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From YouTube: House Finance, Ways, & Means Committee- March 23, 2021
Description
House Finance, Ways, & Means Committee- March 23, 2021
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So,
first
we're
going
to
take
up
our
calendar
item
number
one
on
our
calendar
house
bill
786
by
leader,
lambert
leader,
lambert.
If
you
would
don't
mind
present
that
from
the
well,
if
you
would.
C
C
Most
of
us
will
still
have
permits
for
both
reciprocity
and
because
we
will
desire
to
have
a
permit,
so
the
permit
process
is
still
in
place,
but
the
bulk
of
this
fiscal
note
is
because
of
the
increased
penalties
against
bad
guys
with
firearms,
so,
for
instance,
one
of
the
penalties
that
is
critical
that
I
think
we
put
in
the
law
that
this
bill
accomplishes
is
that
if
someone
steals
a
firearm
right
now
in
most
instances,
that's
a
misdemeanor.
The
firearm
is
valued
at
less
than
a
thousand
dollars
and
it's
a
smack
on
the
wrist.
C
It's
a
it's
a
very
low
penalty.
If
this
bill
passes-
and
I
hope
that
it
does
stealing
a
firearm
will
be
a
felony
in
the
state
of
tennessee
and
it
will
carry
a
180-day
mandatory
minimum.
The
vast
majority
of
our
crimes
that
happen
in
our
urban
areas
are
committed
by
individuals
that
cannot
legally
purchase
a
firearm
and
they
are
illegally
purchasing
those
purchasing
those
firearms
that
have
been
stolen
from
other
individuals.
This
goes
right
at
the
heart
of
that
issue.
C
So
with
that,
madam
chairman,
I
know
there
will
be
probably
quite
a
bit
of
debating
questions
and
there
are
probably
some
testimony,
but
that's
the
gist
of
what
the
bill
does.
It
keeps
our
permit
permit
process
in
place,
but
it
does
take
penalties
off
of
law-abiding
citizens
who
could
obtain
a
permit
and
are
eligible
now,
but
have
not
and
vastly
increases
penalties
on
felons
and
those
that
are
misusing
firearms.
D
D
D
The
governor's
proposed
budget
recognizes
a
recurring
increase
in
state
expenditures
of
17.7
million
dollars,
a
recurring
decrease
in
revenue
to
the
handgun
permit,
division
of
2.4
million
dollars
and
a
recurring
decrease
in
revenue
to
the
tbi
of
469
thousand
dollars.
Unquote,
let's
be
clear.
These
are
state
taxpayer
dollars,
17.7
million
dollars
that
could
go
to
our
school
teachers,
small
businesses
and
front-line
workers.
D
Instead,
our
elected
officials
want
to
use
these
state
taxpayer
dollars
to
satisfy
the
gun
lobby
when
we
should
be
helping
tennesseans
this
bill
does
the
opposite,
as
it
will
quote:
increase
in-state
incarceration
expenditures
by
an
estimated
12.3
million
dollars.
Unquote,
that
means
69
percent
of
the
proposed
17.7
million
dollars
going
toward
locking
tennesseans
up
supporters
of
the
permitless.
Carry
will
lead
you
to
believe
that
this
legislation
will
not
impact
our
permitting
system
or
the
revenue
generated
from
it,
because
the
governor
is
allocating
state
taxpayer
dollars
to
plug
any
gaps.
D
As
the
fiscal
review
committee
found
quote
of
the
states
that
have
switched
to
constitutional
carry
in
the
past
six
months,
there
has
been
an
average
decline
of
19.5
percent
and
criminal
background
checks,
requests
for
those
specific
states.
Therefore,
it
can
be
reasonably
estimated
that
there
will
be
reduction
of
approximately
20
percent
in
new
and
renewable
enhanced
handgun
carry
permit
and
concealed
handgun
carry
permit
applications.
D
Each
year
quote
unquote
it's
time.
For
this.
To
stop.
Permitless
carry
will
increase
the
number
of
people
carrying
loaded
guns
in
public
because
this
law
incentivizes
it
gun.
Violence
costs
tennessee
nine
billion
dollars
each
year,
of
which
four
hundred
and
thirty
three
point,
two
million
dollars,
is
paid
by
taxpayers.
D
A
D
D
D
We
know
that
communities,
communities
that
experience
gun
violence
are
less
likely
to
be
hubs
for
economic
growth
and
commerce
and
face
lower
property
values,
fewer
business
startups
and
loss
of
jobs.
The
bottom
line
is
permit.
Less
carry
is
bad
for
tennessee.
It
costs
too
much
in
lives
and
dollars.
Please
put
public
safety
first
and
vote
against
786.
A
Thank
you
for
your
testimony
or
their
questions.
Mrs
barnett.
E
D
A
Seeing
none
thank
you
so
much
for
being
here
today.
I
we
admire
your
passion
and
your
concern,
and
with
that
we
will
be
back
in
session
we're
now
back
in
session,
we're
on
house
bill
786.
G
Thank
you,
madam
chair,
thank
you
so
much
and
get
my
harness
off
here,
thanks
so
much
and
to
a
leader.
Certainly
I
want
to
begin
by
just
briefly
saying
I'm
certainly
for
having
the
opportunity
to
have
the
constitutional
right
to
carry,
and
I
do
publicly
want
to
say
that
I
own
a
gun,
so
I'm
not
against
guns,
but
I
do
have
some
some
concerns
about
the
legislation.
I
won't
start
by
just
asking
you
because
of
the
laws
that
we
already
have
in
place.
G
C
Thank
you,
chairman
and,
and
again
the
permit
process
stays
in
place
with
this
bill.
They
would
still
need
to
pay
for
the
permit.
There
have
been
bills
in
the
years
in
years
past.
In
fact,
I
carried
one
that
would
make
the
permit
process
free.
