By now, we hope that you've had some time to skim through last week's first legislative update of this session and encourage you to reach out to us if you have any questions.
Now that committee calendars are filling up quickly, our legislative updates will likely get a little bit longer, too. We'll start highlighting more bills that we're watching each week, especially those that deal with one of the many of issues that affect working families.
At this point, we still haven't seen anything too alarming, but that's subject to change at any time.
That does not discount the amount of bad legislation that's currently making its way through both chambers. Rather, we are simply doing our best to stay focused on the biggest issues that could impact our members.
As we mentioned last week, Governor Bill Lee's push to expand Tennessee's school voucher scheme statewide will likely command most of the attention this year. Stay tuned for ways that you can get involved to help push back and support public education!
Before we dive into our list of some of the bills that we're watching next week, we'd like to draw your attention to HB 1889/SB 2102. Already raising some eyebrows, this legislation would enact the "State of Tennessee Real Estate Asset Management (STREAM) Act" and would consolidate power under the commissioner of General Services for decision-making related to all executive branch leases. You can read more about this administration bill here.
There are concerns that this could be another outsourcing/privatization push, so we'll be watching this bill closely.
Don't forget: you can always access our Twitter feed for real-time updates on important labor-related legislation, especially when there's a lot of debate in committee.
A Brief Look at Some of the Additional Legislation That We're Watching Next Week
-HB 2031/SB 2570: Potentially having major implications for strikes or rallies, this piece of legislation would increase the penalty for blocking a highway, street, etc. from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class D felony.
-HB 2110/SB 2027: This suspicious bill seeks to define the term "work" as having the same meaning as interpreted by the Supreme Court for the purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
-HB 1889/SB 2102: A bill with powerful sponsors (House Majority Leader William Lamberth and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson), this would enact the "State of Tennessee Real Estate Asset Management (STREAM) Act" and would consolidate power under the commissioner of General Services for decision-making related to all executive branch leases. You can read more about this seemingly innocent (but potentially dangerous) administration bill here.There are concerns that this could be another outsourcing/privatization push, so we'll be watching this bill closely.
-HB 1892/SB 2100: This piece of legislation authorizes the use of third-party examiners or inspectors instead of local ones for certain processes.
-HB 1502/SB 1028: A good bill, this would enact the "Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership Act."
-HB 1616/SB 2631: Similar to a bad piece of legislation from last year, this would outline the process of declaring a statewide political party affiliation before voting in a primary election.
-HB 2113/SB 2017: While we are waiting to learn more specifics, this proposal deals with causes of action for unpaid wages for hours worked, overtime, etc.
-HB 2080/SB 1968: A bill that has generated lots of headlines in the past week alone, this would block an individual who currently holds elected office from holding another elected office in Tennessee at the same time. At least one Republican representative already does what the legislation is trying to prevent, but Democrats have said that they believe this is specifically-targeted at Representative Gloria Johnson, who is currently running for both the U.S. Senate and her Tennessee House seat.
-HB 2716/SB 2634: A result of last year's expulsion hearings, this would block a local legislative body (for example, Nashville's Metro Council) from sending someone who was expelled from the General Assembly for disorderly behavior to fill the opening that was created from their expulsion.
NOTE: A very similar piece of legislation (HJR 706) is scheduled to be heard next week as well.
-HB 1886/SB 2078: Showing the supermajority's continued disdain for working families, this bill would authorize penalties for specific violations for those who participate in the temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) program and food stamp program.
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