In early February, Governor Lee released his preliminary proposed budget during his State of the State address at War Memorial Auditorium. After an uncommon and unpredictable 2020, where the administration’s primary budget consideration was the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Governor’s 2021 budget seemed like a celebration.

And so goes another week of “As the General Assembly Turns”, fraught with melodrama and fast-moving plot lines. We’ve come to the final calendar of at least 5 House and Senate committees, meaning it’s now, never or 2022 for some of the bills still toiling away at the back of the agenda.

Tennessee’s education system is expected to receive $3.3 billion from the American Rescue Plan, the most recent federal COVID-19 relief package. Outside of specific set-asides for learning loss and other activities, school districts have broad flexibility in how they spend the funds.

They say something about April showers, don’t they? I believe they portend good things, if I recall correctly. I think it’s an interesting colloquialism, because it’s inherently optimistic while exemplifying the two steps-forward-one-step-back nature of spring.

Last Saturday was the Vernal Equinox, or when the sun crosses the equator, officially signaling the beginning of Spring (Punxsutawney Phil predictions aside)! Just as spring signals life renewed, it likewise signals the stretch run of the legislative session. Word has it that the General Assembly is shooting for a mid-April conclusion to the session, meaning that there is a TON of work to do in the next couple of weeks.

The slow churn of state legislating continued to turn this week and we’re starting to see some of the butter separate from the buttermilk. We’ve now had three bills enrolled and ready for some signatures. That said, we want to make sure that we don’t put buttermilk on our toast or butter in our fried-chicken brine.

Tennessee Representatives and Senators reconvened on Tuesday this week for the second session of the 111th General Assembly. With Governor Lee’s State of the State address on Monday the 8th and the House bill filing deadline on Thursday the 11th, it has been a whirlwind week of legislative merriment. As it stands on Friday morning, over 1,300 bills have been introduced in the House, and over 1,600 in the Senate.

In a most unusual year, Governor Lee ended the night’s 2021 State of the State address by delivering a hopeful message to legislators. “We see things more clearly…” he said, “(we) see the needs of our neighbors around us, every single one of them and commit to serving them”. The Governor’s address at War Memorial Auditorium laid out Lee’s budget and policy priorities for 2021, including investments in education, mental health services, foster care and adoption and economic recovery. 

The first of our weekly policy updates during legislative session 2021, check out information on our policy priorities, impressions about the goings on at the Capitol and the newest information about our grassroots initiatives.

The 2021 Session

The Tennessee Disability Coalition offers these comments on proposed rules to carry out the Katie Beckett Program as defined by amendment 40 to the TennCare demonstration waiver. Our comments are based on the recommendations and input we received from our member organizations and the families that we serve.