Haslam Appoints Raquel Hatter as Human Services Commissioner

Tennessee Governor-elect Bill Haslam this week announced Dr. Raquel Hatter as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services.

Devoting her life to social work, Hatter served the last three years as the President and CEO of Family & Children’s Service, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of families, children and individuals.

Hatter worked for 17 years in Flint, Mich. at the Whaley Children’s Center where she held several clinical and administrative roles from front line practitioner to President and CEO of the center.

“Dr. Hatter is a passionate expert in her field, and I’m proud that she’ll join our team in the new administration,” Haslam said. “She’s shown a dedication to families and children throughout her life, and Tennessee will be served well with her as Commissioner of Human Services.”

She currently serves on the Tennessee Council on Children’s Mental Health, Alliance for Children & Families Public Policy Committee, the National Building Bridges Initiative Cultural and Linguistic Competence Committee and American Association of Children's Residential Centers Board of Directors, among others.

“The state budget and the current economic climate present us with a new normal in which we have to continue to find new ways to ensure efficiency and effectiveness,” Hatter said. “I look forward to working with Gov.-elect Haslam, the administration, DHS staff, community partners and the people of Tennessee in our combined efforts to fulfill the DHS mission.”

Hatter has a Doctorate of Education in Child and Youth Studies from NOVA Southeastern University and a Masters in Social Work from Eastern Michigan University.

Hatter is married to Andre Hatter, and they have a son, Delano, and a daughter, Tiara.

Tennessee's Census Fact Sheet Page

As information is released from the census bureau, you can get updates about Tennessee's demographics here.

TN Delays Release of Schools' Adequate Yearly Progress Results Again

According to the Tennessean, the Tennessee Department of Education is again delaying the release of its 2009-10 Adequate Yearly Progress results, saying it will be January when schools find out if they met annual testing goals. A harder state curriculum and exams were implemented last school year. That changed how students are defined as having mastered or failed content on exams. New goals were also set that schools had to meet in reading and math. The state has requested two waivers from the U.S. Department of Education regarding this year's scores, contributing to the delay.

For the full article from the Tennessean, click here.

New House Democratic Leadership

The House Democratic Caucus met this morning and selected its leadership for the upcoming General Assembly. Rep. Craig Fitzhugh was selected as minority leader, replacing Rep. Gary Odom. Rep. Mike Turner retained his position as caucus chair. Rep. Sherrie Jones is Democratic Whip. Rep. Joe Towns is assistant leader.

The Senate Democratic Caucus meets this afternoon. Few, if any, changes are expected in the Democratic leadership in the Senate.

Fiscal Review Meeting - State Revenue Forecast

Director Jim White gave an overview of the economy and the state budget. Currently TN has the 18th highest unemployment rate in the nation. Housing starts remain at historic lows (lowest in 40 years). While risk has lessened somewhat, deflation is still a potential problem.

Historically, per capita sales tax revenues have grown, but if you adjust for inflation and rate increases, we are roughly where we were 20 years ago. We should not expect dramatic growth in sales tax collections. Sales tax collections peaked in 2008 at $6.8 billion with the state substantially below that level today. At the same time, we've seen a 20% reduction in franchise and excise tax collections. These two tax bases make up about 70% of the state's budget.

Over 2 years, total state tax collections have been reduced by 10%, far below peak collections in 2008. How long will it take to get back to pre-recession levels? With 4% growth it would be fiscal year 2013. While we are currently over budget projections, it will be difficult to maintain that level of growth over an extended period.

Many cuts in the state budget are not currently being experienced because of federal stimulus funds in the budget. But many cuts have been made. Several departments have seen cumulative cuts of 25%. To fully restore all the reductions that have been made over the last 3 years, it would take 30% revenue growth.

If we see a period of deflation, the state revenue forecast becomes substantially more negative. The consensus at the moment is that we will not enter deflation, but Director White wanted the committee to be aware of the possibility. He indicated that some aspects of the current US economy mirror the conditions in Japan shortly before that country entered an extended period of deflation.

Funding Board Meeting

The state funding board held a joint meeting with the business tax study committee today. Lee Jones of the Federal Reserve of Atlanta reported on economic indicators. The economy is expected to strenghthen in the coming year, but growth will likely not be robust enough to significantly reduce unemployment. Even the most optimistic projections expect unemployment to remain above 8.5% through the end of 2011. The good news is that the possibility of a double dip recession appears much less likely. Retail sales have bounced back surprisingly strong since the end of the recession. The most recent results indicate that Tennessee is in recovery and has moved ahead of other southeastern states and the U.S. in personal income growth. Business investment remains robust. Inflation remains at very low levels, but the risk of deflation has declined.

