Tennessee named “Race to the Top” finalist United States Department of Education’s “Race to the Top” finalists were announced Thursday morning. Tennessee is on the list of states that will move forward in the process, along with 15 others. The eventual winners will receive a grant for education from the federal government. Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina will compete with Tennessee in the final decision. Among experts, Tennessee has been considered a top tier candidate for a grant. The Tennessee General Assembly met in Special Session in early January to consider changes to our education law that might help us compete for grant funds. One of the most important things about the changes is that they can be implemented whether or not Tennessee receives a federal grant. Tennessee submitted the state’s application in January along with other competing states. Grant applications detailed each state's individual ideas for achieving significant reforms in four given education catagories: enhancing standards and assessments; improving the collection and use of data; increasing teacher effectiveness and achieving equity in teacher distribution; and turning around struggling schools. The ideas have passed the first round of evaluation and Tennessee has advanced past the first cut. Grants will be awarded to those states whose ideas are most inventive and most likely to produce results. “English in the Workplace” legislation moves out of subcommittee unanimously A proposal that would clarify that it is not against the law for businesses to require English to be spoken on the job moved forward this week. House Bill 2685 moved out of the Employee Affairs Subcommittee, and will next face the House Consumer and Employee Affairs Committee. Several lawmakers have long sponsored and supported the legislation, which has hit roadblocks in committees before. This year, however, the bill passed out of the subcommittee unanimously. The bill does allow for some exceptions such as lunch hours or other designated breaks. The proposed law is designed to protect businesses from the frivolous lawsuits that can emerge when private business policies are set perfectly within their rights. The sponsor stated that the bill is also primarily a safety precaution for workers. Businesses where employees are continuously handling toxic products or food containers have a need to require English. Other businesses, for example many factories, have signs displayed in English that communicate critical safety information. These business practices are the ones the bill is designed to protect. Representatives offer help for home renovators Each week HGTV’s “Holmes on Homes” selects a homeowner to help who has been defrauded by a bad home contractor. Homeowners, who have been devastated by a fraudulent contractor and often left with an uninhabitable space, are able to put their homes back together with the help of HGTV. However, the bad contractor frequently goes unpunished. To help protect consumers from fraudulent contractors, legislators this week voted to pass House Bill 2625 out of the House Judiciary Committee. This bill creates a criminal offense for a home contractor who defrauds a homeowner by not making substantial progress on a home improvement project within 90 days and then fails to refund money paid under a contract within 10 days of a written request. Consumers will be able to file complaints with the state’s Consumer Protection Division. In its current form, the bill applies to written and oral contractual agreements. Violators will be punished based upon the value of the property or services and will be subject to punishment from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class B felony. Within 30 days of a conviction, the Board of Licensing Contractors will be required to revoke a contractor’s license and to post their name, license number, and violation on the state’s website for three years. This will serve as a resource for consumers to check when selecting a contractor. Furthermore, the legislation will prohibit a contractor from receiving a new license during the term of their imposed sentence. Violators who have been convicted two or more times for the same violation will not be eligible for a license. In brief… • House Bill 3063 passed out the Criminal Practice and Procedure Subcommittee and will next be heard in the House Judiciary Committee. The bill prohibits physicians on the sexual offender registry from treating children under 18 years. • A bill that adds aggravated rape of a child to the list of offenses for which a juvenile may be transferred from juvenile to adult court also passed out of the Criminal Practice and Procedure Subcommittee. House Bill 2438 will be heard in Judiciary Committee next week. • Legislation that could potentially save money for local governments across the state passed on the House floor unanimously Monday night. House Bill 2552 clarifies the law on the purchase of used or secondhand items purchased by local government. As the law is currently written, local governments could not purchase equipment that is more than 10 percent above market value, or 10 percent below. This bill essentially clarifies that there is no floor on how much a local government may pay. • House Bill 3495 specifies that when someone commits a homicide or assault against a pregnant woman, the woman's fetus, regardless of viability, is also considered a victim of the offense. The legislation passed out of the Public Health and Family Assistance Subcommittee and will next be heard by the House Health and Human Resources Committee. |
Susan Lynn
Susan Lynn
| State Senate |
| State Senate |
| The Weekly Wrap - a newsletter of Rep. Susan Lynn February 5, 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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