NASHVILLE – The political honeymoon between Gov. Bill Haslam and the Legislature’s Republican supermajority, subject to occasional minor spats over the past years and a big one at the outset of last year’s legislative session, seems pretty much over as the 2016 session begins.
The governor has dedicated himself to avoiding conflict with more conservative Republicans on social issues while successfully pushing business-friendly policies where a GOP consensus was easily achieved in the political matrimony that came after Haslam took office in January of 2011.
Examples include “tort reform” limits on damages awards in lawsuits and abolishing the civil service system for state employees, replacing it with a system where salaries are based on administration-rated performance. The state’s inheritance tax – called “the death tax” by Republicans – was phased out. The last step – applying the tax only to estates valued at more than $5 million – was fully repealed effective Jan. 1, 2016, under the phase-out that began with a 2012 bill.
Read more from our news partner at KnoxNews.com.