New Leadership Structure in the House of Representatives

Reports are coming out about staff decisions made by the presumptive Speaker, Rep. Beth Harwell. The word is that she is splitting the positions of chief of staff and house clerk. Chief of staff will be Gregory Gleaves (current executive director of TN Rep. Party). The new House clerk, replacing long time clerk Burney Durham will be former Rep. Joe McCord.

In the House Republican Caucus meeting today:
Judd Matheny was elected as nominee for Speaker Pro Tem
Gerald McCormick was elected Majority Leader
Debra Maggart was elected Caucus Chair
Kevin Brooks was elected as assistant leader.
Barrett Rich was elected GOP whip
Ryan Haynes was elected caucus vice chair
Vince Dean was elected floor leader

Still to come in January will be the important announcements of committee appointments and chairs.

Bill Gibbons Named Commissioner of Safety and Homeland Security

Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons was named today as Commissioner of Safety and head of Homeland Security in the Haslam Administration. Gibbons served as a Shelby County Commissioner before being appointed DA. He was a candidate in the Republican Primary for Governor earlier this year before dropping out of a crowded field , citing an inability to raise sufficient funds.

House Caucus Meeting - Also Additional Cabinet Announcement Expected

New legislators are in town for orientation. The House Republican Caucus is meeting this afternoon to vote on leadership positions. The Senate Republican Caucus meets tomorrow. The Haslam administration is planning a press conference this afternoon around 2:00 to make a "transition-related" announcement. In addition, the qualifying deadline to run for two vacancies in the General Assembly is tomorrow. Will update on these issues as information becomes available.

Tennessee Shows Slight Improvement in Health Ranking

Tennessee has moved up two notches on America's Health Rankings from number 44 to number 42. Reasons for the improvement include a decrease in the percentage of people smoking, a lowering in the rate of preventable hospitalizations and a dip in the violent crime rate.

For more on this issue, see this article from the Tennessean.

Commissioner of Agriculture Named

Last night, at the TN Farm Bureau Convention, Gov-Elect Haslam announced his cabinet appointee for the position of Commissioner of Agriculture. He named Julius Johnson, CAO for the TN Farm Bureau for the last 15 years, to lead the Department. Governor-elect Haslam stressed the importance of having a Commissioner of Agriculture that understands farming and the role agriculture can play in job creation, especially in the rural parts of our state that remain the hardest hit by unemployment.

For more on this appointment, go to the Nashville Post site here.

Haslam has named his legal counsel (Herbert Slatery), special assistant (Mark Cate) and deputy governor (Claude Ramsey). Johnson is the first commissioner named in the new Haslam cabinet. For more information on the Haslam transition, you can follow his administration at http://www.billhaslam.org/

Familiar Faces Coming to New Positions in Nashville

Late last week there were reports of two high-profile appointments. One was the announcement of Claude Ramsey as Deputy Governor in the Haslam administration. Claude was recently elected to his fifth term as the Hamilton County mayor. He was an essential player in the efforts to recruit Volkswagen to Tennessee and has experienced tremendous sucesses in recruiting business and industry to his region during tough economic times. Prior to serving as mayor, Claude served a stint in the General Assembly in the 1970's, was a county commissioner in Hamilton County and the assessor of property.

Meanwhile, the Comptroller of the Treasury, Justin Wilson, announced the appointment of former Representative Jason Mumpower to his staff. Rep. Mumpower did not pursue re-election this year after serving as Republican Majority Leader. Mumpower will serve as the Executive Assistant to the Comptroller. His duties will include serving as a liaison to the General Assembly, representing the Comptroller on several boards and commissions and dealing with the overall management of the Comptroller’s office.

Commissioners Compensation and Benefits Survey Going Out

Each year the Tennessee County Commissioners Association surveys its membership about a number of things pertaining to the compensation and benefits provided to members of the legislative body in all 95 counties. These surveys also ask for updates on who is currently serving as chair of the commission and when the commission's regular meetings are scheduled. The surveys are going out to county mayors and chairs of commissions today. Once we compile the information, it will be available on the main TCCA website. Last year's survey is currently available here.

High Unemployment Streak Could Exceed 1980's

With November's rate expected to be 9.6%, that will mark the 19th consecutive month that the unemployment rate was over 9 percent. That would exceed the length of high unemployment during the 1980s recession. The Federal Reserve forcasts that the rate will still be near 9% at the end of 2011. For more, see this article from USA Today.

Delays Again in School Systems Reports

According to this article in the Chattanooga Times-Free Press, the release of Adequate Yearly Progress reports for school systems has been pushed back again. Now, Department of Education officials expect to release that report and the official report card for the state and school systems around mid-December. Click on the link above for more information.