I
think
it
should
be,
but
that's
not
this
bill,
what
we
are
doing
in
this
bill
again.
C
If
someone
is
currently
eligible
to
obtain
a
permit,
they
they've,
you
know
they
are
legally
able
to
possess
that
gun
in
their
house,
their
car,
their
boat,
their
bicycle,
their
motorcycle,
their
friends,
business
boat,
car
house
motorcycle.
They
can
legally
possess
that
gun
there,
but
we
currently
criminalize
their
behavior
the
moment
they
mock.
They
walk
in
between
any
one
of
those
areas.
C
So
if
someone
is
legally
allowed
to
possess
their
gun
in
their
car
right
now
and
they've
not
gone
through
the
process
to
get
a
permit
eligible
to
get
one,
not
a
convicted
felon
not
been
convicted
of
stalking
or
domestic
assault
or
mentally
committed.
None
of
those
things
all
those
protections
are
still
in
this
bill,
so
a
law
abiding
citizen
who
can
legally
have
their
gun
in
their
car
and
legally
have
it
in
their
house.
But
if
they
walk
between
those
two
areas,
they
could
go
to
jail
right
now.
C
G
We
just
cannot
keep
penalizing
people's
constitutional
rights
to
practice
second
amendment
or
to
carry
a
gun,
and
I
get
that
but
to
me
that's
kind
of
piecemeal
because
we
are
penalizing
them
in
voting
and
coming
to
the
capitol
after
a
certain
hour,
freedom
of
speech
and
a
lot
of
other
ways.
So
can
we,
I
guess
what
I'm
confused
about,
is
if
we're
going
to
give
people
freedom
of
speech
of
right.
Second,
amendment
rights,
why
not
give
them
full
right
to
vote
without
having
a
photo
id?
C
Leader,
lambert,
there
are
multiple
different
areas
that
you
and
I
both
agree-
that
we
should
expand
the
individual
freedoms
of
tennesseans
and
of
americans
in
general.
This
bill
expands
their
freedom
in
dealing
with
the
second
amendment.
Now
there
are
multiple
areas
that
you
just
mentioned:
that
we
can
have
a
conversation
on
other
bills
and
many
of
those
I
may
support,
because
if
it's
expanding
freedom,
then
by
large,
I'm
in
favor
of
it,
but
this
deals
specifically
with
second
amendment
rights
and
expanding
the
freedoms
of
any
law-abiding
american
and
specifically
any
tennessean
in
this
bill.
G
Thank
you
so
much
I
I
I
I'm
trying
to,
because
I've
been
wrestling
with
this
all
day,
long,
I'm
trying
to
figure
out
what
am
I
doing
for
my
constituents
to
make
things
any
better
other
than
one
thing.
You
said
that
one
middle
crown
place
where,
because,
if
right
now,
if
it's
posted,
you
still
can't
carry
the
gun
right,
would
that
be
correct?.
C
All
of
that
stays
exactly
as
it
is
in
the
law
right
now,
but
it
does
protect
again
the
government
from
locking
you
up
just
for
exercising
your
second
amendment
rights
for
people
that
would
be
eligible
for
a
permit
right
now
again,
these
are
law-abiding
citizens
that
are
lawfully
in
possession
of
that
firearm.
These
are
folks
that
could
get
a
permit
and
simply
have
chosen
not
to-
and
we
are,
we
are
literally
just
taking
the
criminal
penalty
off
of
their
backs
and
making
sure
that
they
are
not
incarcerated.
H
Thank
you,
madam
chair
leader,
thank
you.
Actually,
I
got
my
handgun
carry
permit
for
the
exact
reason
that
you
you
listed,
because
I
was
afraid
that
I
would
get
pulled
over
or
something
in
between
my
home
and
and
and
going
to
to
practice.
But
I
have
a
couple
of
kind
of
technical
questions
on
this.
One
is
when
you're
saying
that,
if,
if
someone
is
caught-
and
they
actually
shouldn't
have
been
able
to
get
a
permit
today
or
in
this
bill,
it's
a
class
b
misdemeanor.
What
is
it
today.
A
C
Lamborgh,
it
depends
on
why
they're
prohibited
from
being
able
to
get
a
permit.
So
there
are
a
couple
of
instances
where
someone
would
not
be.
You
know
a
felon
in
possession
of
firearm,
but
they
might
have
been
convicted
of
dui
or
stalking
or
domestic
assault.
Those
preclude
you
from
being
able
to
get
a
permit
currently,
the
those
those
prohibitions
are
still
in
this
bill
and,
as
you
mentioned,
it's
a
be
misdemeanor,
but
if
you're
a
felon
in
possession
of
a
firearm,
the
penalty
can
be
felony
offenses
and
you
could
serve
some
significant
time.
C
So
it
all
depends
on
what
the
prohibition
is.
You
know
if
it's
a
mental
health
issue,
whether
it's
a
felony,
whether
it's
a
misdemeanor
conviction
that
you
have
whatever
is
prohibiting
you
an
illegal
immigrant,
cannot
constitutional,
carry
and
cannot
get
a
carry
permit
that
permit,
obviously,
as
you
know,
is
a
valid
form
of
photo
identification.
So
an
illegal
immigrant
cannot
get
that
permit
in
this
bill.
C
They
would
not
be
able
to
constitutionally
carry,
but
so
it's
a
variety
of
penalties,
but
by
and
large
this
bill
leaves
the
penalties
in
place
that
were
those
misdemeanor
penalties,
kind
of
strikes,
the
middle
ground
there,
but
again
vastly
increases
the
penalties
on
on
felons
and
thieves.
H
H
Thank
you
very
much.
The
second
question
is-
and
this
has
been
asked
by
several
people
around
here
today
when
you
come
through
the
the
front
door,
you
go
through
a
metal
detector.
