Budget

NASHVILLE, May 8, 2017– This is one of the last updates from Capitol Hill before Session ends for the year. Here are a few things of note that have happened lately.

BUDGET PASSES HOUSE AFTER DEBATE

After a day of often heated discussions, the House passed a 37 billion dollar balanced budget on May 5th. The budget will go to the Senate to adopt on May 8. Constitutionally, we are required to pass a balanced budget which the budget is. Tennessee is one of the best run states in the nation with the least debt per capita. When one looks across the United States and see other states with massive deficits, one can truly look at Tennessee’s surplus as proof of Tennessee being on solid footing. However, having a massive surplus doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to spend all of the surplus or start new spending programs.

With new fees and increased taxes associated with the gas tax proposal, as well as having a 2 billion dollar surplus, many Republicans, including myself, felt like the state had over-collected taxes on our citizens. Therefore, the right thing to do was to return some of the funds to the counties or at least not spend all the surplus revenue.

Aside from a huge spending increase, philosophically there were two issues I had with the budget. First, as I have previously stated, with a two billion dollar surplus, we shouldn’t increase taxes and start new programs. Secondly, the budget included taking 55 million from the General Fund to give to the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) to jumpstart the IMPROVE Act/ gas tax hike.

Folks, all throughout the gas tax hike debate, proponents of raising the gas tax based their argument on gas and diesel tax being a user fee. They were adamant against using General Fund monies to support TDOT. With the monies previously raided from the transportation fund repaid in the budget, why then would one raid 55 million in non-user fee monies to give to TDOT?

A budget battle ensued, but in the end all sides agreed that the 55 million dollars should be returned to the counties and the county taxpayers. Ultimately, the money was returned for use on county roads with Rutherford County getting over 1 million returned to our county taxpayers. Everyone knew that we must have a balanced budget, and in negotiations, the question is always “What will get you to ‘Yes’ or ‘neutral’?” In principle, the Senate agreed, but they must now vote on the budget May 8th. Kudos to all for setting aside differences to come together for a solution.

EDUCATOR’S BILL OF RIGHTS, HEARING PROTECTION, AND SPORTS MEDICINE

On Monday May 1st, three bills that I co-sponsored passed on the House floor. First, was the Educator’s Bill of Rights(HB 174). One provision in the bill is that educators shall not be required to spend their own money to equip a classroom. Another provision is that educators have a right to defend themselves from violence. The bill passed unanimously.

The Hearing Protection Act, in simple terms, removes firearm suppressors from the list of banned weapons in Tennessee. From a Federal law standpoint, Tennesseans will still need to take the Federal steps necessary to obtain the suppressor. However, if and when Federal law on suppressors changes, Tennessee will be in a better position to support our 2nd Amendment rights.

Last, I sponsored the “Visiting Sports Team Act” which grants limited medical privileges to team doctors who are traveling with their sports team. The bill will allow team physicians who are traveling with a team that is part of a national organization like the NCAA or NFL to treat their players and coaches in a limited fashion without requiring a Tennessee license. If the player or coach required emergency or more extensive treatment, a Tennessee licensed physician with hospital privileges at a local hospital would then assume patient care.

INFANT PROTECTION, PHYSICIAN LICENSURE, AND 2nd AMENDMENT RIGHTS

On Wednesday, the House passed several bills that I co-sponsored including the Tennessee Infants Protection Act(HB 1189). The bill defined unborn infant viability at 24 weeks gestation and banned abortion after that point with some exceptions. In addition, it requires proof of non-viability prior to an abortion after 20 weeks gestation. Almost all abortions in Tennessee occur prior to 20 weeks and the bill mirrors an Ohio law that has never been challenged as being unconstitutional.

All rational Tennesseans agree that at some point during pregnancy, there is life. Even the courts have ruled that an event that results in the death of a woman and her unborn will be viewed as two deaths. For some, the point of life is at conception. While for others, it is later on in pregnancy. With current technology, the Tennessee Infant Protection Act is basically saying that Tennessee is going to protect the unborn at the point of viability. While many agree that infants should be protected at other points in pregnancy, constitutionally, this bill is a sound and positive step to saving the unborn.

I, also, co-sponsored the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (HB 664) which passed unanimously on Wednesday. As of right now, many states allow reciprocity for medical license requirements. For example, I have a Tennessee medical license, and Georgia may accept our requirements. However, I would still have to go through the paperwork and fees associated with a Georgia license. In a compact, my active Tennessee license would now be active in other states in the compact. Where this helps Tennessee is that, due to physician shortages, we can utilize physicians who live in surround states who would like to work extra and decrease the wait times for Tennesseans.

HB 508 which helped protect our 2nd Amendment rights, also passed on Wednesday. Cities were abusing our 2nd Amendment rights and placing citizens at risk via a perceived loophole in the Guns in Parks law. The bill placed certain conditions and restrictions on municipalities if they did not allow firearms into certain locations and venues. In addition, it placed penalties on those municipalities if they did not protect citizens and damages occurred. While not a perfect bill, it was most definitely a step in the right direction for our 2nd Amendment rights.

