2008 Legislative Summary
The following is a review of some of the advocacy efforts for which Clifton Government Relations actively worked this year. The list is in alphabetical order by subject.
Early Education and Childcare:
Clifton Government Relations worked with the Governor, The Tennessee Alliance for Early Education and other groups to support the expansion of Pre-K education. Unfortunately, the Governor’s proposed $25 million increase, which would have added 250 new classrooms across the state, ultimately was not funded due to major budget cuts made at the end of the legislative session. The current program, however, remains intact and $3 million for inflation has been included. The Governor remains committed to Pre-K and will work for its expansion next year. To become an individual or organizational member of TAEE see www.prekfortn.com.
The Department of Human Services’ original budget for 2008 assumed an increase in the state’s reimbursement rates for subsidized child care. Unfortunately, the final DHS budget was also reduced due to the state’s revenue shortfall and there is a question about if and when the expected child care subsidy increase will occur.
Elections:
The Tennessee Voter Confidence Act, SB 1363/HB 1256 and now Public Chapter 1108, requires the ballot of record be a paper ballot marked by the voter, and be used in any recounts or random audits. It provides accommodations for voters with disabilities and implementation by 2010, but allows earlier implementation.
Environment:
For the past several years, Clifton Government Relations has lobbied for environmental issues in Tennessee, and since 2001, as the lobbyist for Tennessee Conservation Voters. While we’re happy with the progress we’ve made in our ability to advance a positive environmental agenda, we regret that the number of anti-environmental bills filed forced us to spend so much of our time ensuring that we not go backward! 2008 was a year in which, among other negative actions, there was a real threat to the integrity of the headwaters system in Tennessee. We helped with that battle for now. The legislature failed to take steps to protect our environment from the ravages of mountain top removal coal mining or to protect dedicated funding for land acquisition and conservation. TCV and other groups must be more proactive next session to make our priorities more clear and compelling.
TCV, our member groups and other hard-working organizations and individuals are pleased with several important energy conservation bills that became law. Chief among them were:
- SB 116/HB 348 which replaces current minimum energy conservation standards for new residential construction with the more recent 2003 Intl. Energy Conservation Code. The Bill was enacted as Public Chapter 907.
- SB 4039/HB 4039 which creates the Energy Efficient Schools Initiative of 2008 to establish energy efficient design and technology guidelines for all K-12 facilities. Enacted as Public Chapter 1188.
There was a concerted effort to defeat a dangerous agenda of damaging water quality bills. Stopping the so-called “Limited Resource Waters Act”, SB 4119/HB 4185 which would have removed intermittently flowing water from regulation under the Water Quality Control Act, was a critically important victory. In other years, a successful effort by environmentalists that prevailed against a broad coalition including the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, Farm Bureau, Forestry Association, Bankers Association, contractors, roadbuilders, homebuilders, coal mine owners and others would have per se meant a successful year!! This year, happily, we had higher hopes and more vehicles for positive change. So the fact that we did not prevail on several important bills is partly a result of higher expectations!
Issues for which we lobbied and that will continue to be priorities in next year’s legislative session include:
- Coal taxes - SB 2671/HB 2895 would have raised the tax on coal products, established an account for the assistance of counties affected by coal mining and reclamation of land/waters damaged by prior mining. Also would have provided tax exemptions for renewable energy products. Bill was taken off notice in Senate Finance and failed in House Budget Subcommittee due to lack of a motion.
- Mountain top removal – SB 3822/HB 3348 would have restricted the issuance of coal mining permits relative to altering ridgelines above 2,000 ft. Bill passed Senate Environment and failed in House Environment Subcommittee.
- Rock harvesting - SB 4198/HB 4198 would have restricted certain rock harvesting practices. Bill was taken off notice in Senate Environment Committee and deferred in the House.
- Water quality protections – SB 3651/HB 3521 would have authorized TDEC to issue a stop work order for violations of the Water Quality Control Act. Bill was taken off notice in Senate Environment and failed in House Environment Subcommittee.
- Container deposit - SB 1408/HB 1829 would have enacted the TN Beverage Container Act to reduce litter and increase recycling. Bill was deferred in Senate Environment.
The final news on environmental legislation was not happy. The Appropriations bill, as passed, grabbed dedicated funding from conservation and land acquisition for 2 years. The legislature was forced to find a revenue “fix” after failing to plug a tax loophole on businesses and even though this step was suggested by the Governor’s Finance Commissioner, we hope that Governor Bredesen will clarify that this was not his preference and that he will find a way to restore these funds next year.
