Press Release from Rep. Jim Hackworth

Rep. Jim Hackworth - House District 33

IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 8, 2007
Lawmakers Review Governor’s Education
Budget Proposals, Possible Revenue Sources
Six House Members Appointed to Assign Bredesen’s 200 Bills to Sponsors

NASHVILLE (Feb. 8) – Two powerful committees in the state House of Representatives are asking tough questions about revenue sources for Gov. Phil Bredesen’s education proposals for the 2007-2008 fiscal year. The Education and Finance, Ways and Means committees have been meeting jointly and reviewing financial details for fully funding the governor’s ambitious public school initiatives, according to Rep. Jim Hackworth, D-Anderson Co.

The governor exclusively focused on strengthening public education at his recent State of the State Address to the 105^th General Assembly. In addition to the Basic Education Program (BEP), Bredesen asserted that he wanted the state to fully fund its share of these costs:

$120 million for at-risk students in K-12;

$27 million for student growth needs in local school districts;

$25 million for additional Pre-K classrooms statewide;

$48 million to keep tuition increases at state colleges and universities modest;

$10 million to offer free community college tuition to high school students who achieve certain minimum scores on the ACT test’

$9.3 million to increase Tennessee’s Hope Scholarships to $4,000 annually per student; and,

$48 million for operating increases in the state’s higher education system.

“Lawmakers agree with the governor that Tennessee is ready to make major investments in our public schools. To that end, he wants to use state lottery reserves and increase the state’s cigarette tax by 40 cents to help fund the education budget,” explained Hackworth.

Ninety percent of revenue from the proposed cigarette tax increase would be earmarked for education, with 10 percent targeted to agriculture and anti-smoking programs. Even after such an increase, the state’s cigarette tax is still well below the overall national average of $1.09 per pack. Presently, Tennesseans pay 20 cents per pack, compared to the nation’s highest state cigarette tax of $2.58 per pack in New Jersey.

“If the increased cigarette tax passes, the state could meet its future budget obligations for every component of these important initiatives. For example, the governor also wants to introduce ACT testing for eighth and ninth grade students to assess their academic progress early on, and mandate four-year mathematics requirements in high schools,” said Hackworth.

The House education and finance committees together are scrutinizing public school growth estimates, any additional costs involved, and comparing funding differences county-by-county. The governor is quick to stress that Tennessee’s proposed state budget is sound and balanced, and the BEP is fully funded with or without the proposed cigarette tax increase, added Hackworth.

In related action, the House majority party leadership appointed six representatives to an ad hoc Advisory Committee on Administrative Legislation. The committee members, selected from all three of the state’s grand divisions, are charged with evaluating and assigning sponsors for the more than 200 bills expected from the governor.

In a break with tradition, Bredesen didn’t submit his full slate of legislation, which includes the 2007-2008 appropriations bill, in conjunction with the State of the State Address. Instead, lawmakers anticipate receiving the governor’s requests the week of Feb. 20.

“The advisory committee is assigning relevant bills to members whose districts benefit the most from the proposed legislation. Obviously an East Tennessee lawmaker would know more about some issues than members from Middle or West Tennessee, and vice versa,” explained Hackworth.

More important, lawmakers are determined to “find funding streams for all proposed programs before they are approved by the House standing committees and sent to the floor for final action,” said Hackworth. “The process will be very transparent, and new spending initiatives may be rejected if funding is based solely on estimated state revenue growth projections.”

CONTACT: Kenneth Townsend, Press Secretary, House Democratic Caucus,
at 615-741-6620 or email kenneth.townsend@legislature.state.tn.us.