The Tennessee Tribune

Thursday, July 2 - 8, 2020 • www.TnTribune.com
A7
Democrats Review 111th Legislative Session
By Peter White
unemployed.
“We kept pressuring the administration.
NASHVILLE, TN — In a remote
press conference last week, Democrats
summed up the Tennessee 2020 Legislative
Session. They expressed disappointment
with their Republican colleagues
who control the House and Senate. Tornados,
a pandemic, and a whole bunch of bad
Republican bills did not leave much in the
way of good news to report.
“Tennesseans are worried about the
pandemic, the recession, their healthcare,
their kids’ schools, their parents in nursing
homes, and the justice, if you will, of our
justice system. Instead they got a Governor
Tennessee Democratic Senators in the State Capitol: l-r; Rameush Akbari, Sara Kyle, Katrina
Robinson, Brenda Gilmore, Jeff Yarbro. Twenty-six Democratic House members not pictured.
It was our caucus that pushed the
administration to do all the things that
needed to be done. In essence we became
social workers for our constituents so they
could get their unemployment checks,”
Camper said.
Camper lauded caucus member for
fighting hard for healthcare protections,
for small business funding, and to protect
the state’s schoolchildren.
There was some good news. Senator
Brenda Gilmore (D-Nashville) found a
Republican co-sponsor and managed to
pass a bill that reduces the size of drugmon
and legislature who just couldn’t sumfree
zones around schools and parks.
the strength to lead,” said Senator Jeff catching up to do because they have not passed was not Medicaid expansion, long “It’s something I would like to see
Yarbro (D-Nashville).
been in schools for several months. overdue,” said Stewart. He slammed the done because it will impact the 70 % of
Yarbro said Republicans were “mindbogglingly
out of touch. Rather than step March cut education by $70 million dol-
in the dead of night after they had already can men as a result of the School Zone
“The final budget that we passed in Republicans for passing an abortion bill people in prison who are African Ameri-
up to the challenges of this moment, Republican
fell back into the old habit of diers,”
Akbari said.
the issue.
Undercover narcotics officers have
lars. It took away pay raises for our teach-
announced they were not going to address law,” she said.
visiveness that Tennesseans are sick of,” The democrats were unable to get an Stewart said the abortion bill was been known to lure people into those
he said.
additional $150 million into the budget for passed because Senate and House Republicans
did some horse trading at the last to a young man who made a bad choice 18
zones to make drug buys. That happened
Rep. Harold Love (D-Nashville) said schools. Many districts are facing cutbacks
lawmakers missed a chance to get rid of from their local governments. Akbari said moment before the session ended. House years ago.
the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest on the Knox, Jackson, and Wilson counties will Republicans wanted the bill and gave Senate
Republicans money for things on their sold drugs to an informant, was convicted,
Gilmore said he had unpaid bills and
2nd floor of the State Capitol.
have to lay off teachers and teaching assistants
this year.
wish list in exchange for the Senate ap-
and got a 32-year sentence. It was his first.
“I think it was a missed opportunity
for the legislature not to consider legislation
about how we could de-escalate force, the most support, not the least amount,” Lawmakers attempted to pass a bill that before.
“This is a time when our students need proving the anti-abortion bill.
He had never been in trouble with the law
talk about how we could have bias training,
talk about how we could be more pro-
The Democrats’ plan was to use $150 cessible in the short term and permanently serve out 100 % of whatever your sen-
she said.
would make telemedicine more widely ac-
“There is no probation. You have to
active in the way that we address race and million of COVID relief funds and reallocate
it to the states school system. Under however, the Legislature adjourned before of the people who are in prison have long
expand the use of telemedicine in the state; tence is. That law is really a tragedy. Most
justice in Tennessee.” Love said.
