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2.21.25 TDC Weekly Public Policy Update
Sorry I missed you last week, I was traveling with my family to Washington DC to (belatedly) celebrate my daughter’s 4th birthday – she loves trains and dinosaurs and what could be better than riding the Metro to the Natural History Museum to see dinosaur bones in Washington DC if you just turned 4? On the (twice-delayed) flight back, the...
TDC 2025 State of the State Rapid Recap
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. Highlighting current and future outside investment in doing business in the state, as well as...
2.7.25 TDC Weekly Public Policy Update
Ah, February, the most romantic month of them all, in which us drones down at Cordell Hull beg for bill slots, clash with legal and run bill jackets down to the (exhausted) clerk. The Special Session is over, and the real session hasn’t quite begun. But that gives us a second to survey the playing field, gather the troops and make a...
1.31.25 TDC Weekly Public Policy Update
We’re off to a testy and controversial start at Cordell Hull this year, with the special session wrapping up this week. And it’s no less frenetic up in DC. At very minimum, these are stressful times for our community – the uncertainty, the disrespect, the marginalization – all of these things seem to cast a pall over day-to-day life. And (to wrap up my...
1.24.25 TDC Weekly Public Policy Update
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, next week we have the special session, so this week? Nothing. Except for those with the unenviable task of moving one’s...
1.17.25 TDC Weekly Public Policy Update
Happy January, TDC Family! The session started this week! And where many of us Cordell Hullables feel dread at this point in the legislative cycle, this year I feel urgency. 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,...
2024 Budget Hearings Roundup
2024 Budget Hearings Roundup In early November, Governor Bill Lee called on heads of state departments and agencies to present to him their 2025-2026 budget requests and priorities. These hearings are held annually, and are influential in influencing the Governor’s budget proposal for the 2025 General Assembly Session. The Governor will likely introduce his budget proposal around the time of...
September 2024 Policy Update
Happy September, y’all! Check out our latest policy video to hear what is happening in the public policy world this month. To let CMS know what you think about Amendment 6 to the TennCare III Demonstration Wavier, follow this link: https://1115publiccomments.medicaid.gov/jfe/form/SV_06xUOGFwXtpj6lw To send your elected officials a note thanking them for voting “yes” for last year’s Paid Family Caregiving Resolution, follow...
What’s New in Tennessee Education?
2024 was an “implementation year” for the Tennessee Department of Education and General Assembly, but that doesn’t mean that nothing changed in the education policy world. AND, in some cases, that nothing changed IS the story! Check out what policy issues to know for the coming 2024-2025 school year here! Statewide Private School Vouchers – HB1183/SB503 would expand the state’s Education...
Celebrate the 34th Anniversary of the ADA
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is turning 34 this year! On July 26, 1990, President G.H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law. This important civil rights law protects the rights of people with disabilities by ensuring people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone. Join us this month in celebrating #ADA34 and the...
Tennessee’s State Budget is a Moral Document
When I first started this work 35 years ago, Tennesseans with disabilities lived vastly different lives than they do now. Be it by a family member, the state, a well-intentioned doctor — or some combination thereof, lives were dictated. Predetermined. A linear path with few choices, and even fewer exits. Back then, most laws and systems (including Tennessee’s) were engineered...
2024 TDC Legislative Wrap Up
On April 25th, the Tennessee General Assembly adjourned sine die, concluding the 2nd year of the 113th General Assembly. While the 2023 session was unique in the extent of its public-facing drama and intrigue, the 2024 session was comparably more of a standard session. That’s not to say it was without drama, intrigue or facepalms – in their infinite wisdom,...