If you are not familiar with some of the legislative resources on the Internet, I have good news for you. Our state General Assembly provides an incredible array of information and services on line. From the main legislative website (www.legislature.state.tn.us), you can find information about your legislative delegation, read bios of members, find out how to contact or e-mail members, read legislation, find out which legislators serve on committees, get status updates and fiscal impact statements on proposed bills, and even watch live streaming video or archived video footage of committee meetings and legislative sessions.
On the legislature's home page, you will find a column on the left hand side of the screen that will guide you into the more substantive parts of the website. Under the headings "Senate" or "House" or will find links to pages of information about members, committees, schedules, and calendars. Under the heading "Legislation," you can look up a bill by number or scan through an index of all legislation filed with the General Assembly during this session. You can also search bills by subject. You can even find all bills sponsored by an individual legislator by looking at the list of members in either the House or Senate and then clicking on the icon on the far right that looks like a hand signing a document.
If you enter a bill number or click on an entry in the bill index, it will take you to a page that gives a brief summary of the legislation and outlines the history of the legislation. From this main page for a bill, you can click on the bill number at the top of the page to open or download a .pdf file of the legislation (this will require Adope Acrobate Reader). If amendments have been added to the bill, you can access those as well. If the staff of the legislature has written a more detailed summary of the legislation, there will be a link to the summary on this page. From this page you can also access something called a "fiscal note." This is a document that analyzes the potential impact of legislation on both state and local governments.
The lower portion of the page tracks the status of the bills under the heading "Bill History." The latest activity on the bill in each house of the General Assembly will be listed at the top with the history working backward from there to the bills initial introduction. In some cases, it is tricky to decipher the exact status of the bills due to the abbreviations used and the dual nature of bills. Each bill has a House and Senate companion. These bills may move through committees simultaneously, or the bill may move all the way through the process in one house will the other bill sits idle.
Of course, this association is here to serve you and provide information about legislative developments. If you have questions about bills, don't hesitate to contact TCCA. But if you want to be better informed and better acquainted with what is going on with your State Legislature, I thought it would be helpful to provide a basic primer here that lets you know all the resources your legislature makes freely available to the public.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Update on Legislative Session
The legislative session is getting into full swing. Bill filing deadlines have passed and the committee calendars are starting to get full. Already this session, several significant issues affecting county government have been discussed. To date, none of these issues have been finally resolved, but several are moving through the committee process. Included in the 1800-plus new bills filed this year are proposals related to open meetings and public records; education funding; jail management; tort liability; water resources; planning and zoning; economic development; and environmental regulation. These are on top of the approximately 2400 bills that were filed in the first year of the session, many of which remain active.
There are bills that would establish new mandates on local governments, bills that would restrict revenue sources for counties and bills that would manage how local budgets are adopted and tax rates are established. There are always exceptions to the rule, but in general, the Tennessee County Commissioners Association stands for the prospect that county governments need the tools, resources, and flexibility to govern effectively. As a result, we often oppose efforts that limit the autonomy that county governments have. Every week I communicate to your Senators and Representatives about how potential legislation enhances or stifles your ability to serve your constituents. As I have been getting to know the members of our General Assembly, I find many members who began their politcal careers on the county commission. These folks are quick to recognize your issues and they are imporant allies for us in the State Legislature. They know well that you have a challenging job to perform and they commend you all for your service.
There are bills that would establish new mandates on local governments, bills that would restrict revenue sources for counties and bills that would manage how local budgets are adopted and tax rates are established. There are always exceptions to the rule, but in general, the Tennessee County Commissioners Association stands for the prospect that county governments need the tools, resources, and flexibility to govern effectively. As a result, we often oppose efforts that limit the autonomy that county governments have. Every week I communicate to your Senators and Representatives about how potential legislation enhances or stifles your ability to serve your constituents. As I have been getting to know the members of our General Assembly, I find many members who began their politcal careers on the county commission. These folks are quick to recognize your issues and they are imporant allies for us in the State Legislature. They know well that you have a challenging job to perform and they commend you all for your service.
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