[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6589023,"mediaKeyId","5459599-a9d81498d821f6bc70429012e5827e03","parentId",5459599,"title","Joint Government Operations Committee advances multiple agency rule updates; House gives positive recommendations","audioSeconds",5363,"startMs",1306000,"endMs",6669000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5459599-a9d81498d821f6bc70429012e5827e03&start=1306&end=6669","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5459599-a9d81498d821f6bc70429012e5827e03/thumbnail_1306000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6589023/Tennessee/Joint-Government-Operations-Committee-advances-multiple-agency-rule-updates-House-gives-positive-recommendations","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6589023-55c87fba3c1029782cbadd979c500121/orig.mp4?Expires=1770434560&Signature=TfKxMhWL3MnVpX3NdG~NrjLdF8XX83rSCesd~L2owE9tR9f1i~pXjaR-fxwefr4gXjSatT1tEnQg0OQZF2jXLcMabExRpwA3JxcYSFWvdi07B08InWu~LV7RiSuNJofyToKhuctGM1hHBwz5Bp2-TDHaqCDIi9zEXRsQnVRqfsyk4XM1-Vrj0jVyROILM4E0QqpqLBeSLfAhr80p4PJaKuqAPu-r-gh-gBbrfGgo04DsT9oE4S8LaJH3~DCaFcUuGq0UZI7vpUhk2aP9k9nNpvVydH4P0PMidpo7kSKLU4zUS4gcheljSCg4YG6sHO4XRAlPG7lbQzYxA~lEsj2Umw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Tennessee Joint Committee","date","2025-07-23T00:00:00Z","article","NASHVILLE — The Joint Government Operations Committee met July 23, 2025, and advanced a slate of administrative rule changes from multiple state agencies, forwarding most items with positive recommendations to the floor of the respective chambers.

The committee reviewed 12 agenda items during a rule-review session chaired by Chairman Lafferty. Presenters represented agencies including the Tennessee Board of Utility Regulation, Tennessee Housing Development Agency, Department of Children’s Services, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Tennessee Emergency Communications Board, the Department of Commerce & Insurance, multiple health licensing boards, the Health Facilities Commission, the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission, and the State Board of Education.

Why it matters: the rules under review govern how agencies operate and implement state and federal law — from how housing vouchers can be project-based to how the Department of Children’s Services handles public-records requests. While many changes were technical (repeals of obsolete rules or alignment with federal definitions), some drew substantive policy questions and follow-up requests from legislators.

Key outcomes
- Most items received a positive recommendation from the committee and were transmitted with favorable votes in the House and, in many cases, the Senate. Several items were minor clarifications or repeals of outdated language (for example, rules updating terminology for the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission and repeal of duplicative licensing language in the hearing-instrument rules).
- The Tennessee Housing Development Agency’s administrative plan updates for its Housing Choice Voucher program (see separate article) drew the most extensive discussion; the committee advanced the rule with a positive recommendation.
- The State Board of Education’s new charter-school rules prompted extended questions on funding, residential (boarding) charter models and the role of local authorizers; the committee recorded differing outcomes between chambers (see Votes at a glance).

Votes at a glance (committee action / recorded Senate roll call when given)
- Tennessee Board of Utility Regulation (repeal/replace old board rules): positive recommendation; Senate roll call recorded six ayes (Senators Bolling, Crowe, Oliver, Rose, Sutherland and Chairman Jackson voted aye). House voice vote: ayes have it.
- Tennessee Housing Development Agency (Housing Choice Voucher administrative plan; project-based vouchers): positive recommendation; Senate roll call recorded six ayes. House voice vote: ayes have it.
- Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (terminology updates for tier-3 hunt locations): positive recommendation; Senate roll call recorded six ayes.
- Department of Children’s Services (public records rule updates to align with model policy): positive recommendation; Senate roll call recorded a roll with a majority in favor (Chairman Jackson recorded ayes). House voice vote: ayes have it.
- Tennessee Real Estate Appraiser Commission (fee and trainee inspection rule changes): positive recommendation; Senate roll call recorded five ayes in that roll and House voice vote: ayes have it.
- Tennessee Emergency Communications Board (clean-up of outdated funding language): positive recommendation; Senate roll call recorded six ayes.
- Board of Optometry (advertising and patient-encounter definitions; licensee contact info): positive recommendation; Senate roll call recorded ayes.
- Board of Communication Disorders and Sciences (repeal of duplicative hearing-instrument licensure rule): positive recommendation; Senate roll call recorded ayes.
- Health Facilities Commission (abuse registry updates and federal-definition alignment): positive recommendation; Senate and House recorded ayes.
- Tennessee Public Charter School Commission (correction removing inadvertent reconciliation language): positive recommendation; House voice vote recorded; Senate roll call recorded ayes.
- State Board of Education — Charter rules (Opportunity Public Charter Schools): the House gave a positive recommendation; the Senate recorded a motion to pause/no recommendation on its roll call (four ayes, one no in the roll), and senators asked for additional follow-up on funding and operational questions.
- State Board of Education — School safety rule repeal: positive recommendation; House voice vote recorded; Senate roll call recorded ayes. The board told the committee the underlying statutory requirements remain in law, so the rule repeal removes duplication.

