1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,298 (female announcer) This is a production of WKNO - Memphis. 2 00:00:03,298 --> 00:00:06,831 Production funding for "Behind the Headlines" is made possible 3 00:00:06,831 --> 00:00:12,831 in part by.. 4 00:00:15,931 --> 00:00:18,798 Senator Mark Norris on the upcoming legislative session 5 00:00:18,798 --> 00:00:20,998 tonight on "Behind the Headlines." 6 00:00:20,998 --> 00:00:37,264 [theme music] ♪♪♪ 7 00:00:37,264 --> 00:00:38,998 I'm Eric Barnes, publisher of The Memphis Daily News. 8 00:00:38,998 --> 00:00:39,998 Thanks for joining us. 9 00:00:39,998 --> 00:00:41,998 I am joined tonight by just one guest, 10 00:00:41,998 --> 00:00:44,198 Mark Norris, majority leader state senator. 11 00:00:44,198 --> 00:00:45,398 Thank you for coming back. 12 00:00:45,398 --> 00:00:46,398 Eric, it's great to be here. 13 00:00:46,398 --> 00:00:48,298 I think so. 14 00:00:48,298 --> 00:00:50,298 So we have the whole session, just the two of us. 15 00:00:50,298 --> 00:00:52,298 Talk about -- or the whole show. 16 00:00:52,298 --> 00:00:54,298 Talk about the upcoming session. 17 00:00:54,298 --> 00:00:55,298 Maybe look back at some things. 18 00:00:55,298 --> 00:00:57,298 But looking in to this upcoming session, 19 00:00:57,298 --> 00:00:59,298 you'll be majority leader again. 20 00:00:59,298 --> 00:01:01,964 There are super majorities of Republicans in the senate and 21 00:01:01,964 --> 00:01:04,364 the house, the governor's office. 22 00:01:04,364 --> 00:01:05,531 What are your priorities? 23 00:01:05,531 --> 00:01:08,064 What are the Republican priorities this coming session? 24 00:01:08,064 --> 00:01:09,731 Thank you. 25 00:01:09,731 --> 00:01:13,898 The main priority is to pass a balanced budget. 26 00:01:13,898 --> 00:01:17,131 So many of our viewers don't appreciate the fact that unlike 27 00:01:17,131 --> 00:01:21,464 Washington, state government balances our budget each year. 28 00:01:21,464 --> 00:01:26,398 And as majority leader, I carry the budget and intend to do so 29 00:01:26,398 --> 00:01:27,498 again as required. 30 00:01:27,498 --> 00:01:31,964 But it'll be a special challenge this year as we'll discuss 31 00:01:31,964 --> 00:01:35,431 revenues as budgeted are off. 32 00:01:35,431 --> 00:01:38,431 And some of our expenses and essential areas, 33 00:01:38,431 --> 00:01:40,664 education, healthcare are up. 34 00:01:40,664 --> 00:01:48,398 And so, there'll be less of the tax payers funds to put to good 35 00:01:48,398 --> 00:01:49,398 use. 36 00:01:49,398 --> 00:01:51,398 And we're gonna have to be very prudent about how we balance the 37 00:01:51,398 --> 00:01:52,398 budget. 38 00:01:52,398 --> 00:01:54,398 We're about a third of the way in to the fiscal year, 39 00:01:54,398 --> 00:01:55,398 the state's fiscal year. 40 00:01:55,398 --> 00:01:56,398 I think I read that. 41 00:01:56,398 --> 00:01:57,398 We're off. 42 00:01:57,398 --> 00:01:58,998 That was unexpected. 43 00:01:58,998 --> 00:02:00,998 People felt like the economy was picking up. 44 00:02:00,998 --> 00:02:03,398 And most of the state revenue comes from sales taxes, 45 00:02:03,398 --> 00:02:04,398 correct? 46 00:02:04,398 --> 00:02:06,398 I mean that's the vast majority. 47 00:02:06,398 --> 00:02:10,131 One of the unanticipated downturns was in the franchise 48 00:02:10,131 --> 00:02:11,464 and excise tax. 49 00:02:11,464 --> 00:02:14,964 And we are currently attributing that to the fact that a number 50 00:02:14,964 --> 00:02:19,064 of companies paid estimated taxes where they overpaid. 51 00:02:19,064 --> 00:02:21,064 And so there are rebates underway. 52 00:02:21,064 --> 00:02:24,998 And that probably has more to do with it than sales tax at this 53 00:02:24,998 --> 00:02:25,998 point. 54 00:02:25,998 --> 00:02:28,698 But expenses will be up in Heathcare. 55 00:02:28,698 --> 00:02:31,398 Our Tenn Care budget is growing. 56 00:02:31,398 --> 00:02:34,964 And we're gonna have to find ways to pay for that. 57 00:02:34,964 --> 00:02:36,264 The national argument aside. 58 00:02:36,264 --> 00:02:38,831 Yeah, I was gonna say that surprised me. 59 00:02:38,831 --> 00:02:41,031 And I follow this stuff fairly closely. 60 00:02:41,031 --> 00:02:43,531 But Tennessee has not agreed to do the Medicaid expansion that's 61 00:02:43,531 --> 00:02:44,764 a part of Obama Care. 62 00:02:44,764 --> 00:02:45,764 You've mentioned it. 63 00:02:45,764 --> 00:02:46,764 Let's kind of start there. 64 00:02:46,764 --> 00:02:47,864 What is your take on that? 65 00:02:47,864 --> 00:02:50,898 I mean should the state take that federal money and expand 66 00:02:50,898 --> 00:02:51,898 Medicare? 67 00:02:51,898 --> 00:02:54,164 Right now, it's quote free money the federal government is going 68 00:02:54,164 --> 00:02:56,198 to give to the various states who've opted in, 69 00:02:56,198 --> 00:02:58,231 which I think is about half the states, 70 00:02:58,231 --> 00:02:59,264 the full amount. 71 00:02:59,264 --> 00:03:00,264 It then.. 72 00:03:00,264 --> 00:03:02,264 There's a sliding scale that, what? 73 00:03:02,264 --> 00:03:04,264 -- over the next five, ten years it goes down to where the 74 00:03:04,264 --> 00:03:06,264 federal government's gonna fund maybe 90%. 75 00:03:06,264 --> 00:03:07,264 Right. 76 00:03:07,264 --> 00:03:09,264 Actually, a shorter fuse -- three years. 77 00:03:09,264 --> 00:03:10,264 Yeah, the answer is no. 78 00:03:10,264 --> 00:03:12,931 The state should not. 79 00:03:12,931 --> 00:03:16,031 And Governor Haslam just wrote a letter recently back saying you 80 00:03:16,031 --> 00:03:20,431 know, our conversations aren't going anywhere. 81 00:03:20,431 --> 00:03:24,864 And so it's sort of off the table for now. 82 00:03:24,864 --> 00:03:27,998 That can't be confused though with the fact that meanwhile, 83 00:03:27,998 --> 00:03:29,998 back at the ranch, we have Tenn Care. 84 00:03:29,998 --> 00:03:34,664 And we have Tennesseans who need to be attended to one way or 85 00:03:34,664 --> 00:03:35,664 another. 