My
understanding
is
the
the
guards
check
to
see
whether
or
not
you
have
a
lawful
permit,
and
if
you
do,
they
allow
you
to
enter
with
that.
Permit.
C
Later,
lambert
again,
there's
nothing
in
this
bill
that
actually
addresses
that
circumstance,
that's
something
to
take
up
with
both
the
speaker,
the
house
and
of
the
senate.
That
was
a
decision
that
is
made,
I
mean
they're,
they're
elected
by
us,
and
then
they
make
the
determination
on
and
particularly
in
this
building
what
restrictions
would
be
applicable
in
that
scenario,
there's
simply
nothing
in
this
bill.
That
would
change
that.
C
So
there
was
another
bill
several
years
ago
that
made
it
very
clear
that
if
you're
going
to
prohibit
someone
from
bringing
a
firearm
into
an
area,
then
you
have
to
have
you
know
an
individual
there,
that's
doing
a
bag
check
and
and
doing
an
actual
has
a
metal,
detecting
a
metal
detector
of
some
sort.
C
It
doesn't
have
to
be
necessarily
the
large
type
it
has
to
have
some
sort
of
metal
detector
there,
and
so
we
have
that
here
and
both
speakers
can
make
that
determination
with
consultation
with
the
body,
but
there's
nothing
in
this
bill
that
would
change
that
previous
law,
indicating
what
areas
are
allowed
or
not
allowed
to
even
prohibit
individuals
from
carrying
firearms,
but
it
will
be
a
decision
of
both
the
body
and
the
speakers.
C
I
I
Yes,
would
you
also
agree
that
the
second
amendment
of
our
constitution
is
one
of
the
enumerated
rights
that
we
already
have
given
by
god?
According
to
the
constitution,
it
just
enumerates
some
of
those
rights
and
that
one
specifically-
and
it
says
the
right
to
keep
and
bear
arms
shall
not
be
in
french
says
we
already
have
the
right
to
keep
and
bare
arms.
It
just
says
we
shall
not
infringe
upon
that.
Would
you
also
agree
that
what
we're
doing
here
is
taking
an
infringement
of
that
right
off
of
the
books
leader,
lambert.
E
E
C
I
will
tell
you,
in
my
personal
opinion,
as
an
attorney
while
not
giving
you
free
legal
advice,
I
would
highly
recommend
you
not
do
that.
You
are
starting
to
get
into
the
realm
where
you
are
potentially
committing
either
reckless
endangerment
or
aggravated
assault,
and
I
can
tell
you
that
if
an
officer
sees
you
walking
down
the
road
with
your
gun
in
your
hand,
then
you
have
crossed
into
an
entirely
different
zone
where
you
are
potentially
opening
yourself
up
to
being
arrested
for
aggravated
assault
or
reckless
endangerment.
C
It
is
absolutely
not
something
that
I
would
advise
in
any
instance,
for
anyone
to
do
not
to
mention
the
fact
that
if
you
are
carrying
your
firearm
in
your
hand,
in
a
way
that
you
are,
for
all
appearances
ready
to
fire
that
firearm,
you
are
also
taking
your
own
life
in
your
hands
from
another.
C
Lawful
carry
individual,
who
may
very
well
perceive
you
to
be
a
threat
and
would
potentially
be
within
their
rights
if
they
objectively
perceive
you
as
a
threat
to
act
upon
that
threat.
So
no
sir,
there
is
in
no
way
shape,
form
or
fashion
any
way
that
I
would
recommend
that
you
carry
that
firearm
in
your
hand,.
E
C
Later,
lambert,
yes,
hundreds
hundreds
of
law
enforcement
officers
and
agencies
throughout
this
state
support
this
legislation.
The
groups
of
individuals
that
have
testified
have
said
collectively
that
they
oppose
it
on
certain
philosophical
grounds.
But
when
you
talk
to
both
individual
officers-
individual
sheriffs,
individual
police
chiefs,
individual
just
americans
tennesseans.
C
Yes,
absolutely
many
of
them
support
this
legislation.
I
would
recommend
that
you
talk
to
many
of
your
local
officers
in
your
own
neighborhoods
and
districts,
because
this
in
itself
is
one
of
those
crimes
that
every
officer
that
I
speak
with.
Anyways
hates
charging
somebody
with
this,
because
they
know
that
they
are.
C
They
are
literally
taking
someone
who
is
a
law-abiding
citizen
who,
who
is
lawfully
allowed
to
have
their
weapon
and
not
only
just
under
the
constitution,
but
under
our
laws,
could
have
their
weapon
just
a
few
feet
away
in
their
car,
and
it's
legal,
but
they've
stepped
out
and
they
didn't
have
a
permit
eligible
for
one
again.
The
exact
people
that
are
eligible
for
a
permit
are
the
ones
we
are
taking.
A
E
A
J
J
Six
to
eight
million
dollars
is
collected
each
year
to
fund
the
tdot
little
grant
in
which
each
county
receives
litter.
Pickup
grants
ranging
from
44
000
to
269
000.
Since
inception,
23
million
pounds
of
litter
has
been
collected
in
all
95
counties,
with
9.2
million
pounds
of
litter
has
been
recycled
without
I'll
answer.
Any
questions.
A
G
A
J
You,
madam
chair
house,
bill
54,
comes
from
the
tennessee
underground
utility
damage
enforcement
board.
The
board
is
charged
with
examining
data
regarding
underground
utility
damages
and
making
recommendations
to
the
general
assembly
to
update
the
law.
This
bill
represents
recommendation,
recommended
changes
to
the
law,
to
improve
safety,
reduce
damage
to
underground
utilities
and
achieve
compliance
with
federal
rules
and
regulations.
I
J
J
A
B
A
E
Thank
you,
chellady.
Thank
you.