Families First:
Clifton Government Relations has been actively involved in advocacy efforts related to the Families First program since its inception under a federal waiver in 1997. The waiver from the federal government allowing Tennessee to operate the Families First Program ended on June 30, 2007. New federal guidelines provide less flexibility and limited or no financial support for many of the important far-sighted initiatives that were part of the Families First waiver program including Families Services Counseling. We are pleased to report that due to advocacy on behalf of NASW TN and other groups, the Department of Human Services has made positive changes in Family Services Counseling and its availability.
While there was not legislation related to Family Services Counseling, Clifton Government Relations monitored several bills related to Families First Clients including:
- SB 2731/HB 2648 that would have required DHS to implement a program of substance abuse testing as a condition for receiving public assistance. Failed to pass.
- SB 2917/HB 2784 that would have directed DHS to conduct a study of the prevalence and effects of depression among participants in the Families First /Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program. Failed to pass.
- SB 2918/HB 2785 that would have required pregnant participants in Families First, age 12-16, to participate in a special educational program concerning the dangers posed by certain risky behaviors to newborn children, including the use of alcohol and illegal drugs. Failed to pass.
Landlord Tenant Relations:
Clifton Government Relations worked with the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services in lobbying for SB 2885/HB 2746. This bill, which has been enacted as Public Chapter 1067, expands the application of the Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act to all counties with a population of more than 68,000 – an expansion of 4 counties for a total of 17 counties in Tennessee that will now be covered by the Act. This improvement will make residential landlord and tenant laws more fair to all parties and more relevant to rentals in modern urban settings.
Non-profit taxation:
This year, the Comptroller’s office introduced SB 3944/HB 3727 to revise, among other things, the way in which courts interpret nonprofit property tax exemptions. Clifton Government Relations worked with a loose coalition of nonprofits, including CNM, Vanderbilt, nonprofit hospitals, and the Tennessee Bar Association, to oppose the section that would have required strict construction of nonprofit property tax exemption requests rather than individual nonprofit agencies. The troubling section was ultimately amended out and the bill has been enacted as Public Chapter 1104.
Open Government:
Working for a more transparent government in Tennessee can be a double-edged sword, in that bringing the issue before the legislature can threaten the law already in place. Clifton Government Relations worked with the League of Women Voters on its priority issue for 2008 – to improve and preserve the integrity of Tennessee’s open records laws.
SB 3280/HB 3637 that has now been enacted as Public Chapter 1179, ultimately creates a stronger open records policy for Tennessee, despite efforts, especially in the House, to weaken current open government law. As passed, the bill states that records be made available to any citizen of Tennessee, imposing a seven-day limit for records custodians to respond to information requests or state why they need more time. An effort in the House State & Local Government Committee would have required notifying elected officials whenever a public records request involving them was made and identifying requestors. Fortunately, it failed.
The bill further creates the Office of Ombudsperson to answer questions and provide information regarding public records as well as providing educational outreach on the open records laws. It also authorizes the office of ombudsperson to create a reasonable fee schedule for public records requests that take more than five hours to fill and to informally mediate and assist with the resolution of issues concerning the open records laws. It creates an Office of Open Records Counsel, where the public can turn if they have a problem accessing government records and it sets up a committee to study problems like excessive fees and long delays.
Senior Issues:
On behalf of the TN Coalition of the Alzheimer’s Association, Clifton Government Relations lobbied for Senate Bill 4181/House Bill 4144 which has been enacted as Public Chapter 1190. This initiative was the Governor’s plan to simplify access to home- and community-based services and increase the number of people able who can stay at home for long-term care needs.
This fundamental change in the way TennCare handles long-term care revises the current long-term care system by creating a single point of entry, establishing a budget allowance for home- and community-based services (HCBS), developing a level of care criteria for nursing facility admissions, establishing an acuity-based reimbursement methodology for nursing facility services and developing consumer-directed options for persons receiving HCBS. The legislation described the changes in broad strokes, but the logistics will be hammered out by TennCare officials with input from others over the next year.
Social Work Licensure:
Clifton Government Relations worked with the Tennessee Chapter of NASW in identifying the need for revisions to the law under which Social Workers practice in Tennessee. Tennessee’s Social Work licensure law has not been revised for over twenty years and we therefore made the passage of Senate Bill 2932/House Bill 3802, to create multi-level licensure for social workers one of our top priorities. The bill passed (almost unanimously) and is now Public Chapter 1016. Professional social workers are currently helping Tennesseans in a variety of ways, but the old state licensure law chiefly regulated social workers in clinical practice. The new law will promote public protection through regulation of social work practice in clinical and other community settings.
