Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.”

Helen Keller

Last week, on Thursday morning, we had the Leadership Lincoln group come up for a visit and Sen. Shane Reeves, Rep. Todd Warner, Rep. Clay Doggett, and I got to meet with them and tell them about how to pass a bill. They were able to watch a little bit of Session in both Chambers and then we had a nice visit and picture with Governor Lee. The Leadership groups from many different counties come to the Legislature most weeks while we are in Session. This is a wonderful program and lets them see how our state government works. Jim Malone, of Fayetteville, has been heading this up ever since I have been here and he is passionate about this great program. We are looking forward to seeing Leadership Bedford next week.

A bill to help protect our teachers from being assaulted moved forward in committee on Wednesday. HB 1934 expands the offenses of assault and aggravated assault against first responders or nurses to also include teachers. It’s estimated that the legislation would result in an estimated 69 convictions annually. Assaulting a teacher would be a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $5,000 and mandatory minimum sentence of 30 days in jail, according to the bill. Aggravated assault of a teacher would be a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $15,000 and a mandatory minimum sentence of 90 days in jail.

Sadly, suicide is the second leading cause of death for our young people between the ages of 15-24. House Bill 2062, also known as the Save Tennessee Students Act, requires local education agencies to include the telephone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline as well as contact information for at least one additional crisis resource on all new student identification cards issued for grades 6-12 beginning with the 2022- 23 school year. The legislation also requires the information to be posted in visible places throughout schools that serve students in those grades. There were 45,979 Americans who died by suicide in 2020, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and an estimated 1.2 million attempts that same year. Hopefully this will help provide struggling youth with some extra support. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

We received a study from the Department of Tourism that showed that District 62 (currently Bedford and part of Lincoln Counties) had a tourist and travel economic impact of $41.8 million, with almost $3.5 million in state and local tax receipts. Their report showed that in 2021, there were 91 million adult US trips into TN and this was up 19% from 2019- our previous strongest year.

Tonya Davis, the Bedford County Trustee, was up for their Trustee Association’s annual meeting and some of her associates came by my office for a short visit. Also, on Wednesday, the State Fire Chiefs were all here from around the state for a visit. They filled the hallways of the Cordell Hull Building and had their picture taken with the Governor at the Capitol that morning. Mark Neal, the Chief of Moore County, stopped by for a visit. I got to meet new Chief Tony Kimbrough, of Fayetteville, when he came up with the Leadership Lincoln group Thursday morning.

Late Wednesday afternoon, The Treasurer of the State, David Lillard, had a celebration for the 50th Anniversary of the TN Consolidated Retirement System. The state’s retirement system has 220,772 active members and 149,260 retired members. It was started in 1972. Treasurer Lillard told us that over 70% of every $1 in retirement benefits is paid from investment earnings. When Treasurer Lillard was elected to office by the Tennessee General Assembly in January 2009, the TN Consolidated Retirement System had $25,360,843,946 in assets. Under his leadership, this amount has grown to $65,814,371,005. We are very fortunate to have him and his team working hard for all of us. To learn more, you can visit www. TCRS50.org where you can view the economic impact of TCRS and share your own TCRS story.

Lincoln County Mayor Bill Newman came up on Wednesday with Paul Rosson, the South Central Human Resources Agency Director. They talked to several area legislators about their services and are asking for the State’s help with a new building project they are working on to store a lot of their food and to be able to further expand their offerings.

As you can see, I enjoy getting to meet with people from the district when they are in Nashville. You are welcome to visit me in Suite 610 of the Cordell Hull Building or give me a call at 615-741-6824 or email at rep.pat.marsh@ capitol.tn.gov if you ever need assistance. I’m honored to serve as your state representative and want to continue to do my best to serve you well.