|
Rep. Jim Hackworth - House District 33
IMMEDIATE RELEASE May
30, 2008
House Ends 105th General Assembly
with Focus on Working Families
Expansion in K-12 and scholarship funding, as well as
major long-term care reform, mark productive legislative session
NASHVILLE (May 30) – With
nearly 12,000 additional lottery scholarships and long-term care reform
for Tennessee seniors in the books, House Democrats ended another
productive General Assembly that focused on working families.
“As gas prices continue to
climb and the national economy continues to sour, we as legislators must
make sure we’re doing all we can to provide the best services possible
while at the same time balancing our state budget,” said
Representative Jim Hackworth (D-Clinton). “While these past
two years have been as different as night and day, going from a booming
economy to an economy in recession, the common theme for both years has
been our goal of taking care of working families.”
For House members, the
significant achievement of 2008 came when a bill designed to expand
college scholarship opportunities to nearly 12,000 Tennessee students
passed both chambers by overwhelming margins. The new legislation
places $359.5 million of lottery reserve funds into an endowment that is
expected to produce recurring revenues of over $27.5 million a year.
These revenues will fund the expansion of Tennessee’s HOPE Scholarship.
“We must do all we can to
ensure that the next generation of Tennesseans have a quality college
education that doesn’t leave them bankrupted with thousands of dollars
in debt,” Hackworth said. A percentage of the recurring
funds will also go to pay for the thousands of Tennessee students who
will get to keep their HOPE Scholarship this fall thanks to a reduction
in the retention GPA requirement. Current figures show that over
70% of incoming freshmen lose their HOPE Scholarship in the first year.
By adjusting the retention GPA from a cumulative 3.0 to a 2.75 for the
first three years of college, students will have a better opportunity to
finish college and not have to make the difficult choice of dropping out
or being saddled with college debt thanks to one bad semester.
“Now students who may have
a difficult time transitioning to college, or have to work while
maintaining a full-time schedule, can have a little more grace when it
comes to keeping their HOPE Scholarship,” Hackworth said.
“Thanks to the new GPA retention requirements, fewer Tennessee students
will be faced with the difficult choice of having to drop out of school
or take on thousands of dollars in college loans.”
Long-Term
Care Legislation Passes Unanimously in the House
In addition to an expansion
of the scholarship funding, House Democrats led the charge in enacting
major reforms to Tennessee’s long-term care system.
“For a long time many of us
have been looking for ways to help Tennessee’s seniors stay home longer
and not have families be forced to make the difficult choice of placing
their loved one in a nursing home,”
Hackworth said. “Now Tennesseans have a choice when it
comes to long-term care.”
The “Long Term Care
Community Choices Act” creates a long-term care system designed to
promote home and community-based services. Under the new
legislation, older Tennesseans will now receive long-term care
information from one primary office controlled by Tennessee’s regional
agencies on aging and disabilities. These primary care centers
would advise seniors of available long-term care services and their
specific eligibility.
“One of the biggest hurdles
seniors have in Tennessee is a lack of available information,”
Hackworth said. “By educating the public and advising them of
their choices, more seniors and their families can make better decisions
on how to choose what long-term care options are right for them.”
The new legislation also
coordinates Medicaid funding to allow for funds to go beyond just
nursing homes and creates one place for seniors and their families to go
to find out the best information possible when it comes to their
options. It also requires the implementation of consumer-directed
care options that allow family members, friends or local neighbors to be
hired as in-home caregivers and provide seniors with the ability to
remain at home. Those unable to live at home can now have more
choices beyond the standard nursing home, including companion care,
family-care homes and assisted living facilities.
Additional highlights
from the House Democratic Caucus during the 105th General Assembly
include:
Helping
Heroes, Need-Based Grants and Non-Traditional Student Scholarships
Besides revising GPA
retention requirements to Tennessee’s HOPE Lottery Scholarship, House
Democrats this year also created new scholarship opportunities including
the “Helping Heroes Act of 2008.”