Senator Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis)
talked about education. “This year would have reimbursed the money. Re-
the differing House and Senate versions of would lead them into this zone on purpose
the CARES Act, the federal government a compromise could be reached between sentences and sometimes law enforcement
we know that out schools are facing probably
the biggest trouble of our lifetimes,“ House Democratic Caucus Chair Mike Tennessee House Democratic Caucus She said she hoped to pass a bill next
publicans voted against the idea. the bill.
just to get them trapped,” Gilmore said.
Akbari said.
Stewart (D-Nashville) said the 2020 session
was focused on politics instead of cratic lawmakers for making a concerted get severe drug sentences reduced.
Leader Karen Camper thanked Demo-
year to make the new law retroactive and
In addition to the normal achievement
gaps, she said students will have much peoples’ health.
effort to protect citizens when the pandemic
hit, notably for going to bat for “The ‘signature’ health bill that was
the
Since March Unemployment Office Failed to Meet Federal Standard
By Peter White
NASHVILLE, TN – Latest figures
from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics
show Tennessee failed to meet the federal
payment standard in March, April, and
May.
“We have consistently exceeded the requirement
of the federal government on the
days it takes to pay a claim. The requirement
is 87% of claims being paid within
21 days or less and we have exceeded that
throughout the pandemic,” Lee told reporters
on June 5.
That could be true if you don’t count
the thousands of unemployed workers
who tried to apply for unemployment but
were unsuccessful or denied—even though
many of them have valid claims.
We asked the Governor’s office and Department
of Labor for a comment. Department
spokesperson Chris Cannon said the
vendor, GeoGraphic Solutions, designed a
program within Jobs4TN.gov that “incorporates
new rules regarding the Pandemic
Unemployment Assistance program.” From
the user’s POV, the Jobs4TN.gov is a failed
computer program that should be abandoned.
Latest figures show the Tennessee Department
of Labor paid 74 % of claims in
May. In April, the department paid 70.6 %;
in March it paid just 14.7 % of claims. June
figures are not available yet.
As the Tribune has reported, tens of
thousands of unemployed workers in Tennessee
have been unable to file unemployment
claims because the department
NASHVILLE, TN —
The Tennessean honored
the Tennessee Secretary
of State as one of the Top
Workplaces for the second
year in a row.
“We are pleased to be
recognized as a top workplace
again this year,”
said Secretary of State Tre
Hargett. “We strive to attract,
retain and inspire the
best team in state government.
Our people are the
driving force behind our
success, and I’m honored to
help develop and lead our
strong team.”
The Tennessee Department
of State is one of the
most functionally diverse
departments in state government
with oversight of
elections, the state library
and archives, administrative
law judges, and business
and charitable filings.
“Each day our team
works to exceed the expectations
of our customers, by
operating at the highest levels
of accuracy, cost-effectiveness
and accountability
in a customer-centered environment,”
said Secretary
Hargett.
The Tennessean’s Top
Workplaces list is based
solely on employee surveys.
These anonymous surveys
Governor Bill Lee appointed Jeff McCord
Commissioner for the Tennessee Department
of Labor and Workforce Development in
January 2019.
website makes it either very difficult or
downright impossible to file a claim without
being denied or kicked out of the system
and into computer limbo. You have to
file an appeal to get “reconsidered.” Applicants
say that is fraught with problems, too.
Neither the Department of Labor nor
the Governor have apologized to the thousands
of unemployed workers who have
been denied benefits they are owed.
At best, government officials say they
are doing the best they can. At worst, they
insist the system is working. “There are no
indications of systematic errors in the Department’s
decisions regarding the denial
of unemployment benefits. Any worker or
employer who feels the Department’s decision
was made in error has the right to appeal
that decision,” Cannon said.
The only problem with that “explanation”
is that it puts the onus on the worker
TN Secretary of State Named One of
Middle Tennessee’s Top Workplaces
measured engaged cultures
that are critical to the success
of any organization.
Employee feedback was
gathered through a thirdparty
survey administered
by Energage, LLC. The
survey uniquely measures
15 drivers of job satisfaction
and employee engagement,
including company
leadership, communication,
career opportunities, working
environment, managerial
skills, pay and benefits.
