6,250 subscribers www.TML1.org Volume 63, Number 1 Feb. 6, 2012 Legislation filed to address Gov. Haslam to focus on job growth, synthetic drug problem education, efficient state government Over the past several years, a growing number of cities have be- Gov. Bill Haslam delivered his second State of come concerned about the sale and the State address, offering a more detailed outline use of a controlled substance ana- of his legislative priorities for the year. In the logue, otherwise known as a "syn- weeks leading up to speech, the governor has thetic drug." insisted his primary focus remains making Ten- In recent years, the General nessee the No. 1 state in the southeast for high- Assembly has enacted bills that quality jobs. made it a misdemeanor to manufac- The Haslam Administration plans to move ture, sell or possess synthetic closer toward this goal by enhancing economic drugs. The law was based on the development efforts, making additional education chemical compounds in the prod- reforms, improving public safety, and making ucts, and drug manufacturers have state government more efficient and effective. In managed to skirt the law by chang- the coming weeks, they will introduce a legislative ing the chemical compounds package that tackles those items by addressing slightly, making enforcement diffi- these issues: cult. Beavers • Strengthening the Department of Economic TML has been in contact with and Community Development’s FastTrack pro- the Tennessee District Attorneys gram by budgeting more for the grant program and Conference concerning the devel- giving the department more flexibility in utilizing opment of legislation and the forma- those grants to attract and grow Tennessee jobs. tion of an alliance to address syn- • Lowering the state portion of the sales tax on thetic drugs. During those discus- food from 5.5 percent to 5.0 percent over three sions, the Conference staff in- years. formed TML that they were in the • Providing innovation opportunities to local school districts by eliminating the outdated re- midst of developing a legislative ini- Photo by Victoria South tiative. quirement of state and local salary schedules based Senate Judiciary Committee strictly on seniority and training. Gov. Bill Haslam delivers State of State Address. Chairman Mae Beavers has agreed • Taking a first step in reaching the governor’s See Page 9 for more photos goal of raising the state's inheritance tax exemption to sponsor the legislation, SB2172, offenders. which she developed in conjunction from $1 million to $5 million by these agencies. increasing it to $1.25 million to lower • Updating and reforming the with Rep. Tony Shipley and the • Addressing a number of public state’s employment system through the burden on family farmers and Tennessee District Attorneys. safety issues including prescription the TEAM Act (Tennessee Excel- family business owners as these The proposed legislation would drug abuse, tougher sentencing for lence Accountability and Manage- businesses span generations. tie regulation to the relationship to certain types of gang-related crimes, ment) by simplifying the hiring pro- Shipley • Restructuring a number of state See DRUGS on Page 6 tougher sentencing for gun posses- cess, providing flexibility to retain boards and commissions to eliminate sion by those with prior violent duplicative functions and provide and reward outstanding employees felony convictions and mandatory and streamlining the appeals pro- more accountability and oversight of New pension options offered to jail time for repeat domestic violence cess for employees. local governments employees State’s STEM Caucus makes grand debut BY KEVIN KRUSHENSKI their specific needs.” BY VICTORIA SOUTH TML Research Analyst The Treasurer presented the TML Communications Coordinator following options to the Council on In 1972, the state authorized Pensions & Insurance on January Old school clichés ‘Reading, local government subdivisions to 23, 2012: ‘Riting and ‘Rithmetic’ have been participate in the Tennessee Consoli- • local governments may take no upstaged by a simple acronym— dated Retirement System or TCRS action and remain in the current “STEM.” The emphasis on Science, as it is more commonly known. This TCRS defined benefit pension plan Technology, Engineering and Math- move was mutually beneficial as it with retirement generally at 30 years ematics, took a major leap forward gave local governments a profes- of service or age 60; or Jan. 23, as bi-partisan members of sional retirement manager and the • local governments may adopt a the House and Senate, along with state increased the fund size for their TCRS defined benefit pension plan leaders from a variety of sectors, investments. As of June 30, 2011, with an annual service accrual rate joined together to launch the nation’s 176 municipalities participated in the of 1.4 percent, with an increase in first state-level caucus on educa- system. retirement age, limits on cost of tional issues, Tennessee’s