Legislative Update - Week of January 27, 2020
Legislative update for the week of January 27, 2020
111th General Assembly Reconvenes
At noon on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, the 111th General Assembly reconvened for its second session. This year is an election year for every member of the House of Representatives and for half of the members of the Senate. With fundraising restrictions and primary and general elections ahead, most anticipate a short session. Lieutenant Governor McNally has publicly announced a desire for an adjournment by April 12, 2020, which is very ambitious for the amount of work ahead for this legislature.
In order to lay the groundwork for adjournment, the administration and leadership of both Houses have announced the following:
Monday, February 3, 2020 – Governor Lee will present his second State of the State to a Joint Convention of the General Assembly – this presentation will outline his budgetary and legislative priorities for the next fiscal year
Wednesday, February 5, 2020 – the filing deadline for legislation for House members (15-bill limit per Representative except for committee chairs and leadership)
Thursday, February 6, 2020 – the filing deadline for legislation for Senators (no limit on bills)
Bills to Watch This Week
Like every other session, most committees’ calendars are not filling up just yet as legislators are still in the process of determining which bills to file. However, one piece of legislation that may be very important to the business environment in Tennessee has quickly been scheduled for a hearing.
SJR 0648 by *Kelsey, McNally, Johnson, Yager, Bailey, Watson, Bell, White, Powers, Rose, Roberts, Jackson, Stevens, Swann, Crowe, Haile, Bowling.
Proposes adding a provision to the Tennessee Constitution establishing right to work regardless of status of affiliation with any labor union or employee organization.
This resolution is scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday, January 28, 2020 at 1:00 p.m., before the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee.
*Once the filing deadlines have passed, we will provide a list of all of the bills being tracked by the business community and an update on such bills.