Tennessee Senate committee hears testimony on mileage-based vehicle tax options

 By Jon Styf, The Center Square,  Feb 1, 2023 - A Tennessee Senate committee heard testimony on Wednesday on a potential mileage-based user fee to replace the state’s gas tax.

Several states have begun pilot programs on what is called an MBUF while Virginia has gone to a permanent model.

Patricia Hendren, Executive Director of the 17-state Eastern Transportation Coalition that includes Tennessee, said the issue is, with more fuel-efficient vehicles and the rise of electric vehicles and hybrids, gas taxes are no longer a tax that equates to a road usage fee.

As Sycamore Institute showed in its recent policy statement on road infrastructure needs and funding, taxes on fuel and registration are the largest funding source for transportation projects in Tennessee. The state currently has a one-year moratorium on personal vehicle registration fees but normally charges $16.75 annually for most vehicles, $100 for electric vehicles and 26 cents per gallon for gasoline along with 27 cents for diesel.

Those fees bring in $1.1 billion annually to the Tennessee Highway Fund. The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations recently reported that the state, one of just six which does not take on debt for road projects, has $34.7 billion of transportation infrastructure needs.

Sycamore Institute noted one state agency estimate said the rise in more fuel-efficient, hybrid, and electric vehicles could decrease the state's annual transportation revenues by as much as $130 million in 2030.

In 2020, Tennessee spent $2.8 billion on transportation projects with 75% of that funding coming from the state.

Late last year, Gov. Bill Lee claimed the state needs $26 billion in funding toward road congestion, with $14 billion for the state’s four major metro areas and $12 billion for rural interstates.

Members of the Senate Transportation and Safety Committee heard presentations from Hendren and Reason Foundation Senior Managing Director Baruch Feigenbaum, asking questions of the two on issues related to the mileage-based taxes.

Hendren said the new system typically cut costs for rural drivers, who tend to have less fuel-efficient vehicles and therefore pay more gas taxes currently than others. She said a key is having plenty of options on how to report mileage, from phone apps to reporting odometer readings to having the option of paying the average fee for a user with the same vehicle type.

Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Fields, said monitoring devices on vehicles continue the narrative that “We’re one nation under surveillance.”

Feigenbaum said, while he is not suggesting a fee, the range is usually 1.5 cents to 2 cents per mile. The fees would be paid monthly through a third-party provider. The taxes would replace the current state gas tax.

Sen. Becky Duncan Massey, R-Knoxville, said she participated in a pilot program for the mileage-based monitors last fall and is open to a pilot program in Tennessee. She noted some issues would have to be addressed, such as a partnership with neighboring states as she said that 30% to 40% of Tennessee’s current gas tax is paid by out-of-state drivers.

Top Stories

First of several Tennessee bills aimed at Nashville government advances

By Jon Styf, The Center Square, Feb 2, 2023 -  A bill that would reduce Nashville’s Metro Council from 40 to 20 voting members was approved by a House subcommittee and now is headed to the House Local Government Committee.

A fiscal note on the bill said it will save Nashville $425,000 in the first year and $510,000 in the years after based on council members' salaries.

House sponsor Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, said during subcommittee meetings that the goal of House Bill 48 was to minimize city governments, noting that only Chicago and New York City have larger councils than Nashville.

“Forty is an exceptional outlier,” Lamberth said. ”Anything over 20 doesn’t work well.”

Rep. Sam McKenzie, D-Knoxville, pointed out that Nashville has a metropolitan government that serves both Nashville and Davidson County, comparing it to the 50 representatives in total that serve the cities and county in Blount County. But Lamberth said he believed that counties were much different.

Nashville Vice Mayor Jim Shulman spoke at the committee meeting, saying that Nashville has had 40 members since April 1963 and a vote to lower the council to 27 members in 2015 failed with 62% of residents voting against it.

Shulman said that, if the bill passes, it could extend council terms by one year before it passes.

“If the terms are extended and it does turn out to be illegal, then anything we pass during that year may be illegal,” Shulman said.

Lamberth added an amendment to the bill that would allow cities to change rules by majority vote to reach the maximum of 20 members by elections in August 2024.

The bill is one of several aimed at Nashville after the Metro Council rejected an agreement to host the 2024 Republican National Convention, which will be held in Milwaukee.

House Bill 1176, separately, would change how the Nashville airport authority board is determined, giving state leaders the job of deciding 10 of the 11 board members with the House speaker and Senate speaker each selecting four members and the governor selecting two.

House Bill 1197, meanwhile, would allow each speaker to appoint three members and the governor to appoint four members of the 13 on the Metro Nashville Sports Authority. The mayor would appoint the other three.

Senate Bill 648 would end a fund created to pay off debt on the Music City Center in Nashville, ending several taxes that paid into the fund toward $625 million in bonds taken out on the convention center, which opened in 2013.

Top Stories

Mayor Cooper announces he will not run for re-election

by Rod Williams, Jan. 31, 2023- Mayor John Cooper announced today that he will not be seeking reelection to a second term. I am shocked. Cooper had already had some fundraisers and had picked up the endorsements of the police and the firefighter's unions.  Despite Cooper's imposing a 34% property tax on Nashville, my perception is that he is still popular.  Face it, we have a liberal electorate that does not mind higher taxes. Also, Cooper has had some of what many people would view as successes, including the new Titans stadium deal and improved bond ratings for the city, and improved reserve fund balances. I do not know what went into his thinking in making this decision. He was certainly favored to win. 

His decision not to run means the race is wide open.  Cooper had already picked up challengers in Councilmembers Sharon Hurt and Freddie O'Connell and in former Metro Development and Housing Agency official Matt Wiltshire. Also, Broadway business owner Steve Smith has not announced his candidacy for mayor but had launched an ad campaign against Mayor Cooper.

I expect others will get into the race. Will Carol Swain make another attempt?  I like and admire Carol Swain but I don't think she can win.  She is a good pundit and outspoken conservative, but I think that will work against her in a race for mayor in liberal woke Nashville. What about David Fox who ran a good campaign against Megan Barry? And what about Megan Barry? Despite her having an affair on the city's dime and ignoring her duties as mayor, I perceive that she is still popular among many Nashvilliams. Maybe Bill Freedman still has aspirations?

Other people who may consider a run for office include Bill Freedman's son Bob Freedman who is a State representative for parts of Nashville.  Maybe Odessa Kelly? She is a very progressive Black activist who ran in the Democrat primary against Congressman Jim Cooper and then ran against Republican Congressman Mark Green in the general election. There are several other people, including other members of the Metro Council who may throw their hats in the ring. What about Karen Johnson, Register of Deeds? She is charming, attractive, smart, and a Black female. I think if she should run, she would be a formidable candidate. There are always some little-known candidates who get in the race hoping for a miracle when there is an open seat. This could get interesting. 

Top Stories

Has Trump Completely Lost His Grip on Reality?

by Rod Williams, Jan. 26, 2022 - Charles Cooke writing in National Review makes the case Trump has lost touch with reality, and I am persuaded he is right. I have always thought Trump was a carnival barker, a con man, a bully, and rude and crude. I would also say he is a populist demagogue but was not persuaded he was deranged. However, at some point, I began to believe that Trump really believed his own BS. Despite no credible evidence the election was stolen and staff and friends and family telling him the election was not stolen, he continued to adamantly insist it was. I became convinced Trump really believed it. I began to think that Trump really was nuts. I think he has such a huge ego that he really believes he could not possibly lose an election unless it was stolen. Trump is the emperor who has no clothes. 

Cooke says, "The former president’s deterioration is on full display in the Truth Social asylum he built for himself." Here is the case Cooke makes: 

There was a point in time at which Trump’s unusual verbal affect and singular nose for underutilized wedge issues gave him a competitive edge. Now? Now, he’s morphing into one of the three witches from Macbeth. To peruse Trump’s account on Truth Social is to meet a cast of characters about whom nobody who lives beyond the Trump Extended Universe could possibly care one whit. Here in the real world, the border is a catastrophe, inflation is as bad as it’s been in four decades, interest rates have risen to their highest level in 15 years, crime is on the up, and the debt continues to mushroom. And yet, safely ensconced within his own macrocosm, Trump is busy mainlining Edward Lear. Day in, day out, he rambles about the adventures of Coco Chow and the Old Broken Crow; the dastardly Unselect Committee; the (presumably tasty) Stollen Presidential Election; the travails of that famous law-enforcement agency, the Gestopo; Joe Scarborough’s wife “Mike”; and other unusual characters from Coromandel. “Where the early pumpkins blow / In the middle of the woods / Lived the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bò / Who STOLLE THE ELECTION / Don’t you know?” 

I am not a psychiatrist and I don't play one on TV and I am not on Truth Social, but what Cooke describes sounds like the ranting of a madman. Cooke points out that on Trump's Truth Social, he often touts his own heroism. Speaking of himself in the third person, he says "TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING." Of the 2020 elections Trump says, "I did a GREAT job as President, maybe the best. I Ran twice, did much better the second time (Rigged Election!).” 

I am convinced Trump is not only an evil man who attempted a coup but am also convinced he is nuts.

Top Stories

I'm Back!

I'm Back!

by Rod Williams, Jan. 30, 2023- About the middle of January, I went to open my blog, and instead of my blog, I got a message that A Disgruntled Republican was now available if one wanted to purchase that domain name. The link on that page led to a blog broker.  If one wants a particular domain name and it is owned by someone else, a blog broker tries to buy that domain name from the one who owns it and resell it to the one who wants it. That was not my situation. 

What had happened is that my blog domain registration was set for automatic renewal and a credit card on file with Google had expired.  I had simply overlooked this.  The behind the curtain stuff of a blog can be complicated.  I thought if I simply updated by credit card I would get my blog back. Since that is something I only have to infrequently do, even that was not simple. After updating with valid credit card information, I still did not recover my blog.

I won't bore you with all the details but I had conversations with GoDaddy, email exchanges with Google, email exchanges with a domain broker, and hours and hours on the computer leading to dead ends. I have been blogging for 18 years and have over 9,000 posts. I thought I had lost it all. Fortunately, somehow, after hours of blindly trying, and not sure how, I found and recovered my blog platform and the content and all of my 18 years of blog posts. I was relieved to know it was not all lost, but that still did not restore my blog.  

In the meantime, I was making inquiries as to who might could help me.  Thankfully, I found someone. I won't mention him by name, but he is a fellow conservative and has a full-time job, and is also attending law school. His plate is full, but he helped me. I am thankful. Doing web pages and helping people with blog issues is a part-time gig for this person.  I would like to publicly thank him, but he doesn't need additional work in the IT field, so I won't mention his name. I am grateful for his help.

He tried hard to restore my blog but was unable to reclaim the domain name for me. He was, however, able to reestablish my blog with a different domain name and link my Blogger platform to a new domain name.  My old domain name was A disgruntled Republican; my new domain name is The Disgruntled Republican.  That means that I have lost all of my subscribers and people who had my blog pinned in their "favorites" list. Hopefully, over time, I can rebuild my list of followers.

I am happy to be back in business! If you are a former follower please follow me at this new link. 

Top Stories

Do you want to know more about Metro's Financial Condition?

by Rod Williams, Jan. 25, 2023- If you want to have a better understanding of Metro's finances and the financial state of our city, you really need to read the Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County (Metro) for Fiscal Year 2022. 

At only 20 pages long it is short and is a quick summary of Metro's finances. It covers the fiscal year of July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022. This report, unlike the 500-page Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR), is easy to understand. This report makes Metro's finances comprehensible for the average person or reasonable intelligence.  You do not have to be an accountant to understand it. 

Be aware, however, that it is PR and makes everything sound rosy. It does not reveal the negatives. It tells you how much more we are spending on things like schools and sidewalks but does not tell you our schools, for the most part, are failing and that the city tries its best to stifle education excellence and innovation. Neither does it tell you that despite spending a lot on sidewalks, we get very few new sidewalks. 

It shows that our tax rate is lower than other large cities in Tennessee. It does not tell you that due to higher property values in Nashville, the person living in Nashville pays more in property taxes than the person living in one of Tennessee's other large cities living in a comparable neighborhood in a comparable house.  Read the report but don't be snowed.

Anyone who is thinking about running for Metro Council really needs to read this report. 

Top Stories

Nashville has been growing by leaps and bounds, actually ....

 ... actually, in the last ten years, the population of Nashville has increased by about 10.43%

I thought it would have been more than this. I bet some people would have guessed it would have doubled in the last ten years. Sometimes, the things people believe are simply not true. For more fun Nashville facts see the Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County (Metro) for Fiscal Year 2022.

Top Stories

"Balance the Budget" or "Tax the Rich" are not solutions to the current budget crisis.

by Rod Williams, Jan. 22, 2022-  Fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, and smaller government are core tenets of the modern conservative movement. "Balance the budget," is a conservative battle cry. However, we have waited so late to balance the budget, that it is an almost impossible task, at least in the short run. One major problem is that interest on the debt and entitlements take a greater and greater share of the revenues. To see the difficulty in balancing the budget, look at the following chart prepared by Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget: 

Almost no one would advocate cutting, veterans benefits, social security, or medicare. Those are almost sacrosanct. People want their benefits.  

Does anyone think it is possible to cut social security? Social Security is the ultimate entitlement. People feel entitled to it. Many view it as a retirement plan rather than a Ponzi scheme transfer payment. Like a  Ponzi scheme, current beneficiaries are receiving funds from money being paid in by current investors. There is a trust fund that pays a portion of the money current recipients receive, but the trust fund is being drawn down. In 2034 the trust fund will run dry and unless Congress does not do something, retirees will start receiving a reduced benefit of 77% of their full benefit. 

While there are some who believe the world would be nice to us if we would just disarm and mind our own business, most realize the world is a dangerous place and we must have a strong military to protect our interests and insure our survival. Some believe we can retreat into fortress America and not meddle in foreign affairs. I am of the view we should be spending more on the military, not less. Russia wants to reestablish the Soviet empire. It is in our interest that Russia does not succeed in capturing Ukraine. 

China is threatening Taiwan and is building military bases on small rock outcroppings across the South China Sea. In addition, China's Belt and Road Initiative is developing ports and bases and railroads, and other infrastructure in over 60 countries around the world. 

We are also witnessing a turn toward authoritarianism, of both the right and the left, across the world. We cannot remain free and independent in a hostile world.  In my view, we should be modernizing and upgrading our military and doing more to give our allies the means to protect themselves. 

So, to balance the budget by the year 2032, if we exclude defense, veterans benefits, social security, and medicare, we would have to cut by 85% all other spending.  That is not going to happen. 

Some liberals would argue that we should simply raise taxes. They will usually advocate raising taxes "on the rich." Raising taxes could actually cause less growth and less future tax revenue.  It is not as if rich people are hiding their money under their mattresses. It is put to productive use by buildings new businesses, and new technologies, and new houses, and creating new jobs. Most informed liberals know this. When President Obama came into office he inherited a 35 percent marginal income tax for the top income bracket and a 15 percent capital gains income tax. He did not attempt to raise it. 

There is no easy solution. We cannot tax ourselves out of the current mess and we cannot cut spending sufficiently to balance the budget. Refusing to raise the debt limit would not solve the problem. That would cause the US to default on its debt. Raising the debt limit allows the government to borrow money to pay for the spending that has already been approved. I understand the desire to make a statement, but if the Republican House causes a government shutdown or a US credit default, it will end up costing more in the future and Republicans will pay at the ballot box. 

So what should be done? The solution does not fit on a bumper sticker or Facebook meme the way "Tax the Rich," or "Balance the Budget" does.  The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget calls on Congress to adopt aggressive but achievable fiscal goals in its budgets and any fiscal deals. 

Too often, when fiscal reform is attempted it involves smoke and mirrors of fanciful projections of future savings. Congress needs to admit that there is clearly a problem. We have kicked the can down the road and for too long have allowed the budget to grow by borrowing money to pay for current expenditures. We may have reached the point to where that it is no longer sustainable. 

Our politics may be at a point to where only advocates of "Balance the Budget" or "Tax the Rich" can be elected. We may be, as Meryle Haggard sang, "rolling downhill like a snowball headed for hell."  I hope not. 

To read the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's analysis, follow the link.

 

Top Stories

Beacon Center report looks at impact of certificate of need rules in Tennessee

 By Jon Styf,  The Center Square, Jan 19, 2023  – Certificate of Need applications have dropped considerably since a peak in 2004 despite Tennessee population growth, according to a report from Beacon Center of Tennessee.

There were 122 applications in 2004 as opposed to just 36 in 2021 and 18 in 2022, according to the report.

Certificate of need laws were mandated by the federal government in 1974 and regulate how many medical facilities are available in an area and what services they provide in an effort to reduce consumer costs. Even though Congress later eliminated the CON requirement in 1987, many states retained them.

The report showed that around one in five CON applications over the past 20 years did not receive approval.

“Many facilities have never opened their doors or expanded to serve some of the state’s most vulnerable communities,” Beacon Center’s report said. “They were outright rejected, their permits expired, or they never risked the enormous investments of time and money to navigate this onerous and risky application process. In fact, if we repealed all of Tennessee’s current hospital CON laws, there could be up to 63 more hospitals in the state, with 25 located in rural areas.”

Of the areas where CON requests have been denied since 2000, 16% have been in the Chattanooga/Cleveland area, 11% were in the Knoxville/Morristown/Sevierville region and 10% were in Johnson City/Kingsport.

Meanwhile, 8% each were in Memphis and Jackson/Brownsville while 9% of the denied applications were in Nashville/Davidson/Murfreesboro/Franklin.

“Based on the proposed project’s home county, more than 5.5 million Tennesseans were denied increased access to healthcare services,” the report said. “These projects represented more than $733.6 million in direct investment into Tenneessee’s local communities.”

Top Stories

Tennessee ranks low as state to raise a family according to WalletHub.

By J.D. Davidson, The Center Square, Jan 16, 2023 -  Tennessee ranks in the bottom half of states in terms of best places to raise a family, according to a recently released report.

WalletHub, a personal finance website, put together the state rankings based on 51 indicators of family-friendliness, ranging from median annual family income to housing affordability and unemployment rates Its report said the ideal city is one that’s affordable to live in during this time of high inflation but also offers quality schools, healthcare and entertainment.

Tennessee fell short, ranking 33rd overall.

The Volunteer State did rank higher in family fun (20th) but fell short in affordability (30th), health and safety (40th) and education and child care (26th).

“Tennessee has a lot of family fun opportunities and ranks in the top half in terms of socioeconomics," WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez said. "One of its weaker points is the fact that it has a low share of children who live in neighborhoods with a park or a playground. The state also has low quality public hospitals and low life expectancy at birth. Other factors that might make people avoid Tennessee when choosing to relocate include the large number of climate disasters and high crime rate. For families with small children, the low number of child day-care services per capita can be a deterrent. Lastly, Tennessee has a large share of families living in poverty and low job security, which are not attractive for people looking to move."

The report ranked Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota and Vermont as the top five states to raise a family. The bottom five included Mississippi, New Mexico, West Virginia, Louisiana and South Carolina.

Top Stories

Marsha Blackburn's eggtravagant claim

Jan 24, 2023- This from National Review:

On a lighter note: 

• A little egg-stra? Tennessee's senior U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn made an egg-stravagant claim on Twitter Monday, alleging that "Americans are going to Mexico to buy eggs because they are cheaper."
• Hey, look: We like a fried egg sandwich as well as anyone, but Senator — come on. We think it's better to pay $8 for a dozen eggs at the Kroger than to buy a Southwest Air ticket to the border, hope Southwest is flying, rent a car, negotiate for Mexican eggs . . . before you know it, that egg sandwich is going to cost you about $500 and a whole lot of time. It's clucking ridiculous.

Rod's Comment: Marsha, Marsha, Marsha. (with a roll of the eyes, a half smile, and a shaking of the head from side to side.)

Top Stories

Nashville council, sports authority awaiting final documents on $2.2B new Titans stadium

 By Jon Styf, The Center Square, Jan. 24, 2023 – The Metro Nashville Mayor’s Office is completing what it is calling the definitive documents for a new deal on a $2.2 billion Tennessee Titans stadium and plan to present the final documents to Metro’s council by March.

Before that begins, East Bank Stadium Committee Chair Bob Mendes sent a list of three questions to the mayor’s office following last week’s committee meeting asking for specifics on when the legislation will be filed, if legislation to rebuild Nashville’s Fairgrounds Speedway into a NASCAR cup-worthy track would come at the same time and specifics of when the capital spending on the Titans stadium project will occur.

The list of stadium legislation needed to be approved is lengthy, including amendments to the current stadium lease, Tennessee State football lease and state agreement for Nissan Stadium.

Both the council and the Nashville Sports Authority will be asked to approve a development agreement, lease, Titans non-relocation agreement, team guaranty, TSU lease, state funding agreement and campus coordination/parking agreement.

The council will also have to approve a 130-acre boundary near the stadium where 50% of the state and local taxes will go to a fund estimated to collect a total of $2.9 billion to go toward paying off revenue bonds and paying for future capital expenses and stadium repairs.

The council will also have to approve the sports authority issuing bonds and an intergovernmental agreement while the sports authority will need to also approve the intergovernmental agreement along with a bond indenture, construction funding trust and disbursing agreements and a personal seat license administration agreement.

Council member Emily Benedict has asked the council have at least six weeks to review the documents once they are received and put them in front of the public at public meetings along with offering amendments that will have time to be heard.

The sports authority also heard an overview of the Fairgrounds Speedway project, which is awaiting a full cost estimate, at its meeting last week. The Fair Board has been asked to approve the deal before a final price, expected to be more than $100 million, is reached.

Top Stories