Capitol Hill news continues to be all bad
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In addition to failed budget negotiations and the suicide of Rep. Keith Westmoreland last week, Rep. Shelby Rhinehart was hospitalized yesterday morning after suffering a stroke.
Rhinehart, who has been fighting health problems for several years, reportedly suffered the stroke Tuesday at 2 a.m. He was transported to Vanderbilt Hospital where he remained in the intensive care unit at press time.
Rhinehart, 75 and a chain smoker, first served in the House in 1959 and was a member for four years before leaving office. He returned in 1971 and has served continuously since then.
Rhinehart’s stroke dumped more gloomy feelings on an atmosphere which was already far from perky. With just five days remaining before Tennessee government is forced to shut down, there are still no budget solutions in sight.
“It’s pretty grim right now,” said state Rep. Charles Curtiss.
The three budget items currently on the table are a state income tax, the DOGS budget, and what’s being called the CATS budget. The income tax would adequately fund state government without drastic cuts, while the DOGS budget would slash state services around $950 million. The CATS budget fits somewhere in between and would only be a one-year, stopgap measure.
Curtiss said while House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh currently lacks enough votes to pass an income tax, he also stressed there aren’t enough votes to pass the DOGS budget either. The DOGS budget would have to be approved just like any other measure.
“The sad thing people don’t realize is we don’t have enough votes to pass the DOGS budget,” said Curtiss. “There aren’t enough legislators who are prepared to do that to our state. We face the very real possibility of government shutdown. We’ll know by Sunday where we’re going.”
Curtiss said if Tennessee government is forced to shut down, the vast majority of state employees won’t receive paychecks after July 1. He said framework is in place for critical employees, such as highway patrol officers and prison guards, to continue being paid but that was about it.
He said legislators would have a little more time to figure out how to pay teachers.
Curtiss said he believes the best chance of reaching a budget compromise will be by “tweaking” the sales tax to create more revenue.