Matthew Burnette, Staff Writer

Coffee County’s state legislative representatives made an appearance in Manchester on Jan. 6 to speak on a number of issues.

District 47 Representative Rush Bricken and District 16 Senator Janice Bowling were featured as guest speakers at the monthly Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

The luncheon was the first iteration held at the Church @ 117, the new home of the monthly Chamber event.

Bowling spoke first at the meeting and highlighted the importance of keeping Manchester, Tullahoma and Winchester the hometowns that they’ve always been.

“We don’t, in my opinion, want them to become bedroom communities,” she said. “I think that that’s where our children grow better. I think that’s where our businesses do better. Where we know each other and we’re there and pull for each other all the time.”

She explained that the budget, education and public safety would be three of the top topics addressed when the general assembly reconvenes.

“That’s a good thing because that’s really, constitutionally, what we’re required to do. The last thing that I like in Nashville is for everyone to determine that there’s a state solution to every local problem.”

Bowling said that the state can often be the problem and not the solution and things that are handled in the local communities are often better than “one size fits all” solutions that are passed on the state level.

“We’re here to protect you from an over-reaching government, not to find another government solution to a problem that’s somebody’s having in Memphis or in Knoxville but we’re not even having here,” she explained. “I think the best thing that we can do is to keep state government small.”

She also noted that she’s in favor of reallocating the budget to give the larger portion to local communities as opposed to the state.

Bricken noted that one of their jobs was to weed out “bad legislation.” He explained that every year there’s around 1400-1500 pieces of legislation that are filed in the House and only 350-450 get passed, half of which are mandatory budget bills and other required legislation.

He also reflected on legislation that was passed in the previous year including the state voucher program and school cell phone policy requirements.

Also noted was a bill that was passed to put restrictions on THC and hemp products that aimed to reduce their potency and change the chemical formulation.

“I’ve heard stories about some products that had so much, I hate to call it crap, in that vape stuff that if something else didn’t kill you, it looked like that certainly should,” he said. “So, I’m glad we put restrictions on that.”

Bricken also touted that the state put $4.3 billion more into TDOT over their normal reoccurring funding and explained that “actual structural changes” were about to start happening hopefully by the end of this year or beginning of next and would be a multi-year, but needed, process.

He also added that $40 million was added to the I-24 industrial site to make sure proper infrastructure was in place for whatever industry decides to make the site its home.

“It’s going to come and be somewhat life-changing for every businessperson in this room. That’s how the future works,” said Bricken.

Bricken also said that energy was a big focus for the state with the governor and “all leadership” being behind all nuclear programs. He also said that he thought TVA was doing a bad job by taking a lot of plants offline over the last number of years.

He said that there was almost a “brown out” situation (a temporary drop in electrical voltage) last year when temperatures fell below zero degrees for a day or so.

“That to me is intolerable in a TVA state,” he said. “TVA is sitting with the need to buy power from other utilities.”

The pair also fielded questions and comments from the audience on subjects such as education, housing and the influx of out-of-state residents.