The “Helping Heroes Act of
2008” provides $1,000 per semester for up to eight semesters to any
Tennessee soldier returning from duty in Iraq and Afghanistan who
attends one of Tennessee’s public four-year colleges. These funds
help bridge the gap between the current GI Bill funding level and the
actual cost of attending college.
The new lottery scholarship
legislation also provides funding for 5,000 Tennessee Student Assistance
Corporation (TSAC) need-based grants designed to help students,
regardless of educational status, with the overwhelming cost of higher
education. The bill also revises the non-traditional student
qualifications of the HOPE Scholarship, reducing the minimum age from 25
to 23, and cutting the required class hours paid by the student from 24
to 12.
K-12 Funding Increase
and Pre-K Expansion
Last year Tennessee’s local
school districts received nearly $350 million in new funding thanks to
the state’s revised basic education program called “Schools First,” or
BEP 2.0.
BEP 2.0 now pays for 100
percent of student enrollment growth at local schools, plus at-risk
student programs and English language-learner curricula. The state
now also picks up 75 percent of teacher salary funding, with starting
salaries raised last year from $36,700 to $38,000.
Under the accountability
guidelines for public schools set when BEP 2.0 was enacted last year,
the state Department of Education can take over failing schools at least
two years earlier than was previously possible. Principals face
stricter performance standards under the new system, but have also been
given more power over school budgets and administrative staffing.
Teacher competency that in the past was accessed twice every 10 years is
now accessed once every two years.
The “Schools First” program
also augments the pre-graduation gateway examination given to high
school seniors with three new mandatory assessment examinations.
Students in grades 8, 10 and 11 take the tests to evaluate their
mathematics, reading and critical thinking skills.
In addition, last year more
than 250 new Pre-K classrooms were added statewide, bringing the total
Pre-K investment to $95 million and nearly 1,000 classrooms in 2007.
Fiscal
Responsibility
One theme remained constant
during the 105th General Assembly. Whether it was a surplus or a
deficit, House Democrats exercised fiscal responsibility and made sure a
balanced budget with no new taxes was passed.
In 2007, at the height of
what looked to be an economic upturn, Tennessee residents of the state’s
95 counties had to spend a little less at the supermarket when lawmakers
permanently reduced the sales tax on food from 6 percent to 5.5 percent.
Many elderly and disabled
homeowners across Tennessee were able to save on their property taxes
thanks to new legislation passed during the 105th General Assembly.
Under the legislation, homeowners over the age of 65 with annual incomes
of less than $24,000 can apply to have their property taxes frozen at
their current rates. Veterans who are 100 percent disabled from
active duty military service may also apply for the tax rebates.
In addition to the property
tax freeze, all Tennesseans received three “Back to School” sales tax
holidays during the 105th General Assembly, and will receive another in
August of this year. The 72-hour events remove sales tax for
certain school and art supplies, clothing with a retail price of $100 or
less, and computers priced $1,500 or less.
At the same time they were
cutting taxes, House Democrats took the initiative to tuck away an
additional $250 million into the “Rainy Day Fund,” putting the total
balance at over $750 million. These funds were not necessary for
the current fiscal shortfall, leaving the entire balance available
should the current economic slowdown continue next year.
AT&T and
Cable Compromise on Statewide Franchising
Lawmakers passed sweeping
legislation to provide for more competition amongst cable providers to
allow for more choice and possibly lower prices for Tennesseans.
After a bill to allow
statewide franchising rights in video and Internet services stalled late
in the first session of the 105th General Assembly, House and Senate
leaders buckled down with representatives from AT&T, Tennessee’s cable
companies and the Tennessee Municipal League to create and pass in 2008
the “Competitive Cable and Video Services Act.”
Under the new legislation,
competitors would be able to obtain a ten-year state franchise
certificate from the Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) with the
requirement that the company must build-out to at least 30% of their
existing service area within 3.5 years. Companies would also be
required to expand 25% of their total new services to underserved and
low-income areas. Failure to meet either of these goals would result in
substantial financial penalties.
