Legislative Update | Week Ending 1-17-2025

TSEA January 17, 2025 Comments Off on Legislative Update | Week Ending 1-17-2025
Legislative Update | Week Ending 1-17-2025

114th General Assembly: TSEA Priorities and helpful links

The One Hundred Fourteenth General Assembly has officially convened as of Tuesday, January 14, 2025, at noon (CST). As the legislative session begins, TSEA is fully committed to advocating for legislation that improves the lives of state employees, higher education employees, and retirees.

Below are key details and resources to help you stay informed and engaged throughout this 2025 legislative session.

Bill numbers coming soon

Over the next few weeks, we will continue our work to secure sponsors for the legislation we hope to advance. The bill filing deadline for both the House and Senate is Feb. 6. Once we have bill numbers for our initiatives and any additional legislation we plan to monitor, we will publish this information on our 2025 Legislation page:

https://tseaonline.org/2025-legislation/.

Check back in February for a complete list of bill numbers and key legislation we are actively monitoring.

Weekly Legislative Updates Begin in February

Starting in February, TSEA will launch weekly Legislative Updates for members. These updates will include insights, highlights, and developments from the General Assembly and will be available here.


TSEA’s 2025 Legislative Agenda

  • Supporting 6 weeks of paid leave if an employee becomes a foster parent to a minor child.
  • Permanently increase the 401K match to $100.
  • Initiate clarifications to the TEAM Act.
  • Removing the TCRS cap of 3% to aid in more adequate COLA adjustments for retirees, when state funding is better.
  • Expand funding for students with intellectual disabilities.
  • Restore Longevity.

Additional items:

  • Higher Ed: Work with state higher education institutions to standardize definitions and ensure the inclusion of professional staff in grievance policies across all public colleges and universities.
  • Continue supporting the funding of market research/studies for employee pay increases.

Other Concerns Being Researched:

  • Compression from salary range movement.
  • Unfair hiring practices within some departments in state government.
  • Contracting Practices
  • Implementation of TDOT’s EPIC (Empowering People Influencing Culture) and hazardous pay via activity codes.

Important Links to Bookmark


Lobby Day

Our 2025 Lobby Day will be held on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Nashville, TN. Watch your email and TSEA’s Co-Worker Newspaper for more details.


Northeast Legislative Event

TSEA is excited to announce we are holding the Northeast Legislative Event in Elizabethton on Saturday, Mar. 8, 2025, at 9:00 a.m.

Our regional legislative events allow TSEA members to hear directly from their state legislators in person and in their own communities. These events allow our members priority access to their state elected officials outside their hectic state legislature schedules.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

TSEA’s Northeast TN Legislative Event
Saturday, Mar. 8, 2025
9:00 a.m.
Elizabethton TCAT
426 Highway 91 North
Elizabethton, TN 37643