TCA’s primary advocacy work on behalf of our members has historically taken the form of interaction with important state agencies such as the Department of Transportation (TDOT) and the Department of Environmental Compliance (TDEC), and we continued that important work in 2015.
For 2015, TCA expanded our advocacy effort to include a larger focus on legislative issues and we held TCA Legislative Breakfasts across the state to bring concrete industry members together with their elected representatives.
Examples of our advocacy efforts in Tennessee and in conjunction with NRMCA at the national level are presented in this section.
Advocacy within the industry
Tennessee 2015 Legislature Breakfast Events
TCA piloted 2 Legislative Breakfast events in 2014 and expanded that to 6 events in 2015. Events were held in Knoxville, Jackson, Memphis, Nashville, Johnson City and Chattanooga in the fall of 2015. A total of 59 people attended these events including 15 Tennessee legislators and 1 US Representative’s office. Every breakfast event was sponsored financially by TCA members from that local area. TCA’s primary legislative issue for these meetings was the critical need to provide sustainable long-term funding for Tennessee infrastructure. The handout prepared for the meeting can be seen by clicking on the button below.
National Advocacy
TCA partners with NRMCA whenever possible to educate local TCA members on concrete industry issues at the national level. We incorporate NRMCA’s legislative alerts and other important information in our TCA Member Updates to help get advocacy information to as many industry members as possible. TCA also worked at our Board level to involve individuals on our Board to support the NRMCA PAC by putting together a Tennessee basket for the PAC auction at NRMCA’s Annual Convention. Letters from Ms. Kerri Leininger of NRMCA’s staff are below.