Members
house,
bill
0999
requires
each
state
agency
to
submit,
on
or
before
february
the
1st
of
each
year,
a
report
to
the
members
of
the
finance
ways
and
means
committee
summarizing
amounts
of
federal
bloc
grants
and
purposes
for
which
funds
were
expended,
including
any
unexpended
or
returned
portions.
E
Remember
this
bill
came
through
this
committee
last
year,
passed
out,
got
to
the
house
floor
actually
passed
the
house
floor,
but
because
of
our
covert
restrictions,
it
did
not
get
taken
up
by
the
senate,
so
this
will
give
us
an
opportunity
to
know
what
departments
may
have
left
in
federal
funds
they
receive
with
that
they
challenge
our
questions.
A
A
B
B
A
I
just
want
to
say
mr
sponsor,
thank
you
for
bringing
this
bill.
I
think
this.
This
act
helps
the
folks
who
take
care
of
us
to
be
able
to
further
their
education
and
helps
us
to
meet
our
goal
of
having
an
educated
workforce
in
tennessee.
So
thank
you
for
bringing
it
we're
voting
on
house
bill
83,
all
those
in
favor,
please
signify
by
saying
aye
any
opposed
eyes.
Have
it
house
bill
83
moves
on
to
calendar
and
rules.
Thank.
A
I
A
A
B
You,
madam
chair,
this
is
a
bill
that
updates
the
local
government.
Finance
statutes
removes
outdated
terms.
It
modernizes
language
eliminates
provisions
that
have
sunset.
It
simplifies
borrowing,
procedures,
increases
transparency
and
updates
refinancing
procedures.
I
want
to
add
that
section
21e
of
the
bill
does
not
impact
existing
or
future
outstanding
obligations
of
cities
or
counties
where
the
original
document
documentation
for
such
obligations
contains
specific
language
that
contemplates
a
modification
of
the
interest
rate
at
any
time
during
their
existence.
B
A
A
J
Thank
you,
madam
chair.
This
bill
is
a
a
bill
that
requires,
or
at
least
signifies
that
those
of
us
that
have
a
professional
license,
like
lawyers
brokers,
contractors,
cpas,
etc,
when
those
non-profit
associations
provides
continuing
education
courses,
those
courses
now
a
lot
of
them
are
are
done
by
video
and
there
was
a
revenue
ruling
not
too
long
ago.
That
said,
this
might
be
a
digital
good
and
they
have
to
collect
sales
tax.
J
On
that,
obviously
we
don't
want
that
good,
since
it's
mainly
folks
that
are
in
live
presentations
that
then
look
at
these
presentations
later.
What
this
this
bill
says:
that's
not
a
digital
good
for
sales,
tax
collection
purposes.
So
with
that
I'll
be
happy
to
answer
any
questions,
the
committee
may
have.
A
A
Amendment
all
right,
I
thought
we
voted
on
the
amendment,
but
suppose
we
didn't
so
all
those
in
favor
of
the
amendment
zero,
zero,
four
zero
one.
Three
please
signify
by
saying:
aye
aye
any
opposed
amendment
is
attached.
Now
we're
voting
on
house
bill
1191
as
amended
all
those
in
favor,
please
signify
by
saying
aye
aye
any
opposed
eyes.
Have
it
house
bill
1191
moves
to
calendar
and
rules.
Thank.
J
A
A
A
The
eyes
have
it.
The
amendment
is
hereby
attached
and
now
we're
moving
on
to
house
bill
1011
as
amended,
and
I
believe
he
said.
The
amendment
made
the
bill
that.
A
A
A
Welcome
gentlemen,
we're
glad
to
have
you
here
and
I
hope
you
and
enjoyed
watching
our
committee
at
work.
While
you
waited.
A
K
Chair,
we
are
glad
to
be
here.
Thank
you
for
taking
the
time
to
hear
our
budget
presentation.
What
we
would
like
to
do
is
walk
through
a
short
presentation
and
then
be
available
for
any
questions
with
me
today
at
the
table
is
andy
summer
who
serves
as
our
cfo
to
my
left
is
denise.
Thomas
who's,
our
deputy
commissioner,
and
to
her
left,
is
abby
hudgins.
K
A
Please
do
and
your
goals
match
hours
a
brief
presentation
with
time
for
questions,
so
thank
you.
K
K
As
we
know,
the
health
crisis
of
covet
also
created
an
economic
crisis
which
drove
unemployment
insurance
claims
up.
Just
a
few
numbers,
we
experienced
a
25
percent
100
20,
500
percent
increase
in
about
a
four-week
period
from
march
to
april.
Over
the
summer
those
claims
remained
historically
high.
During
the
fall
we
saw
a
decline
as
the
economy
got
better
and
we
implemented
re-employment
efforts
across
the
state,
but
over
the
last
three
months,
we've
also
had
two
more
rounds
of
extended
and
modified
federal
programs,
which
have
also
contributed
to
helping
those
claims.
K
Numbers
drive
back
up
near
the
end
of
the
year
and,
of
course,
at
the
beginning
of
this
year,
as
well.
Just
to
put
a
final
point
on
where
we've
been
typically
in
a
year,
we
would
distribute
200
million
dollars
of
unemployment
insurance.
This
past
year,
we've
distributed
6.3
billion
dollars
of
unemployment
insurance.
So
quite
the
increase
there
without
spending
too
much
time
on
the
impact
of
of
to
our
organization
as
a
whole.
K
We
of
course
had
to
address
the
health
crisis
with
our
own
people
and
turn
in
also
the
christ
economic
crisis.
So
we
redeployed
many
of
our
resources,
sent
them
home
to
work
on
unemployment
insurance,
but
as
we
staffed
and
and
continued
to
staff
for
to
meet
the
challenge,
we've
also
been
able
to
bring
those
all
of
those
services
back
online.
