Near-billion-dollar shortfall could push other bills off agenda
By Lucas L. Johnson II, Associated Press

NASHVILLE — Tennessee lawmakers began the second session of the 106th General Assembly on Monday mindful of the constitutional obligation to balance a budget that’s facing a shortfall of nearly a billion dollars and expecting to tackle only a few other major issues.

“I think we’re going to be concentrating on the budget so heavily that there won’t be a lot of bills that pass,” said Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville.

Although the legislature has been meeting for two weeks, that was for a special session called by Gov. Phil Bredesen to enact major changes to education in Tennessee. Lawmakers largely gave Bredesen what he asked for — including evaluating K-12 teacher performance based on standardized test scores and reworking the funding formula for colleges and universities to emphasize graduation rates.

Lawmakers didn’t take up any bills when they reconvened the regular session Monday, but they’re expected to turn their attention to some bills that revisit the issues of guns in bars and in-session campaign fundraising and possibly some new matters, such as school vouchers. But the tight budget and the pressures of an election year — when all the House and half the Senate seats are on the ballot — will set the tone and scope of the session, lawmakers say.

“I’m going to try to file as little legislation as possible so I can spend as much time as possible focusing on the budget because it’s going to be a monumental task,” said House Majority Leader Jason Mumpower, R-Bristol.

The current year’s budget includes a 10 percent reduction, though many cuts were obscured by the infusion of $2.2 billion in stimulus money. The State Funding Board has projected the state’s revenues will expand by 1.8 percent to 2.3 percent in the upcoming budget year, though that modest growth won’t be enough to make up for the loss of the stimulus.

As for legislation, a judge ruled in November that Tennessee’s new law allowing people with handgun permits to be armed in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol is unconstitutionally vague.

Mumpower said lawmakers will probably review the court action on the bill before making any proposals. But he said he expects some version of the law to be back in effect at some point.

“I think it will have the support from everybody that supported it before and … pass overwhelmingly again,” he said.

Another hot-button issue is a proposal by Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, that would set up a pilot program in Memphis that awards school vouchers to students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Students would be able to attend a participating school until graduation at a cost to the state of at least $7,500 per child.

“I just want to give these poor children a chance to receive the quality education that they deserve,” Kelsey said. “If this pilot project doesn’t work, then we won’t pursue it.”