What legislators asked for
- Multiple members requested additional written follow-up from agencies. Questions included: contingency plans if federal HUD funding changes; details and examples about how residential (boarding) charter schools would be funded and operated; criteria and documentation for waiver/fee-waiver decisions under public-records rules; and clarifications about the abuse registry process and how civil judgments interact with placements.

Next steps
- Items that received positive recommendations will move forward according to legislative process; committee members asked agencies to provide requested follow-up information to Chairman Lafferty and committee staff.

Sources: testimony and question-and-answer at the Joint Government Operations Committee rule-review meeting, July 23, 2025. Direct quotations in coverage are attributed to speakers during their appearances at the committee hearing.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Tennessee Joint Committee - Government Operations - Rule Review - Jul 23, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","NASHVILLE — The Joint Government Operations Committee met July 23, 2025, and advanced a slate of administrative rule changes from multiple state agencies, forwarding most items with positive recommendations to the floor of the respective chambers.","taxTitle","Government Operations - Rule Review, Joint, Committees, Legislative, Tennessee","taxId",28873,"location","Tennessee","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6589014,"State Board of Education rules for Opportunity Public Charter Schools draw extended committee scrutiny over funding, residential models",1305,4832000,6137000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5459599-a9d81498d821f6bc70429012e5827e03&start=4832&end=6137","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5459599-a9d81498d821f6bc70429012e5827e03/thumbnail_4832000.jpg","/articles/6589014/Tennessee/State-Board-of-Education-rules-for-Opportunity-Public-Charter-Schools-draw-extended-committee-scrutiny-over-funding-residential-models","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6589014-774784ed1cc4be7d545986b71729b43b/orig.mp4?Expires=1770434560&Signature=X0nZZcPyk1iWaL~VkYLfSr7tu2R0euWvrYLQi0TZP1SCz7c6V5hrsOnTFi6644FqVL9IQlU7EVwe087v65ycLa5VxX5kdarWIFX0OQZflSfwb5WfiynIeheBpWN1Bego5XW-nUQtEGnJy1IK62i66OfuldcwVHXK8ZOAEzwpw78AEcYyD4l80pcDgexqM5AyENRaquXHtdeXTftMTJXF7CKsoWoZxhRJ9MouwG~ivLVW~uEyCOy5itLIc7JI1bDWFsSNvJdjOjtkO0AL6xBoL0qGO2vUQ-A8dI8KcvQKnT2t3lwjFyzJquWeLXkJG098uKPdybi5Wf8KKs8fivEa9w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","NASHVILLE — The State Board of Education briefed the Joint Government Operations Committee on July 23 about proposed rules implementing the Opportunity Public Charter Schools (OPCS) provisions enacted in 2024.

The rules define OPCS as charter schools serving grades 6–12 in which at least 75% of students are “at risk” (a statutory definition that includes criteria such as retention, chronic absenteeism, justice involvement, pregnancy, and history of abuse or neglect). The package outlines enrollment preference order for OPCS, residential program verification and requirements, and how funding follows students during the first year after a district-to-district transfer.

“Students who transfer to an opportunity public charter school located in an LEA other than the LEA in which the student resides, for the first year the student would bring the amount generated under TISA from the sending district,” Nathan James of the State Board said, explaining how funding would be allocated.

Nut graf: Committee members pressed officials on several operational issues: who calculates and disburses interim funding adjustments; whether residential (boarding) charter models would receive additional funding to cover boarding costs; and how remaining Achievement School District (ASD) schools will be handled as the ASD transitions under recent legislation.

Questions and responses
- Funding and timing: Department of Education and State Board officials said the Office of Local Finance calculates TISA allocations and that interim allocations and adjustments are made multiple times per year; committee members asked for assurances funds would be available to schools in real time when students transfer midyear.
- Residential (boarding) schools: The rules allow residential models only for OPCS. Board counsel said there is no extra, dedicated TISA funding in the rules for boarding costs; any additional funding would depend on separate programs or deal-specific arrangements (for example, low-income housing tax credit compliance periods tied to affordable housing deals).
- Achievement School District: Legislators asked why references to the ASD remained in the rules; board staff said statutes governing the ASD remain in effect until 2026–27, so the rules must reflect current law and the board expects to return with further rule updates as statutes change.

Outcome: The package prompted extended discussion. The committee’s House members gave a positive recommendation; the Senate recorded a motion to pause/withhold recommendation in a roll call (resulting in a split roll with four ayes and one no recorded in that roll). Committee chairs requested additional written information from the State Board and the Department of Education about funding flows, the financial model for residential programs, and protections for students who were previously served by ASD schools.

What’s next
- State Board and Department of Education staff agreed to provide requested follow-up to Chairman Lafferty and committee members.

