Tennessee Caucus Member Information

2025 CAUCUS MEETING INFORMATION

  • Thursday, February 13 – Kingsport Housing Redevelopment Agency Riverview Place Community Center, 285 Louis St., Kingsport, TN 37660 10:00AM – 3:00PM EST – Parking Map / Caucus Packet
  • Tuesday, June 17
  • Thursday, November 13
  • (previous Caucus information found at the bottom of the page)
ADVOCACY MATERIALS

IMPORTANT ACTION ALERT: TN Housing Panel & Hill Day – Wed. March 26th!

First: Please try and join us on March 26th for a joint Housing Panel and Day on the Hill. 

PLEASE NOTE: There is a $400 honorarium for each organization that participates!!

To RSVP for the Panel and indicate that you can join the Hill day, please fill out this form. Housing Panel & Housing Day on the Hill – March 26th, 2025 – RSVP Form

Then, reach out immediately to your state reps to see if you can get some time with them after 1pm.

Documents:

Second: Problematic Bills – TAKE ACTION BEFORE NEXT WEEK

3 problematic pieces of legislation moved forward this week. Please, take a moment to reach out to the list of folks in the relevant committees (listed below) AND reach out to your representatives to explain how problematic these proposals are. I’ve attached basic bullets, and then the letters we’ve sent as a caucus to those who introduced this legislation to this email. I’ve also included the draft versions of these letters for you to modify and send or use as talking points. It is imperative that legislators hear how the Tort Liability bills will impact the housing sector, and that there are better, more thoughtful ways to approach reallocation of the recordation taxes. 

SB0227/HB0811 – Tort liability for nonprofits sheltering undocumented immigrants – Senate version placed on  Judiciary Committee Calendar for March 24th. A NUMBER of the committee members represent our footprint.

HB322/SB392 – Criminal liability for nonprofits sheltering undocumented immigrants – House version placed on subcommittee calendar in Judiciary Committee for March 26th  . MANY FOLKS FROM OUR FOOTPRINT SIT ON THIS COMMITTEE. SEE ** 

HB0842/SB0843 — Recordation tax – remit 50% of collections back to county (other one) – Placed on House State and Local Government Committee for March 26th and Senate Energy, Ag and Natural Resources Committee for March 26th. 

HB0649/SB1080 – Recordation tax – remit 50% of collections back to county – hasn’t moved but several cosponsors added in the first week of March. No other movement this week. 

      Workforce Housing Tax Credit: Also moved forward. I’ll keep an eye on this, but no action requested at this time given that I think it will pass. 

Senate Judiciary – These are hyperlinked, so you can grab the email directly. Names with ** are priority /in our footprint. SB0227/HB0811

House  Judiciary – These are hyperlinked, so you can grab the email directly. Names with ** are priority /in our footprint. HB322/SB392

House State and Local Government Committee  HB0842/SB0843

Senate Energy, Ag and Natural Resources Committee HB0842/SB0843

Committee Members

TDEC Brownfield Redevelopment Area Grant (BRAG)- NOW OPEN

TDEC will be accepting applications through 11:59 p.m. on May 3. Please reach out to Amy Dyman with questions. Only complete applications will be considered. . Download the updated grant manual here. 

APPLY HERE

In January 2025, TDEC hosted a BRAG pre-application webinar, which is available to review here

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Division of Remediation oversees the Brownfield Redevelopment Area Grant (BRAG). The funding for this grant is authorized through the Rural Brownfields Investment Act (Pub. Ch. 86, effective July 1, 2023). The law promotes conservation of Tennessee’s agricultural, recreational, and open space lands by encouraging environmentally sound redevelopment of properties blighted by real or perceived contamination. Read More

FHLB-Cincinnati News

Disaster Reconstruction Funds Update – View our current list of disaster declarations by county to see if your area is eligible.

Eligibility rules for those applying for DRP funds include:

  • Eligible households have either been displaced or suffered damage to their primary residence by a federally or state declared disaster occurring within the Fifth District.
  • Household income must be less than or equal to 100 percent of the applicable Mortgage Revenue Bond income limits. In Hamilton County, Tenn., for a family of one or two persons, the limit is $67,800 and for a family of three or more, the limit is $77,970.
  • Allowable expenses include construction, acquisition, or repair of a primary residence, which must be a single-family detached home or manufactured home permanently attached to a fixed foundation and taxed as real property where the applicant is the owner of record. FHLB funds cannot be used for expenses covered by insurance or state or federal emergency management agencies.

Disaster Resources:

Federal funding is available for emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance for “Tennessee Tropical Storm Helene (EM-3620-TN)“. People with damage to their homes or personal property who live in the designated counties are encouraged to apply for assistance, which may include upfront funds to help with essential items like food, water, baby formula and other emergency supplies. Funds may also be available to repair storm-related damage to homes and personal property, as well as assistance to find a temporary place to stay.

There are three ways to apply for FEMA assistance:

Homeowners and renters with damage to their home or personal property from previous disasters, whether they received FEMA funds or not, are still eligible to apply for and receive assistance for Hurricane Helene.

Voluntary organizations are also providing personnel and resources to the hardest hit areas. The American Red Cross has more than 850 trained disaster workers providing comfort and operating shelters. They are also helping find loved ones through their helpline 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767).  If someone is missing a child related to this disaster or any other incident, they need to call 9-1-1 and then 1-800-THE-LOST to receive assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

People can receive free services like cutting fallen trees, tarping roofs and mold mitigation with the help of Crisis Cleanup by calling 844-965-1386. The hotline is open through October 11 and can connect people with volunteers from local relief organizations, community groups and the faith-based community who may be able to assist.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has established a hotline to coordinate reports of missing person in the affected by the flooding in Northeast Tennessee. Call 1-800-824-3463 to report a missing person. Callers should be prepared to relay as much information as possible including names, phone numbers, vehicle identification and last known whereabouts.

THDA UPDATES

Tennessee Regional Housing Needs Assessments & Market Analyses

THDA’s Research and Planning Division is thrilled to share the new Tennessee Housing Needs page found on our website. Included on this page are: Regional Housing Needs Research – a deep dive into localized data, including regional needs assessments and market analyses conducted in fall of 2024 for each development district. Indicators of Housing Needs via our interactive GIS Housing Indicators dashboard, available for all 95 counties.

The Tennessee Housing Development Agency, on behalf of the State of Tennessee, conducted a housing needs assessment and market analysis for each of Tennessee’s nine development districts as part of the State’s 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan. The assessment included analysis of publicly available data, like the American Community Survey (ACS) and Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS), as well as the results of a survey of Tennesseans’ housing needs and focus groups on housing affordability, homelessness, and fair housing. 

More information and regional findings are linked on this page

IMPORTANT DATES FOR THDA PROGRAMS:

  • Jan. 16 — HOME Homeownership Rehabilitation applications open
  • Jan. 16 — THTF applications open
  • Feb. 6 — HOME Homeownership applications open
  • Feb. 27 — HOME Rental Development applications open
  • Feb. 27 — THTF applications due
  • Feb. 28 — HOME Homeownership Rehabilitation applications due
  • March 14 — HOME Homeownership applications due
  • March 27 — ESG applications due

Programs for Homeownership Partners

Programs for Local Government & Nonprofit Partners

PREVIOUS CAUCUS MEETING INFORMATION:

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