April 24 - 28, 2023
The General Assembly ended its 2023 regular session last Friday evening. However, within hours after the legislature adjourned sine die, Governor Lee put out a press release indicating that he intended to call them back for a special session related to gun violence at schools. That call has not been officially made, but we are hearing rumors that the session may take place in mid May. Until the call is officially made, we will not know exactly what topics the Governor wants the General Assembly to address. We do know that draft legislation was being circulated the last week of the regular session to enact an extreme risk protection order process. Agreement could not be reached on that proposal before the legislature adjourned its regular session, but we would expect that to be at least one of the topics considered in a special session.
There were several items that passed in the waning days of session that we were not able to report to you about last week. We want to provide you with a round up of some of those items here this week. There will be more details about legislation that passed at our conference next month and in future reports.
Meeting Agendas
A bill (SB27/HB23) that started the session proposing to require all governing bodies to make available to the public any documents provided to the members of the governing body 48 hours in advance of the meeting was dramatically reduced. As it passed, the county legislative body simply has to make its meeting agenda available to the public 48 hours before the meeting. Posting it on the county’s website is deemed to satisfy this requirement, but the document could also be made available in the courthouse or other building open to the public. The bill includes clear language that the county commission may take up and consider matters not included on the agenda, so long as it acts in accordance with local rules and it isn’t intentionally omitting items from the agenda to avoid public disclosure. The bill has been signed by the Governor.
Property Affected by Disasters
In years past, legislation has been passed for specific instances when a tornado, flood or other natural disaster impacted a community to allow assessors of property to prorate property taxes for structures that are damaged or destroyed to discount the taxes based on the period of time before the structure is restored or replaced. This bill (SB397/HB33), would make these provisions available for any future, presidentially declared, natural disasters. However, before it applies in any instance, the county commission would have to vote by a two-thirds majority to make this relief available to owners of property affected by a specific disaster or occurrence. This bill...
Read This Week's Full Capitol Update from TCSA
TISA Estimates Expected Soon
As counties are progressing on their budgets for the FY23-24 fiscal year, many are awaiting detailed estimates on funding for their school system under the new TISA funding formula. For a typical county, K-12 education makes up two-thirds of the budget, so obviously, it is very difficult to proceed with budget plans without knowing the amount of state funds coming to the school system. We are hearing that the Department of Education will be releasing initial estimates, including a breakdown of the state and local portions, over the next few days.
TCSA Communications Survey Now Available
There's been a lot of changes here at TCSA over the past few years, and as TCSA changes the way it communicates with members and partners, we want to hear about the ways in which you consume news and information. Please take a few minutes to complete this anonymous, short survey to help us better understand our members. We thank you for your cooperation!
Sycamore Institute TN: 2021 Income, Poverty, Health Insurance Coverage, and Education in Tennessee’s 95 Counties
The latest federal estimates for all 95 of Tennessee’s counties continue to show large differences between counties in income, poverty, health insurance coverage, and education levels. Overall, there are very large divides between the counties doing the best on these metrics and those doing the worst. On average, Middle Tennessee counties had the lowest poverty rates, highest median household income, and highest percentage of residents with postsecondary degrees.
Read the Full Policy Brief from TN Sycamore Institute
Grants Writing USA Hosting Writing Course May 4-5
TN Workforce Services Division and Grant Writing USA will present a two-day grants workshop in Nashville on May 4-5, 2023. This training is for grant seekers across all disciplines. Attend this class and you'll learn how to find the funding sources and write winning grant proposals.
For event details visit: http://grantstraining.com/tn0523
Beginning and experienced grant writers from city, county and state agencies as well as healthcare organizations, nonprofits, K-12, colleges and universities are encouraged to attend.
GWUSA are excited to offer you a special tuition rate of $465 which includes everything: two days of terrific instruction, workbook, and access to our Alumni Forum that's packed full of tools, helpful discussions and more than 200 sample grant proposals. Please use the discount code "ASSN" to receive this $30 discount off full price at registration.
Groups of 5 or more receive a $50 discount per person. Discounts for Grant Writing USA alumni and nonprofits are also available. Please call for details. Payment is not required at the time of registration. Government agencies have 30 days from the class date to submit payment.
More information including learning objectives, class location, graduate testimonials and online registration is available here.
Legislative Conference Highlight: TN Comptroller's Office
Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower will be present at TCSA’s 2023 Legislative Conference, and he will share this year’s county clean audit awards as well as share the details of the Comptroller Office’s mapping systems, including newly-designed Property Assessment Data webpage and County District Maps!
There’s still time to register for the conference that’s sure to be packed with useful information for county officials. For a draft of the conference agenda, click here to view it.
To register for TCSA’s Legislative Conference happening May 23 - 25, 2023, in Gatlinburg, please click here. We look forward to seeing you in May!
Register for TCSA's Legislative Conference
Resources, Events & Training for County Leaders
Upcoming NACo Webinar:
County Success: Increasing Non-Tax Revenues
June 8, 2023; 1:00 - 2:00 P.M. EDT
Ongoing: CTAS Cybersecurity Certification
Ethics (CORE); CTAS 50th Anniversary Celebration!
June 14, 2023; 10:00 AM. - 2:00 P.M. EDT; Knoxville, TN
TCSA Post-Legislative Conference
May 23 - 25, 2023; Gatlinburg, TN
GRANT ANNOUNCEMENT: