Bill Haslam in 2015 Governor's State of the State speeches
On Corporations:
Revenue Modernization Act: level playing field for business
Last year, there was a sharp decline in revenue collections. Most of the drop was in our business tax collections. Some of it is that companies outside of Tennessee, but that do business in Tennessee, aren't always required to pay the same taxes that
our in state and homegrown companies do.We found that Tennessee has fallen behind other states in protecting our in state businesses from unfair competition from out of state companies. To remedy that, we will file the Revenue Modernization Act, which
aims to level the playing field in terms of sales tax and business taxes.
The bill also capitalizes on trends that we're seeing in product distribution by creating an incentive for companies to use Tennessee's distribution industry, which maximizes
our state's strengths. We are committed to Tennessee remaining a low tax state. This proposal simply brings us in line to better compete with other states and to not put our in state businesses at a disadvantage, which we are doing today.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 Tennessee Legislature
Feb 9, 2015
On Education:
Tennessee Promise: two years of free community college
Last year, we introduced the Tennessee Promise--the very first state in the country to guarantee high school graduates two years of free community college or technical school. This year, of our 65,000 high school seniors, 58,000 of them applied for the
Tennessee Promise. And 9,200 adult Tennesseans signed up to be volunteer mentors for those students.For the last 30 years, Tennessee's greatest need has been for better trained workers who can fill the jobs that companies want to bring here.
We think the Tennessee Promise is a game changer.
We're also going to include $400,000 in this year's budget to establish the Tennessee Promise Bridge Program. It's a pilot program to bring first-generation students to campus
prior to fall enrollment. When nobody in your family has ever gone to college before, being there can be intimidating. This is one more step to make sure these students have the best chance possible to succeed.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 Tennessee Legislature
Feb 9, 2015
On Education:
$2.5M for SAILS program: math tutors for high school seniors
It is also why our SAILS program is so important. SAILS gives students who need extra support in math that attention during their senior year in high school so they can avoid remediation when they enter college. We piloted the program two years ago, and
the results speak for themselves. Last year, 8,100 students were served by the SAILS program, and almost 70 percent of those students completed all remediation while still in high school. That saved families nearly $6.5 million in tuition.
This year we are including $2.5 million to sustain the success of the SAILS program.But the reality is that just reaching high school graduates won't be enough to reach our goal. In Tennessee, there are nearly one million adults with some
post-secondary credit but without a degree. We have to figure out ways to reconnect those adults and remove the barriers that are preventing them from earning their certificate or degree, which will lead to a better job and future.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 Tennessee Legislature
Feb 9, 2015
On Environment:
35 million visits annually to Tennessee State Parks
There are a lot of things that state government is responsible for and that we're accomplishing that you may not know about. I still learn something new from our departments all of the time. For example:- In 2014, there were fewer accidental
fire-related deaths in Tennessee than in any year in recorded history.
- Last year, Tennessee had the second lowest number of traffic fatalities of the past 50 years.
- Average wait times in our driver services centers have dropped from over
32 minutes in 2011 to under 24 minutes in 2014.
- Tennessee State Parks had 35 million visits last year.
- The Department of Veteran's Affairs serves about 10 percent of our state, more than half a million veterans and their dependents each year.
All that work starts with a state government that is up to the task. That means a customer-focused government that recruits, retains and rewards the best and brightest employees to serve.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 Tennessee Legislature
Feb 9, 2015
On Families & Children:
Response speed exceeds standard for Child Abuse Hotline
There are a lot of things that state government is responsible for and that we're accomplishing that you may not know about. For example:- Our Department of Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities' state service delivery system is the very
first to be accredited in the nation.
- In the Department of Children's Services, the Child Abuse Hotline took 140,000 calls and 80 percent of those calls were answered within 20 seconds, which exceeds national standards.
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We are all concerned about prescription drug abuse in our state, and from the work of our Public Safety Subcabinet and legislation you've passed, the amount of narcotic pain medication prescribed in Tennessee is down five percent.
And, doctor shopping is down 42 percent from its peak in 2011.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 Tennessee Legislature
Feb 9, 2015
On Health Care:
Must provide health coverage, if not Insure Tennessee
Last week, the decision was made [in a special session of the legislature] not to move forward with Insure Tennessee. However, that does not mean the issues around health care go away. Too many Tennesseans are still not getting health coverage they need
in the right way, in the right place, at the right time. An emergency room is not the place where so many Tennesseans should be going for health care services. It's not the best health care for them, and it's costing us a lot more in the long run.
Health care costs are still eating up too much of our state's budget and impacting the federal deficit and nation's debt. If we maintained health care costs at their current levels, which we know are inflated, for the next eight years--just kept them
flat--we'd eliminate the nation's deficit. To do that, we can't keep doing what we have been doing. So, though the special session has ended, I hope we can find a way to work together to address those problems.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 Tennessee Legislature
Feb 9, 2015
Page last updated: Dec 07, 2018