More Bad News April 30, 2008

Is there really any good news when it comes to the state’s financial situation?
Governor Bredesen announced today that in order to deal with the states $550 million budget shortfall, there are going to have to be significant reducations to the state’s workforce.  He’s not saying how many of 45,000 state employees will be losing their [...]

Monday Update April 29, 2008

Aside from the State Funding Board meeting, other stuff happened today at the Capitol.
- A bill to revise the state’s open container law passed the Senate.  The changes would make it a crime for passengers to have an open alcoholic beverage in the car.  If this passes the House and the governor signs it, this [...]

Gloom and Doom April 29, 2008

That pretty much sums up all of the news coming out of the State Funding Board meeting I am currently sitting in on.  Tax collections are projected to be waaaay down.  The numbers are still coming in but the governor and lawmakers are looking to have to cut $271 million dollars from the current budget [...]

Cable Bill Passes House April 28, 2008

I’m driving back to the station from doing my live shot about some TennCare changes, but I popped into the House session to listen to the debate on the cable legislation. (I use the term “debate” loosely.) 
You’ve probably heard at least something about the cable bill or seen the nonstop commercials on TV.  This basically [...]

Taxing IPODS? April 24, 2008

      Bill Hobbs with the Tennessee Republican Party sent out a press release today warning that Governor Bredesen’s list of technical corrections to the tax codes includes a tax on electronic downloads, including music, video and cell phone downloads.  Is that in the cards for Tennessee taxpayers?  We’re certainly going to find out.
 

The 3rd Annual Pork Report April 23, 2008

     Two posts in one day! 
      The 3rd Annual Tennessee Pork Report was released today.  This is a list compiled by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research and the Citizens Against Government Waste watchdog group of what they say is wasteful spending by the state.  I covered this for both the five and six newscasts [...]

YouTube Hits the Legislature April 23, 2008

  There has been a lot going around about the debate between Representatives Rob Briley and Stacey Campfield during a recent committee hearing.  The bill would have allowed men who had been led to believe that they had fathered a child get off the hook for child support payments if a DNA test showed there [...]

What’s Going on at the Captiol April 21, 2008

       Both chambers are going into session later this afternoon.  Here’s a sampling of what’s on the calendar for today.
     SB0821-This would clarify the transfer of powers in the state constitution.  You may remember the confusion a few summers ago, when the governor was temporarily unable to perform his duties thanks to a nasty tick [...]

Thursdays at the Legislature April 17, 2008

     On Thursdays, both chambers usually have a morning session.  Afterwards, both Lt. Governor Ramsey and House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh hold news conferences to update the media on the progress each chamber is making through the year.  Speaker Naifeh often invites the majority leader, committee chairs and any other House Democrats who wants to mention something [...]

What Should the Lottery Pay For? April 17, 2008

    Since I’m starting up this blog towards the end of the legislative session, I want to rewind a little bit and talk about an issue that has generated a lot of discussion and ideas over the course of the session: the lottery surplus.
    When lawmakers passed the lottery, they didn’t know just how much [...]