Gov. Bill Lee kicked off his second term, promising to focus over the next four years on improving aging transportation systems, advocating for better conservation efforts and protecting the state’s most vulnerable children.
Lee, a Republican, took the oath of office in front of the Tennessee Capitol on a bright sunny day – marking a stark difference to the governor’s first inauguration when harsh weather forced the historically held outdoor ceremony into a smaller inside venue.
Lee pointed to his push to revamp the state’s complicated education funding system as top accomplishments of his first term, as well as his administration’s work with Ford Motor Co. to build an electric vehicle and battery plant near Memphis.
Yet Lee acknowledged that his first term involved deep challenges ranging from overseeing the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple fatal tornadoes, catastrophic flooding, wildfires and the 2020 Christmas morning bombing in downtown Nashville. Lee’s wife, Maria, has also been diagnosed with cancer and is receiving treatments for lymphoma.
“While Maria and I are in a time of struggle, we know that we are not alone in these hardships,” Lee says.
The 63-year-old governor stressed his commitment to civility and dismissed critics of his administration “who thrive on toxic incivility and divisiveness.” It’s been a theme throughout that Lee has repeated ever since he launched his political career in 2017 with his first run for governor.
Lee’s comments come as he has signed off on a wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation throughout his first term. and has strongly defended Tennessee’s abortion ban – which is one of the country’s strictest – and downplayed calls to add exemptions to the law.
Most recently, Lee’s Department of Health announced it would forgo federal funding to treat and prevent HIV that critics have alleged was a move to stop working with Planned Parenthood.
With his eye on his next term, Lee once again touted his sweeping transportation proposal, which will need legislative approval in the coming weeks. He then pushed for the need to “enhance efforts to conserve our natural resources and preserve the environment.” The governor did not, however, expand on what environmental conservation actions he would pursue.
Statewide unemployment holds steady at 3.5%
Tennessee ended 2022 with continued low unemployment across the state. The seasonally adjusted rate for December came in at 3.5%, which was unchanged from November. For the entirety of 2022, the statewide unemployment rate reached a low of 3.2% and never went above 3.5%.
In a year-to-year comparison, the statewide unemployment rate is down 0.1% from 3.6% to 3.5%.
Tennessee employers sustained job growth in December, adding 1,500 nonfarm positions statewide. The largest increase came in the trade, transportation and utilities sector. The government sector added the second-largest number of jobs, followed by the mining, logging and construction sector.
Over the year, Tennessee’s businesses helped the state’s economy grow with an increase of 104,800 new nonfarm jobs. The education and health services sector experienced the largest increase in new jobs, followed by the trade, transportation and utilities sector, and then the leisure and hospitality sector.
Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased slightly when compared to November, down 0.1% to 3.5%.
Farmers can buy more tax free in ’23
The Tennessee Department of Revenue and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture is reminding farmers, timber harvesters, and nursery operators that they can buy more items tax-free in 2023.
Under a new state law that took effect Jan. 1, qualified farmers and nursery operators may purchase building material, fencing material, warranties, and most other items of tangible personal property used primarily in agricultural operations exempt from sales and use tax.
To purchase farm equipment and machinery tax-free, farmers must show their Tennessee sales tax exemption card. To obtain a card, farmers should complete the Agricultural Sales and Use Tax Exemption application.
Automobiles, trucks, household appliances, and gasoline or diesel fuel used in vehicles operated upon public highways remain subject to sales tax. Additionally, contractors and subcontractors who use property in the performance of a contract with a qualified farmer or nursery operator are subject to sales and use tax on that property.
Health Care Council sets first conference
The Nashville Health Care Council announced its inaugural Nashville Healthcare Sessions conference, a weeklong series of events designed to gather forward-thinking health care, finance and innovation leaders in an engaging environment.
Scheduled for Sept. 18-22, Nashville Healthcare Sessions will allow attendees from Nashville and across the country to connect in person and spark meaningful conversations about the future of health care at scale.
Building on the Council’s legacy of convening the brightest minds in health care, the conference will feature content and activities that inspire collaboration and entrepreneurship.
