Legislative Priorities Breakfast

TDOT Investment:

Northshore is a state highway in most of West Knoxville. A study is requested to determine the viability of straightening the road and expanding its lanes to 3 or 4 lanes with dedicated bike lanes and wide sidewalks. There are many people who walk and bike Northshore daily, and there is no shoulder on either side.

I-140 (Pellissippi Parkway) need to begin planning for expansion to 6 lanes across to improve traffic flow to Oak Ridge, as the area grows its employment.

MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY
Mental health continues to be a growing challenge in Knox County, and we remain the regional support-hub for this type of healthcare. We urge you to push for restoration of the operational funding for the Behavioral Heath Urgent Care Center (BHUCC) and encourage the State of Tennessee to authorize and fund a new in-patient mental health facility in Knox County by providing both capital and ongoing operational funding.

ADEQUATE INFRASTRUCTURE FEES
Under the County Powers Relief Act, counties are prohibited from enacting an impact fee on development or a local real estate transfer tax by private or public act to offset the cost of adequate infrastructure. We request the introduction of legislation that removes restrictions and provides Knox County the option to levy a development or impact fee.

TDOT INVESTMENT
Knox County has a significant number of state routes in need of maintenance, improvement and/or expansion. We request TDOT quickly review all state routes and work with Knox County EPW to prioritize focus and funding, including reducing restrictions on private company design and service contracts to improve project timelines, and review and create new design and engineering standards that allow more pedestrian and community connectivity. Additionally, we request TDOT reconsider a bypass route that would help divert pass-through traffic around our urban corridor. Lastly, we request TDOT to install overhead lighting at the I-40 and Pellissippi Pkwy (I-140) interchange as it is the only major interchange that is not lighted in Knox County.

FUNDING OF PURCHASE OF AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION EASEMENT PROGRAMS (PACE).
Tennessee does not have a PACE program. PACE programs compensate property owners for keeping their land available for agriculture. Typically, PACE programs consider the quality of the soil, threat of development or fragmentation, and the overall future agricultural viability. According to the American Farmland Trust, Tennessee has recently been named the third fastest at losing farmland to non-agricultural purposes in the nation. Last year, Farm Bureau added policy to urge the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, University of Tennessee, and Farm Bureau to study and evaluate solutions for farmland loss.

SALES TAX ADMINISTRATION FEE
On every sale in Knox County, the local option sales tax portion (2.25%) is sent to the State of Tennessee, then returned to Knox County after 30 days. To perform this function, the State charges Knox Co. a 1.125% administrative fee. With the advent of improved technology and automation practices, we feel the fee is egregious and ask for you to work on a plan to reduce the administrative fee to a maximum of 0.5%.

PUBLIC SAFETY
We ask that you work to increase the funding reimbursement for holding state prisoners in the Knox County Detention Facility. Currently, the state reimbursement rate is $41.00/day but the average daily cost per prisoner for housing and healthcare is $73.45/day. The State of TN is mandated to pick up state prisoners within 14 days, however, Knox County’s average length of stay for a state prisoner before pickup is 242 days. This delay results in a significant cost burden to the citizens of Knox County.

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY TAX REDUCTIONS
Large commercial and industrial property owners (e.g. big-box stores) are increasingly appealing their property tax rates directly to the State of Tennessee and seeking significant tax liability reductions through third-party solicitors. This practice continues to shift the financial burden to local taxpayers and increases pressure on residential homeowners, commercial businesses, and rural farm owners. We urge you to find ways to mitigate this State level direct-appeal practice without local engagement with the County Property Assessor.

FIRE PROTECTION
Please consider pushing for a rewrite of the statute regulating rating agencies (e.g. ISO) so that the term “subscription fire department” refers to all fire departments that receive revenue from subscriptions, regardless of whether they respond to non-subscriber calls or not. This is important because the local ISO representatives are not enforcing their own regulations, which ultimately punishes both the fire departments and subscribers. If the reduced insurance premiums (based on being a subscriber) is given to everyone, whether they are a subscriber or not, it disenfranchises customers and places additional financial stress on the fire protection entities.

EDUCATION
The new Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) Act only mentions a start date of the 2023/2024 school year. We request continuation of TISA for a minimum of 10 years to ensure Knox County Schools has adequate funding to operate without requiring the county to fill any gaps.

FARM BILL
The farm bill is an omnibus, multiyear law that governs an array of agricultural and food programs. It provides an opportunity for policymakers to comprehensively and periodically address agricultural and food issues.

From Farm Bureau:
The farm bill is a package of legislation passed roughly once every five years that has a tremendous impact on farming livelihoods, how food is grown, and what kinds of foods are grown. Covering programs ranging from crop insurance for farmers to healthy food access for low-income families, from beginning farmer training to support for sustainable farming practices, the farm bill sets the stage for our food and farm systems. We should advocate for family farmers and sustainable agriculture by ensuring that this important bill is good for farmers, consumers, and for the natural environment.

Every five years, the farm bill expires and is updated: it goes through an extensive process where it is proposed, debated, and passed by Congress and is then signed into law by the President. Each farm bill has a unique title, and the current farm bill is called the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. It was enacted into law in December 2018 and expires in September 2024.

The original farm bill(s) were enacted in three stages during the 1930s as part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation. Its three original goals – to keep food prices fair for farmers and consumers, ensure an adequate food supply, and protect and sustain the country’s vital natural resources – responded to the economic and environmental crises of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. While the farm bill has changed in the last 70 years, its primary goals are the same.

Our food and farming system confronts new challenges today, but through citizen and stakeholder action for a fair farm bill, we can ensure the vibrancy and productivity of our agriculture, economy, and communities for generations to come.