Democrats in the Tennessee Senate are busy this week with proposals on health care and education:

• Senator Lowe Finney, D-Jackson, brings a bill (SB4181 [1]) to restructure Tennessee's long-term health care system before the Senate General Welfare, Health, and Human Resources Committee on Wednesday, April 9 at 11:00 a.m. CST (12 Legislative Plaza).

• Several Democratic proposals for surplus lottery funds will be taken up when the Senate Education Committee meets on Wednesday, April 9 at 9:00 a.m. CST (12 LP), including:

• Sponsored by Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, SB4197 [2] enacts Gov. Bredesen's initiative to transfer $200 million from lottery reserves into an endowment that will fund grants offered by the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation.

• Sponsored by the Senate and House Democratic Caucuses, SB2397 [3] creates a scholarship program to provide up to $1,000 per semester for Tennessee veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

• SB4099 [4], sponsored by Sen. John Wilder, D-Mason, Sen. Roy Herron, D-Dresden, and Sen. Steve Roller, D-McMinnville, creates a scholarship program for Tennessee students studying to become designated types of health care professionals that agree to practice in rural and other underserved areas across the state.

• SB3229 [5], sponsored by Sen. Berke, earmarks lottery proceeds for a scholarship program targeting Tennessee students studying to become teachers.

• SB4127 [6], sponsored by Sen. Charlotte Burks, D-Monterey, uses $100 million of lottery reserve funds to create an endowment for Tennessee students that left college after getting within 30 hours of completing their baccalaureate degrees.

More details on these and other proposals can be found at the Tennessee Senate Democratic Caucus newsroom [7].