86 00:03:35,664 --> 00:03:38,298 So aside fom Obama Care and the affordable care act, 87 00:03:38,298 --> 00:03:41,398 we find that as a result of the implimentation of that, 88 00:03:41,398 --> 00:03:43,764 we now have what we thought would be about 470,00 89 00:03:43,764 --> 00:03:46,064 new enrollees -- those who are eligible but previosuly 90 00:03:46,064 --> 00:03:47,064 unenrolled. 91 00:03:47,064 --> 00:03:49,064 Then we thought it might be 50,000. 92 00:03:49,064 --> 00:03:51,064 As we speak here tonight, it's more like 52,000. 93 00:03:51,064 --> 00:03:52,198 And part of that's.. 94 00:03:52,198 --> 00:03:55,198 I know nationally, part of that's because people go in to 95 00:03:55,198 --> 00:03:57,198 the exchanges now that they're kind of, 96 00:03:57,198 --> 00:03:59,464 sort of working or at least working better. 97 00:03:59,464 --> 00:04:03,164 And they go through and they find out or they meet with a 98 00:04:03,164 --> 00:04:04,598 counselor or whatever they do. 99 00:04:04,598 --> 00:04:07,798 And they find out that they've been eligible for Medicaid for 100 00:04:07,798 --> 00:04:08,798 quite sometime. 101 00:04:08,798 --> 00:04:10,798 And I guess this is happening in Tennessee too even though the 102 00:04:10,798 --> 00:04:11,998 expansion wasn't put in place. 103 00:04:11,998 --> 00:04:12,998 Correct. 104 00:04:12,998 --> 00:04:16,564 And so everything about the dysfunction in DC aside, 105 00:04:16,564 --> 00:04:18,764 we have a situation we have to deal with. 106 00:04:18,764 --> 00:04:22,831 And so there are additional costs associated with that, 107 00:04:22,831 --> 00:04:24,831 several hundred million dollars. 108 00:04:24,831 --> 00:04:26,998 And when you couple that with -- oh, 109 00:04:26,998 --> 00:04:32,864 as we speak maybe $123 million less than a revenue budgeted, 110 00:04:32,864 --> 00:04:35,998 you knwo teh combiantion there is a pretty significant factor. 111 00:04:35,998 --> 00:04:37,998 We're just gonna have to deal with it. 112 00:04:37,998 --> 00:04:41,331 And again, I'm assuming you're here but you're colleagues.. 113 00:04:41,331 --> 00:04:44,398 No one's really gonna look at increased taxes I assume. 114 00:04:44,398 --> 00:04:48,898 This is just not a legislator that's going to do that. 115 00:04:48,898 --> 00:04:49,898 Oh, no. 116 00:04:49,898 --> 00:04:52,264 And it's not necessary that we do so. 117 00:04:52,264 --> 00:04:55,231 The governors asked all the departments to report what their 118 00:04:55,231 --> 00:05:00,664 projections would be with additional five percent in cuts. 119 00:05:00,664 --> 00:05:02,431 He's managed this very well. 120 00:05:02,431 --> 00:05:06,231 And we've had good, solid budgets since he took office in 121 00:05:06,231 --> 00:05:07,231 the last three years. 122 00:05:07,231 --> 00:05:10,464 On the positive side, we'll have some additional revenue starting 123 00:05:10,464 --> 00:05:13,664 in January from the Amazon settlement where they're going 124 00:05:13,664 --> 00:05:15,831 to begin paying sales taxes. 125 00:05:15,831 --> 00:05:21,264 And we have a fairly robust employment situation since 126 00:05:21,264 --> 00:05:26,131 Governor Haslam took office in 2011. 127 00:05:26,131 --> 00:05:30,464 Somewhere in the neighborhood of 140,000 new private sector jobs. 128 00:05:30,464 --> 00:05:31,831 Those generate revenue. 129 00:05:31,831 --> 00:05:33,598 So we're gonna do fine. 130 00:05:33,598 --> 00:05:36,764 But we're not a wash in tax payer money. 131 00:05:36,764 --> 00:05:39,231 Talking about taxpayer money, talking about government 132 00:05:39,231 --> 00:05:40,231 spending. 133 00:05:40,231 --> 00:05:43,831 A little bit more of a local issues although there's a state 134 00:05:43,831 --> 00:05:45,264 angle which is pensions. 135 00:05:45,264 --> 00:05:48,098 Last spring, the state comptroller -- I've been 136 00:05:48,098 --> 00:05:49,498 corrected by many viewers. 137 00:05:49,498 --> 00:05:51,631 Controller even though it's spelled comptroller. 138 00:05:51,631 --> 00:05:55,498 The state comptroller wrote a letter to the city saying look, 139 00:05:55,498 --> 00:05:56,498 your pension.. 140 00:05:56,498 --> 00:05:58,498 Your accounts are out of balance. 141 00:05:58,498 --> 00:06:00,831 We're concerned and we're particularly concerned about 142 00:06:00,831 --> 00:06:03,564 this unfunded liability on the pension side. 143 00:06:03,564 --> 00:06:06,731 To some degree, I mean some people have said an emphasis no 144 00:06:06,731 --> 00:06:08,731 where near the shape that Detroit is. 145 00:06:08,731 --> 00:06:11,164 But at the end of the day, the state kind of back stops the 146 00:06:11,164 --> 00:06:13,164 municipalities, Memphis included. 147 00:06:13,164 --> 00:06:15,431 So I assume that was sort of the opening shot to say look, 148 00:06:15,431 --> 00:06:17,431 you guys have go to get things together. 149 00:06:17,431 --> 00:06:20,964 Just this week in the last week, Mayor Wharton has come forward 150 00:06:20,964 --> 00:06:23,798 with a plan to begin to fund that unfunded liability over a 151 00:06:23,798 --> 00:06:26,298 five year period starting at 20 million next year, 152 00:06:26,298 --> 00:06:29,198 at 40 million, getting up to a really big number -- $80 million 153 00:06:29,198 --> 00:06:30,198 with in the city bidget. 154 00:06:30,198 --> 00:06:31,198 It's a big number. 155 00:06:31,198 --> 00:06:32,198 It is. 156 00:06:32,198 --> 00:06:34,398 What are your thoughts on Wharton's plans and the state's 157 00:06:34,398 --> 00:06:37,164 involvement in the local pension issue. 158 00:06:37,164 --> 00:06:40,964 Last March as a member of the pensions and insurance committee 159 00:06:40,964 --> 00:06:44,564 that I serve on, I asked for the committee and the general 160 00:06:44,564 --> 00:06:48,731 assembly to take stock of where all local governments across the 161 00:06:48,731 --> 00:06:52,931 state may be -- Not just Memphis but other municipalities as 162 00:06:52,931 --> 00:06:53,931 well. 163 00:06:53,931 --> 00:06:56,731 The department of treasury, Treasurer David Lillard and his 164 00:06:56,731 --> 00:06:59,398 staff have worked on that ever since. 165 00:06:59,398 --> 00:07:02,031 So for many months looking at that. 166 00:07:02,031 --> 00:07:06,564 And we've met with Mayor Wharton to talk about the particular 167 00:07:06,564 --> 00:07:09,564 situation as it obtains to Memphis. 