What a marvelous year! The Senate was three for three in passing my priorities
for the year: 1) the “No State Income Tax” constitutional amendment, 2) the Equal
Opportunity Scholarship Act, and 3) civil lawsuit abuse reform.
"No State Income Tax" Amendment
Equal Opportunity Scholarships
Civil Justice Act
Education
Sex Offenders
Protecting Life
Crime, Voting, Right to Work, and Health Care
Conclusion
"No State Income Tax" Amendment
Mark your calendars now for January 10, 2012. That is the date that my “No State Income Tax” constitutional amendment should pass the Tennessee House of Representatives for the first time ever. The resolution passed the Senate on March 9 by a vote of 28 to 5. After former House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh tried to attach a poison pill amendment to it, the House redrafted the amendment. The new version passed the Senate on May 18 by a vote of 26 to 4. The House passed the new version through the Finance Committee and read it twice as required by the constitution. But on the last day of session the House deferred the third reading until the first day of session next year. If passed, the resolution must receive a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate in 2013-2014 before going on the November 2014 ballot for ratification.
Not having an income tax has already brought jobs to Tennessee. Being able to tell prospective businesses that we will never have an income tax will help us become the number one state in the southeast for high quality jobs. This amendment will close the door on the income tax battle forever.
On a similar note, the legislature passed a bill this year to increase the exemption for seniors over 65 paying the Hall income tax on interest and dividends to $26,200 for single filers and $37,000 for joint filers. This is a step in the right direction toward eliminating that tax.
Equal Opportunity Scholarships
The Equal Opportunity Scholarship Act will give low income public school students in Memphis, Shelby County, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga a scholarship to attend the K-12 school of their choice, whether a parochial school, independent school, or another public school within the district if space is available. I had to limit the scholarship amount to half the state and local funding per pupil to avoid appropriation in the budget, but that still amounts to a scholarship of roughly $5,000. Students on free and reduced lunch would be eligible. For a family of four, that includes families with incomes below $42,000. The Senate passed the bill on April 21 by a vote of 18 to 10. The House decided to study the issue further this fall before taking up the bill in January. Impoverished children in Tennessee have been denied a quality education for too long. It's time for the House to give those children the equal opportunity that higher income children already have to attend the school of their choice.
For more info, check out my column in the Commercial Appeal or the editorial in the Wall Street Journal.
Civil Justice Act
According to a recent study by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, the Tennessee Civil Justice Act of 2011 could bring as many as 30,000 new jobs per year to Tennessee. The bill will cut down on frivolous lawsuits and jackpot justice by placing a $750,000 cap on noneconomic damages like pain and suffering because those damages are hard to quantify. With more certainty and predictability in our courts, businesses and medical professionals will want to locate in Tennessee. At the same time, injured plaintiffs will still receive 100% of the economic, quantifiable damages that they suffer such as medical bills and lost future wages.
I have been working on this bill for seven years, so finally seeing Governor Haslam sign it into law was a huge victory. I really appreciate his leadership in tackling the difficult subject of tort reform. Without this law, Tennessee was the only state in the southeast that had no limits on possible punitive damage awards. With this law, Tennessee can become the number one state in the southeast for high quality jobs.
I also sponsored two other significant bills in the Senate this year that will cut down on the number of frivolous lawsuits. Summary Judgment is a way for a judge to decide a lawsuit before it goes to trial if everyone agrees to the facts. The Tennessee Supreme Court made it virtually impossible to win a Summary Judgment motion in 2008 and expanded its reasoning to employment law cases in 2010. My bills overturned these decisions and returned us to the old standard in Tennessee, which is the same as the federal standard.
Education
Charter schools
Every child in Tennessee is now eligible to attend a charter school thanks to a bill that I co-sponsored that was introduced by Governor Haslam. The bill also lifts the caps that had existed on the total number of charter schools that may operate in the state.