STEM However, recent economic living adjustments, a cap on maxi- Education Caucus. conditions are driving up the contri- mum allowed benefits and a revised Two years in the making, the bution cost to many municipalities. employee contribution structure; or caucus, co-chaired by Sen. Jim Approximately 42% of local govern- • local governments may adopt a Tracy of Shelbyville and Sen. Reginald Tate of Memphis, and ment participants will face contribu- TCRS defined benefit pension plan Sen. Jim Tracy, co-chair of the state’s first educational STEM caucus, House leaders Rep. David Hawk, of tion rates greater than 10% this fiscal with an annual service accrual rate with Kathleen Airhart, deputy commissioner State Dept. of Education. year. According to the Department of 1% to offer reduced pension ben- East Tennessee and Rep. Brenda of Treasury, this increasing contri- efits, but with a supplemental de- Gilmore of Nashville, will provide a with a degree in Agricultural Educa- level. Another primary goal of the bution is causing some municipali- ferred compensation program; or non-partisan, bicameral forum for tion. “We have chairmen from both caucus is to develop strategy to in- ties to reevaluate their participation • local governments may decide Tennessee legislators and outside parties because this is not a partisan crease the number of students pur- in the TCRS. In order to give local to offer only a deferred compensa- businesses, science, technology, issue.” suing careers in STEM fields in Ten- governments more choices for their tion program as a stand-alone op- and education communities to dis- According to Tracy, one of the nessee and to improve the overall employees’ retirement plans, Ten- tion. cuss challenges, problems and solu- caucus’ main purposes is to serve as ability of the workforce to thrive in nessee State Treasurer David Lillard The proposals were developed tions. an informational platform for the an increasingly STEM-intensive proposed several new options to following open meetings held “We invite all members of the Legislature and the general public workplace. STEM knowledge is state legislators for their consider- throughout Tennessee with more General Assembly to be involved in about trends in STEM policies and required for 27 of the top 30 fastest- ation. than 200 local government represen- this,” said Tracy, a former teacher practices from a state and national See STEM on Page 8 The proposed changes, which tatives last fall. Treasurer Lillard said would require approval by the Gen- that they are “offering these options eral Assembly, are optional for local because we want local governments governments and would only affect to remain part of TCRS…” And, the Study connects online sex trade, new hires. The proposed options do Treasurer believes these options will not affect any current local govern- make municipalities more inclined to ment retirees of TCRS. stay within the system. trafficking in Middle Tennessee A caption bill, SB3216 “Our city and county govern- results as “shock- (McNally) / HB3603 (Sargent) was BY VICTORIA SOUTH ments across Tennessee have to ing,” as he observed introduced before the filing deadline, balance the need to be good stew- The scantily-clad girl in the clas- “Human trafficking and a more detailed amendment that ards of taxpayer money with the sified ad is listed as 19 years-old. She and sex slavery in will make the bill will follow when need to offer fair retirement benefits could indeed be selling herself for Tennessee is more the bill appears before committee. to their employees,” Treasurer cash, or she could be among the 27 common than previ- For a copy of the local govern- Lillard said. “The goal is to make million people across the globe en- ously believed pos- ment pension option proposals and sure pension benefits are affordable, slaved in the brutal world of human sible,” he said. other documents, go to http:// sustainable and sufficient. That’s trafficking. Reflected against the Focused specifi- treasury.tn.gov/tcrs and look at the why I am recommending some backdrop of the nation’s fourth Hu- cally on victims be- tab titled “Proposed Plans for Local choices that would give local gov- man Trafficking Awareness Day, a tween the ages of nine Gov’t.” ernments greater flexibility to meet new study, The Nashville Backpage and 17, results from Report, released by the advocacy the 2010 study impli- group End Slavery Tennessee and cate that children are It is estimated that there are 100,000 children in New form required for public Operation Broken Silence, not only routinely moved from the sex trade in the United States each year. calls for lawmakers to pass tougher city to city across debt report to Comptroller penalties for those convicted of sex Tennessee for the sole purpose of been as successful as the site contin- trafficking and promoting prostitu- human sex trafficking. The study ues to list the ads in their adult The State Funding Board re- tions until they have complied.