Williams Taking A Wait And See Approach To School Voucher Bill
State Representative Ryan Williams said he is taking a “wait and see” approach to Governor Bill Lee’s proposed private school voucher expansion. The Education Freedom Scholarship Act would provide up to 20,000 students $7,075 yearly in tax dollars to attend a private or home school. Williams said he is waiting to make a full assessment […]
Legislators Join Putnam Chamber For State Of The State Luncheon
Infrastructure, mental health, and education among the topics of discussion at the first State of the State Luncheon. Representative Paul Bailey was among the legislators present at Cookeville’s Leslie Town Center Thursday to provide updates on current projects and future initiatives to business leaders in the community. He said the luncheon helps him connect directly […]
Williams Said He Hopes To Work On Returning State Sales Tax In 2024
Efforts to return some sales tax revenue to local municipalities did not make it to the final budget this year. Cities like Cookeville have been fighting for several years to get the money, estimated between $72 and $86 million, returned to the local budget. State Representiative Ryan Williams said because Governor Bill Lee did not […]
Rep. Williams: State And Local Sales Tax Bill Will Be Difficult to Approve
A proposed state and local shared sales tax bill has a slim chance of passing in this general assembly. That’s according to State Representative Ryan Williams. Williams said the challenge for the legislature is that in order to enact the bill, it could affect the amount of discretionary money it has to spend. “By signing […]
Rep. Williams Working On New Alzheimer’s Care Bill
Representative Ryan Williams is working on a new bill to assist in Alzheimer’s care. He said that it would create respite care for family members taking care of loved ones at home who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. “To provide assistance to those families for respite care for three or four hours a week per […]
Williams Working With Bailey On New Right-Of-Way Bill
Representative Ryan Williams is collaborating with Senator Paul Bailey on a new right-of-way bill Williams said that they are exploring legislation that would have local planning and zoning departments do Nollan-Dolan testing on right-of-ways. He said that it helps cities and counties understand how much of right-of-way is necessary and whether it should be at […]
Rep. Williams: TDOT’s Baxter Project Could Take Four Years Or Less
Representative Ryan Williams said that TDOT’s I-40 project in Baxter could happen at a completely different rate than has been done before. Williams said that the governor included some additional monies for roads set aside to address traffic concerns in rural Tennessee, with Baxter is one of the biggest recipients. “It takes about 16 years […]
Putnam School Calendar Could Be Impacted By COVID This Year
Putnam County Director of Schools Corby King fears the district could have to take days away from breaks due to COVID. State rules made effective in July for schools do not allow remote learning as a COVID solution during district closures. That means if COVID days are needed, they would come from breaks or extending […]
UC Leaders Trying To Navigate Learning Options With COVID In Schools On Rise
Upper Cumberland School Leaders want the governor to allow a certain number of school COVID days to deal with possible closures. Representative Ryan Williams said that some school districts statewide are using their snow days while they navigate the rise of cases. UC School leaders asked Williams for help. Williams said that he and school […]
Social Health Courses In Schools Deferred To 2022
Senator Paul Bailey said he is not deterred by a bill he sponsored to improve social health skills being moved to the 2022 calendar. Bailey said the idea was brought to him by a Tennessee Tech Professor. Bailey said the bill creates course work to build skills for things like for healthy relationships, technology use […]
