Here's what to expect in the upcoming Tennessee General Assembly

NASHVILLE — The 2026 Tennessee General Assembly kicked off on Tuesday, Jan. 13, and Northeast Tennessee's legislators revealed some of their plans for the year. State Sen. Rusty Crowe, R-Johnson City, and Bobby Harshbarger, R-Kingsport, and state Rep. Bud Hulsey, R-Kingsport, shared their plans for the upcoming legislative session. Potential bills revolve around topics such as private school vouchers; artificial intelligence regulations; and Hurricane Helene funding woes. Helene bills continueCrowe said he was asked by the Comptroller's office to carry a bill streamlining the process for local governments to receive disaster relief grants from the state. The bill would allow local governments to request the Comptroller's approval for emergency operating loans caused by a natural disaster. That means municipalities wouldn't have to wait for FEMA to declare the situation a natural disaster before requesting money from the state. Crowe said the current process for requesting emergency disaster funds is convoluted, and often results in funds ending up not being distributed due to clerical errors. "It was a mess. Nobody was getting paid," Crowe said. Education: Vouchers, Charlie Kirk and the pledge of allegianceA big topic this year will, again, be vouchers. Last year, Gov. Bill Lee passed his Education Freedom Scholarship Act by a slim majority. His bill was approved during a special session, alongside Helene recovery funding and bills cracking down on immigration. The legislation provides for the number of vouchers to increase by 5,000 for every year the demand reaches a certain threshold. Last year, demand was nearly double that of the 20,000 available vouchers, meaning an expansion is on the table for the $350 million program. Though Hulsey voted in support of the legislation last year, he said he would like to see some evidence that the voucher program was working before he casts a vote to expand it. "What troubles me are the legitimate questions that people have that I think ought to be answered, and that is, you know, how successful is it?," Hulsey said. "What are those numbers? What does the data show on who is taking advantage of it?" So far, the Lee administration has refused to provide any data on who is taking advantage of the vouchers, casting doubt on whether the program fosters school choice — as it was branded by its supporters — or if it is subsidizing private school tuition with state dollars. Crowe, who also supported the Education Freedom Act, said that if private schools are taking state dollars, they should be subject to at least a few state requirements. For him, that means making sure private schools give students time to recite the pledge of allegiance every morning; making social studies and civics required courses; and preventing the teaching of critical race theory. "Our state has an interest in ensuring public funds are not spent in support of an education that threatens the basic freedoms upon which this country was founded," said Crowe. Crowe also said he would like to pass legislation similar to the Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act, passed in Ohio to "preserve the ability for educators to discuss the positive impact of religion on American history." "It simply allows teachers and professors to include historical truths that have too often been left out," Crowe said. Technology: Flock cameras and artificial intelligenceIn August, Johnson City announced it would install 145 pan-tilt-zoom cameras and 145 license plate recognition devices across the city in an effort to create a centralized intelligence hub. The cameras, provided by Flock Safety, use artificial intelligence to recognize and track vehicle license plates, as well as provide detailed information on crimes and potential suspects. Hulsey, a former police lieutenant, expressed disapproval of the Flock camera systems, saying they are an invasion of privacy. "We're fast becoming a surveillance state, and that's very troubling," Hulsey said. "I've had law enforcement people in defense of flock cameras say, 'Look, we can track somebody from here to Los Angeles.' And that's to me, that's nothing to brag about." Hulsey also expressed concern over an executive order centralizing AI regulatory power at the federal level — and barring states from creating their own regulations. "And I don't think we can live with that," Hulsey said. "I'm hoping we can come to a happy medium there, where we do our responsibility, and the government stays out of our business." Healthcare: CON laws, rural health and increased competitionIn his sophomore legislative year, Harshbarger intends to direct his efforts toward healthcare. The pharmacist said he was excited to see what comes of the Rural Health Transformation Program, a statewide initiative to combat the decline of rural hospitals. The program seeks to modernize and expand rural health clinics with upgrades to technology and improvements to workforce development. In addition, Harshbarger spoke about the possibility of creating new Certificate of Need laws, a topic particularly relevant to Northeast Tennesseans. "I think this could be beneficial for our region, just to increase competition," he said. "I'm excited to see what comes along with that." Harshbarger also mentioned an interest in drafting "any willing provider" legislation, which he said would allow smaller laboratories to participate in the same insurance networks as larger laboratories. "So this would kind of allow the smaller labs to be on the same playing field," he said.