LUCAS L. JOHNSON II, Associated Press Writer
NASHVILLE – Tennessee lawmakers begin the second session of the 106th General Assembly on Monday mindful of the constitutional obligation to balance a budget that’s facing a shortfall of nearly a billion dollars and expecting to tackle only a few other major issues.
“I’m going to try to file as little legislation as possible so I can spend as much time as possible focusing on the budget because it’s going to be a monumental task,” said House Majority Leader Jason Mumpower, R-Bristol.
Although the legislature has been meeting for two weeks, that was for a special session called by Gov. Phil Bredesen to enact major changes to education in Tennessee. Lawmakers largely gave Bredesen what he asked for – including evaluating K-12 teacher performance based on standardized test scores and reworking the funding formula for colleges and universities to emphasize graduation rates.
When lawmakers reconvene in regular session Monday evening, they are expected to turn their attention to some bills that revisit the issues of guns in bars and in-session campaign fundraising and possibly some new matters, such as school vouchers. But the tight budget and the pressures of an election year – when all the House and half the Senate seats are on the ballot – will set the tone and scope of the session, lawmakers say.