The birds, they are a-chirpin’ and church bells, they are a-ringin’ across the land!

That light you see, off yonder, peaking its rays above the horizon and rounding the bend of the tunnel? That’s the theoretical end of the session. Somehow. Already. Most of the legislative committees, save for both of the Finance, Ways and Means committees, have wrapped up their agendas for the year.

As we race down the final stretch of the 2021 session, the Governor’s annual wrench, in the form of his Administrative Budget Amendment, has made its way into the machinery. It’s an expected wrench, it’s lobbed every year, but it gives lawmakers a stark window into the Governor’s legislative priorities. What bills will he fund? What projects get the go ahead?

In early February, Governor Lee released his preliminary proposed budget during his State of the State address at War Memorial Auditorium. After an uncommon and unpredictable 2020, where the administration’s primary budget consideration was the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Governor’s 2021 budget seemed like a celebration.

And so goes another week of “As the General Assembly Turns”, fraught with melodrama and fast-moving plot lines. We’ve come to the final calendar of at least 5 House and Senate committees, meaning it’s now, never or 2022 for some of the bills still toiling away at the back of the agenda.

Tennessee’s education system is expected to receive $3.3 billion from the American Rescue Plan, the most recent federal COVID-19 relief package. Outside of specific set-asides for learning loss and other activities, school districts have broad flexibility in how they spend the funds.

They say something about April showers, don’t they? I believe they portend good things, if I recall correctly. I think it’s an interesting colloquialism, because it’s inherently optimistic while exemplifying the two steps-forward-one-step-back nature of spring.

Last Saturday was the Vernal Equinox, or when the sun crosses the equator, officially signaling the beginning of Spring (Punxsutawney Phil predictions aside)! Just as spring signals life renewed, it likewise signals the stretch run of the legislative session. Word has it that the General Assembly is shooting for a mid-April conclusion to the session, meaning that there is a TON of work to do in the next couple of weeks.

The slow churn of state legislating continued to turn this week and we’re starting to see some of the butter separate from the buttermilk. We’ve now had three bills enrolled and ready for some signatures. That said, we want to make sure that we don’t put buttermilk on our toast or butter in our fried-chicken brine.

Tennessee Representatives and Senators reconvened on Tuesday this week for the second session of the 111th General Assembly. With Governor Lee’s State of the State address on Monday the 8th and the House bill filing deadline on Thursday the 11th, it has been a whirlwind week of legislative merriment. As it stands on Friday morning, over 1,300 bills have been introduced in the House, and over 1,600 in the Senate.