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Paid for by Friends of John Ray Clemmons, Sydney U. Rogers, Treasurer

Wrigley

Frank

Happy President’s Day ([link removed])! Please enjoy this federal holiday by staying home and staying safe with your family and pets. The roads are covered with ice, and the weather ([link removed]) is only expected to get worse as the day progresses. Like many of you, I’ll be following our friends at NashSevereWx ([link removed]) and local news outlets for real-time updates. Remember to keep your phones charged and have candles or flashlights at the ready in case of power outages. Also, when we are able to venture back out, please remember to wear your face coverings in public and get vaccinated ([link removed]) when able.

 

STAYING IN TOUCH

 

To stay in touch and help keep you fully informed about activity in the state legislature, I provide as much timely information as possible on Facebook ([link removed]) and Twitter ([link removed]). I have also started posting an informal weekly roundup video titled “The State of Things” on Instagram ([link removed]) at the end of each legislative week. Please check it out if interested. I will periodically post other short videos to provide updates and raise attention to issues as they arise. Additionally, I have always enjoyed the opportunity to attend neighborhood meetings and other gatherings to stay up to date on your neighborhood. If your group is hosting a virtual meeting, please be sure and let me know (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Event%20Invitation) so I can listen in or provide information. 

 

THE STATE OF OUR STATE

 

The first week of the legislative session formally wrapped last Thursday. The busy week featured the governor’s “State of the State” address, movement of the supermajority’s first “slate of hate” bill, testimony from our new DHS commissioner on unspent TANF funds, and the expiration of the bill-filing deadline for legislators.

 

On February 8th, we convened for a joint session of the 112th Tennessee General Assembly to hear the governor’s annual “state of the state” address ([link removed]). During the speech he outlined some of the spending highlights of his $41.8 billion budget ([link removed]), which exceeds last year’s budget by $4 billion. The governor’s speech was vague on his plans to help our families, small businesses and local economies recover from the ongoing pandemic, but it was “clear on the fundamentals of present-day arch-conservative ideology,” as Keel Hunt noted in his Field Notes ([link removed]). At one point, he even implied that there had, in fact, been scandals in other states’ elections, furthering the disproven “stop the steal” narrative. Rather than acknowledge those who have died from COVID-19 and address many of the concerns about which I hear daily from Tennesseans, the governor mostly patted himself on the back for his handling of the pandemic and discussed his upcoming reelection tour across the state, eliminating handgun carry permits, and further limiting women reproductive health care rights. While the governor promised some positive investments in education, post-partum care and other areas in need of funding, he also promised paid family leave for state employees, a mental health trust fund for students and a four percent pay raise for teachers last year. None of those have materialized to this day, so we’ll see what happens. I encourage you watch the speech to form your own opinions and draw your own conclusions. Please continue to follow along throughout this session to see.

 

2021 JRC LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE

 

Our bill-filing deadline was Thursday, February 11th, so my entire legislative package ([link removed]) is now officially filed and available online. This year, I have introduced a slate of bills to address many issues which were magnified during the pandemic, such as the ongoing need for broadband access in rural areas, unemployment delays and insufficient payments, the mental and behavioral health of our students, fair access to housing, and no-excuse absentee and mail-in voting. In addition to these important issues, I have introduced bills to incentivize sustainable agricultural practices and carbon sequestration on farms across our state, reform our bail system, ensure pay equality, prevent school-based bullying and harassment, increase the construction of affordable housing, and help fund local transportation infrastructure projects. I will be spending the next week reviewing legislation filed by other legislators and signing on to cosponsor several other bills. If you have an opinion about legislation or a suggested amendment, please do not hesitate to reach out to me (mailto:[email protected]).

 

TANF

 

This week we heard testimony ([link removed]) from Tennessee’s new DHS ([link removed]) Commissioner Clarence H. Carter in the House Health Committee. I had the opportunity to pose a few questions to him about the adverse impacts of our state sitting on over hundreds of millions in TANF funds.

 

IN THE NEWS

 

NewsChannel5 (mailto:[link removed]), Feb. 12, 2021 – TN/KY lawmakers draft bills to modernize struggling unemployment systems

 

Tennessee Lookout ([link removed]), Jan. 20, 2021 - TN Republicans propose taking funds away from school districts that went virtual

 

WSMV ([link removed]), Feb. 9, 2021 – Tennessee Republicans advance ban on transgender athletes

 

STORIES TO FOLLOW

 

NPR ([link removed]), Feb. 15, 2021 – As Biden reopens ACA enrollment, are you eligible to sign up or switch health plans?

 

Tennessee Lookout ([link removed]), Feb. 15, 2021 – Exit/In property is up for sale





2501 Oakland Avenue | Nashville, TN 37212 US

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