168 00:07:09,564 --> 00:07:14,598 And he's taking a giant leap forward in what he presents as 169 00:07:14,598 --> 00:07:16,464 we enter in to the new year. 170 00:07:16,464 --> 00:07:20,631 There will be legislation requiring maintenance of effort 171 00:07:20,631 --> 00:07:22,998 by municipalities and other local governments. 172 00:07:22,998 --> 00:07:25,864 I'll sponsor that legislation at the request of the treasurer. 173 00:07:25,864 --> 00:07:31,864 And what we need to do is instill discipline in all these 174 00:07:31,864 --> 00:07:32,864 local governments. 175 00:07:32,864 --> 00:07:36,064 It's not just about Memphis but Memphis being one of our big 176 00:07:36,064 --> 00:07:41,964 cities with a big problem has got to take some big steps. 177 00:07:41,964 --> 00:07:45,331 Part of this switch that has been pushed and that is the 178 00:07:45,331 --> 00:07:50,264 Wharton plan is to take the honor the obligation to retired 179 00:07:50,264 --> 00:07:52,498 and I guess vested employees. 180 00:07:52,498 --> 00:07:55,264 But for new employees in to the city government and newer 181 00:07:55,264 --> 00:07:57,798 employees -- people, I think it's less than ten years. 182 00:07:57,798 --> 00:08:00,798 They move to more of what the private sector has moved toward 183 00:08:00,798 --> 00:08:03,098 which is a 401k where it's a defined contribution. 184 00:08:03,098 --> 00:08:06,098 The city is going to put in X-hundred or thousand dollars a 185 00:08:06,098 --> 00:08:09,131 year, what ever it is, and it's gonna fluctutate with the market 186 00:08:09,131 --> 00:08:12,664 and that's what's gonna be there at the end of the day versus the 187 00:08:12,664 --> 00:08:15,198 defined benefit where there's a guarantee of what they're gonna 188 00:08:15,198 --> 00:08:16,198 get. 189 00:08:16,198 --> 00:08:17,198 That's right. 190 00:08:17,198 --> 00:08:18,198 You like that idea? 191 00:08:18,198 --> 00:08:19,198 It's the only thing to do. 192 00:08:19,198 --> 00:08:21,198 That's the direction you have to move. 193 00:08:21,198 --> 00:08:23,198 The question is how far you go and how fast. 194 00:08:23,198 --> 00:08:27,731 The state of Tennessee reformed it's pension plan in 2013. 195 00:08:27,731 --> 00:08:29,731 We've already taken those steps. 196 00:08:29,731 --> 00:08:30,898 It's a hybrid. 197 00:08:30,898 --> 00:08:34,064 It's a combination between defined benefit and defined 198 00:08:34,064 --> 00:08:35,064 contribution. 199 00:08:35,064 --> 00:08:37,598 And that's for, in terms of state workers, 200 00:08:37,598 --> 00:08:41,931 that's for highway patrol and people out you see working on 201 00:08:41,931 --> 00:08:44,698 the highways, so on and so forth. 202 00:08:44,698 --> 00:08:45,898 Legislators and others. 203 00:08:45,898 --> 00:08:46,898 Okay. 204 00:08:46,898 --> 00:08:47,898 Right. 205 00:08:47,898 --> 00:08:48,898 And what was the reaction? 206 00:08:48,898 --> 00:08:51,731 Stoic but resolved that it needed to be done. 207 00:08:51,731 --> 00:08:53,798 And you didn't hear a great cry about it. 208 00:08:53,798 --> 00:08:55,798 There was a lot of effort that went in to it in terms of 209 00:08:55,798 --> 00:08:59,331 planning and working with different constituant groups. 210 00:08:59,331 --> 00:09:01,598 Some in the private sector here locally think that all 211 00:09:01,598 --> 00:09:02,698 government should go further. 212 00:09:02,698 --> 00:09:04,631 No hybrid plan about it. 213 00:09:04,631 --> 00:09:07,164 Just go all the way to defined contribution. 214 00:09:07,164 --> 00:09:09,231 Including those retired employees and the vested 215 00:09:09,231 --> 00:09:11,264 employees and so on. 216 00:09:11,264 --> 00:09:14,431 And for a variety of reasons, that's probably not practical. 217 00:09:14,431 --> 00:09:20,164 But we think and the treasury department thinks that moving in 218 00:09:20,164 --> 00:09:24,431 that direction if not going all the way is sufficient to right 219 00:09:24,431 --> 00:09:25,431 the ship of state. 220 00:09:25,431 --> 00:09:26,431 And we'll see. 221 00:09:26,431 --> 00:09:27,431 Yeah. 222 00:09:27,431 --> 00:09:29,598 And for those who are concerned about the state, 223 00:09:29,598 --> 00:09:31,598 you know there's always this tension between the state 224 00:09:31,598 --> 00:09:34,364 involvement and local issues, federal involvement in state 225 00:09:34,364 --> 00:09:35,364 issues. 226 00:09:35,364 --> 00:09:37,531 You all don't like to be mandated by the federal 227 00:09:37,531 --> 00:09:39,831 government to do X, Y and Z when you don't have the funding for 228 00:09:39,831 --> 00:09:40,831 it or don't have the control. 229 00:09:40,831 --> 00:09:44,564 Are you comfortable that the state's involvement is 230 00:09:44,564 --> 00:09:45,564 appropriate. 231 00:09:45,564 --> 00:09:47,964 Yes and just as I was in the education space. 232 00:09:47,964 --> 00:09:50,831 At the end of the day, it's the state's responsibility. 233 00:09:50,831 --> 00:09:53,764 You can talk about local funding all you want. 234 00:09:53,764 --> 00:09:56,931 But to the extent that most of the funding comes through the 235 00:09:56,931 --> 00:10:01,131 state and from the taxpayers and citizens of the state, 236 00:10:01,131 --> 00:10:03,264 it's ultimately our responsibility. 237 00:10:03,264 --> 00:10:06,398 It's our duty to do it working with local governments. 238 00:10:06,398 --> 00:10:10,398 But we need to make sure that the requisite degree of 239 00:10:10,398 --> 00:10:14,698 discipline is at work and that the local governments are 240 00:10:14,698 --> 00:10:17,264 salting away for that retirement day, 241 00:10:17,264 --> 00:10:18,264 the funds that are needed. 242 00:10:18,264 --> 00:10:20,698 It's, you know, whatever metaphor you want to use. 243 00:10:20,698 --> 00:10:23,631 Robbing Peter to pay Paul and that sort of thing just isn't 244 00:10:23,631 --> 00:10:24,631 gonna cut it. 245 00:10:24,631 --> 00:10:26,631 It's an interesting thing nationally, 246 00:10:26,631 --> 00:10:28,631 too, because you know we're very focused here in Memphis. 247 00:10:28,631 --> 00:10:30,631 You know there are the people you get, 248 00:10:30,631 --> 00:10:32,631 you know, Memphis is the next detroit or get down on Memphis. 249 00:10:32,631 --> 00:10:35,764 The fact is we're so far away form a Detroit situation. 250 00:10:35,764 --> 00:10:37,764 Wall Street Journal -- I don't know if you've.. 251 00:10:37,764 --> 00:10:39,764 We haven't talked about this but they've done a really great 252 00:10:39,764 --> 00:10:42,398 series on states and localities in trouble. 253 00:10:42,398 --> 00:10:45,764 I mean Memphis isn't even close to the trouble that some of 254 00:10:45,764 --> 00:10:48,931 these places in California and Illinois and so on. 255 00:10:48,931 --> 00:10:51,798 I guess part of that for you is that's all well and good but we 256 00:10:51,798 --> 00:10:52,798 want to stay there. 257 00:10:52,798 --> 00:10:54,798 We want to stay away from the bottom. 258 00:10:54,798 --> 00:10:57,164 Keep them away from that, absolutely. 259 00:10:57,164 --> 00:10:59,398 So it's sometimes a sort of tough love. 260 00:10:59,398 --> 00:11:02,231 But we've met here locally, for example, 261 00:11:02,231 --> 00:11:04,431 with Mayor Wharton and Brian Collins. 262 00:11:04,431 --> 00:11:05,898 It's nothing personal. 263 00:11:05,898 --> 00:11:08,464 You know it's just business. 264 00:11:08,464 --> 00:11:11,664 And you know when Wharton was on the show earlier this year right 265 00:11:11,664 --> 00:11:14,164 when they letter came from the comptroller and so on. 266 00:11:14,164 --> 00:11:17,098 And I asked him, you know, are you glad the state stepped in? 267 00:11:17,098 --> 00:11:20,598 And he said yeah because we needed that kick I think. 268 00:11:20,598 --> 00:11:23,498 And other city council members either on the record or off the 269 00:11:23,498 --> 00:11:25,864 record have said on the show and said elsewhere -- yeah, 270 00:11:25,864 --> 00:11:26,864 we needed this. 271 00:11:26,864 --> 00:11:28,964 Because it was just going to be too hard for us to do it alone. 272 00:11:28,964 --> 00:11:30,631 This was the first warning. 273 00:11:30,631 --> 00:11:33,831 And then like you're saying, some legislation and the kind of 274 00:11:33,831 --> 00:11:37,098 this is inevitable that this is going to have to happen. 275 00:11:37,098 --> 00:11:38,098 When you look at.. 276 00:11:38,098 --> 00:11:40,331 We're talking about cities and finances. 277 00:11:40,331 --> 00:11:42,564 And you mentioned the schools and we'll come to that a little 278 00:11:42,564 --> 00:11:43,564 bit later. 279 00:11:43,564 --> 00:11:46,664 But your take on some of the projects and some of the 280 00:11:46,664 --> 00:11:50,398 spending at the local level right now -- county, 281 00:11:50,398 --> 00:11:51,398 city-wise. 282 00:11:51,398 --> 00:11:53,398 The one that's most immediate is Autozone. 283 00:11:53,398 --> 00:11:55,398 And I know that's not really a state issue but you're, 284 00:11:55,398 --> 00:11:56,398 you know. 285 00:11:56,398 --> 00:11:57,398 You live in the community. 286 00:11:57,398 --> 00:11:58,398 You're politically connected. 287 00:11:58,398 --> 00:12:02,064 The baseball park -- what's your take on that deal? 288 00:12:02,064 --> 00:12:05,331 And is it a deal that should be done by the city? 289 00:12:05,331 --> 00:12:07,331 It's sort of to your earlier point. 290 00:12:07,331 --> 00:12:09,398 I mean there are places for the state to assert the state's 291 00:12:09,398 --> 00:12:12,698 position and places for the state to stay out of it. 292 00:12:12,698 --> 00:12:15,231 This is one where the city council, 293 00:12:15,231 --> 00:12:20,898 city of Memphis have to decide what they can afford. 294 00:12:20,898 --> 00:12:25,698 With the requirements of the pension reality and other post 295 00:12:25,698 --> 00:12:30,431 employment benefits, with what Mayor Wharton is saying, 296 00:12:30,431 --> 00:12:35,231 he realizes he needs to put away to get up to that actuarily 297 00:12:35,231 --> 00:12:36,764 required amount. 298 00:12:36,764 --> 00:12:40,931 You know it's going to be for them to decide how the debt 299 00:12:40,931 --> 00:12:41,964 service works. 300 00:12:41,964 --> 00:12:44,698 I don't know enough about the particular stadium deal to say. 301 00:12:44,698 --> 00:12:47,964 I understand that they're saying that it basically pays for 302 00:12:47,964 --> 00:12:52,064 itself when you account for the rental that's paid and so forth. 303 00:12:52,064 --> 00:12:54,064 There's no question on the positive side of the ledger. 304 00:12:54,064 --> 00:12:57,064 You need things to generate revenue, too. 305 00:12:57,064 --> 00:12:58,064 I mean you can only cut so far. 306 00:12:58,064 --> 00:13:01,298 So just as we have been working on work force development 307 00:13:01,298 --> 00:13:04,598 issues, bringing in more jobs and maybe new employers are 308 00:13:04,598 --> 00:13:08,131 growing, existing employers -- that's all designed to bring 309 00:13:08,131 --> 00:13:10,464 cash in on the positive side of the ledger. 310 00:13:10,464 --> 00:13:12,431 So there's a lot in the mix. 311 00:13:12,431 --> 00:13:16,964 And where they separate these projects out, 312 00:13:16,964 --> 00:13:17,964 I don't know. 313 00:13:17,964 --> 00:13:19,964 But I know we're gonna learn a lot more about it between now 314 00:13:19,964 --> 00:13:20,964 and January. 315 00:13:20,964 --> 00:13:22,964 You don't want to say it if you want the deal -- yes or no. 316 00:13:22,964 --> 00:13:25,198 No. [laughter] 317 00:13:25,198 --> 00:13:26,231 Sorry! 318 00:13:26,231 --> 00:13:27,598 That's fine. 319 00:13:27,598 --> 00:13:29,431 So we talk about incentives. 320 00:13:29,431 --> 00:13:31,231 Pilots, a thing we talk about on the show sometimes. 321 00:13:31,231 --> 00:13:34,431 Economic development generally and the various local 322 00:13:34,431 --> 00:13:36,498 incentives, state incentives. 323 00:13:36,498 --> 00:13:39,498 When Haslam came in, he got away from some of the programs that 324 00:13:39,498 --> 00:13:43,031 had existed more to these sort of cash incentives. 325 00:13:43,031 --> 00:13:46,831 Shelby County and Memphis still do a lot of payment in leiu of 326 00:13:46,831 --> 00:13:48,831 taxes, which can be very controversial. 327 00:13:48,831 --> 00:13:51,298 What is your take on that, the best approach? 328 00:13:51,298 --> 00:13:52,831 Because I think you've said. 329 00:13:52,831 --> 00:13:55,498 I know others state folks have said that economic development 330 00:13:55,498 --> 00:13:58,564 on the big scale of recruitment is a state local partnership. 331 00:13:58,564 --> 00:13:59,564 It has to be. 332 00:13:59,564 --> 00:14:01,798 Those incentives and the contacts and so on. 333 00:14:01,798 --> 00:14:05,531 Do you feel like the use of pilots in the Memphis - Shelby 334 00:14:05,531 --> 00:14:08,764 County area has been appropriate and is going in the right 335 00:14:08,764 --> 00:14:09,764 direction? 336 00:14:09,764 --> 00:14:11,764 I think it's going in the right direction. 337 00:14:11,764 --> 00:14:14,331 It has not always been appropriate back to the time 338 00:14:14,331 --> 00:14:16,398 when I served on the county commission. 339 00:14:16,398 --> 00:14:17,998 We had some heartburn over. 340 00:14:17,998 --> 00:14:22,131 For example, the degree to which funding that otherwise would 341 00:14:22,131 --> 00:14:24,764 have gone to education was being diverted. 342 00:14:24,764 --> 00:14:27,298 We took some measure to address that at the time. 343 00:14:27,298 --> 00:14:31,798 I think with EDGE, the new economic development growth 344 00:14:31,798 --> 00:14:34,398 engine, and other programs, they're moving in the right 345 00:14:34,398 --> 00:14:35,398 direction. 346 00:14:35,398 --> 00:14:38,298 But I think you always have to be sensitive to how much should 347 00:14:38,298 --> 00:14:40,598 government be involved in private enterprise. 348 00:14:40,598 --> 00:14:42,764 You're in competition with other states. 349 00:14:42,764 --> 00:14:45,164 And I know this as chairman of the council of state 350 00:14:45,164 --> 00:14:47,198 governments, now the national organization. 351 00:14:47,198 --> 00:14:49,031 There's a balance to be struck. 352 00:14:49,031 --> 00:14:51,831 But what we're trying to do in this administration is to get 353 00:14:51,831 --> 00:14:54,598 away from tax credits and that sort of thing. 354 00:14:54,598 --> 00:14:55,998 They get lost in the shuffle. 355 00:14:55,998 --> 00:14:57,464 They're hard to keep up with. 356 00:14:57,464 --> 00:15:00,464 You're waiving taxes when other people have to pay for them and 357 00:15:00,464 --> 00:15:05,631 deal more with a ready workforce and other incentives that are 358 00:15:05,631 --> 00:15:10,298 concrete and sort of organic to the area to attract. 359 00:15:10,298 --> 00:15:13,398 We've got a lot of natural resources here and amenities 360 00:15:13,398 --> 00:15:17,031 that make Tennessee the place to be in so many ways without 361 00:15:17,031 --> 00:15:18,031 giving away the store. 362 00:15:18,031 --> 00:15:19,398 So you have to be prudent. 363 00:15:19,398 --> 00:15:22,064 The department of economic and community development has their 364 00:15:22,064 --> 00:15:24,731 own metrics and their own matrix and everything to make sure that 365 00:15:24,731 --> 00:15:27,331 we get the appropriate return on the taxpayers investment. 366 00:15:27,331 --> 00:15:29,931 But you can't give away the store. 367 00:15:29,931 --> 00:15:33,964 Yeah, isn't there also the reality that, 368 00:15:33,964 --> 00:15:35,964 you know, people will compare Memphis and Nashville. 369 00:15:35,964 --> 00:15:37,964 Nashville doesn't rely on pilots as much. 370 00:15:37,964 --> 00:15:39,964 And we've had people on the show. 371 00:15:39,964 --> 00:15:41,964 I've talked to people with the paper who say -- Well it's all 372 00:15:41,964 --> 00:15:43,964 well and good to compare Memphis and Nashville. 373 00:15:43,964 --> 00:15:45,964 But Memphis is right up against Mississippi. 374 00:15:45,964 --> 00:15:47,964 And Mississippi is open for business. 375 00:15:47,964 --> 00:15:51,698 And they will give you a credit, cash and flowers to get your 376 00:15:51,698 --> 00:15:53,698 business to come across the border. 377 00:15:53,698 --> 00:15:55,931 And that unique situation where you can.. 378 00:15:55,931 --> 00:15:58,864 if you're gonna locate a business in Olive Branch, 379 00:15:58,864 --> 00:16:01,998 you can still tkae advantage of the Memphis airport, 380 00:16:01,998 --> 00:16:05,498 the Memphis Grizzlies, the amenties of a big city while not 381 00:16:05,498 --> 00:16:07,198 having to be in Tennessee. 382 00:16:07,198 --> 00:16:09,198 Nashville doesn't really face that so much. 383 00:16:09,198 --> 00:16:11,198 Other cities don't necessarily face. 384 00:16:11,198 --> 00:16:12,198 And there are cities that do. 385 00:16:12,198 --> 00:16:14,898 But that's where I think people sort of say the 386 00:16:14,898 --> 00:16:17,698 Memphis-Nashville comparison on these pilots breaks down. 387 00:16:17,698 --> 00:16:19,098 There's some unique issues. 388 00:16:19,098 --> 00:16:21,098 Arkansas is right across the river -- same thing. 389 00:16:21,098 --> 00:16:24,164 You can base something in Marion and take advantage of, 390 00:16:24,164 --> 00:16:27,364 without paying any taxes, the Memphis big city. 391 00:16:27,364 --> 00:16:29,364 Yeah and that's just a challenge. 392 00:16:29,364 --> 00:16:30,364 It's a daily challenge. 393 00:16:30,364 --> 00:16:33,531 There's a great team at work now. 394 00:16:33,531 --> 00:16:35,931 You know a lot of people have to understand why the Haslam 395 00:16:35,931 --> 00:16:39,031 administration sort of reconfigured the way teh 396 00:16:39,031 --> 00:16:41,298 department of economic and community development was set 397 00:16:41,298 --> 00:16:42,298 up. 398 00:16:42,298 --> 00:16:43,298 They went to these base camps. 399 00:16:43,298 --> 00:16:45,298 People might not even remember it. 400 00:16:45,298 --> 00:16:47,298 But nine camps across the state. 401 00:16:47,298 --> 00:16:48,298 That's one of the reasons. 402 00:16:48,298 --> 00:16:50,298 Because the folks who are here, get it. 403 00:16:50,298 --> 00:16:51,298 They know. 404 00:16:51,298 --> 00:16:53,298 They know what we're dealing with here which maybe different 405 00:16:53,298 --> 00:16:55,298 from what they deal with in Nashville or Johnson City or 406 00:16:55,298 --> 00:16:56,298 some other place. 407 00:16:56,298 --> 00:16:59,964 So it's more customized to the realities we have here. 408 00:16:59,964 --> 00:17:01,364 And it's working. 