May 27, 2005

Busting the Cap

The Tennessee legislature is prepared to exceeed the state constitution's cap on the annual growth rate of state spending for the 13th time in 21 years - if Gov. Phil Bredesen requests it. But so far it appears the Bredesen administration will not ask the legislature to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in excess of that spending cap like the administration did last year.

The state constitution limits the year-over-year growth of state spending to the rate of economic growth in the state, and has done so since voters approved an amendment in 1978 authored by then-state Rep. David Copeland. But the Copeland Cap, as it is called, has a giant loophole: The legislature can simply pass a law designating the dollar amount and percentage by which they can exceed the cap, rendering the cap toothless. And they don't need a two-thirds majority to exceed the cap - a simple majority, the same number of votes needed to pass the budget, will do.

Since 1985, governors of both parties - Republican Lamar Alexander, Democrat Ned McWherter, Republican Don Sundquist and Democrat Phil Bredesen - have worked hand in hand with the Democratic-led legislature to exceed the growth cap 13 times in 20 years, by a cumulative $3.275 billion. Last year, Bredesen and the legislature agreed to spend $275 million in excess of the cap. The year before,

Now, legislation is ready in the state House and state Senate to allow them to do so again. HB2329 and SB 2313, are written to allow the state to exceed the cap by $100,000, or 0.0001 percent over the cap allowed by the state's economic growth rate. That's clearly just a placeholder, to be amended at the last minute if the final budget deal requires it.

The legislation is sponsored in the state Senate by state Sen. Doug Henry, D-Nashville, and state Sen. Jim Kyle, D-Memphis, and in the House by members Kim McMillan, D-Clarksville; Craig Fitzhugh, D-Ripley; Harry Tindell, D-Knoxville, and Johnny Shaw, D-Bolivar.

All Democrats.

Will it be necessary? Perhaps not this year, reports state Rep. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, who told me in an email: "It looks right now like we won't have to break the Copeland amendment, but we still haven't been given a final draft on the Budget amendment."

That's potentially good news.
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For more scrutiny of the Bredesen record, see Bredesen Watch.