K
I
will
note
that
we've
learned
a
lot
along
the
way,
for
example
in
our
adult
ed
in
our
adult
ed
program
we've
we
have
a
whole
lot
more
virtual
ability
than
we
did
before
just
because
we
were
forced
to
do
it
just
like
k-12
was
in
terms
of-
and
this
is
always
something
that
we
need
to
keep
an
eye
on
in
terms
of
the
unemployment
trust
fund.
We
went
in
with
to
the
crisis
with
two
goals:
one
was
the
solvency
of
the
unemployment
trust
fund,
so
we
could
continue
to
pay
benefits.
K
The
second
was
we
needed
to
look
forward
as
well,
because
those
benefits
are
funded
by
employers
and
we
we
wanted
to
look
toward
the
recovery
as
we
work
through
the
crisis
and
so
we're
able
to.
With
the
with
the
federal
stimulus,
accountability
group,
we
were
able
to
make
some
investments
and
continue
to
keep
tennessee
employers
paying
the
lowest
tax
rate
for
their
unemployment
insurance
possible,
which
allows
them
to
hire
at
a
lower
rate
than
they
would
have
had.
L
Thank
you.
Madam
chair
you'll
see
our
fiscal
year
21
vacancy
reductions
on
slide.
Seven,
we
had
13
positions
this
year
for
a
total
of
state
savings
of
373
thousand
dollars.
Some
of
those
divisions
are
listed
in
our
administration
division.
We
had
two
positions
in
our
occupational
and
safety
and
health
division.
We
had
four
positions:
five
positions
in
workers,
compensation
and
two
positions
in
our
boilers
and
elevators
and
amusement
device
division.
L
L
L
Second
bullet
point
is
related
to
350
000
for
our
adult
education
program
that
relates
to
our
local
grants.
Third
bullet
point
is
655
000
in
our
administration
division.
These
are
internal
service
funds
that
we
were
able
to
reduce
and
transition.
Some
of
those
sds
costs
over
to
our
federal
division
so
being
able
to
offset
some
of
those
state
expenses
with
federal
revenue
and
forty
thousand
dollars
for
mines.
This
is
related
to
our
rent.
This
is
switching
from
state
cost
to
federal
cost,
and
then
we
have
155
000
in
our
workers.
L
F
F
We
have
asked
for
additional
funding
for
a
consultant
for
the
annual
review
of
the
workers,
compensation,
medical
fee
schedule,
which
is
required
by
law.
The
goal
of
the
annual
review
is
to
balance
the
need
for
access
to
quality
care
and
to
control
cost.
At
the
same
time,
we
have
about
1.4
million
transactions
that
involves
240
million
dollars
in
expenses
in
a
typical
year,
and
so
it's
quite
an
expenditure
that
we
need
to
be
careful
about.
Maintaining
this
balance
has
been
increasingly
difficult
without
having
access
to
national
workers,
compensation,
medical
data
and
group
health
plan
data.
F
M
Denise
thomas
deputy
commissioner,
with
the
department,
the
second
increase,
is
in
the
apprenticeship
program
over
the
course
of
the
pandemic
the
last
year,
or
so.
We
continue
to
see
a
need
for
apprenticeship
expansion
in
our
state.
We've
experienced
a
little
under
a
30
percent
increase
in
the
number
of
apprentices.
M
M
To
date,
we
have
a
little
over
seven
thousand.
This
is
a
significant
high
for
tennessee,
since
we've
been
able
to
track
that
data
with
our
federal
partners.
The
third
is
our
re-entry
employment
initiative.
This
is
also
in
the
amount
of
two
million
dollars.
This
allows
our
department,
the
ability
to
sustain
a
re-entry
program
to
support
those
who
are
incarcerated
and
also
those
who
are
formally
incarcerated
to
begin
workforce,
development
programs
and
training.
So
upon
release
these
individuals
can
become
a
viable
part
of
the
workforce.
M
We've
relied
on
federal
funding
in
the
past,
that's
often
fragmented,
because
we
do
have
to
wait
for
those
grant
opportunities
to
present
themselves.
This
will
allow
us
to
have
a
state
vision
and
estate
plan
to
ensure
that
these
individuals
can
return
and
work
and
continue
to
be
productive
citizens
with
that
commission
record
I'll
turn
it
back
to
you.
Thank
you,
madam
chair.
A
B
Thank
you,
madam
chair.
I've
got
a
question
about
one
of
the
items
you
mentioned
the
re-employment
initiatives.
I
believe
the
budget
contains
a
two
million
dollar
grant.
That
would
be
that
would
fund
a
partnership
between
labor
and
workforce
development,
the
department
of
corrections
for
folks
who
are
recently
incarcerated.
M
Thank
you
for
your
question,
so
we
will
use
these
funds
to
produce
provide
what
we
call
participant
services.
So
this
would
include
a
variety
of
things
depending
on
the
assessment
of
the
individuals
that
are
due
to
be
released
or
recently
released.
It
could
include
training
a
paid
classroom
training.
It
could
also
cover
on-the-job
training
costs
for
individuals
that
are
looking
to
get
into
the
workforce,
and
this
would
really
subsidize
the
training
wage
for
employers
to
up
to
50,
so
it
could
be
utilized
for
that.
M
K
I
may
yes
exactly
just
add
to
that.
I
think
it's
important
to
know
that
this
is
tdoc
is
not
making
this
ascii
we're
making
this
ask
as
one
ask
and
partnering
with
with
tdoc,
to
make
this
ask
and
it's
coming
to
us
to
make
this,
because
we
have
infrastructure
to
integrate
it
into
already,
as
opposed
to
them,
trying
to
build
it
themselves.
B
M
So
our
initial
estimates
for
this,
which
we'll
all
obviously
use
as
a
demonstration
to
determine
the
capacity
of
the
department
in
working
with
the
department
of
corrections,
the
need,
is
vast,
and
this
certainly
will
not
be
able
to
serve
all
those
individuals.