409 00:17:01,364 --> 00:17:03,464 I mean we've had some great developments. 410 00:17:03,464 --> 00:17:06,764 Like I said, about 140,000 new private sector jobs. 411 00:17:06,764 --> 00:17:09,264 The expansion we're gonna have. 412 00:17:09,264 --> 00:17:11,464 And of course that's in Covington and Tipton County. 413 00:17:11,464 --> 00:17:14,798 But regionally speaking, it'll be the largest ice cream 414 00:17:14,798 --> 00:17:17,564 manufacturing facility in the world. 415 00:17:17,564 --> 00:17:20,564 They're consolidating all their North American, yeah. 416 00:17:20,564 --> 00:17:22,564 And so there are a lot of good things. 417 00:17:22,564 --> 00:17:24,564 Did you work that in to the deal? 418 00:17:24,564 --> 00:17:25,564 Later off line. 419 00:17:25,564 --> 00:17:28,031 We talk about work force though. 420 00:17:28,031 --> 00:17:31,064 You know, two big projects -- Electrolux and Mitsubishi 421 00:17:31,064 --> 00:17:32,064 They're ramping up. 422 00:17:32,064 --> 00:17:35,131 But you know already, I think the director of HR from, 423 00:17:35,131 --> 00:17:37,498 I believe it was Electrolux and it might have been Mitsubishi 424 00:17:37,498 --> 00:17:39,898 recently said they're having trouble hiring because these are 425 00:17:39,898 --> 00:17:42,098 not factory jobs in the old sense of, 426 00:17:42,098 --> 00:17:44,098 you know, picking up a widget and dropping a widget. 427 00:17:44,098 --> 00:17:45,998 I mean they're pretty high tech jobs, actually. 428 00:17:45,998 --> 00:17:47,631 And pretty well paid jobs in terms of.. 429 00:17:47,631 --> 00:17:49,731 Does that concern you? 430 00:17:49,731 --> 00:17:51,498 And is that something where the state through community 431 00:17:51,498 --> 00:17:55,598 colleges, through whatever, can work more closely to get skilled 432 00:17:55,598 --> 00:17:57,298 workers in to these new facilities. 433 00:17:57,298 --> 00:17:58,131 And we are. 434 00:17:58,131 --> 00:18:02,164 If your viewers haven't heard about Drive to 55 and LEAP, 435 00:18:02,164 --> 00:18:08,298 the Labor and Education Allignment Program that I 436 00:18:08,298 --> 00:18:10,298 authored and passed this year or in 2013. 437 00:18:10,298 --> 00:18:13,498 Both of those are designed to help Tennesseans simultaneously 438 00:18:13,498 --> 00:18:17,264 work, earn and learn so that they get a certificate or degree 439 00:18:17,264 --> 00:18:20,664 while actually engaged and on the job trainined whether it's 440 00:18:20,664 --> 00:18:24,598 an apprenticeship on the job they already have alligning the 441 00:18:24,598 --> 00:18:27,931 education sector to work with local employers and say -- Well 442 00:18:27,931 --> 00:18:29,931 if your employees are doing this, 443 00:18:29,931 --> 00:18:32,198 this and this on the job, did you know that that would qualify 444 00:18:32,198 --> 00:18:35,498 them for a certificate in advanced manufacturing or this 445 00:18:35,498 --> 00:18:36,498 or that. 446 00:18:36,498 --> 00:18:38,498 We're working closely with Unilever, 447 00:18:38,498 --> 00:18:41,631 with Electrolux, with the Bodine plant in Jackson. 448 00:18:41,631 --> 00:18:45,064 I don't think a lot of folks realize that next year, 449 00:18:45,064 --> 00:18:48,198 all engine blocks made for Toyota motor vehicles in North 450 00:18:48,198 --> 00:18:50,198 America will be made in Jackson, Tennessee. 451 00:18:50,198 --> 00:18:52,198 Yeah, I haven't seen any of that. 452 00:18:52,198 --> 00:18:54,198 And I follow stuff pretty quickly. 453 00:18:54,198 --> 00:18:56,198 And we're still three years running. 454 00:18:56,198 --> 00:18:57,198 Yeah. 455 00:18:57,198 --> 00:18:59,198 Number one in automotive manufacturing in the nation 456 00:18:59,198 --> 00:19:00,198 right here in Tennessee. 457 00:19:00,198 --> 00:19:01,198 You talk about programs. 458 00:19:01,198 --> 00:19:03,198 You talk about, you know, the state working and the schools 459 00:19:03,198 --> 00:19:04,198 working. 460 00:19:04,198 --> 00:19:07,064 You must have some Republican revenue in the house. 461 00:19:07,064 --> 00:19:09,931 There's some people very conservative who really 462 00:19:09,931 --> 00:19:13,598 basically view any government program as bad. 463 00:19:13,598 --> 00:19:16,031 So you're speaking here as majority leader and saying this 464 00:19:16,031 --> 00:19:17,031 is a good program. 465 00:19:17,031 --> 00:19:19,031 This is where the state should be involved. 466 00:19:19,031 --> 00:19:21,031 This is where we're working with business. 467 00:19:21,031 --> 00:19:22,031 But you must have some folks. 468 00:19:22,031 --> 00:19:24,031 I mean all Republicans are not the same. 469 00:19:24,031 --> 00:19:26,031 All Conservatives are not the same. 470 00:19:26,031 --> 00:19:28,031 There are different interpretations. 471 00:19:28,031 --> 00:19:29,031 And when you've got.. 472 00:19:29,031 --> 00:19:31,031 You know I've met them up there. 473 00:19:31,031 --> 00:19:33,031 People who just think everything government does is bad. 474 00:19:33,031 --> 00:19:34,031 Except their job. [laughter] 475 00:19:34,031 --> 00:19:35,031 And their perdiem. 476 00:19:35,031 --> 00:19:36,031 That's right. 477 00:19:36,031 --> 00:19:37,031 How do you manage that? 478 00:19:37,031 --> 00:19:39,031 Because it's not a ubiquitous group. 479 00:19:39,031 --> 00:19:40,031 Right. 480 00:19:40,031 --> 00:19:42,031 It's more of an art than a science. 481 00:19:42,031 --> 00:19:46,098 I try to listen a lot and respect positions like those 482 00:19:46,098 --> 00:19:47,098 differing opinions. 483 00:19:47,098 --> 00:19:50,131 And I think as a result, we tend to end up with a better work 484 00:19:50,131 --> 00:19:53,631 product in the final analysis. 485 00:19:53,631 --> 00:19:59,998 But by and large with a few percentage degrees of 486 00:19:59,998 --> 00:20:02,698 difference, we are all pulling in the same direction. 487 00:20:02,698 --> 00:20:06,364 I mean we are number one in the Southeast for job creation, 488 00:20:06,364 --> 00:20:07,364 the state of Tennessee. 489 00:20:07,364 --> 00:20:11,498 We have the lowest per capita debt of any state in the nation. 