This grant is designed to encourage first time participants in the annual Tennessee Trucking Association Call on Washington event that Bill enthusiastically supported for over a decade. The grant will cover expenses related to travel, lodging, and meals for one selected individual each year. Eligible recipients will be selected from existing members of the Young Professionals Council. In order to receive this travel grant, a request for consideration must be completed. The request for consideration will include the following;

Name:

Company:

Occupation:

Years in the industry:

In two hundred and fifty words, or less, please explain the importance of the attending this event and how attending it relates to your professional development within your chosen transportation field.

The requests for consideration will be reviewed, and the selection will be made, by a group representing both current and former carrier and allied members of the Executive Committee. Submit your request to dhuneryager@tntrucking.org.

TTA 2020 “CALL ON WASHINGTON” – STILL TIME TO SIGN UP!

The Tennessee Trucking Association will make its annual visit to Washington, DC on March 24-26, 2019 to meet with members of the Tennessee Congressional Delegation.  This year’s visit presents another unique opportunity to meet with our delegation.  Government regulation and policies are important factors in the business decisions made by trucking companies every day.  Your participation is invited and needed on this trip.  Please contact Dave Huneryager at dhuneryager@tntrucking.org or (615) 777-2882 if you are interested in joining our group on this important visit.

YPC possible Call on Washington Attendees: The dates for our Call on Washington this year are March 24-26, 2020. Please review the instructions below and complete as requested for consideration for the William H Reed, Jr. Travel Grant Award.

All submissions must be received no later than Friday, February 14th at 2PM CDT.  Please feel free to contact Dave Huneryager directly regarding any questions you may have about this process. Good luck to each of you!

Dale Allen and Clay Byrd, Adams & Reese Legislative Update

This month an increasing number of lawmakers, lobbyists, and staff scattered the halls of Cordell Hull despite an unusually slow start to the 2020 legislative session  Most stakeholders at the legislature focused on scheduling  meetings with lawmakers to line up sponsors and co-sponsors for legislation.  Legislative activity at the committee level remained relatively light with respect to the consideration of legislation, but most committees met for organizational purposes with short calendars.  Indeed, only a handful of committees considered legislation this month, with most lawmakers focused on filing bills in advance of bill filing deadlines in the House and Senate, February 5th and 6th, respectively.

This month, we also worked with the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Tennessee Department of Safety on a legislative matter dealing with the drop deck length distance from the king pin to rear of the trailer.  Representative Dan Howell (R-Cleveland) and Senator Paul Bailey (R-Sparta), the Chairmen of the Transportation Committees in the House and Senate, respectively, agreed to file a “caption bill” on behalf of the TTA in the event that we need to pursue legislation on the matter.  As of now, TDOT and the TDOS appear to support our efforts to clarify existing law, if needed.  We will continue to work with all interested stakeholders to represent the interests of the TTA on this issue.

Governor Lee’s second State of the State address will occur next Monday, February 3, 2020. The Governor’s speech will announce the administration’s legislative priorities for the remainder of session and shortly thereafter, the Governor will release his budget to the General Assembly.  Expect the pace of session to increase significantly in the month of February as lawmakers continue to target a mid-April adjournment, a goal predicated upon the busy 2020 election year ahead.  We will continue to look through filed bills and keep you up to date. As always, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about any particular piece of legislation.  As always, it is pleasure to represent you at the Tennessee General Assembly.