|

What’s in a name? Translating Tennessee’s laws

Byharvestdempac

Published by the Tennessee Lookout, Commentator Holly McCall – June 12, 2023

📷:  (Photo: Getty Images)

Tennessee lawmakers like to give fancy names to laws that don’t remotely represent what the titles suggest. 

For instance, Gov. Bill Lee on June 5 ceremoniously signed the Transportation Modernization Act at a table by the side of Donelson Pike in Nashville, surrounded by a clutch of lawmakers as airplanes from the nearby Nashville International Airport roared overhead. 

The folderol was unnecessary, as Lee signed the act into law in April after the legislature passed it, but the event got me to pondering. Why did Lee choose to name this law the “Transportation Modernization Act,” and what does it modernize? 

Read More

Similar Posts

Watch: Tennessee parents slam school board for caving to right-wing attacks on local librarian

Watch: Tennessee parents slam school board for caving to right-wing attacks on local librarian

Byharvestdempac

Published by Raw Story, Reporter Matthew Chapman – May 15, 2023 Carolyn Mickey, a school librarian at Alpine Crest Elementary School in the Chattanooga, Tennessee area, was shocked when a far-right group targeted her over a Mother’s Day lesson that they claimed was “Leninist” indoctrination and an attack on Western civilization. The lesson, designed to be inclusive…

County with high rate of overdose deaths doesn’t use opioid settlement funds for addiction program
|

County with high rate of overdose deaths doesn’t use opioid settlement funds for addiction program

Byharvestdempac

Published by KFF Health News, Reporter Aneri Pattani – May 15, 2023 Over the past two years, rural Greene County in northeastern Tennessee has collected more than $2.7 million from regional and national settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors. But instead of helping people harmed by addiction, county officials are finding other ways to spend…

One doctor’s wish list for Tennessee’s special legislative session
|

One doctor’s wish list for Tennessee’s special legislative session

Byharvestdempac

Published by the Tennessee Lookout, Commentator Dr. Katrina Green Mass shootings have become such a frequent occurrence in the U.S. that many of us have become numb to seeing news about them almost daily. But when one occurs in your town and affects people you know, it hits you differently.  The shooting  at the Covenant…

Rural electric co-ops to get $10.7B in USDA funds for clean energy grants, loans
| |

Rural electric co-ops to get $10.7B in USDA funds for clean energy grants, loans

Byharvestdempac

Published by Tennessee Lookout, Reporter Jacob Fischler – May 16, 2023 The U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin to administer two loan and grant programs worth nearly $11 billion to boost clean energy systems in rural areas, administration officials said Tuesday. Congress approved the federal spending — $9.7 billion for a grant and loan program…

Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth report shows one in five kids in poverty

Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth report shows one in five kids in poverty

Byharvestdempac

Published in the Tennessee Lookout, Reporter Anita Wadhwani – May 17, 2023 Nearly one in five Tennessee children live in poverty, a measure of well-being that varies sharply by geography. In rural northwest Lake County, for example, the number of children living below the poverty line is double the state average; meanwhile in wealthy Williamson…

House Speaker Sexton Says Tennessee “Can Afford” To Reject $2 Billion In Federal Education Funds

House Speaker Sexton Says Tennessee “Can Afford” To Reject $2 Billion In Federal Education Funds

Byharvestdempac

Published by the Chattanoogan, Reporter Hannah Campbell – May 16, 2023 House Speaker Cameron Sexton continues to muse about rejecting $2 billion in federal funding for education. After revealing the idea in February, he proposed a task force to make a feasibility recommendation by Dec. 1 this year. “Our state can afford not to take…