A Better Tennessee

On April 22, the 109th General Assembly adjourned sine die. This session was an extremely memorable and productive one for many reasons. But I will remember it most because it will be my last.
 
As many of you know, earlier this year I decided after 24 years in the legislature and 10 years as your lieutenant governor that I would return to private life to focus on my auction business and -- most importantly -- my growing family.
 
As I have said many times in the weeks following my announcement, this was not a decision I made lightly. It was a decision that I struggled with but one with which I am overwhelmingly comfortable.
 
The importance of family cannot be overstated. I am blessed to be in a position to spend time with mine -- and I am going to take advantage of it.
 
In the weeks following my decision, the outpouring of positive conversations, texts and emails have been overwhelming. I thank each and every one of you that shared your thoughts.
 
I am truly humbled. I am truly blessed.
 
When I set out to achieve a majority in the Senate and become Speaker, it was not just so that I could have the big office and be called “Governor.” Although, don’t get me wrong -- that part has been pretty cool.
 
I set out to be Speaker because I saw problems that needed solving. I saw wrongs that needed righting. Put simply: certain things had to get done. Whether it was education reform, judicial reform or tax reform, I had goals I wanted to achieve. Many of those goals -- more than I ever could have imagined -- have been met.
 
While leaving a place you have spent so much time in is never easy, I can do so knowing that my mission has been accomplished. I can say emphatically and without irony: My job here is done.
 
This is not to say that there are not still mountains left to climb and work to be done. Not at all. Those are just mountains and work for others who have heard the call to service.
 
Tennessee is lucky to have many great men and women serving our state. I take immense comfort in the fact that there are so many ready, willing and able to preserve and extend the work you and I have done together.
 
Reaching the end of Hall
 
One of the greatest accomplishments in my time at the legislature was the defeat of the income tax. Eventually, that victory against an earned income tax was written into our constitution in the form of a constitutional amendment. But when folks would declare Tennessee “income tax-free,” I would always cringe because it wasn’t the whole truth.
 
That’s because of the Hall tax on interest and dividends. For years, I have railed against this tax because it punishes the very things we encourage as conservatives. We tell people to be responsible and save and invest for retirement -- and then we tax the earnings they receive for being responsible. It is a tax on savings, investment and, worst of all, responsibility.
 
In past years, we were successful in raising exemption rates so that fewer and fewer paid the tax -- especially those of retirement age. But it was not until this year that we took the final steps to end the tax. Next year, the tax rate on savings and investment goes from 6% to 5% and by January 1, 2022, the Hall Income Tax will no longer be collected and will be eliminated as a legal means of taxation in Tennessee.
 
This is a tremendous achievement and I am grateful that I was able to preside over the beginning of the end of this pernicious tax.
 
The Hall tax was just one of many great victories in this past session. Governor Haslam spearheaded a much-needed initiative to reform higher education which I hope will pay dividends in the years to come.
 
We also saw great strides made in attacking the scourge of opiate addiction in Tennessee. This problem needs to be stopped cold. If we fail to attack this problem head on, we risk losing an entire generation.
 
We also reaffirmed our commitment to veterans. The legislature increased property tax relief for 100 percent service-related disabled veterans and/or their widows or widowers, by repealing the income cap put in place last year.  The bill, Senate Bill 1796, raises the property value limit for the elderly disabled from $23,000 to $23,500.
 
We once again passed a balanced budget which included nearly $104.6 million for increasing teacher pay and $100 million in the state's Rainy Day fund.
 
Due to the great work of the General Assembly this year, Tennessee remains the best state in the nation in which to live, work and raise a family.
 
But we did not get where we are by luck or chance. It took hard work.
 
Mission majority
 
The reason that we can make the types of changes we have made over the past few years is the majorities we have achieved. I have often said it matters who governs. The past ten years -- especially the last six -- is testament to that.
 
I have seen and overseen great changes here in Nashville and across the Great State of Tennessee. These are historic changes. When I was first elected in 1992, Bill Clinton had just been elected president. Ned McWherter was our governor. Democrats ran the state legislature and controlled the judiciary.
 
Times have changed -- to say the least. I am proud to say I had a little something to do with that.
 
We now have a Republican governor and supermajorities in both chambers of the General Assembly. And critically, due to our efforts, the state Supreme Court now has a Republican majority and we have the first Republican attorney general in state history.
 
