Legislators discuss elderly drivers, meth
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State Sen. Jerry Cooper and state Reps. Charlie Curtiss and Judd Matheny were featured on the hour-long program which focused on action taken by the legislature during the recent session and issues likely to make headlines when the body reconvenes next year.
First and foremost is TennCare, the much-maligned state health care plan which consumes close to one-third of the state budget and which state officials say will require an additional $100 million to fund in the coming year.
“We can’t afford to keep on keeping on,” said Cooper. “The governor said he was going to make major changes to it and he’s got the background and the intellect to do that. It will be the defining issue of his administration, that and the budget. But, no, I’m not going to vote to put $100 million more in TennCare. No.”
Curtiss echoed Cooper’s confidence in the governor’s ability to fix the heath care plan, saying if Gov. Phil Bredesen “can’t turn it around, no one can.”
He noted, however, the state can only do so much, as TennCare is subject to federal regulations.
“We operate within parameters given to us by the federal government. We’re fenced in,” Curtiss said, adding the majority of funding for the program comes from the federal government, at a ratio of 3 to 1. “That means if we cut $100 million, we’ll lose $300 million from the feds, for an overall cut of $400 million.”
Matheny, who has made combating meth his signature issue in the legislature, said much has been done on Capitol Hill to raise awareness of the meth problem affecting communities like Warren County.
In the upcoming session, he said, he plans to introduce major legislation to aid the fight against meth, including the adoption of federal regulations governing the prosecution of meth manufacturers and dealers, as well as increasing the penalties in such cases.
But since the meth problem has reached epidemic proportions only in pockets of rural Middle and East Tennessee, convincing the entire state legislature to adopt Matheny’s proposals, some of which would require substantial funding, will be difficult – especially in the Senate, said Cooper.
“Honestly, I don’t think it has a chance in the Senate,” he said. “A lot of the senators just don’t get it. Right now it affects only certain pockets of the state. We’re fortunate though, to have Judd on the Hill, especially on this issue. He’s a workhorse.”
Wednesday’s Santa Monica, Calif., tragedy in which an elderly man mowed through a pedestrian-only farmers market killing 10 prompted the legislators to speculate about the possibility of enacting legislation requiring seniors to be periodically re-tested to drive.
Cooper admitted the issue is a tough one which, from time to time, is introduced in the Senate Transportation Committee, of which he is a member.
“But every time, without question, the AARP, which is a powerful lobbying group, comes out in droves against. If we want to get anything done it’s going to have to go through them, that’s the reality,” Cooper said. “For seniors driving is part of their identity, their freedom. It’s a tough situation.”
“I agree,” said Curtiss. “I’ve had to put my mother’s truck in the backyard because she can’t see well, but we have to remember that teens are the most dangerous drivers, statistically. But this is something we need to take a good, hard look at. Not all older drivers are bad, but it’s true that some have no business on the highway.”