Tenure
Tenure status for teachers will now be linked to student performance in another bill by Governor Haslam that I was happy to co-sponsor. Before, tenure had to be granted at year three even though performance data was not available to administrators until after year three. Now, it will be granted at year five and only if teachers score in the highest two of five tiers for student performance. This reform will help ensure that every child receives a high quality teacher in his classroom.
Teachers union contracts
Since the 1970s, teachers union contracts have prevented school districts from rewarding good teachers and from encouraging bad teachers to move to a different career. Thanks to another bill I co-sponsored, unions will no longer be able to tie administrators' hands in such a fashion. Union contracts will be replaced with collaborative conferencing among teachers and administrators. This will prove a huge help in opening the door toward rewarding good teachers with merit-based pay.
No social promotion
After the Memphis City Schools in 2009 imposed the horrendous policy of not holding back any student prior to the third grade, I introduced a bill to end such social promotion. MCS was dooming children to failure for the rest of their careers by passing them on to the next grade even though many of them could not even read. I was proud to co-sponsor a bill with Sen. Charlotte Burks (D-Monterey) this year to end social promotion at the third grade level. This is a start in helping the 45,000 children being harmed by such a policy each year.
Norris-Todd
The consolidation of Memphis and Shelby County Schools is a contentious issue that invokes strong passions by well-meaning people on either side of the issue. It will ultimately be decided by the federal courts. I voted in favor of the Norris-Todd bill in February because it put in place a plan for the consolidation. Without the plan, students would have been in legal limbo in March, and there would have been no time for the two school systems to work through the complexities of merging two of the largest and most differing school systems in the state.
HOPE Scholarships
College students will now be able to use the HOPE scholarship to pay for summer school classes thanks to a bill by Governor Haslam that I co-sponsored.
Sex Offenders
Violent juvenile sexual offenders will now be added to the sex offender registry thanks to a bill I sponsored with Rep. Debra Maggart (R-Hendersonville). We must protect our children from all sexual offenders, even juveniles if they have committed violent acts like rape, aggravated rape, and rape of a child. Unlike the public sex offender registry for adults, the juvenile sex offender registry will be available only to law enforcement officers, but juveniles on the list must check in with law enforcement four times a year.
Also, I was proud to co-sponsor a number of bills to cut down on human sex trafficking. This sinister trade is largely underground but growing at an alarming rate. Legislation established a hotline for reporting the crime and increased penalties for those engaging in the trade.
Protecting Life
Another state constitutional amendment that you can look forward to voting on in November 2014 is the Right to Life Amendment. The amendment will overturn a state Supreme Court decision in 2000 that divined more liberal protections for abortions in the Tennessee constitution than in the constitutions of the U.S. and almost any other state. The amendment simply says that no right to abortion exists in the Tennessee constitution and returns the power to regulate abortion to the people through their elected state representatives and senators, within the bounds of federal Supreme Court decisions. The resolution, which I co-sponsored, passed the Senate and House by the requisite two-thirds super majorities.
In my continuing efforts to combat infant mortality in Tennessee, I was able to unanimously pass a bill to direct the Department of Health Perinatal Advisory Committee to study the standardization of hospital discharge and follow-up care procedures for premature infants born less than 37 weeks gestational age. I am proud to report that Tennessee moved up from 47th to 44th in infant mortality rate, but the Shelby County rate remains abysmal.
Crime, Voting, Right to Work, and Health Care
Pretrial diversion was a way to allow criminals to have all charges dropped and their records erased without even having to tell victims they were sorry. The legislature got tougher on crime this year in a bill I co-sponsored to end pre-trial diversion.
It will be harder for dead people to vote in Tennessee now that the legislature has passed a bill to require a photo ID to vote.
The legislature also passed a bill this year to protect secret ballots in union votes. Unions had advocated for public votes to punish workers who chose not to vote to be part of a union.
The Senate passed the Interstate Health Care Compact this year to try to derail federal health care reform by returning the power over health care for the poor to the states. Unfortunately, the effort was derailed in the House.
