News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
42nd District State Representative Ryan Williams says he has several priorities for the upcoming general assembly.
Williams said one topic he expects to be discussed is the recently-formed Flood Ready Tennessee coalition. He said Governor Bill Lee had started to lead this movement with discussions on funding for schools built in existing flood plains.
“So his staff, as well as Flood Ready TN, have been collaborating on what improvements to existing facilities and services might be necessary to do that,” Williams said. “So I suspect there will be an emphasis on that out fo the governor’s budget and how we expand capital this year.”
Williams said another one of his priorities is to push the bill he introduced last legislative session regarding Alzheimer’s caregivers. This bill seeks to create a three-year pilot program called the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Respite Care Program, which would provide respite care services for individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and families caring for them.
Williams said he also suspects that a large part of conversations will be about improvements to infrastructure projects.
“When we built the new fifth interchange there at exit 283, that project started well before I was a state representative when I was a city councilman,” Williams said. “It takes about 15 years to deliver a road project in Tennessee and the governor has proposed some ideas to help shorten that to five years, so I imagine there will be discussions about that as well.”
Williams said he wants community members to remember that the House is that of the people. He said he hopes citizens will continue to stay abreast of what is happening in the general assembly and stay engaged with their local lawmakers.