490 00:20:11,498 --> 00:20:15,264 Ther's a lot that is hard to argue with that kind of success. 491 00:20:15,264 --> 00:20:18,298 So you haven't felt pressure or undo pressure from, 492 00:20:18,298 --> 00:20:19,298 say, a tea party wing? 493 00:20:19,298 --> 00:20:21,298 I mean the media loves to say that. 494 00:20:21,298 --> 00:20:23,298 Tea Party's pushing Republicans farther to the right and farther 495 00:20:23,298 --> 00:20:24,298 to the right. 496 00:20:24,298 --> 00:20:26,431 No, I've found some misperceptions. 497 00:20:26,431 --> 00:20:28,864 I've found some lack of information and lack of 498 00:20:28,864 --> 00:20:31,264 understanding sometimes from different sectors where they 499 00:20:31,264 --> 00:20:34,931 don't know, perhaps we haven't communicated effectively enough 500 00:20:34,931 --> 00:20:37,831 all the good things that are happening become a success 501 00:20:37,831 --> 00:20:39,598 that's hard to argue with. 502 00:20:39,598 --> 00:20:42,331 We've reduced the size of government every year in the 503 00:20:42,331 --> 00:20:43,431 last three years. 504 00:20:43,431 --> 00:20:50,498 We've cut taxes -- not only the taxes on food but the death tax 505 00:20:50,498 --> 00:20:53,098 is being phased out by 2016. 506 00:20:53,098 --> 00:20:55,364 We repealed the gift tax. 507 00:20:55,364 --> 00:20:58,898 Really, you know, hundreds of millions of dollars in tax cuts. 508 00:20:58,898 --> 00:21:01,631 All the things that the most conservative among us.. 509 00:21:01,631 --> 00:21:04,364 In other words, workers comp was a big priority. 510 00:21:04,364 --> 00:21:06,798 The reform or whatever you think about it. 511 00:21:06,798 --> 00:21:10,431 But it was meant to be business friendly and recruit people in 512 00:21:10,431 --> 00:21:11,664 and reduce the complications. 513 00:21:11,664 --> 00:21:12,864 We've gone 20 minutes. 514 00:21:12,864 --> 00:21:14,864 We've barely talked about the schools. 515 00:21:14,864 --> 00:21:17,398 It is your signature legislation for better or worse. 516 00:21:17,398 --> 00:21:19,764 I think you would say for better. 517 00:21:19,764 --> 00:21:21,764 Are you happy with, satisfied with? 518 00:21:21,764 --> 00:21:24,964 What is your take on the state of kind of the deconsolidation 519 00:21:24,964 --> 00:21:28,364 of the schools and the evolution of where we were and where we 520 00:21:28,364 --> 00:21:29,364 are. 521 00:21:29,364 --> 00:21:32,398 I'm happy that the municipalities are moving 522 00:21:32,398 --> 00:21:34,998 forward with neighborhood schools. 523 00:21:34,998 --> 00:21:38,998 It's what their citizens and parents of these children wanted 524 00:21:38,998 --> 00:21:39,998 all along. 525 00:21:39,998 --> 00:21:42,998 I think that the education that's closer to the kids and 526 00:21:42,998 --> 00:21:44,998 their families is gonna be better for education. 527 00:21:44,998 --> 00:21:50,531 It's frustrating, sure, that it took three years instead of one 528 00:21:50,531 --> 00:21:55,131 or two as originally outlined in our legislation to accomplish/ 529 00:21:55,131 --> 00:21:58,231 But I think we're all gonna come out better for it in the final 530 00:21:58,231 --> 00:21:59,231 analysis. 531 00:21:59,231 --> 00:22:01,231 And I find very few people who disagree with that. 532 00:22:01,231 --> 00:22:05,631 There's been a sort of a, you know, 533 00:22:05,631 --> 00:22:09,231 a metamorphosis if you will of what used to be the city of 534 00:22:09,231 --> 00:22:10,231 Memphis schools. 535 00:22:10,231 --> 00:22:13,464 We're not ending up with just the inverse of what we had 536 00:22:13,464 --> 00:22:16,498 before because what was Memphis City Schools had a lot of 537 00:22:16,498 --> 00:22:19,031 difficulties that have now been purged if you will. 538 00:22:19,031 --> 00:22:21,798 And you know because we've talked about it a lot. 539 00:22:21,798 --> 00:22:24,564 And sometimes, you know, viewers get frustrated when we talk 540 00:22:24,564 --> 00:22:25,964 about the schools so much. 541 00:22:25,964 --> 00:22:28,198 But it's just hundreds of millions of dollars. 542 00:22:28,198 --> 00:22:29,564 It's sort of the future. 543 00:22:29,564 --> 00:22:31,564 It's an economic development issue. 544 00:22:31,564 --> 00:22:32,664 It's a recruitment issue. 545 00:22:32,664 --> 00:22:34,064 It's a population shift issue. 546 00:22:34,064 --> 00:22:36,798 So, it's just been, you know, a tremendous story with all these 547 00:22:36,798 --> 00:22:37,798 different angles. 548 00:22:37,798 --> 00:22:41,264 And I do hear people say -- Well we're just back to where we 549 00:22:41,264 --> 00:22:43,264 were, suburban schools and city schools. 550 00:22:43,264 --> 00:22:45,698 But it's really not that because on so many levels, 551 00:22:45,698 --> 00:22:47,931 it is five or six different suburbam schools. 552 00:22:47,931 --> 00:22:50,131 And Millington is a very different place than 553 00:22:50,131 --> 00:22:51,131 Collierville. 554 00:22:51,131 --> 00:22:53,131 Different income levels and different residents and 555 00:22:53,131 --> 00:22:54,131 different economic base. 556 00:22:54,131 --> 00:22:56,131 The city school system has been.. 557 00:22:56,131 --> 00:22:58,764 I think most people who will calm down and kind of look at it 558 00:22:58,764 --> 00:23:00,764 say it's been pretty transformed. 559 00:23:00,764 --> 00:23:03,464 You got the state A-S-D running the worst schools and making 560 00:23:03,464 --> 00:23:04,464 some head way. 561 00:23:04,464 --> 00:23:08,631 The city has put in this new innovatino zone type district 562 00:23:08,631 --> 00:23:10,631 within a district thats making some head way. 563 00:23:10,631 --> 00:23:11,631 And all these charter schools.. 564 00:23:11,631 --> 00:23:12,631 I mean I've said it. 565 00:23:12,631 --> 00:23:14,631 I guess I'm editorializing for a second. 566 00:23:14,631 --> 00:23:16,631 Are gonna change the face for better and worse. 567 00:23:16,631 --> 00:23:17,631 Not all are gonna work out. 568 00:23:17,631 --> 00:23:19,698 But over the next five, ten years, 569 00:23:19,698 --> 00:23:20,931 it's a whole different deal. 570 00:23:20,931 --> 00:23:23,098 There's a whole lot more flexibility. 