State Representative Susan Lynn
The Tennessee General Assembly
House of Representatives
CAPITOL HILL REVIEW
A weekly wrap-up
of legislative news
Contact: Kara Watkins, 615-741-1975
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Legislators were
updated this week on the estimates from the bailout package passed by Congress
and signed by the President earlier this week, learning that Tennessee stands
to receive anywhere from $3.7 to $4.3 billion over roughly two years. Most of
the money is already allocated by the federal government to specific purposes,
with only $171 million left for “general purpose.”
TennCare will
receive the largest sum of money, with $1.1 billion allocated specifically for
the program. Other health-related programs that will receive money are foster
care and adoption assistance services, immunization programs, elderly nutrition
programs, and child care, which together total approximately $70 million.
Another area that
stands to receive a substantial amount of the money is education.
Another $171
million will be aimed at a myriad of different programs, including justice
assistance, crime victim assistance, workforce investment, employment services,
unemployment insurance, and dislocated worker programs. The final numbers will
be revealed by the Administration during the Governor’s budget address to the
General Assembly.
Joint House and
Senate Environment and Conservation Committees hear testimony on TVA coal ash
spill
A joint meeting of the Senate and House Environment and
Conservation Committees heard testimony on Wednesday from Tennessee Valley
Authority officials regarding the clean-up efforts of the December 22nd
coal ash spill in
Fly ash is a fine, glass-like powder recovered from gases created by coal-fired electric power generation. Power plants within the United States produce millions of tons of fly ash annually, which is disposed of in landfills or retaining ponds.
Tom Kilgore, CEO of TVA, told the Joint Committee that the cause of the massive accident, which covers more than 300 acres of surrounding land and water, is still being investigated. Kilgore has been working with Deputy Conservation and Environment Commissioner Paul Sloan as TVA constructs a plan to remediate and restore the site, as well as prevent such accidents from occurring in other localities where coal fly ash is stored.
Sloan said the Tennessee Department of Environment and
Conservation has been on site in
Sloan and Kilgore pledged to continue ongoing water
quality monitoring and assessment within the major waterways impacted by the
ash slide, which includes the
Moving to the cleanup and safe disposal of recovered coal ash at the site of the spill, Kilgore said TVA is working to get the ash sludge “out of the river as quickly as we can.” The fly coal ash contains a small amount of arsenic, which means it must be treated as a “hazardous substance” as it is moved. This means the ash, which is 85 percent water, must be “de-watered” before either being moved to another site or buried. Engineers are working to prepare the comprehensive plan to remove the sludge, which is expected to cost $525 to $825 million.
The state is looking at the possibility of using the dry coal ash in concrete and other products. Fly ash is an inexpensive replacement for a type of cement used in concrete. It is also used as an ingredient in brick, block, paving, and structural fills.
The House Environment and Conservation Committee will likely continue to monitor the progress of the clean up and environmental impact of the spill, as well as preventative measures, during the remainder of this legislative session.
Tennessee General Assembly website receives
makeover, features improved bill tracking
The Tennessee General Assembly overhauled their website design this year, and the new website includes many new features in addition to its fresh look. Visitors can now easily find out who their representatives and senators are, see more detailed maps of their districts, and track legislation—even flagging certain bills in which they take an interest.
One of the most useful features on the newly designed website is the new bill tracking mechanism that allows users to make a list of legislation they would like to follow through the committee and floor session process. The site allows for the creation of up to three lists of ten bills each that a user can “flag.” Users can then log in at any time and see the progression of the legislation they chose to follow, even allowing for modification of the lists at any point. The updates will also include a listing of how each member present in the subcommittee, committee, and floor session voted on a particular bill.
In addition to simply getting a fresh new look, the website also has a different web address: capitol.tn.gov (formerly legislature.state.tn.us). The e-mail addresses for legislators and staff have also been updated to match the new address. House members are very pleased to see the user-friendly changes, having advocated for a more simply formatted website for several years.
The week ahead…
HOUSE SESSION: 5:00p.m. Monday, February 23, 2009 in the House Chambers
HOUSE SESSION: 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 25, 2009 in the House Chambers
HOUSE SESSION: 9:00 a.m. Thursday, February 26, 2009 in the House Chambers
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
|
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
|
Committee or Subcommittee |
Time |
Room Number |
|
Children & Family
Affairs Committee |
8:30 a.m. |
|
|
State Government Subcommittee |
8:30 a.m. |
|
|
Judiciary Committee |
8:30 a.m. |
|
|
Local Government
Subcommittee |
9:15 a.m. |
|
|
Government Operations Committee |
10:00 a.m. |
|
|
Education Committee |
11:00 a.m. |
|
|
Budget Subcommittee |
11:00 a.m. |
|
|
Criminal Practice & Procedure Subcommittee |
12:00 p.m. |
|
|
Parks & Tourism
Subcommittee |
12:30 p.m. |
|
|
Domestic Relations Subcommittee |
12:30 p.m. |
|
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