Conclusion
It turns out that electing a Republican Governor, State Senate majority, and State House majority for the first time since 1869 really did make a difference. I am proud of the work we accomplished this year and hope to continue to move Tennessee in the right direction.
"No State Income Tax" Amendment
Equal Opportunity Scholarships
Civil Justice Act
Education
Sex Offenders
Protecting Life
Crime, Voting, Right to Work, and Health Care
Conclusion
"No State Income Tax" Amendment
Mark your calendars now for January 10, 2012. That is the date that my “No State Income Tax” constitutional amendment should pass the Tennessee House of Representatives for the first time ever. The resolution passed the Senate on March 9 by a vote of 28 to 5. After former House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh tried to attach a poison pill amendment to it, the House redrafted the amendment. The new version passed the Senate on May 18 by a vote of 26 to 4. The House passed the new version through the Finance Committee and read it twice as required by the constitution. But on the last day of session the House deferred the third reading until the first day of session next year. If passed, the resolution must receive a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate in 2013-2014 before going on the November 2014 ballot for ratification.
Not having an income tax has already brought jobs to Tennessee. Being able to tell prospective businesses that we will never have an income tax will help us become the number one state in the southeast for high quality jobs. This amendment will close the door on the income tax battle forever.
On a similar note, the legislature passed a bill this year to increase the exemption for seniors over 65 paying the Hall income tax on interest and dividends to $26,200 for single filers and $37,000 for joint filers. This is a step in the right direction toward eliminating that tax.
Equal Opportunity Scholarships
The Equal Opportunity Scholarship Act will give low income public school students in Memphis, Shelby County, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga a scholarship to attend the K-12 school of their choice, whether a parochial school, independent school, or another public school within the district if space is available. I had to limit the scholarship amount to half the state and local funding per pupil to avoid appropriation in the budget, but that still amounts to a scholarship of roughly $5,000. Students on free and reduced lunch would be eligible. For a family of four, that includes families with incomes below $42,000. The Senate passed the bill on April 21 by a vote of 18 to 10. The House decided to study the issue further this fall before taking up the bill in January. Impoverished children in Tennessee have been denied a quality education for too long. It's time for the House to give those children the equal opportunity that higher income children already have to attend the school of their choice.
For more info, check out my column in the Commercial Appeal or the editorial in the Wall Street Journal.
Civil Justice Act
According to a recent study by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, the Tennessee Civil Justice Act of 2011 could bring as many as 30,000 new jobs per year to Tennessee. The bill will cut down on frivolous lawsuits and jackpot justice by placing a $750,000 cap on noneconomic damages like pain and suffering because those damages are hard to quantify. With more certainty and predictability in our courts, businesses and medical professionals will want to locate in Tennessee. At the same time, injured plaintiffs will still receive 100% of the economic, quantifiable damages that they suffer such as medical bills and lost future wages.
I have been working on this bill for seven years, so finally seeing Governor Haslam sign it into law was a huge victory. I really appreciate his leadership in tackling the difficult subject of tort reform. Without this law, Tennessee was the only state in the southeast that had no limits on possible punitive damage awards. With this law, Tennessee can become the number one state in the southeast for high quality jobs.
I also sponsored two other significant bills in the Senate this year that will cut down on the number of frivolous lawsuits. Summary Judgment is a way for a judge to decide a lawsuit before it goes to trial if everyone agrees to the facts. The Tennessee Supreme Court made it virtually impossible to win a Summary Judgment motion in 2008 and expanded its reasoning to employment law cases in 2010. My bills overturned these decisions and returned us to the old standard in Tennessee, which is the same as the federal standard.
Education
Charter schools
Every child in Tennessee is now eligible to attend a charter school thanks to a bill that I co-sponsored that was introduced by Governor Haslam. The bill also lifts the caps that had existed on the total number of charter schools that may operate in the state.
Tenure
Tenure status for teachers will now be linked to student performance in another bill by Governor Haslam that I was happy to co-sponsor. Before, tenure had to be granted at year three even though performance data was not available to administrators until after year three. Now, it will be granted at year five and only if teachers score in the highest two of five tiers for student performance. This reform will help ensure that every child receives a high quality teacher in his classroom.