For more information
about the Top Workplaces
2020, please visit https://
www.tennessean.com/.
for failing to navigate a system that denied
benefits in the first place. (See https://tntribune.com/thousands-still-arent-collectingunemployment/)
The Pandemic Emergency Unemployment
Compensation program (PEUC) and
the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
program (PUA) use federal funds Congress
included in the Cares Act. The PEUC
extends benefits to unemployed workers
whose regular benefits have expired. The
PUA program is for gig workers.
Both have fewer qualifying requirements
than filing a regular unemployment
claim. That was the point: get money into
the hands of unemployed workers who have
lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic.
By Peter White
NASHVILLE, TN –
Chancellor Ellen Hobbes
Lyle has invalidated the $218
million soccer stadium construction
contract between
Metro and Mortenson/Messer.
The deal was approved
at meeting of the Sports Authority
in August 2018 with
just 48 hours notice. Five
days notice is required so the
public can comment. Unlike
re-bidding the construction
contract, which Lyle did not
order, the “do-over” is just
an inconvenience to plans to
build a MLS stadium at the
Fairgrounds.
The lack of public notice
is symptomatic of a deeper
corruption in Music City that
has metastasized inside the
body politic. It shows how
the politically well-connected
get special treatment from
City Hall, City Council, and
Metro departments.
City personnel did not
award the voided contract
impartially. At least one
judge, who was not a Metro
employee, had ties to the
team. There were also nonvoting
advisors involved in
vetting the various proposals
who had ties to the team. (See
At Fairgrounds ‘Mistakes
Were Made’ and City Hall
Made Them,” Tennessee Tribune
November 1, 2019.)
Lyle has not allowed the
plaintiffs in the Fairgrounds
lawsuit to question people
involved in the bidding. If the
allegations are true, and they
are, somebody would likely
go to jail.
However, District Attorney
General Glenn Funk has
not opened an investigation
into the matter and probably
won’t. His white-collar crime
investigator has known about
the details for months.
The committee that decided
the winner didn’t even
award the contract to the
lowest qualified bidder. (See
Were Fairgrounds Soccer
Contracts Fixed? Tennessee
Tribune, October 11, 2019.)
Once a vocal critic of the
stadium deal, Mayor John
Some states have relaxed the rules on
regular unemployment claims for the same
reason. For example, it makes no sense to
enforce the requirement to actively seek
work while someone is under a stay at home
order or in quarantine. Tennessee is not one
of the states that make applying for unemployment
easier. It is making it harder.
Elected officials have been hearing
about that from their constituents.
Cannon said the Labor Department has
received inquiries regarding constituent
unemployment claims from each of the 132
members of the Tennessee General Assembly,
along with nine U.S. Congressman,
and Tennessee’s two U.S. Senators.
Judge Makes Sports Authority
Vote Again on Stadium
Chancellor Ellen Hobbes Lyle
INDEX Classifieds...B9 | Education...A8| Entertainment...B2 | Health & Wellness...B6 | Op-Ed...A4 | Religion/Faith...B7 | Sports...B4
Cooper could have fired several
people involved after
he was elected in September
2019. But he didn’t act.
And later he bowed to pressure
from the Council and
the Chamber of Commerce.
Save Our Fairgrounds says
he’s “gone over to the dark
side.”
In April, Mortenson
Construction agreed to
pay a $650,000 fine for using
inside information to get
a contract to expand Denver’s
Convention Center. The
$233 million rooftop expansion
project was halted in December
2018 after the Denver
Post exposed the bid-rigging.
What happened in Nashville
is arguably much worse.
Mortenson did not have
to admit guilt in the Denver
case but agreed to donate
another $650,000 of in-kind
services related to combating
the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Mortensen executives involved
in the scandal have
to donate their time in community
service as part of the
settlement.
While that is unlikely to happen
in Music City, a December
referendum could throw a monkey
wrench into all the scheming
and conniving that went
into the soccer stadium deal.