The new legislation also
takes steps to protect local interests, specifically the power of local
government. Under the new bill local franchise fees paid to local
governments will remain in effect and any construction of right-of-ways
will be under local regulation and approval.
Tougher
Illegal Immigration Legislation Passes House
In both 2007 and 2008,
House Democrats were lead sponsors of legislation designed to strengthen
state laws that combat the issue of illegal immigration.
Last year the House
overwhelmingly passed the “Tennessee Immigration Compliance Act,” a bill
that would have denied certain local, state or federal public benefits
to illegal immigrants. It also required law enforcement to check
the citizenship of any person charged with a felony.
Unfortunately, the measure was never taken up in the State Senate and
never became law.
This year, Democrats again
presented a tough bill on illegal immigration on the floor of the House,
this time mirroring similar laws passed in the state of Oklahoma.
The “Tennessee Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2008” would have
made Tennessee one of the toughest states in the country when it comes
to the issue of illegal immigration.
As with the previous bill,
it passed the House of Representatives overwhelmingly, but was never
acted upon by the Senate.
Public Safety
During the 105th General
Assembly, state representatives passed much tougher legislation to
strengthen public safety laws that ensure the well being of Tennessee’s
children.
Last year lawmakers passed
“Jessica’s Law,” a bill named after Jessica Lunsford who was raped and
murdered by a previously convicted sexual offender. The new law
dramatically increases the amount of time child predators spend in jail.
The new law also approves funding for Global Positioning System (GPS)
devices to be worn by child sex offenders at all times.
In addition to “Jessica’s
Law,” last year lawmakers also passed legislation increasing prison
sentences to those who use guns in committing felonies. The
“Crooks with Guns” legislation set aside $38 million for tough
crime-fighting initiatives, including increased mandatory prison
sentences for perpetrators who use guns in specific violent crimes.
The new law also increases mandatory prison sentences from three to 10
years if guns are discharged during a criminal act if the offenders have
prior convictions.
Lawmakers also approved
funding for 32 new district attorneys and 19 public defenders statewide.
The enacted budget also includes $3.7 million for additional parole and
probation officers.
Scrap &
Precious Metal Theft Legislation
Recognizing the escalating
problem of scrap metal and precious metal theft in Tennessee,
legislators implemented new regulations to curb the black market trade.
With the price of copper
and other common metals soaring, many Tennesseans began noticing an
unusual spike in crimes committed on local homes and cars where precious
metals were readily available. This problem, lawmakers learned,
has escalated into a widespread epidemic in both rural and urban areas.
To combat the growing crisis, lawmakers enacted tougher new regulations
to help keep an eye on the problem. Under the new legislation,
scrap metal dealers may not buy or otherwise acquire metal from anyone
who does not present a valid state or federally issued photo ID and may
not sell to anyone under 18 years old. Dealers must also require a
thumbprint record of a person who wishes to sell scrap metal to the
dealer. Dealers will also need to register with the Department of
Commerce. First and second violations will result in a Class A
misdemeanor charge, with a third violation resulting in a Class E
Felony.
Consumer
Protection from Predatory
Proprietary Schools & Insurance Companies
With the cost of education
continuing to rise, House Democrats passed new regulations to help
protect potential students from predatory proprietary schools.
Under new legislation
passed this year, proprietary schools will now be required to provide
complete tuition costs, job placement data and graduation rates to any
prospective or current student both in writing and online. If the
school is under any form of probation, students must also be made aware
of the probationary status. The schools will also be required to
meet the same transferability criteria as any current public college in
the state of Tennessee, meaning classes taken at the school must be
transferable to a traditional public institution.
House Democrats also
implemented new safeguards to protect consumers with insurance claims
from being denied appropriate assistance.
Taking effect January 1,
The “Tennessee Unfair Trade Practices and Unfair Claims Settlement Act
of 2009” defines and regulates "unfair trade practices” in the business
of insurance within present law. Under the new definitions,
insurance providers will be required to follow stricter guidelines with
regards to claims requests, approvals and denials and will be subject to
greater scrutiny under the law for questionable denial practices.
Back to Top
Back to Weekly Reports |