Teachers union contracts
Since the 1970s, teachers union contracts have prevented school districts from rewarding good teachers and from encouraging bad teachers to move to a different career. Thanks to another bill I co-sponsored, unions will no longer be able to tie administrators' hands in such a fashion. Union contracts will be replaced with collaborative conferencing among teachers and administrators. This will prove a huge help in opening the door toward rewarding good teachers with merit-based pay.
No social promotion
After the Memphis City Schools in 2009 imposed the horrendous policy of not holding back any student prior to the third grade, I introduced a bill to end such social promotion. MCS was dooming children to failure for the rest of their careers by passing them on to the next grade even though many of them could not even read. I was proud to co-sponsor a bill with Sen. Charlotte Burks (D-Monterey) this year to end social promotion at the third grade level. This is a start in helping the 45,000 children being harmed by such a policy each year.
Norris-Todd
The consolidation of Memphis and Shelby County Schools is a contentious issue that invokes strong passions by well-meaning people on either side of the issue. It will ultimately be decided by the federal courts. I voted in favor of the Norris-Todd bill in February because it put in place a plan for the consolidation. Without the plan, students would have been in legal limbo in March, and there would have been no time for the two school systems to work through the complexities of merging two of the largest and most differing school systems in the state.
HOPE Scholarships
College students will now be able to use the HOPE scholarship to pay for summer school classes thanks to a bill by Governor Haslam that I co-sponsored.
Sex Offenders
Violent juvenile sexual offenders will now be added to the sex offender registry thanks to a bill I sponsored with Rep. Debra Maggart (R-Hendersonville). We must protect our children from all sexual offenders, even juveniles if they have committed violent acts like rape, aggravated rape, and rape of a child. Unlike the public sex offender registry for adults, the juvenile sex offender registry will be available only to law enforcement officers, but juveniles on the list must check in with law enforcement four times a year.
Also, I was proud to co-sponsor a number of bills to cut down on human sex trafficking. This sinister trade is largely underground but growing at an alarming rate. Legislation established a hotline for reporting the crime and increased penalties for those engaging in the trade.
Protecting Life
Another state constitutional amendment that you can look forward to voting on in November 2014 is the Right to Life Amendment. The amendment will overturn a state Supreme Court decision in 2000 that divined more liberal protections for abortions in the Tennessee constitution than in the constitutions of the U.S. and almost any other state. The amendment simply says that no right to abortion exists in the Tennessee constitution and returns the power to regulate abortion to the people through their elected state representatives and senators, within the bounds of federal Supreme Court decisions. The resolution, which I co-sponsored, passed the Senate and House by the requisite two-thirds super majorities.
In my continuing efforts to combat infant mortality in Tennessee, I was able to unanimously pass a bill to direct the Department of Health Perinatal Advisory Committee to study the standardization of hospital discharge and follow-up care procedures for premature infants born less than 37 weeks gestational age. I am proud to report that Tennessee moved up from 47th to 44th in infant mortality rate, but the Shelby County rate remains abysmal.
Crime, Voting, Right to Work, and Health Care
Pretrial diversion was a way to allow criminals to have all charges dropped and their records erased without even having to tell victims they were sorry. The legislature got tougher on crime this year in a bill I co-sponsored to end pre-trial diversion.
It will be harder for dead people to vote in Tennessee now that the legislature has passed a bill to require a photo ID to vote.
The legislature also passed a bill this year to protect secret ballots in union votes. Unions had advocated for public votes to punish workers who chose not to vote to be part of a union.
The Senate passed the Interstate Health Care Compact this year to try to derail federal health care reform by returning the power over health care for the poor to the states. Unfortunately, the effort was derailed in the House.
Conclusion
It turns out that electing a Republican Governor, State Senate majority, and State House majority for the first time since 1869 really did make a difference. I am proud of the work we accomplished this year and hope to continue to move Tennessee in the right direction.