571 00:23:23,098 --> 00:23:27,664 The schools, the delivery system I think as a result will be, 572 00:23:27,664 --> 00:23:31,664 for lack of a better term, more nimble in it's ability to meet 573 00:23:31,664 --> 00:23:35,231 the particularized needs to the students they're teaching. 574 00:23:35,231 --> 00:23:38,331 We learned the hard way that one size doesn't fit all. 575 00:23:38,331 --> 00:23:41,631 And that's really all we advocated for the last ten or 15 576 00:23:41,631 --> 00:23:45,631 years is we needed the freedom to be able to individualize 577 00:23:45,631 --> 00:23:49,298 teaching to get to kids where they need it most and in the 578 00:23:49,298 --> 00:23:51,298 ways that they understand and will advance. 579 00:23:51,298 --> 00:23:53,398 And we're now seeing, you know, Tennessee is in the lead right 580 00:23:53,398 --> 00:24:01,031 now nationwide in advancement in test scores. 581 00:24:01,031 --> 00:24:03,031 And we're really making great strides. 582 00:24:03,031 --> 00:24:05,031 But there's a lot more work to do. 583 00:24:05,031 --> 00:24:07,031 If you talk to Chris Barbeck and folks at the Achievement School 584 00:24:07,031 --> 00:24:09,031 District, they'll tell you that right now, 585 00:24:09,031 --> 00:24:11,031 Memphis Tennessee is known as teacher town. 586 00:24:11,031 --> 00:24:13,031 This is the place that teachers want to be. 587 00:24:13,031 --> 00:24:15,031 Memphis Teacher Residency Program is moving it to 588 00:24:15,031 --> 00:24:16,031 Crosstown. 589 00:24:16,031 --> 00:24:18,031 And that's another thing that, you know, 590 00:24:18,031 --> 00:24:20,031 there was so much going on with schools and education reform 591 00:24:20,031 --> 00:24:22,031 that, you know, everyone would say -- Well thats Norris Todd, 592 00:24:22,031 --> 00:24:23,031 the bill that you authored. 593 00:24:23,031 --> 00:24:25,031 But actually, there were all these parallel issues of 594 00:24:25,031 --> 00:24:28,498 changing, you know, the way tenure and seniority and the 595 00:24:28,498 --> 00:24:29,498 negotiating. 596 00:24:29,498 --> 00:24:31,498 Again, teachers unions don't like it. 597 00:24:31,498 --> 00:24:34,498 I won't take a stand on that but it was a radical change that 598 00:24:34,498 --> 00:24:37,464 sort of got missed, the change in the way teachers would be 599 00:24:37,464 --> 00:24:40,898 paid, signed, negotiate contracts had nothing to do with 600 00:24:40,898 --> 00:24:41,898 Norris Todd. 601 00:24:41,898 --> 00:24:43,898 It just happened at the same time. 602 00:24:43,898 --> 00:24:44,898 That's right. 603 00:24:44,898 --> 00:24:45,898 And we needed to move up. 604 00:24:45,898 --> 00:24:47,898 I mean we're going from almost at the bottom of the pile 605 00:24:47,898 --> 00:24:48,898 nationwide. 606 00:24:48,898 --> 00:24:49,898 We're now moving on up. 607 00:24:49,898 --> 00:24:51,231 And that's what we need to do. 608 00:24:51,231 --> 00:24:53,231 And we've got a lot further to go. 609 00:24:53,231 --> 00:24:55,231 We got just a minute and a half left. 610 00:24:55,231 --> 00:24:56,898 You -- Annexation moritorium. 611 00:24:56,898 --> 00:24:58,198 You chair that commission. 612 00:24:58,198 --> 00:25:00,698 I think you guys just recently came out and said let's keep 613 00:25:00,698 --> 00:25:02,698 that moritorium in place for another year. 614 00:25:02,698 --> 00:25:06,464 It's all part of the old public chapter 1101 and the growth 615 00:25:06,464 --> 00:25:07,464 planning act. 616 00:25:07,464 --> 00:25:10,631 And now whether the general assembly agrees with that or 617 00:25:10,631 --> 00:25:13,698 whether they forge ahead to amend the law to allow everybody 618 00:25:13,698 --> 00:25:17,798 to vote on annexation rather than annexation by ordinance. 619 00:25:17,798 --> 00:25:19,798 I mean there are a lot of us who favor that. 620 00:25:19,798 --> 00:25:20,798 Favor which? 621 00:25:20,798 --> 00:25:22,698 Favor the right to vote. 622 00:25:22,698 --> 00:25:23,698 I'm one of them. 623 00:25:23,698 --> 00:25:25,831 But as chairman of the advisory commission, 624 00:25:25,831 --> 00:25:29,098 I also realize that their collateral issues and 625 00:25:29,098 --> 00:25:32,164 ramifications that go along with that with the city's been 626 00:25:32,164 --> 00:25:34,931 counting on it's right to expand in an urban growth area and all 627 00:25:34,931 --> 00:25:36,931 of a sudden, the general assembly takes it away. 628 00:25:36,931 --> 00:25:41,198 What if any affect does that have on the city's growth plan, 629 00:25:41,198 --> 00:25:42,198 you know? 630 00:25:42,198 --> 00:25:43,198 Just a couple more. 631 00:25:43,198 --> 00:25:44,198 Just 30 seconds here. 632 00:25:44,198 --> 00:25:46,198 Guns, guns in bars, guns in restaurants. 633 00:25:46,198 --> 00:25:48,198 Where else are we putting or not putting guns in the next 634 00:25:48,198 --> 00:25:49,198 session? 635 00:25:49,198 --> 00:25:50,198 Any ideas? 636 00:25:50,198 --> 00:25:52,998 I think we keep them where ever folks have the right to keep and 637 00:25:52,998 --> 00:25:53,998 bear them. 638 00:25:53,998 --> 00:25:55,998 But are there any new places that are gonna be allowed? 639 00:25:55,998 --> 00:25:59,764 Somebody will file legislation about it because they always do. 640 00:25:59,764 --> 00:26:02,164 But the second amendment will be upheld, 641 00:26:02,164 --> 00:26:03,198 I assure you. 642 00:26:03,198 --> 00:26:04,198 And any..? 643 00:26:04,198 --> 00:26:06,198 Lasy year there was some big funding I think you were very 644 00:26:06,198 --> 00:26:09,798 proud of for the medical school here at UT and for the 645 00:26:09,798 --> 00:26:10,898 University of Memphis. 646 00:26:10,898 --> 00:26:12,398 Anything more on that front? 647 00:26:12,398 --> 00:26:15,531 No, we continue to work on higher ed though and stay tuned. 648 00:26:15,531 --> 00:26:16,531 Have me back and I'll tell you. 649 00:26:16,531 --> 00:26:17,531 We will. 650 00:26:17,531 --> 00:26:18,531 Thanks for joining us. 651 00:26:18,531 --> 00:26:19,598 Thank you for joining us. 652 00:26:19,598 --> 00:26:20,764 Join us again next week. 653 00:26:20,764 --> 00:26:21,998 Goodnight. 654 00:26:21,998 --> 00:26:27,998 CLOSED CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY WKNO - MEMPHIS.