Tennessee Senate Government Operations committee previews self-sufficiency hearings, schedules Jan. 26 joint meeting

Chair Sandra Jackson opened the Tennessee Senate Government Operations Committee’s organizational meeting and said the panel will this month review dozens of agencies and professional boards flagged under the legislature’s self-sufficiency process.

The committee chair, Sandra Jackson, said the panel’s role is legislative oversight of state departments, boards and commissions and that members will review entities’ fee structures and reserve balances as required. "We really actually are the oversight for all of state government, departments, boards, commissions of state government, and make sure they're running efficiently and smoothly," Jackson said.

Why it matters

The committee’s work affects licensing boards and other regulatory entities that rely on fees to operate; if a board fails to collect fees sufficient to cover operating costs for a second year, statute requires it to appear before this committee for a self-sufficiency hearing. Those hearings can lead to legislative changes, including drafting bills to shorten termination dates, restructure authority, or alter fees.

What was said

Doug Garrett of the office of legal services described the statutory trigger for the hearings: "Every year, the commissioner of finance and administration is required by statute to submit the names of those professional regulatory boards . . . that did not during the preceding year collect fees in an amount sufficient to pay the costs of operating those boards and commissions," Garrett said. He said agencies and department heads must testify and explain reasons for any shortfalls and that the committee’s staff will draft legislation when the committee recommends action.

Numbers and next steps

Chair Jackson gave a summary of recent committee workload and the items to be considered this month: 69 governmental entities were reviewed in the past session; audit work included 13 audits covering 15 entities and 54 question-and-answer reviews; the committee has issued average recommended extension periods of about 4.5 years for some entities. Jackson said 24 boards will be heard this month in self-sufficiency reviews — including 16 health-related boards and 8 boards in the Department of Commerce and Insurance’s regulatory division that are operating with a two-year deficit. Jackson noted the committee measures reserves against a standard of roughly 2.5 times operating costs.

The committee set a joint meeting for Jan. 26 at 9:00 a.m. for self-sufficiency and rule review; the transcript did not specify a year for the Jan. 26 meeting. Chair Jackson said future joint meetings will be posted in advance.

Formal action

A motion to adjourn was made and seconded; Chair Jackson declared the meeting adjourned.

Who spoke

Key witnesses and participants who spoke during the meeting included Chair Sandra Jackson; Doug Garrett, Office of Legal Services; and committee members who introduced themselves: Senators Charlene Oliver, Tom Hatcher, Janice Bolling, Paul Rose, Sarah Kyle, Sandra Sutherland, and Jesse Seal. The chair also named staff and Comptroller representatives including research analyst Jay Arnold and Comptroller representative Julie Varejo.

What to watch

The committee’s upcoming self-sufficiency hearings and any draft legislation that results could change termination dates, fee structures or authority for boards that cannot sustain operations from fee revenue. The committee’s staff will draft legislation to reflect recommendations when the committee directs such changes.

The meeting adjourned after the scheduling and procedural items were completed.