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State Rep. 62nd district

Budget on lawmakers’ minds

Pat Marsh
Posted 3/22/22

Tempers are running high as people are working hard to get their bills moving forward before all of our committees close. Several committees closed this week and we hope to get the others wrapped up soon.

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State Rep. 62nd district

Budget on lawmakers’ minds

Posted

Tempers are running high as people are working hard to get their bills moving forward before all of our committees close. Several committees closed this week and we hope to get the others wrapped up soon. Our next big item will be the budget and that’s bound to create lots of discussion. Almost all my bills are in their final steps, so I’ll be glad to have that behind me.

On Monday morning, the House and Senate Transportation Committees were invited to tour the Metro Nashville Airport (BNA). We took a bus at 10:00 am to the airport and Doug Kreulen, the airport president, gave us an eye opening tour of their fantastic facility. They are currently spending $1.6 billion enlarging and remodeling their facility. They handle over 25,000 passengers inbound and over 25,000 passengers outbound each and every day! They are enlarging the parking area and garage from 2,000 parking spaces to over 7,000 spaces. Doug told us about an area around the runway that they are filling in and planning to use for parking planes over. This area is going to take 90,000 dump truck loads of fill to repair for future use. They are also building a big multistory Hilton Hotel and a new shopping area. An amazing tour!

Monday night, after the House Floor Session, I met Shelbyville Mayor Wallace Cartwright and Council Member Henry Feldhaus for dinner. They were in Nashville for their annual Tennessee Municipal League events.

Tuesday was TN Librarian Day on the Hill. Hannah Little, with the Webb School Library, stopped by to visit with Senator Reeves and me. She gave us many good things to think about concerning our libraries in Tennessee. Also, I ran into Sharon Edwards who is up here quite often working hard to share the TN librarians’ concerns.

Early Wednesday morning, the Leadership Bedford group got up early and rode a bus up from Shelbyville. They arrived at the Cordell Hull Building at 7:45 am for breakfast and then a busy day around the Capitol. There were around 40 members (adults and students) in the group this year and their leader this year is Carol Garrette. Senator Reeves and I started out speaking to them and then we had several guest speakers, including Comptroller Mumpower and Sec. of State Tre Hargett. They had a mock session on the House Floor, a picture with the Governor, lunch at Puckett’s downtown, and a tour of the Capitol. We were all super proud to have them visit the State Capitol.

One of my big bills this year was brought to me by the Governor and the TN Dept. of Safety. I’m carrying HB 2146 and it aims to alleviate the nation’s supply chain crisis and attract more qualified candidates to the trucking industry. We are short on drivers and there are too many obstacles that have made it difficult for new ones to enter the trucking industry. The bill will increase resources of the Dept. of Safety and Homeland Security to allow for a quicker turnaround time for scheduling commercial driving skills tests. The bill will also expand options for approved 3rd party partners to conduct more commercial driving skills tests on the department’s behalf. It also lowers the age of eligibility for a Class A or B license from 21 to 18 years when the applicant operates a commercial vehicle solely within TN and meets other certain conditions.

In addition, House Bill 2146 also authorizes the TN Dept. of Correction and the Dept. of Safety to jointly create a CDL training program for offenders who, upon release from prison, may be suitable for careers in the transportation industry. I think this is a great bill and it’s going to help immensely.

As you know, we are also facing a teacher shortage in many locations. The House unanimously passed legislation that would help our school districts address this problem. HB 2783 allows retired members of the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) to be reemployed as a K-12 teacher, K-12 substitute teacher, or as a K-12 bus driver without the loss or suspension of the retired member’s benefits. During reemployment, retirement benefits would be reduced to 70%. Currently, some retired members of TCRS can return to work, but only for a maximum of 120 days. This bill removes that limit, allowing for 180 calendar days as long as each retiree that participates is 60 days or more past their retirement date.

This past Friday night, I attended the 35th Annual Fabulous 50’s show in Fayetteville. They had 9 performances over a 2 week period and are estimated to raise over $70,000 to go to local charities in Lincoln County. It was certainly a fabulous show with all local talent and they sure make our area proud.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to stop by my office in the Cordell Hull Building, Suite 610 or give me a call. You can reach me at (615) 741-6824 or by email at rep.pat. marsh@capitol.tn.gov