The
projected
cost
is
based
on
an
estimate
of
250
participants
where
we
see
the
greatest
need
that
is
on
an
average
participant
cost
of
a
little
over
four
thousand,
depending
on
what's
needed,
that
we
could
serve
more
or
less
so.
B
M
So
the
initial
indicators
are
how
well
we
can
get
someone
back
to
work
and
earning
a
sustainable
wage,
coupled
with
the
data
from
department
of
corrections.
Obviously,
we'll
look
at
things
like.
Does
this
in
any
way
impact
our
recidivism,
but
those
will
be
long-term
objectives
and
indicators
that
we'll
look
at,
but
our
mid,
immediate
measurements.
If
we
can
get
these
folks
in
the
classroom
or
or
back
to
work,.
A
And
just
a
follow-up
question
on
that:
are
you
working
with
businesses?
You
have
partnerships
set
up
with
businesses
who
are
open
to
employing
the
formerly
incarcerated.
M
Yes,
ma'am,
we
do
I'm
sorry,
madame
sure
we
do.
We
are
working
with
businesses
and
we're
looking
to
expand
that
relationship
as
well.
This
allows
us
to
really
package
a
variety
of
services.
The
department
has
such
as
things
like
federal,
bonding
and
tax
credits,
so
we're
looking
to
be
able
to
provide
a
realized
benefit
to
businesses
who
want
to
employ
these
individuals,
but
we
also
recognize
the
need
that
not
only
do
they
want
to
hire
them,
they
also
need
to
be
trained.
M
H
H
K
So
if
I've
made
madam
chair
I'll,
take
that
one
andy?
No,
we
don't.
We
have
a
three-year
projection
from
the
boyd
center,
dr
fox,
who
testifies
often,
then
we
use
them.
The
department
has
them
a
contract
with
them
to
help
us
with
these
projections
and
unless
I'm
wrong
andy.
I
believe
the
previous,
the
last
projection
saw
us
three
years
out
is
as
far
as
they
go,
that
we
are
going
to
be
there
for
for
for
three
more
years.
H
K
So
the
answer
might
have
chair
yeah.
Thank
you,
I'm
catching
the
rhythm,
so
we
have
started
today
paying
the
the
american
rescue
act
funds.
So
this
is
the
second
wave
of
of
claims
that
we
have.
Excuse
me.
The
second
wave
of
federal
programs
we've
had
just
this
year
and
there
are
a
lot
of
there-
is
a
backlog,
but
the
flip
side
of
that
coin
is
our
unemployment
rate
continues
to
drop
the
last.
K
The
last
reading,
I
believe,
was
5.1,
and
so
we
do
need
we
are
and
we're
with
this
last
implementation,
we'll
have
some
stability
that
we
can
begin
to
make
the
process
improvement,
but
we're
all
also
equally
active,
if
not
more
active,
in
moving
folks
back
to
work
with
the
with
the
improving
economic
conditions
that
we
see.
I
Thank
you,
chair,
lady
commissioner
mccord.
It's
certainly
good
to
see
you
and
I
feel,
like
I've,
been
a
part
of
unemployment
here
in
the
past
couple
months
with
the
constituent
services
that
I
think
everybody's
has
provided
so,
but
thank
you
all
for
your
timely
response
and
in
all
almost
all
cases.
I
One
point
I
do
want
to
bring
up,
though,
is
the
insurance
benefit
tax
system?
Last
year
some
monies
were
appropriated,
I
think,
to
the
tune
of
about
41.7
million
dollars
for
a
replacement
of
that
system.
Can
you
give
us
a
status
of
that
and
maybe
moving
forward
well
just
a
status
first.
Absolutely,
madam
chair.
K
Thank
you.
So
yes,
right
at
42
million
dollars
was
appropriated
and
we
saw
the
need
to
do
that
at
low
volumes
and
we're
not
we're
not
convinced
otherwise
at
high
volumes,
and
so
where
we
are,
there's
really
two
basic
pieces
of
an
unemployment
insurance
system.
There's
the
tax
base,
there's
the
tax
piece
which
employers
pay
into.
K
We
currently
have
a
35
year
old
system
that
that
functions
in
that
effort
and
then
there's
the
benefit
system.
So
they
have
to
go
together.
So
we
have
done
an
rfi
on
the
tax
side
and
are
releasing
an
rfp
within.
I
think
that
I'm
looking
around
to
get
some
help
within
weeks,
it's
not
months
to
begin
to
to
move
forward
on
that
we
are
obviously
organizationally.
K
We're
strained
and
a
lot
of
the
same
people
who
would
be
implementing
a
new
system
would
be
would
be
working
through
the
to
the
system
and
serving
people
that
we
have
now,
but
still
we're
making
progress.
So
it's
so
we're
going
to
make
the
progress
in
from
a
systems
perspective.
It
makes
sense
to
do
the
tax
side
anyway.
K
First,
because
you
lay
that
base
and
from
up
for
us,
we
have
a
35
year
old
system
functioning
and
just
as
aside,
we
couldn't
send
people
home
to
work
from
home,
because
that
system
you
had
to
be
actually
in
the
office
to
do
the
system,
so
working
on
tax
will
be
working
on
the
benefits
in
short
order.
After
those
two
will
overlap.
K
Well,
madam
chair,
I
want
to
answer
your
question
directly,
but
the
whole
industry
is
different
than
it
was
when
we
requested
the
funding.
Quite
frankly,
we
don't
know
who's
still
going
to
be
around
or
what
lawsuits
will
happen.
The
whole
industry
is
disrupted
we're
going
to
proceed
and
pursue
our
effort
to
do
that,
but
we're
still
a
few
years
out
from
just
the
rfp
process
in
itself
to
see
who's
still
left
standing
is
going
to
take
some
time.
So
with
that
much.
