Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Constitutional Officers Re-Elected Today

In joint session, the Tennessee General Assembly re-elected all three constitutional officers to new terms.  Secretary of State Tre Hargett, Comptroller of the Treasury Justin Wilson and Treasurer David Lillard were all unopposed in the nominations and were elected to new terms by acclimation.

Bill Limitation Proposed for House of Representatives

Speaker Harwell this year proposed a House rule to set a ten bill limit for all members of the House of Representatives.  Exempt from the bill would be private acts, some sunset bills for boards and commissions and administration legislation. The initial proposal met with some resistance from both Republicans and Democrats, raised concerns with Senators (who are not looking at such a limit and might have to scramble to find House sponsors) and others who thought the proposal would strengthen the executive branch to the detriment of the legislative branch.  The initial proposal exempted bills that were proposed by the Governor's Administration from the limitations and set no limit on the number the Haslam administration could bring. The limit also raised concern in the lobbying community from professional lobbyists who were concerned that legislators might have a full slate of bills and be unable to bring legislation that were lobbying for.

After discussions and caucus meetings this week, a modified version of the limit is now being considered that would raise the limit from 10 to 15, place a 75 bill cap on the Governor and allow some additional exemptions. The proposal also now provides a means by which a member could petition the rules committee to authorize the Representative to carry additional bills above the limit. This modified version of the rule is expected to be considered and voted on tomorrow (Thursday) as the General Assembly concludes the organizational session of the 108th General Assembly. Also expected tomorrow will be the announcement of   committee officers and members for this session of the legislature.

CTAS County Officials Certificate Training Program Spring 2013 Schedule

The 2013 training schedule is posted on the UT- County Technical Assistance Service website in their Solution Point Training Management System.  Courses are open for registration with classes beginning in early February through the end of June.  The courses that are being offered include a diverse mix of topics which are listed below.

February 2013 - How to Be Your Boss's Favorite - Category B
March 2013 - Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace - Category B
April 2013 - Risk Management - Category A
May 2013 - Energy 101 - Category A

CTAS will soon be sending out a  detailed Spring 2013 Training Calendar via mail.
  
If you are already registered with the COCTP training program, you can click here to log-in to your Solution Point account. Select the "Register for a Class" link towards the bottom of your homepage. Click "Classroom Training" and select the workshop. Look for the class session you would like from the list that is displayed. Select the "Register" link beside that location to complete the process.

Should you have any questions on how to register in Solution Point, please contact the CTAS Training Department at (615) 532-3555.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Fiscal Cliff Analysis from the National Association of Counties


The National Association of Counties (NACo) has released a new summary of the fiscal cliff deal signed by President Obama today.  After weeks of negotiation, Congress approved legislation (H.R. 8) on New Year's day that delays the across-the-board sequestration cuts for two months, extends most of the Bush era tax cuts and extends the Farm Bill for another year. The measure passed the U.S. House of Representatives late on January 1 after the U.S. Senate had approved it overwhelmingly earlier that same day. While the passage of this measure will temporarily avert and delay various elements of the fiscal cliff, Congress and the administration are already opening talks on the next round of federal debt and deficit issues that may have significant consequences for counties.

The full NACo summary can be found at http://www.naco.org/legislation/Documents/NACo-Fiscal-Cliff-Legislative-Briefing.pdf