On February 10th, 2025, Governor Bill Lee gave his annual State of the State Address in front of a joint session of the Tennessee General Assembly. This year’s theme, “Innovation”, argues that Tennessee should lead the way in the next frontier of the American story. Which is why it is somewhat of a disappointment that Tennesseans with disabilities were largely left out of the evening.
We’re at the lull-before-the-storm part of session. The Special Session is over, and the real session hasn’t quite begun. It may seem quiet over the next couple of weeks (at the Tennessee General Assembly, that is), but don’t believe it – we’ve got lots to do.
Join us for our DDH Virtual Advocates Workshop Series hosted by The Tennessee Disability Coalition and Family Voices of Tennessee. This series is designed to help support community members, advocates, and families who are planning to attend DDH 2025.
We’re off to a testy and controversial start at Cordell Hull this year, with the special session wrapping up last week. And it’s no less frenetic up in DC. At very minimum, these are stressful times for our community. But we’ve still got 11 months to get 2025 turned around – we’ve got a great slate of bills, some great sponsors (of whom we need a few more) and a great GRASSROOTS and community primed to change the world for the better.
As a fan and (sometimes) purveyor of fancy words, one sticks in my mind as emblematic of the last week: interregnum. Essentially, it’s a time between two periods – we had the gaveling in of the 114th General Assembly session, and next week we have the special session, so this week? Nothing. So I don’t have many updates for you, dear reader. But know, the interregnum ends today and the big stuff starts on Monday.
The session started this week! Our community has built a lot of momentum over the past few years, notching some important legislative wins (with a couple losses sprinkled in too, of course), and to me, it feels like that progress has only expanded the horizon for what we should be doing. So this year, we’ve got an ambitious slate of bills to offer up.