I
K
So,
madam
chair,
that
is
a
very
good
question
and
I
can't
provide
you
an
accurate
answer
yet
we're
gonna
we're
gonna
move
through
this,
this
implementation
and
these
rfps
and
see
where
we
are
and,
quite
frankly,
all
options
are
on
the
table,
including
looking
at.
Can
we
do
this
internally?
K
B
Thank
you,
madam
chair.
Thank
you,
commissioner,
for
being
here.
This
goes
back
to
the
apprenticeship
program,
the
two
million
dollars.
I
got
a
couple
questions
here
so
bear
with
me.
I
was
just
curious
how
many
of
those
apprenticeships
are
currently
being
offered
like
number
percentage,
and
then
I
know
you
said
that
there's
a
30
increase.
What
is
that
number
as
well.
M
M
So
some
of
those
numbers
indicate
number
of
apprentices
that
are
already
moving
into
existing
approved
programs
and
then
also
newer
programs
that
have
been
approved,
and
I
think
we
have
a
couple
of
maybe
20
or
so
and
again
we'll
provide
exact
figures
to
this
body,
but
on
programs
that
haven't
improved
over
the
course
of
the
last
year.
So,
even
though
it's
been
a
little
bit
of
instability
in
economic
and
workforce
recovery,
we
are
seeing
a
steady
rise
for
the
need
for
apprenticeship
programs,
so
we're
trying
to
get
a
little
bit
ahead
of
the
curve.
K
So,
madam
chip,
I
may
we're
we're
behind.
Quite
frankly,
our
border
states
are
ahead
of
us
in
making
this
investment
and
from
a
workforce,
development,
economic
development,
investment,
and
so
we
have
been
doing
this
stop
and
start
with
federal
grants
and
and
hard
to
find
continuity,
and
in
doing
that,
we
will
certainly
look
to
augment
any
investment
with
additional
grants.
K
We
are
incredibly
surprised,
quite
frankly,
excited
but
surprised
at
the
level
of
demand
that
there
is
for
this,
this
way
of
of
learning
and
going
about
and
of
being
able
to
progress
in
skills
and
get
paid,
why
you
progressing
skills
and
we're
just
going
to
start
them
as
early
as
we
possibly
can
we're
starting
in
high
school
to
get
moving
on
that
track.
So
a
lot
of
it's
up
to
man.
I
answered
your
question
a
lot
longer
than
your
your
question,
but.
B
K
A
And
just
a
follow-up
question
on
the
apprentice
programs.
I
know
I
represent
part
of
hamilton
county
and
there's
some
great
apprenticeship
programs
for
high
school
students.
There,
the
stomp
comes
to
mind.
Volkswagen,
I
think,
has
some
programs
so
of
those
apprenticeships
that
you
mentioned
earlier.
Did
those
include
those
high
school
programs,
the
numbers
that
you
gave
us.
M
Absolutely-
and
we
want
to
see
more
of
those,
we
often
reference
gestamp
as
a
model
for
particularly
youth,
apprenticeships,
and
so
the
hope
is
that
we
could
not
just
continue
to
drive
the
formal
youth
apprenticeships
at
gestapo,
also
pre-apprenticeships
for
those
who
are
still
in
high
school,
but
looking
for
alternative
tracks,
also
apprenticeship
in
non-traditional
categories
in
healthcare,
industry
and
I.t,
for
example.
We're
limited
to
do
that
to
the
previous
question
because
of
the
federal
grants.
Amounts
are
often
capped.
A
All
right,
thank
you.
I
do
know.
I've
visited
good
stuff.
I've
seen
those
programs
in
action
and
those
young
people
are
going
right
out
of
high
school
and
going
back
the
same
place,
they've
been
doing
their
apprenticeship
and,
getting
you
know
a
family
wage
again
right
out
of
high
school.
So
it's
an
impressive
program.
N
Thank
you
chairman,
mr
commissioner.
I've
just
got
one
question
and
this
is
an
offline
question
and
I'm
not
going
to
put
you
on
the
spot.
If
you
could
get
me
an
answer
sometime
in
the
next
couple
of
days,
I've
had
50
to
100
phone
calls
from
constituents
who
have
been
laid
off
specifically
as
a
result
of
the
effects
of
kobe
19..
It
says
that
in
the
layoff
slip.
N
A
And,
commissioner,
if
you
would
I'm
assuming
that
chairman
wendell
is
probably
not
the
only
one
who's
getting
questions
like
that,
so
if
you
would
just
share
that
with
my
office
and
we'll
distribute
it,
the
response
to
the
committee
as
a
whole
and.
A
You're
welcome
chairman
todd.
I
Thank
you,
cheerleading
and
appreciate
the
commissioner
being
here
and,
and
your
staff
you'll
do
a
really
good
job.
You've
been
under
a
lot
of
tough
times
in
the
last
year
and
and
you've
you've
risen
to
the
to
the
call
and
and
we're
a
lot
all
of
us
have
been
calling.
So
I
appreciate
your
efforts
there.
I
wanted
to
see
if
you
could
help
me
understand
and
distinguish
between
state
benefits
and
these
enhanced
federal
benefits
when
it
relates
to
reasons
for
unemployment.
K
Madam
chair,
no,
they
should
not
be,
and
I
put
should
there,
the
the
federal
programs
have.
The
eligibility
is
a
lot
broader
and
we've
the
self
attestation
ability
is
there
as
well,
but
to
answer
your
question
directly
for
calls,
they
should
not
know.
I
Thank
you,
madam
chair,
so
I'm
trying
to
think
of
that.
I
get
a
lot
of
questions
from
business
owners
and,
obviously
across
the
state.
We
we've
got
a
lot
of
vacant
positions,
even
with
that
unemployment
rate.
There
are
a
lot
of
folks
that
need
folks
to
fill
these
positions
and
and
and
I'm
seeing
that
every
day,
and
so
what
is
the
maximum
benefit?
K
I
K
A
Cameron,
todd
did
you
have
another
question,
okay,
representative
sparks.
