Adam “Ditch” Kurtz (D)

Musician

Day 1 Agenda
- Appoint an Attorney General who will not prosecute women for receiving abortions
- Require state agencies to pay $20 an hour, and only contract with companies that pay at least $15 an hour
- Ban state agencies from contracting with companies that practice union-busting
- Paid family and medical leave for state workers
- Mandate state agencies to buy Tennessee-grown food
- Use unused state land for housing
- Greater language accessibility to reduce communication barriers
- Require body cameras for state police
- Establish Tennessee Land Bank Authority to redistribute vacant and abandoned homes
- Ban political retaliation by government
- Pardons for marijuana possession
- Launch State Office of Gun Violence Intervention
- Stop collaboration with ICE
- Bring NBA and MLB to Nashville
- Keep the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis
- Work to move detainment centers out of Tennessee
- Make choice lanes exclusive to TN residents only
- Establish Human Rights Commission to investigate discriminatory practices at businesses
- Establish a working group of current and former electeds of both parties to look at election reforms
- Establish a group to study the implementation of statewide universal healthcare
- Establish a study group within TDOT to look at the best path towards connecting our urban centers—whether it be light rail, high-speed rail, or some other solution
- Strategically deploying federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds to expand access to affordable housing, eliminate childcare waitlists, and relieve families burdened by predatory medical debt.
- At the same time, Kurtz will launch a top-to-bottom audit of TDOT to root out wasteful spending and politically-driven projects.

Affordability
- Greater state oversight over utility companies
- First-time homebuyer assistance
- Cap tuition at public colleges and universities
- Medical/student debt forgiveness program
- Tax rebates for artists
- Eliminate the grocery tax
- Increase the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour
- Implement statewide universal Pre-K
- Provide universal free school breakfast and lunch
- Expand healthcare
- Cap property tax rates

Education
- End the voucher scheme
- $60,000 state minimum for teacher pay in public schools
- Implement statewide universal Pre-K
- Expand TN Promise
- Provide universal free school breakfast and lunch
- Greater state funding for special education

Healthcare
- Expand Medicaid
- Medical office (hospital, vision, dental) price transparency law
- Create a rural hospital stabilization fund
- Protect access to reproductive care and access to abortion
- Instruct Attorney General not to prosecute anyone for performing or receiving women’s reproductive healthcare
- Medical debt forgiveness program
- Create a task force to examine the possibility of statewide universal - healthcare

Labor Rights
- $15 statewide minimum wage legislation
- Day one executive order requiring state agencies to pay $20 an hour, and only contract with companies that pay at least $15 an hour
- Repeal the Right-to-Work law
- Ban state agencies from contracting with companies that practice union-busting
- Require salary information in job postings
- Eliminate the tipped minimum wage
- Paid family and medical leave

Taxes
- Cap property tax rates for localities
- Eliminate the grocery tax
- Implement a lodging tax
- Implement a luxury goods tax
- Increase corporate taxes
- Increase vise taxes

Infrastructure
- Road Repair Initiative
- Bridge Repair Initiative
- Expand rural access to broadband
- Water and sewer system upgrades
- Conduct a transit study to look at connecting our cities through light rail, high-speed rail, or some other public transportation
- Make choice lanes exclusive to TN residents only
- Raise standards on electric providers to help prevent power outages
- Pay for infrastructure improvements through increased impact fees on developers
- Replace aging pipes

Housing
- Pass the Homes Not Hedge Funds legislation
- Zoning reform to encourage duplexes, triplexes, and starter-type homes
- Limit bulk purchasing of single-family homes
- Ban junk fees in rentals
- Tax investment properties
- Establish Tennessee Land Bank Authority to redistribute vacant and abandoned homes
- Use unused state land for housing

Environment
- Crack down on industrial pollution
- More regulations on landfills
- Expand state parks and green-space areas
- Invest in solar, wind, and hydro energy
- Redevelopment of brownfields

Farming
- Mandate state agencies to buy Tennessee-grown food
- Ban big corporations and foreign entities from buying farmland
- Establish a state crop loss fund (providing assistance to farmers if crop fails)
- More farm grants

Development
- Bring NBA and MLB to Nashville
- Keep the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis
- Reduce minimum lot size requirements
- Pass a state law permitting accessory dwelling units by right
- Standardized zoning classifications, land uses, and building codes throughout the entire state
- Require planning commissions to have working-class residents on their board
- Regional planning oversight boards operated by the state for large developments

Political
- Voting for TN Constitutional Officers/Important Positions (Secretary of State, Treasurer, Comptroller, Attorney General, Lt Governor, Tennessee Supreme Court, Public Service Commission, State School Board)
- Reform the Utility Commission to give them greater oversight over statewide and local utility companies
- Financial disclosure forms for all elected officials at every level as well as members of official boards or commissions
- Implement citizen-led ballot initiatives
- Term limits (4 terms for State House, 2 terms for State Senate)
- Let municipalities have greater freedom in what laws they can enact

Elections
- Tennessee constitutional ban on partisan gerrymandering
- Tennessee constitutional amendment to prioritize keeping communities together in redistricting
- Automatic voter registration
- Make municipal, county, and judicial elections nonpartisan
- Implement ranked-choice voting
- Establish an Independent redistricting commission

Immigration
- Stop state collaboration with ICE on Day 1
- Work to move detainment centers out of Tennessee
- Greater language accessibility to reduce communication barriers
- Greater penalties for corporations that exploit undocumented labor
- Protections at locations such as schools, churches, hospitals, and other public places; Teachers shouldn’t have to report their students, and doctors shouldn’t have to report their patients

Criminal justice
- End qualified immunity
- Statewide use-of-force standards
- Require body cameras for state police
- Create an independent state board to investigate police misconduct
- Restore voting rights for individuals convicted of non-violent crimes
- Remove criminal history checkbox on job applications
- End contracts with CoreCivic and all other private prison companies

Guns
- Statewide gun violence intervention programs; More funding for local programs
- Pass a universal background check law
- Pass red-flag laws
- Implement a ban on individuals convicted of violent crimes from buying guns
- Require a permit for open carry

Marijuana Legalization
- Day 1 pardons for individuals convicted of marijuana possession
- Legalize marijuana for medical and recreational use
- Tax and regulate marijuana, creating a whole new stream of revenue to fund other programs
- Make sure that in-state farmers are prioritized over corporate farms

LGBTQ+ Protection
- Establish a Human Rights Commission to investigate discriminatory practices at businesses
- Reverse all of the Republicans’ anti-LGBTQ legislation
- Support the Human Rights Amendment

Freedom of Speech
- Protect free speech
- Pass legislation protecting the right to protest for all Tennesseans
- Ban political retaliation by the government—your political affiliation shouldn’t have any bearing on getting a job
- Oppose book bans and curriculum restrictions

Endorsements
- Kyle Gass (Tenacious D)
- Matthew DeBardelaben (Knoxville City Council