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« Over the Backfence | Main | The Nothing Story » July 18, 2007Challenging the Bredesen Administration on Its Copeland Cap Violations
As I reported here on June 13, State Treasurer Dale Sims admitted under questioning by Rep. Lynn on the House floor during the final days of the legislative session that the administration of Gov. Phil Bredesen had calculated the 2007-08 budget's Copeland Cap number using the previous budget year's total state tax revenue as the baseline, rather than on the appropriations from state tax revenue in the 2006-08 budget. (See video at right.) The clear language of both the state constitution and all relevant statutes all say "appropriations" are to be the baseline. Sims claims the state has for years been using revenue rather than appropriations as the baseline. In signing the budget into law, Gov. Bredesen may have signed into law an unconstitutional state budget. Here is the text of Rep. Lynn's letter to AG Cooper: Dear General Cooper:The request may put Cooper in a tight spot - after all, he was appointed by the governor. Also, my sources tell me a lawsuit is in the works that will challenge the constitutionality of the 2007-08 budget and the use of appropriations rather than revenue to calculate the Copeland Cap baseline. Posted in Tennessee Government News
Comments
This will be fascinating to watch. The video clip of Rep Lynn querying Treasurer Dale Sims on the House floor was great drama. It seemed obvious that Sims was admitting that the state was not following what is spelled out in the Copeland Cap. They just sorta used their own interpretation for years. Posted by: Martin Kennedy at July 19, 2007 7:37 AMDoes anyone know how the constitution should be interpreted with respect to the revenue generated by agencies like the Tennessee State School Authority or the Tennessee Housing Authority? These agencies together carry about $1.7 billion dollars of debt but the revenue is not tax money. It looks like the legislature has authorized the State Funding Board to do something similar to fund toll roads. They create an agency authorized to issue bonds(no vote required) but theoretically, the debt does not show up on the state ledgers because the full faith and credit of the state is not pledged to pay them off. The revenue stream coming into these authorities are not taxes. According to the consultants, tax money can go into the authority created but I don't see any revenue going back into TDOT or any other state agency. The preliminary toll rates are 15 cents per mile for SR-475 and the state usually consumes 2 cents per vehicle mile in transportation related taxes for non-toll roads. In an odd way, tolls are not taxes and the revenue streams are not likely to be counted under the Copeland Cap even though the whole system could not exist without the state giving it a legal existence. Posted by: Danny L. Newton at July 19, 2007 9:00 AMPost a comment
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State Rep. Susan Lynn, R-Mt. Juliet, has requested Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper to issue an opinion as to the constitutionality of the method by which the state currently calculates how much it may increase the state budget each year under the Tennessee constitution's provision known as the "Copeland Cap."