Tonight, Governor Bill Lee gave his first State of the State Address of his second term in office. Governor Lee’s theme this year, “Fortify”, set the stage for his second term, where he stated that he intends to solidify the gains of his first term, and build off of those policies and programs going forward.
It was bill filing deadline this past week, and the frenzy continued at the General Assembly. But now we can see the whole field of bills that will be up for debate this year (minus the many, many caption bills of course). Gazing across the landscape, it doesn’t look too bad (pound on wood).
Well, we thawed out and life at Cordell Hull began anew. After missing a week, it was a sort of frenzied environment down there, in part, because the bill filing deadline is already next week. This means that after January 31st on the House side, and February 1st on the Senate side, no more bills may be filed.
As you may have noticed, it snowed a bit this week, grinding the workings of state government, as well as the functioning of our state’s road, to a hard stop. Despite the weather, the second year of the 113th Tennessee General Assembly has begun!
Tennessee Disability Coalition, as well as the families of over 125,000 children with disabilities across the state, are extremely disappointed to see that the Joint Working Group has not heard from experts in the area of Special Education or the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA).
It can be challenging to be the caregiver of a family member with a disability in Tennessee. From shortages of providers to unavailable respite services to navigating the bureaucracies of TennCare and DIDD, the state often leaves family caregivers to fend for themselves. In fact, AARP ranked Tennessee DEAD LAST in its care and support for family caregivers. But this is not breaking news for people who care for a loved one in Tennessee. Our state can do much more to support family caregivers, and we believe that can begin with supporting them financially.