Sources: presentation and Q&A with State Board of Education staff and Department of Education representatives at the Joint Government Operations Committee rule-review meeting, July 23, 2025.","The State Board of Education presented rules implementing the new Opportunity Public Charter School model. Lawmakers pressed officials about funding mechanics, residential (boarding) models and treatment of remaining Achievement School District schools; the committee recorded differing recommendations between chambers and requested follow-up.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6589019,"Tennessee Housing Development Agency seeks to project-base vouchers starting at 5% to spur affordable housing development",260,1633000,1893000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5459599-a9d81498d821f6bc70429012e5827e03&start=1633&end=1893","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5459599-a9d81498d821f6bc70429012e5827e03/thumbnail_1633000.jpg","/articles/6589019/Tennessee/Tennessee-Housing-Development-Agency-seeks-to-project-base-vouchers-starting-at-5-to-spur-affordable-housing-development","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6589019-dcb3e6e0c86ec21c543ad7871cca737d/orig.mp4?Expires=1770434560&Signature=dfFH9yZ~MwcX7rX8yz64ZeYTJccSawIcYJ~DVh3Irq9AaC4WuWAE5NvqnE4TIO9ShEP3mAktY5~bP05LMirMvq6u6U8BDUhBcawwNs4jMJZlWe7pDp9c~k8EjHSOl0e6Ojb5WRspNlp1OHMc2993-rplhzpyUf5rPtczRWtb5GSzcg2N7lCpLfctpHwpNXTqPr52t9cm7i9nJTWijA666tO9uo~Vz2~-6ArkWraIOPxIzwkXMWt6Ih-JbAUkcQoc~h8AGbCU3sSO2-FbhzOSqLaZVFlHAmUNKGl1Hr70N3m8NdeMfBu-aNNuy6UGX-NLZ~odjOrII92Fm3EsC9kqPQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Housing Development Agency appeared before the Joint Government Operations Committee on July 23 to present rule changes to its Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) administrative plan that would authorize project-based vouchers (PBVs) as a development tool.

“HUD allows a PHA to project base a percentage of its housing choice vouchers,” Pascual McLeod, THDA assistant director for Section 8, told the committee. She said THDA plans to begin by project-basing an initial 5% of its voucher allocation and could seek authorization to increase to the HUD ceiling of 20%.

Nut graph: THDA said the change is intended to increase the supply of units that will accept vouchers — particularly in areas without a local public housing authority — and to reduce the number of voucher holders who cannot find landlords. THDA told lawmakers it currently has about 600 voucher holders who have been unable to secure housing; the agency also reported about 9,000 families on a waiting list.

What the rule does
- Adds a Project-Based Voucher chapter to THDA’s HCV administrative plan to enable allocation of vouchers to specific developments so the subsidy is attached to units rather than individual voucher holders.
- Proposes an initial cap set by THDA at 5% of its voucher inventory, with plans to request increases from HUD up to 20% if demand and developer interest justify it.

Questions from lawmakers and agency responses
- Representative McKenzie asked whether the change would help people statewide, including rural areas. McLeod said the program would primarily serve counties outside metro areas and participants on THDA’s HCV waiting list would be eligible to apply to PBV waiting lists.
- Representative Clemens asked if the rule would cut the number of vouchers; THDA responded no.
- Representatives and senators asked about vacancy payments (a policy some PHAs use to pay subsidy for a vacant PBV unit until it is re-rented). THDA said it did not adopt a vacancy-claim payment in the administrative plan; landlords will be responsible for maintaining waiting lists.
- Representative Hardaway and others asked whether Davis-Bacon prevailing-wage rules would increase construction costs; THDA said they must follow federal law but did not quantify cost impacts.
- Lawmakers asked about federal funding risk and whether funds could be clawed back; THDA staff said they had no guarantee the federal appropriations process would not change HUD funding and agreed to provide contingency information to committee staff.

Numbers and clarifications from the hearing
- THDA said HUD permits up to 20% project-basing but the agency plans to start at 5%.
- THDA reported it has approximately 600 voucher holders currently unable to find a landlord and about 9,000 families on its waiting list.
- THDA said vacancy claim payments were not adopted in its plan; administrative-fee reserves hold unused HUD administrative fees.

What’s next
- The committee voted to give the rule a positive recommendation; members requested additional written follow-up on contingency planning for federal funding, vacancy-payment policy rationale, and details about how PBV units will be allocated and monitored. THDA said it will provide follow-up to Chairman Lafferty and committee staff.

Attribution: testimony and Q&A at the Joint Government Operations Committee, July 23, 2025. Exact quotations are taken from the committee transcript.","THDA told the Joint Government Operations Committee that it will start project-basing up to 5% of its Housing Choice Voucher allocations, with a goal to seek up to 20% under HUD rules. Agency leaders said the change aims to create more affordable units for the roughly 600 voucher holders statewide who cannot find landlords accepting vouchers.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Joint Government Operations Committee advances multiple agency rule updates; House gives positive recommendations

State Board of Education rules for Opportunity Public Charter Schools draw extended committee scrutiny over funding, residential models

Tennessee Housing Development Agency seeks to project-base vouchers starting at 5% to spur affordable housing development