B
Thank
you.
Thank
you,
commissioner.
It's
been
tough,
I
know
for
you
and
your
staff,
and
I
just
want
to
thank
thank
you
all
and
also
thank
thank
our
staff.
Our
las,
who
have
worked
really
hard,
is
to
to
help
represent
our
office
and
kind
of
connect.
Help
connect
the
dots
I
see
you're
an
author
is
that
is
that
right,
oh.
B
B
K
So
if
I
may
so
we
I
we
have
announcement
for
our
first
graduation,
I
believe
in
april
from
a
company
I'm
going
to
look
to
denise
called
ashurion,
and
so
I
think
that's
a
that.
So
that's
a
very
good
question.
Part
of
our
learning
is
it's
not
you
think
of
a
manufacturing
or
just
that
our
construction
is
being,
but
the
issue
we're
having
as
a
state
first
of
all,
is
skilled
workforce.
K
K
And
really
the
answer
is
apprenticeship,
whether
it's
I.t
or
whether
it's
health
care
or,
quite
frankly,
whether
it's
education?
How
do
you
get
those
that?
What
is
that
pathway,
and
so
again
we
are
behind
as
a
state
and
need
to
catch
up,
and
we
see
it
with
this.
This
pent-up
demand
not
just
from
our
traditional
industries.
A
B
Sure,
if
I
could,
you
know
another
question
as
far
as
workforce
development,
one
of
the
things
I'm
complaints,
I'm
hearing
from
small
business
owners
is
this
lack
of,
should
maybe
drive
lack
of
teenagers
wanting
to
come
into
the
and
just
work.
Are
you
seeing
that
and
how
do
we
even
address
that
as
a
as
a
society.
K
So
so,
yes,
sir,
so
one
of
the
things
within
partnership
with
education
that
we're
really
excited
to
get
back
to
and
we've
made
a
lot
of
strides
before-
is
workplace
learning.
I
think
we
all
learn
to
work
by
working
and
if,
if
we
get
a
young
person
engaged
in
work
at
16
years
old,
a
lot
of
good
things
happen
and
a
lot
of
bad
things,
don't
and
and
give
them
a
path
and
and
open
up
their
eyes
to
what
might
be.
K
O
Thank
you,
madam
chair,
thank
you,
commissioner,
and
your
team.
Two
questions,
one
around
the
unemployment
and
all
of
the
claims,
and
we
had
to
redo
our
system
and
you
all
went
through
carefully
to
hire
an
additional
30
people
to
try
to
move
the
the
claims.
O
There
was
a
backlog
for
a
long
period
of
time,
and
I
imagine
you
all
have
made
some
progress
with
that.
Could
you
give
us
an
update
to
some
degree
on
this
background?
We
still
get
people
calling
saying
it.
You
know
it's
been
nine
months,
so
it's
been
six
months
and
they
still
haven't
received
anything.
K
Yes
ma'am,
so
what
we're
running
into
now
is,
as
people
have
been
on
unemployment
for
a
year
and
when
you're
on
unemployment
for
a
year,
you're
required
by
federal
law
to
reapply.
K
O
You
for
that
response,
I
I'm
concerned
about
those
who
are
still
on
the
list
and
not
receiving
their
benefits,
although
others
are
recertifying
after
having
received
some
for.
K
O
O
So
I'm
more
interested
in
that
group,
not
those
who
you
know
who
are
reapplying,
those
that
are
still
in
the
shoot
right
that
have
not
received
any
benefits
and
losing
everything
and
really
trying
to
manage
it
from
you
know
just
keeping
their
state
of
mind
together.
O
K
So
we
do
still
have
that
backlog
as
well,
and
one
of
the
things
so
to
your
point.
We've
onboarded
over
600,
probably
close
to
700
people
in
the
last
12
months.
O
Thank
you,
madam
chair.
Thank
you
for
that.
Were
there
some
funds
that
you
received
through
the
cares
dollars
that
weren't
expended
that
we
had
to
extend
or
did
we
have
to
send
them
back?
Was
there
any
cares
dollars
that
we
did
not
use
that
we
maybe
got
an
extension
on
or
did
we
return
them
or
anything.
K
I
believe-
and
I
look
to
andy
and
and
let
him
help
me
answer
this,
but
I
believe
the
answer
is
no.
We
we
used
a
lot
for
the
trust
fund
and
there
was
some
additional
that
we
use
not
nearly
the
quantity
for
some
workforce
development
programs,
but
in
terms
of
ours,
either
fully
expended,
are
almost
fully
expended.
A
I
have
no
further
questions
on
my
list,
so,
commissioner
court,
we
thank
you
and
your
team
for
being
here
today
and,
as
has
mentioned
multiple
times,
we
know
it's
been
a
challenging
year
for
tennesseans.
A
So
I
know
that
you're
working
as
fast
and
as
hard
as
you
can,
we
would
just
only
urge
you
to
go
faster
and
work
harder
and
get
through
the
backlog
as
quickly
as
possible.
But
we
do
appreciate
all
that's
been
done,
and
I
know
hopefully
when
you
brought
on
a
you've
on-boarded,
as
you
said,
a
lot
of
new
employees
and
there
is
a
learning
curve
and
hopefully
we're
getting
to
the
point
where
those
folks
are
going
to
be
more
productive
and
will
help
cut
into
that
backlog
as
well.
A
But
thank
you
and
thank
you
for
also
looking
forward
to
you
know
we're
not
going
to
always
be
in
this
pandemic
situation,
and
so
looking
at
things
like
apprenticeships
and
the
programs
to
help
those
who
have
been
incarcerated,
lead
productive
lives
and
have
jobs.
You
know
that
benefits
all
of
us
in
the
state
as
well.
So
thank
you
for
your
hard
work
and
thank
you
for
joining
us
today.
Thank.