Representative Ryan Williams said he plans to work this summer and fall to find a way to allow counties to keep some of the money the state collects for real estate sales.
Williams said he has been working on this issue for five years. Williams said, as it stands right now, the state receives all of that revenue. Williams said that was not the case before 2000.
“And so, we’ve been working with county leaders like Randy Porter and others here in the community about trying to find a way to phase that back in,” Williams said. “So we can return some of those dollars back to local government which would help them meet their requirements they have in our own local communities here.”
Williams said, right now, the state gets some $144 Million a year in real estate transfer tax. Williams said this is money the state would lose if it all goes back to the counties. Williams said he is hopeful lawmakers can come up with way for the counties to get back some of those dollars.
“I look forward to working with the governor’s office and my colleagues in the other chamber, about trying to make sure that does happen next year,” Williams said. “At least in a phased in way or method similar to what we did with the whole income several years ago.”
Last fall, several county governments passed a resolution from the State Association of County Mayors requesting the General Assembly allocate half of the real estate transfer tax to each county. The current real estate transfer tax is thirty-seven cents per one-hundred dollars.
Williams said another issue he worked on this legislative session was the Corporate Practice of Medicine Law in Tennessee. Williams said he is proud the bill he proposed passed which will allow certain hospitals to contract directly with providers instead of having to go through a third party vendor.
“So it’s going to dramatically change the way we deliver healthcare and also deal with the issues surrounding workforce development in growing healthcare providers here in the Upper Cumberland,” Williams said.