EDUCATOR PROTECTION, OPIOID CRISIS, AND MEDICATION THERAPY MANAGEMENT

On Thursday, before the budget battle, three bills that I co-sponsored passed the House. HB 1186, the Tennessee Educator Protection Act, provides protection against meritless lawsuits during the course of their duties educating our students. It, also, ensures that educators can file civil charges against those who bring false accusations against educators or other causes with intent to harm.

With our opioid crisis, HB 1207 will grant the Health department the authority to identify high risk opioid prescribers who will then be required to comply with certain educational training standards, as well as provide information to their patients on the risks of opioid addiction. In addition, the managed care organizations in TennCare will be required to provide information on neonatal abstinence syndrome(NAS) which is caused by opioid addiction during pregnancy. The goal is to identify, treat, and help prevent opioid addiction and NAS in Tennessee.

HB 628 sets up a TennCare pilot program for Medication Therapy Management(MTM). MTM has been found useful as a cost saving measure in other states. MTM incorporates pharmacists in the medication management which should help optimize outcomes for patients; thus, leading to cost savings in the TennCare program.

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As always, I’m honored and humbled to be the state representative for District 48.

With Liberty,

Rep. Bryan Terry, MD

MURFREESBORO, January 9, 2016– As we head into the 110th General Assembly, and talks arise surrounding a possible gas tax hike, funding for the BEP, and other budgetary items, I keep hearing from folks either in person, via Facebook, or via email about Tennessee having a budget surplus. It is my hope that offering a general summary will provide constituents with a clearer picture of the situation.

First and foremost, Tennessee, financially, appears to be in decent shape on the surface. We have less debt per capita than any other state. We don’t have any debt on our roads. We are second in the nation and first in the southeast in job growth. Our bond rating is AAA, and our Rainy Day Fund is over 600 million and climbing. Additionally, our tax revenue growth is out pacing projections. All of those are positive indicators and Tennessee is accomplishing these goals with the second lowest tax burden in the nation.

I qualified the previous statement with “on the surface”, as there are some concerns that are looming that could potentially bring a negative impact to our state. Nationally, the Obama recovery has been anemic at best. Tennessee, with the above mentioned indicators and under conservative leadership, has been well positioned to weather the poor recovery. However, nationally, labor participation rate is at an all time low, the U.S. is facing 20 trillion in debt, and historically, we are due for another recession. All of these can impact our Tennessee budget, as federal monies account for over 40% of our budget.

With the aforementioned in mind, Tennessee has had an unusual circumstance these previous two years in that we have encountered massive surpluses in our budget. Last year we had 925 million in a non-recurring surplus and 750 million in a new-recurring surplus. This year we have 977 million in a non-recurring surplus and 850 million(or more) in a new-recurring surplus.

To better define the situation, a non-recurring surplus essentially results from some one time taxes and unspent funds in the previous year’s budget. For example, if Tenncare (or any other agency) is budgeted to spend 1 billion for the year, but spends 900 million, then we have a 100 million non-recurring surplus. This surplus may be reallocated back to that agency in the next year or allocated elsewhere. Bottom line is that it means that Tennessee managed to spend less than was planned which is a good, conservative use of taxpayer money.

New-recurring surplus reflects growth above projections. If our budget projects 20 billion in collections and a 3% growth rate, but we collect 20.85 billion with an actual growth rate of 4.5%, then we have a new-recurring projected source of revenue. Compared to many other states, we have conservative growth projections and are outperforming the projections. Some states project 5% growth and spend accordingly, but end up with a 3% growth rate and a budget shortfall.

The 925 million non-recurring surplus and 750 million new-recurring surplus from 2015-16 was “spent” in the 2016-17 budget. Some of it went to the rainy day fund. Some went to repay TDOT. A lot went to education and raises. One can readily access the complete budget from TN.gov. One should note that I offered up a budget amendment to hold back 150 million of new-recurring revenue to deal with TDOT, but my amendment was shot down in committee. I did not, and still do not see why one would spend every dime of a surplus knowing that there is a potential issue with funding for transportation on the horizon.

As we enter the 2017 legislative session, conversations are occurring surrounding how best to effectively manage the surplus. The uncertainty of how a Trump administration will impact our state is in question. Tennessee still has debt to be paid off. We have an underfunded Rainy Day Fund. The issue of transportation funding is looming. And we have the potential pitfall of another recession in the future. All of these issues, and more must be taken into account as we move forward. My constituents should know that I will continue to fight for them and their families at the Capitol.

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Rep. Bryan Terry: Updates on infant protection, opioid crisis, healthcare, education & infrastructure

Rep. Bryan Terry: Tennessee’s Massive Budget Surplus In 2017