As the great lyrics of the old Bing Crosby song would say,
“ You’ve got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative and don’t mess with Mister In-between,” the 107th General Assembly’s first chapter, now behind us, was a very productive and efficient session indeed. Passing significant legislation in education, giving teachers a choice and a voice, tort reform which will curb frivolous lawsuits, SJR127 that will return our State Constitution to a position of neutrality on abortion, and putting into place part one of a three part immigration reform by enacting E-Verify a tracking system that informs who is here legally or not. All of this and more plus reducing the state budget by over a billion bucks, I truly believe we are making Tennessee a better place to live, work and raise a family. Oh I forgot to say we gave a tax break to our seniors through a deduction in the Hall Tax. Not to mention investing in key priorities like restoring the rainy day fund by 70 million and setting aside 71 million for disaster funds that will assist fellow Tennesseans due to the devastating  tornadoes and high flooding in west Tennessee.

 After meeting late into the night Saturday, the House and Senate adjourned the earliest it has concluded in 13 years, saving the taxpayers even more in legislative expenses as a result. Yes it matters who governs. This Republican Majority stayed focused on honoring our pledge to lower government spending in Tennessee, and move passage on some strong conservative principles regarding our economy, education and immigration.
We accomplished much however we have much yet to do. Already I am working on legislation that will reduce if not remove that “tax that never dies” called the inheritance or death tax.

 In closing, the 26th President of this United States Theodore Roosevelt once said, “The greatest prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing,”   I thank you, the good folks of the fortieth district for giving me the honor to work hard for you. With the first half of the 107th General Assembly complete until January 2012 when we pick up where we left off, I look forward to seeing you where you live, work and play in the greatest district of all. Blessings!