In the Senate, our majority is 28 to 5. Literally, a historic majority. These majorities allow us to enact real change and put conservative principles into action.
 
Generational reform
 
One way we have changed is indisputable.
 
Tennessee has always been, more or less, a fiscally well-run state -- but in many other ways it fell far short. Education is the most glaring example. The overriding principle for those of us who serve the public should be to leave the state better off than when we found it.
 
All of us who served these past few years can be proud that we acted on that principle.
 
The stats are indisputable. There is no room for debate: Tennessee education is the most improved in the nation. And I believe it will continue to be so.
 
Reforming teacher tenure, implementing high Tennessee standards, expanding charter schools -- these actions are starting to make an impact.
 
This accomplishment exceeds all others in my mind.  Education reform is not just something that helps Tennesseans today - it is a generational accomplishment.
 
We have set in motion the process by which Tennesseans will outshine all others in the years to come. In fact, the true extent of our reforms will not show up for years when future Tennesseans not only survive, but thrive, in the new global economy.
 
Of course, education is just the tip of the iceberg.
 
Spreading the message
 
When I arrived in Nashville, Republicans were a silent minority. They served their constituents well. But governing as a unified majority was not even contemplated.
 
We changed that. We brought ideas forward and stood up for them. We championed the cause of conservatism: Low taxes, fiscal responsibility, smaller government and traditional values.
 
I travelled the state spreading the message of conservatism. I recruited some of you to help me. And we changed this Senate. We changed this General Assembly. We changed the state ofTennessee.
 
We are now a state celebrated for our pro-business environment. This is not a matter of luck. Our reputation is based on the tangible reforms we made. Workmen’s compensation reform, tort reform, unemployment reform -- all of these reforms feed our reputation and result in one thing: jobs. Today, more Tennesseans have jobs than at any time in recent history.
 
At the same time we were creating an environment that resulted in jobs, we were hard at work making sure workers got to keep more of the money they made. We put in place a constitutional amendment to prohibit a state income tax. We eliminated the death tax so that no one must be taxed after they die. We eliminated the gift tax and reduced the tax on food.
 
We have also right-sized government, put our fiscal house in order and restored our AAA credit rating. We cut more than $500 million in recurring spending and shrank the overall size of state government by 10%. And we saved money for a rainy day.
 
We are now the least indebted state in the nation. We cut taxes and made our government smaller -- and more transparent.
 
Winning the culture war in state government
 
State government is now more accessible to its people. Not only is it smaller and more customer-focused, it is more open and ethical.
 
Gone are the days of Tennessee Waltz and John Ford. The people’s business is conducted in public, live on the internet and archived for posterity. In fact, we have won awards -- repeatedly -- for our efforts to leverage technology for the benefit of our citizens.
 
My mantra has for many years has been “It matters who governs.” Those words are not just a throwaway line. I don’t say it because it sounds good. It means something.
 
Politics is not just about competing ideologies and legal interpretations. It is not just about “who gets what.” It is about who are. It is about people.
 
You can have all the great ideas in the world. But if you don’t have the right person in the right position making decisions, it all falls apart. Personnel is policy -- and I leave here confident that people of Tennessee are in good hands.
 
The gift of gratitude
 
Every moment I served as Lt. Governor I stood on the shoulders of the senators and staff members that served along with me. In every step towards the majority, I was lifted up by the operatives and activists that assisted in the cause. No man is an island and I certainly did not do any of this alone.
 
Quite simply, my “legacy,” if I am to have one, is each and every one of you. Whether you are a voter, grassroots activist, fellow senator, member of the staff or an intern at the General Assembly -- your work continues. My tenure in the General Assembly is only the beginning. The work of this majority continues with you.
 
Let me close by saying again that serving in the General Assembly has been an honor. Walking the halls of the legislature and entering the Senate chamber beats almost anything I have experienced.
 
This is not anything I ever envisioned when I was a boy growing up on a farm in Blountville. If you had told me back then where I’d be now, I would thought you were crazy. Even if you had travelled back in time with documentable evidence and showed that evidence to my younger self, I would have assumed you were playing an elaborate practical joke.
 
I have often said that I am living the dream -- and I am. But it is more than just a dream.
 
It is history. I have been proud to be part of it and honored to stand with you in this cause. I am going back home but I will not be a stranger. I will still be involved in this cause of ours. I trust that you will, too.
 
God bless you and God bless the state of Tennessee.

Filed under: Blog Post