A speed camera on Barton Avenue in North Chattanooga.Dozens of new laws are taking effect today, the start of the new fiscal year, including a measure that toughens teacher tenure requirements in Tennessee and one that authorizes the sale of insurance policies across state lines for Georgia residents.
Tennessee’s new tenure law, another bill that took away teachers’ collective bargaining rights and anti-terrorist legislation were the most contentious of roughly 500 bills that passed the Tennessee General Assembly in this year’s session. Opponents showed up at the Capitol to protest the proposals throughout the legislative session.
In Georgia, other new laws allow billboard owners to clear-cut many trees blocking their signs and offer hefty tax breaks to Delta Air Lines, Gulfstream and developers spending $1 million or more to bring tourist attractions to the state. A law cracking down on illegal immigration is also set to take effect, but a federal judge on Monday blocked portions of it.
Under Tennessee’s new tenure law, public school teachers will have to be on the job five years instead of three to get job security. The law also creates a way for tenure to be revoked for poor teaching performance.
Another education-related law taking effect today says third-graders can’t be promoted until they can “perform the skills required in the subject of reading as demonstrated by the student’s grades or standardized test results.”