Nashville is home to 400 health care companies – in addition to 500 professional service firms providing expertise to the industry – and 18 publicly traded health care organizations that contribute $95 billion to the nation’s economy, according to the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Council’s annual report.
Registration will be available mid-February. Learn more about the Nashville Healthcare Sessions event on the Council’s website.
Yellow Corp. graduates 1,000 CDL drivers in ’22
In its effort to help train the next generation of professional truck drivers, Yellow Corporation announced it graduated more than 1,000 CDL apprentices from its network of Driving Academies in 2022.
While expanding its Driving Academy program to 21 locations across 16 states, Yellow set the 1,000-graduate goal in early 2022. On Dec. 22, the graduation of six student drivers from Yellow’s South Bend, Indiana Driving Academy officially surpassed 1,000 graduates for the year.
“This is an enormous accomplishment for our company that involved hard work and tremendous dedication from our students, instructors and safety trainers across the country,” says Darren Hawkins, CEO of Yellow. “Operating our own academies not only ensures that we have the most qualified and skilled drivers on the road, it also helps address a shortage of professional drivers across the nation.”
Yellow’s Driving Academies are tuition-free for all participants, and student apprentices are paid an hourly wage for their work throughout the program.
Metro Action out of housing payment funds
The Metropolitan Action Commission announced that the remaining funds to help with rental assistance and other emergency assistance has run out.
Although Metro Action still has funding available to help with utility payments, the agency is concerned about the impact limited funding to help with rent, mortgage and property taxes will have on the community.
“Our agency has the largest capacity and funding to help household expenses for residents with low to moderate incomes,” says Metro Action executive director Cynthia Croom. “When we are out of funding that leaves a large void in the level of support offered to residents who need help.”
The agency’s yearly rental assistance program helps income eligible residents who are experiencing a temporary interruption in income due to layoffs, illness or other emergencies to receive one-time help with rent for one-month.
Metro Action has spent its entire emergency assistance budget of nearly $475,000 just three months into the new application period, which had previously carried the program through the entire 12-month application period.
Receiving funding through the U.S. Department of the Treasury allowed the agency to greatly increase the level of help available. In 2021, the city was awarded the Emergency Rental Assistance grant to help COVID impacted residents to catch up on rent up to 15 months in arrears.
This funding allowed the agency through its HOPE program to help 8,075 unique households covering over $67 million in housing debt for Davidson County.
Metro Action has reached out to its funders for additional support but does not anticipate any additional funding before early summer.
In addition to rental assistance, Metro Action is also out of funding for help with mortgage payments, utility and rental deposits, property taxes, prescriptions and prescribed supplemental nutrition items. However, the agency can still help with utility payments such as electricity, natural gas and water payments.
VUMC surgeons deploy new cancer surgery tech
Doctors at Vanderbilt University Medical Center treated a pancreatic cancer patient using IntraOp Mobetron IORT with electrons – the first surgery performed in Tennessee with this new technology utilizing intraoperative radiotherapy in the operating room.
The patient had been told her tumor was inoperable because of its proximity to major blood vessels, including the aorta. The procedure was performed by surgical oncologist Dr. Kamran Idrees, Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research, and radiation oncologist Dr. Natalie Lockney, assistant professor of Radiation Oncology.
Vanderbilt, the only Center of Excellence for pancreatic cancer in Tennessee as designated by the National Pancreas Foundation, is also the only hospital in the state with this advanced surgical technology. Idrees specializes in treating complex cancers of the pancreas, liver and bile ducts that may involve major blood vessels and adjacent organs. His patients include people with pancreatic and other abdominal cancers who have been told their tumors are inoperable.
“We are encouraged by the results of treating localized pancreatic cancer with electrons during surgery,” says Idrees, chief of the division of surgical oncology and endocrine surgery. “We serve our patients by implementing the latest innovations at Vanderbilt to improve outcomes.”
Pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest forms of cancer. The location of the pancreas with its proximity to major vessels, duodenum, stomach, small and large bowel, liver and kidneys makes precision critical.
“With the precision of intraoperative radiation therapy, we can target any remaining cancer cells on or near blood vessels to vital organs to preserve them. With this technology, we can precisely give radiation to the area of concern during surgery while avoiding radiation to other organs,” Idrees says.