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State Budget Information is available including links to the State of the State Address, press release, slideshow presentation, and the 2011-12 Budget Volumes 1 and 2 here http://www.tn.gov/stateofthestate/media/.
They are off and running now at the Capitol in Nashville. The Senators had to have all their bills filed on Thursday the 26th. We will be reviewing all the new legislation and keeping up with several from last year as well.
Monday, January 30th 2012 the Governor will present his State of the State Address. At which time he will unveil his budget and plans for streamlining government in TN.
Comptroller Justin Wilson said the state is in sound fiscal condition when he appeared before the House Finance Committee this week. Future financial challenges cited in the Comptroller’s report to the Committee include:
- Continuing to reduce expenses and create efficiencies
- Funding increases already projected and planning for federal mandates
- Making capital improvements and rebuilding the state’s reserves;
- Maintaining strong credit ratings and a manageable state debt; and improving financial reporting.
To view the full report you may find it at: http://www.comptroller1.state.tn.us/repository/NR/20121024JPWQuarterlyFiscalAffairsReport.pdf
Governor Harlem, Lt.Gov. Ramsey, and Speaker Harwell held a press conference to announce a joint proposal to address how judges are selected in TN. The three outlined a plan that includes a constitutional amendment that would apply to all Supreme Court justices and other appellate judges.
We met with the Department of Human Services and review some of the bills that have been introduced that will affect their department. Several of these we will be tracking through this report.
You can watch www.capitol.tn.gov live streams and delayed tapings of all floor sessions and committees from this site.
The legislature passed the redistricting bill in both the House and Senate.
All House members will be running for re-election this year. With many members having changes in their district lines they will want to adjourn as soon as possible and start campaigning. The Governors’ State of the State, budget address is January 31st. The last date to file new legislation in the Senate in January 26, the House deadline is February 1st. This pass week many committees didn’t meet as legislators are still preparing legislation.As legislation that we are following begins to move we will keep you up to date.
The 107th Tennessee General Assembly - http://www.capitol.tn.gov/
Schedule and Calendars - http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/schedule/
TN Catholic Public Policy Commission 2012 Legislative report
We will be reporting to you each week on legislation that the CPPC will be focused on this year. It is with regret that we will not be having Catholic Day on the the Hill this year. However, we hope you will watch these reports to keep up with legislation that you are interested in. And please continue to communicate with your legislators your concerns and share with them how you hope they will vote on an issue and why. We will send out alerts along the way when an important vote comes up. Your voice can make all the difference in which bills become law and which don’t. Thank you for taking the time to participate.
Once all the new legislation has been filed and reviewed we will be posting our report.
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Synopsis of how a bill passes through the General Assembly
Bills may be companions if both captions are identical. If a bill passes one house, it is sent to the other. If it has a companion that is moving through the process, the bill passing first remains on the clerk's desk in the second chamber until the companion reaches the floor. At that time the first bill is "substituted and conformed," meaning that lawmakers acted on the version already passed in the other chamber.
If a bill without a companion passes in one chamber, it goes through the committee process in the other chamber. Such bills rarely pass.
Names in parentheses in the bill summary are the prime sponsors who are listed first on the bill.
Amendments to bills are summarized just after the sponsors' names. Status columns usually note that amendments are on the bill.
Constitutionally all bills must pass three readings. The first two are formalities -- first reading when the bill is introduced, second reading when it is referred to committee. Third reading is final passage on the floor by the entire chamber.
Committees may defer a bill (deferral to a date when the Assembly is out of session is a way to kill legislation); it may fail; it may be referred to a subcommittee; it may be recommended for passage with or without amendments; or go to the floor without recommendation.
 When a committee recommends a bill with a large fiscal effect, it is referred to the Finance, Ways & Means Committee, which must also act on it. Otherwise, the bill goes to the Calendar Committee in the Senate or to the House Calendar & Rules Committee. The Senate Calendar Committee routinely schedules all bills for the floor, so we do not report its calendar. The House Calendar & Rules Committee is reported because it considered each bill substantively and bills frequently die there.
On the floor, a bill must receive the favorable vote of a "constitutional majority," or 17 senators and 50 representatives. If a constitutional majority votes against a bill, it is rejected and no bill on the same subject may be enacted during that two-year term. If a bill falls in between -- neither the votes for it or those against it make up a constitutional majority -- it "fails for lack of a constitutional majority" and goes to the Calendar committees. The bill can return to the floor under some conditions, but a bill may be voted upon only twice during a session.
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