| Tennessean Profiles Rep. Lynn The Tennessean did a profile on me in Saturday’s paper. It turned out nicely: http: //www.tennessean.com/article/20100227/NEWS0201/2270336/Susan%20Lynn% 20pushes%20state%20sovereignty%20for%20Tennessee Groups visit with legislators Various groups traveled to Nashville this week to express their views on current legislation. I was able to meet with local pharmacists, members of the Jewish Federation, local optometrists, some of our local county officials, students in FFA and local librarians. We visited and discussed their views on legislation and the budget. Please don’t ever hesitate to visit, email or call to express your views as well. National Health Care Fallacy One of the fallacies often repeated in the debate over national health care is that insurance companies cannot sell their products across state lines. This is not so. The Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission is a compact between sates that facilitates the selling of insurance products between states. The compact works to protect the interest of consumers by ensuring that insurance companies are in compliance with all laws of their state of domicile and that they have sufficient assets to cover potential liabilities; it also regulates certain advertising claims. Insurance companies can sell across state lines but here is the rub; because state legislatures have created so many different mandates on coverage, 40 alone in Tennessee, coverage and prices for policies can differ from state to state. An out of state insurance company must comply with all of the mandates of the state in which they are doing business - if they didn’t, they would have a competitive advantage over insurance companies domiciled with in the state. Once again, the problem is with government regulation. Consumers should be able to buy the coverage they desire instead of the government making insurance more expensive through various mandates. Lawmakers continue to examine budget; General Assembly sees opportunity to ‘return to basics’ Lawmakers continued their examination of the budget this week, amid reports that revenues continue to slide. The state has seen revenues decline for 20 straight months, a new record. Despite the dismal numbers, House Republicans remain focused on their goal of a balanced budget that keeps priorities in place and view the current budget situation as an opportunity to return government to the basics. Based on tentative numbers, the total budget will shrink this fiscal year by roughly $1.5 billion. Analysts say that the state’s sales tax revenue—the primary source of revenue—has dropped sharply over the last 20 months. The chart below shows the breakdown of state tax dollars. “Clawback Payment” could save millions The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that Tennessee could keep some of the “clawback payments” associated with prescription drug coverage. The temporary change means the state could save roughly $120 million, going a long way in softening the blow of the Governor’s call for $200 million in reductions from TennCare. Some Tennesseans that are a Medicaid-waiver enrollee are also enrolled in Medicare. The federal government requires the state to contribute some of its TennCare funds in lieu of paying twice for the benefits that both programs cover, called “clawback payments.” Temporarily, the federal government will be forgiving those payments, thus saving the $120 million. Tennessee joined several other states in asking the federal government to suspend the payments, because the federal stimulus aid for Medicaid meant the state would have paid less for prescription drugs in the next two budgets. At the end of last week the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services agreed, leading them to temporarily suspend the payments. Subcommittee approves ‘Pass the bottle’ legislation The ‘Pass the Bottle’ legislation appeared before the House Local Government Subcommittee on Wednesday, eventually winning the approval of the committee. The bill passed with a 5-3 vote. House Bill 2744 would ban open containers in the passenger areas of vehicles, and make a violation a misdemeanor, subjecting a guilty party to a fine. Currently, no driver may consume an alcoholic beverage or possess an open container of such while operating a motor vehicle, but passengers may consume alcohol. The sponsor argued this policy invites drivers to drink as long as there is a passenger to which they can “pass the bottle.” The bill was filed last year and experienced resistance in subcommittees then. Opponents expressed concern over the ability of sober drivers to take friends home who are drinking, and also regarding sporting events, such as University of Tennessee football games. Despite these objections, the sponsor said the state must reform its drunk driving laws. In 2008, an estimated 11,773 people died in drunk driving related crashes. Alcohol- related crashes in the United States cost the public an estimated $114.3 billion in 2000, including $51.1 billion in monetary costs and an estimated $63.2 billion in quality of life losses. People other than the drinking driver paid $71.6 billion of the alcohol-related crash bill, which is 63 percent of the total cost of these crashes. Having won approval from the Local Government Subcommittee, the bill now faces the full House State and Local Government Committee and is scheduled to be heard on March 2nd. Lawmakers continue to study traffic cameras; Attorney General opinion released The controversy over traffic cameras continues, and legislation that would place a two-year moratorium on the cameras is being held in the Transportation Committee until April 1st. The bill would prohibit city and county governments from signing new contracts for a two-year period, giving the Tennessee General Assembly time to study the issue further. The state’s Attorney General also released an opinion this week that said the cameras are constitutional. A lawmaker asked the Attorney General to decide whether or not the cameras violate the Sixth Amendment’s confrontation clause, which allows the accused to confront any witnesses against them. The AG opinion stated, in response, “The confrontation clause embraces testimonial statements. Photographs are not testimonial statements.” Although the opinion did not directly address many of the issues the legislature is examining, it indicated there are certain areas that could be open to scrutiny. The opinion also stated that certain restrictions the legislature is considering placing on the cameras would be constitutional, as long as the restrictions were “reasonable.” The City of Gallatin in Sumner County was the first to implement the cameras in 2006, and has since added additional cameras. City officials say the cameras have significantly reduced T-bone crashes at major intersections. Currently, sixteen Tennessee cities utilize the cameras for traffic enforcement, including red light and speed cameras. In Brief… • House Bill 2349 would require any member of the General Assembly convicted of a felony related to public office to forfeit their state health benefits. The measure would allow family members who may be covered under the plan to continue utilizing it provided they continue paying the premiums. The bill advanced from the House State and Local Government Committee this week and will next be heard in the Budget Subcommittee. Because the legislation will not cost the state any money, Republicans are optimistic it will advance through Finance, Ways and Means. • House Joint Resolution 746 urges 911 call centers to accept text messaging and passed out of the Budget Subcommittee this week. Several call centers around the country have implemented text messaging systems, and proponents say that in addition to assisting the hard of hearing, text messaging can be safer in situations where someone is trying to elude their captor and risks being overheard making a 911 call. • House Bill 3007, which encourages state government efficiency through innovative techniques and public input, moved through the committee system this week and could be set for a vote on the floor as early as next week. • House Bill 270, requiring citizenship status to be proven prior to registration to vote was passed out of the House State and Local Government Committee this week. The week ahead… • House Bill 2904 decreases from five to three years the length of time a small employer must purchase coverage through a health group cooperative. (Commerce Committee) • House Bill 1357 allows municipalities to take special census at their own expense any time between regular decennial federal censuses. (State and Local Government Committee) • House Bill 2506 creates a new criminal offense prohibiting a felon from possessing a radio capable of receiving emergency voice transmissions; prohibits a person from using information from the radio to facilitate a felony or interfere with emergency transmissions. (Judiciary Committee) • House Bill 2936 clarifies that tuition credits or refunds during military service are to be given to students called to active duty while attending Tennessee technology centers as well as state universities and community colleges. (Higher Education Subcommittee) • House Bill 3745 authorizes home schooled students to participate in extracurricular athletic activities of a public school in which they are eligible to attend. (K-12 Subcommittee) # # # |
Susan Lynn
Susan Lynn
| State Senate |
| State Senate |
| The Weekly Wrap - a newsletter of Rep. Susan Lynn February 26, 2010 |
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If you do not find what you are looking for, please call my office at 615-741-7462. We are happy to assist you.
If you do not find what you are looking for, please call my office at 615-741-7462. We are happy to assist you.
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