legislation restores Tennessee’s strong abortion laws prior to the Roe v. Wade ruling, preventing all abortions in the state except when the life of the mother is at risk. I’m proud to have sponsored this legislation, and am grateful to the U.S. Supreme Court for returning abortion regulation to the states. Tennessee now stands firmly on the side of life. The Human Life Protection Act creates a Class C felony for a perso...
I’m proud to have supported significant tax cuts for Tennesseans this year, two of which will soon begin. One is a suspension of the tax on groceries for the entire month of August and the other is an annual sales tax holiday on clothing, school supplies and computers, which will begin Friday, July 29th and run through Sunday, July 31st. Both of these tax cuts will provide financial relief to Tennesseans during this challenging time of rising inflation and food costs. While discretionary expenses such as vacations can be reduced or avoided duri...
The 112th General Assembly has adjourned for 2022, and it was a very successful year. We have taken measures for Tennessee to be a better place to live, work and to raise a family. I will go over the laws passed this session over the next few weeks. Recognizing military service for retirement credit / state employees – To honor the service and sacrifice of military veterans, a new law expands retirement benefits for state employees who served in armed conflicts. Previously, state law allowed military veterans who served prior to 1975 to receive...
The 112th General Assembly has adjourned for 2022, and it was a very successful year. We have taken measures for Tennessee to be a better place to live, work and to raise a family. I will go over the laws passed this session over the next few weeks. Protecting critical energy infrastructure - To ensure Tennessee’s energy infrastructure can support the state’s economic demands for reliable and affordable fuel, a new law prevents local governments from blocking the development of such infrastructure while preserving local zoning authority. The...
