Week of February 19, 2007

Spend, Spend, Spend: Bredesen Unveils Budget

On Tuesday of this week, Gov. Bredesen released his proposed budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year.  The total budget is close to $27.5 billion, with nearly $914 million in new spending.  Republicans were quick to respond:

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville) questioned the need for Gov. Bredesen’s proposed 40-cent-per-pack increase on cigarettes.

“We got a budget surplus,” Lt. Gov. Ramsey said. “This year, revenue and growth is at an all time high, and so I don’t know whether that justifies having a tax increase during this time.”
                                                        -Chattanooga Times Free Press

Sen. Paul Stanley (R-Germantown) said he's concerned "that a lot of the initiatives he is proposing, while good to debate, we're not going to know the price tag of for several years. We've been running, with a good economy, budget surpluses for several years. We're going to wake up in three or four years and have severe budget shortfalls because of the amount of spending he is proposing year after year.”

"I don't think that the revenue he's proposing is going to keep up with the amount of spending he's proposing."
                                                        -The Commercial Appeal

Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville) said Bredesen’s budget was “comprehensive” in its “ability to spend every penny” and questioned not leaving the Legislature room to fund their own initiatives.

“We just need to take a hard look,” Norris said. “It’s a lot of money, a lot of new spending, some of which is warranted, the rest of which is questionable, particularly when there does not appear to be a reserve for legislative initiatives.”
                                                        -The City Paper

GOP Initiative Last Year, Governor’s Proposal This Year

Last year, Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) passed SB 3123 which would have abolished the Governor’s failed driving certificate program.  The Administration was none too pleased and made sure the bill did not see the light of day in the House.   This year, Bredesen is proposing to do away with the program.

Also, in recent years Republicans in the Senate have led the charge to pass stronger penalties against sexual predators.  In 2006, Sen. Diane Black (R-Gallatin) passed a bill that would have made child rape in cases where the child was murdered an offense of “pre-meditated murder,” which would have carried the death penalty or life in prison.  The Governor refused to fund the legislation even though it would have only cost $182,700.  This year he is proposing to increase the penalty of child rape to a minimum of 25 years in prison.   The Administration is calling this bill “Jessica’s Law”, however this is merely a portion of what was passed in Florida known as the “Jessica Lunsford Act”.

Political Voodoo?

Absent from the Governor’s proposed budget was any plan to return money to the taxpayers.  Sen. Mae Beavers (R-Mount Juliet) for the second year in a row has sponsored a plan (SB 305), along with all 17 members of the Senate Republican Caucus, that would gradually remove the sales tax on food.  Bredesen referred to the plan as “really dangerous”. 

“These are people who want to remove the sales tax from food, a significant source of revenue to our state, without either identifying an offsetting revenue or recommending programs to be cut,” the governor said.

Estimating the present value of the cuts at $8.5 billion over 30 years, Gov. Bredesen said the GOP plan “is voodoo” that “would knock a hole in our budget.”

He said many support the plan because “they think it will mess up the economics of the state and we will have to go back to an income tax consideration.”
                                                                                    -Chattanooga Times Free Press

Sen. Mae Beavers (R-Mount Juliet) lead sponsor of the proposal, said there was no need for replacing the revenue because the state has been running up surpluses in recent years.

"Last year, we had $900 million in new revenue and we spent every bit of it," she said. "We need to give people a tax break.

"To me, what's voodoo is to pass a new tobacco tax, which is a declining source of revenue, to fund education, which is a permanent program."
                                                                                    -Knoxville News Sentinel

If we follow the pattern of recent years, the plan by Sen. Beavers will be in the Governor’s proposed budget next year, and he will be lauded for bringing it to the table.

Woodson Receives Awards from Statewide Organizations

Sen. Jamie Woodson (R-Knoxville) was honored by two organizations this week for her support of education in Tennessee.  The Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association (TICUA) awarded her with the William Baird Legislative Leadership Award.

“We are honored to present this award to Senator Woodson,” said Dr. Claude Pressnell, President of TICUA. “She has worked diligently to make sure that students attending TICUA member institutions are treated fairly in the State’s student aid programs.”

The Tennessee Parent Teacher Association (PTA) also selected Sen. Woodson as the 2007 Sigrid Steward Legislator of the Year Award.

“This is a prestigious award that we present every year to an outstanding legislator who helps secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth,” explained Evelyn Pelletier, President of the Tennessee PTA. “We are honored to present this award to Senator Woodson and applaud her commitment to provide quality education for our children.”  
     
Republican Legislation

Sen. Dewayne Bunch (R-Cleveland) has filed SB 376 which would require law enforcement officers to conduct a test to determine the blood alcohol level of a driver involved in an accident resulting in injury or death if the officer has probable cause to believe the driver committed DUI, vehicular assault, vehicular homicide, or aggravated vehicular homicide.

This week, The Senate Commerce Committee heard a presentation relative to identity theft.  A bill filed by Sen. Raymond Finney (R-Maryville), SB 161, was mentioned as an important initiative to help citizens combat identity theft. Known as the "Credit Security Act of 2007", this bill would do three things: establish a process for requesting a security freeze on a consumer report, establish requirements governing the use of a person’s social security number, and create an identity theft passport for identity theft victims.

Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) passed SB 201 out of the Senate Transportation Committee which would require that all written drivers license examinations be given in English unless the person has written security clearance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.