Governor mulls Camper request for Memphis block grant public hearing
Gov. Bill Lee is considering scheduling a Memphis public hearing on his Medicaid block grant proposal at the urging of House Minority Leader Karen Camper.
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Gov. Bill Lee is considering scheduling a Memphis public hearing on his Medicaid block grant proposal at the urging of House Minority Leader Karen Camper.
Citing the large number of people likely impacted in Memphis, House Minority Leader Karen Camper is urging Gov. Bill Lee to schedule a Shelby County public hearing on the state’s Medicaid block grant proposal.
Congressman Steve Cohen is urging a federal official to reject Tennessee’s block grant proposal for Medicaid funds, saying it would violate federal law and “inflict serious harm to recipients in Memphis and Shelby County.”
Gov. Bill Lee’s $7.85 billion “modified” block grant proposal is drawing support from conservative backers and criticism from patient advocates who believe it will take people off the TennCare rolls.
Tennessee could draw up to $1 billion more in Medicaid funds annually to increase services and possibly add people to TennCare if the federal government agrees to a “modified” block grant proposal, according to Gov. Bill Lee. But no public hearing is scheduled for Memphis.
A federal judge Thursday blocked the state’s new voter registration law, a reaction to a large number of applications filed in Shelby County in 2018.
Governor promises a better TennCare program will add services or people, but House Minority Leader Camper believes conventional Medicaid expansion is the right way to go.
Gov. Bill Lee said Friday he believes the state must follow the law and try to avert tension in immigrant communities, even as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conduct roundups and hunt for people in the country illegally.
State Reps. Mark White and Tom Leatherwood flew to Shelby County with Gov. Bill Lee for a Republican Party event Aug. 23, but both say it was no perk for their votes in favor of the governor’s education savings account bill during the regular session.
The local Republican party will win elections again, the chairman of the Shelby County GOP vowed Friday at the party’s annual Lincoln Day Gala.
Read to be Ready camps first opened in 2016, and Tennessee has expanded the program annually with funding from the U.S. Department of Human Services. But state officials learned in January that the federal grant now has to be used for child care programs.
The push is alarming voucher opponents, who worry that an accelerated rollout will be more prone to fraud in how the accounts, which will be loaded with an average of $7,300 a year, are used.
Gov. Bill Lee said the state, which began its new fiscal year on July 1, has enough money to start the education savings account program for the 2020-21 school year. His decision to work toward an early rollout caught even some staff members in his education department off guard.
Even with a new House Speaker taking office, federal and state agents are still looking into allegations former Speaker Glen Casada made illicit offers in return for voucher votes this spring.
University of Tennessee mascot Smokey X almost refused to look at Gov. Bill Lee, an Auburn graduate, Thursday before a bill-signing ceremony designating the bluetick coonhound as the official state dog.
Next fall, thousands of Memphis children will qualify to participate in the new Education Savings Accounts (ESA) Program. They can receive about $7,300 in the account, which can be used for tuition at private schools, tutoring, textbooks, school uniforms and computers.
With a Blue Alert in effect, Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessee law enforcement officials are asking state residents to be on the lookout for Curtis Watson, a man accused of killing a West Tennessee State Penitentiary administrator and escaping from the prison grounds on a tractor.
House Speaker nominee Cameron Sexton is opening the door for talks on removal of the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust from the State Capitol.
Gov. Bill Lee is analyzing gun control legislation in the wake of two mass shootings nationally but appears most interested in cybersecurity to stop people who show signs of radicalism or mental “instability.”
Kustoff’s career has mostly centered on federal offices, but if he’s open to another path to advancement, it might be the time for him to start focusing on Tennessee-specific issues that a candidate for governor will have to address.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee seems to have shifted his thinking in recent months on state-sponsored emblems of the Confederacy. If he's willing to go a little further, he could find a real leadership opportunity.
Gov. Bill Lee could be laying the groundwork for action on the State Capitol bust of embattled Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.
State lawmakers are concerned rushing the Education Savings Account program could cause problems in delivery of state funds to student to enroll in private schools.
After saying his office is “exploring” pursuit of a Medicaid block grant, Gov. Bill Lee this week confirmed his administration will make a proposal to the federal government.
Gov. Bill Lee said Thursday he will hold the state’s private prison operator accountable amid a report the number of murders at CoreCivic-run facilities was twice that at Tennessee Department of Correction prisons.