You Can Only Make Your Voice Heard By Contacting Your Legislators
It is important that veterans personally/directly contact their legislators on issues. While TNVET will attend and/or speak at legislative meetings, we cannot have the same effect on legislators that 1000’s of emails/letters from veterans providing their opinion does!
To make it easier for you to contact and express your support of veteran issues that TNVET is working this session, we have provided a formatted letter that you can email to your legislator.
If you already have the email address of your specific legislators, then all you need to do is copy, paste and fill-in the needed sections of the letter(s) below and email. If you are starting your effort from scratch then read these few instructions first. Then follow the steps to send your email:
1. Select, from the two emails/letters below the one you wish to send. With your mouse/cursor, scroll across/highlight the letter and copy it.
2. Confirm who is your Representative and/or Senator by going to the following website (if you place your cursor/mouse on the web address and click it will take you direct to the webpage) https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/Apps/fml2022/search.aspx
3. Enter your address in the “search for address” box located at the upper left of the map.
4. After entering your address the Senator and Representative for your district appears. Click a name and that legislator’s state assigned website page appears.
5. Below the legislator’s name is a box with the picture of an envelop and email address of that legislator. Click it.
6. Your computer should open your email program automatically and you may now “paste” the chosen letter/email into the body of the opened email form that you had copied in step #1.
7. Be sure to fill-in the “subject” of the email, date, the name of the legislator (you can send a combined email to your senator and representative….be sure to list both addresses in your email….or separate) and type in your information…..then click “send”. You’re done!
NOTE: The spacing between sections/paragraphs appears excessive in the letters below. However, we found some email programs have problems of actually seeing the spacing and will delete it. After pasting to your email, you may adjust spacing as/if needed. What we found is when the email arrives on the other end, the “excess” spacing (if left in the email) is gone without any adjustments by you.
LETTER #1 – The letter below addresses the Disable Veteran Property Tax Reimbursement – copy and paste what is between the red lines
If you wish to learn more or refresh your memory on this issue you will find the actual bill at: https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Bill/HB0436.pdf
Read the TNVET history/issue at: https://tnvet.org/legislative-success/2024-latest-legislative-actions/
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Requested support of legislative bills: HB0436/SB0651 – Disable Veteran Property Tax Reimbursement
To Representative:
To Senator:
Dear Legislator,
As your constituent and a military veteran/spouse, I ask for your support of this legislation. The bill eliminates
the state’s market value assessment of property value and replaces it with the county assessor of property
assessment value. Use of the state’s market value calculation costs veterans thousands of dollars in the state’s
tax reimbursement. In July 2023, Gov. Lee stated, “we must also remember that freedom is not free – it has
been hard-won and hard-kept by veterans and members of our armed forces.” He stated, “These brave men and
women deserve our highest respect and strongest support.” Gov. Lee further declared he wanted to “make
Tennessee the best state in the nation for service members, veterans and their families to thrive.”
Fixing the market value calculation issue within Tennessee law TCA 67-5-704 (a) that penalizes those disabled
veterans that qualify for a property tax exemption/reimbursement would help elevate Tennessee’s commitment
to this classification of veterans.
All 50 states offer property tax exemption/reimbursement programs for qualified disabled veterans. Many offer
broader programs for these veterans than Tennessee. Some states offer a full/100% property tax
exemption/reimbursement, ex. Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Virginia. Other states offer exemption
amounts for veterans rated at less than 100% disabled, ex. Texas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, and Kansas.
Tennessee Veterans are not asking for such expansions of the program, such as additional disabled percentages
or an increase in the amount of exemption/reimbursement, but for the elimination of a mathematical/real estate
value calculation that adversely affects/penalizes these disabled veterans based on where they live and the
whims of the housing market.
Not only is your support needed to address this issue, but your support to FUND this legislation is also needed. There is no success if there is no FUNDING to go along with the bill. Your time to consider this request and hopeful support is greatly
appreciated.
Sincerely,
Printed Full Name :
Address:
Phone or Email:
LETTER #2 – The letter below addresses
If you wish to learn more or refresh your memory on this issue you will find the actual bill at: https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Bill/HB0436.pdf
Requested support of legislative bill: HJR 0001 – Support for hyperbaric oxygen therapy for veteran TBI/PTSD
Representative:
Senator:
Dear Legislator,
As your constituent and a military veteran/spouse, I ask for your support of this legislation. National veteran suicide crises data indicates that as many as twenty-two veterans commit suicide every day. Traumatic brain Injuries (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be causes of these suicides. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy couples hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatment, which promotes oxygen for healing and restoring injured brain tissue, with counseling and is showing promise to help veterans with these health issues to heal.
This bill urges the United States Congress to swiftly enact legislation to provide for veterans’ access to treatments for traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder that include hyperbaric oxygen therapy. In July 2023, Gov. Lee stated, “we must also remember that freedom is not free – it has been hard-won and hard-kept by veterans and members of our armed forces.” He stated, “These brave men and women deserve our highest respect and strongest support.” Your support is needed to address this issue. Your time to consider this request and hopeful support is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Printed Full Name:
Address:
Phone or Email: