School Safety — Governor Bill Lee announced a new $40 million investment this week in school safety to better protect teachers and students and prepare for any potential threats of violence. Senate Bill 803 will to provide additional changes to existing law to prioritize the distribution of school safety grants to school resource officers. Approximately 500 Tennessee schools do not currently have SROs, and changes to the law will enable
A resolution allowing voters to change the way Tennessee’s Attorney General is selected was approved this week by the full Senate on Thursday. Senate Joint Resolution 1 calls for an open nomination process by the Tennessee Supreme Court in selecting the State Attorney General, followed by a confirmation vote of the nominee by a majority of both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly. The bill aims to provide for a
Economic development in state’s poorest counties is critical to improving health outcomes Dr. Randy Wykoff, Dean of the East Tennessee State University’s College of Public Health, spoke to the Senate Health and Welfare Committee this week regarding Tennessee’s overall health. Wykoff pointed to the need to work on economic development in the state’s poorest counties as a critical factor in improving Tennessee’s overall health. According to the United Health Foundation,
February 21, 2019 – Three bills which aim to protect children from sexual predators were approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. Two of the proposals extend the statute of limitations regarding sex crimes against children, while the third clarifies that undercover human trafficking operations used to catch offenders who patronize or promote prostitution of a minor are prosecutable in court. Statute of Limitations — Senate Bill 1252 follows
In Brief Resolution in Support of Israel — The Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee approved a resolution this week reaffirming Tennessee’s friendship with Israel and expressing unequivocal support for the nation. Passage of the resolution follows controversy earlier this week surrounding an anti-Semitic social media post from U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN). Senate Joint Resolution 58 recognizes Israel’s longstanding relationship with the U.S. and notes joint military efforts between
Although Tennessee’s college remediation rates have improved, many challenges remain according to information provided to the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday by Mike Krause, Executive Director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. Approximately 46 percent of high school students entering the state’s public colleges and universities need remedial math, while 30 percent need help with reading skills. The need for remediation is determined by the student’s ACT test. The test
The changing transportation industry was highlighted by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) this week in a presentation to the Senate Transportation and Safety Committee. TDOT officials talked about the future of connected and automated vehicles (CAV’s) and how this emerging technology will affect Tennesseans. Toks Omishakin, TDOT Deputy Commissioner, described the three main types of CAV’s. Automated vehicles, which have technology to assist the driver so that elements of
TennCare Director Dave Roberts testified before the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee on Tuesday to provide an overview of TennCare’s coverage and services. As of October 2018, approximately 1.34 million Tennesseans were covered by TennCare, which accounted for 20.5 percent of the state’s budget. Roberts said they focus on providing high quality, cost effective care for all TennCare members and utilize public-private partnerships with the three managed care organizations (MCO)
The Senate Energy, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Committee heard expert testimony this week from wildlife veterinarian, Dr. Dan Grove, and members of the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA) regarding the effects of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) on Tennessee’s deer population. This disease was first discovered in Colorado and Wyoming around 1960. However, as the years have progressed so has the disease, and Tennessee was the 26th state to confirm its