From the Chattanoogan: Tennessee House Transportation Chairman Dan Howell, R-Ocoee, on Friday announced he will seek re-election in 2024. Rep. How
From the Chattanoogan: Tennessee House Transportation Chairman Dan Howell, R-Ocoee, on Friday announced he will seek re-election in 2024. Rep. Howell has represented Meigs, Polk and Bradley counties in the House of Representatives since 2013.
“I am incredibly humbled and honored to have earned the trust of the people here at home as well as my colleagues in the House,” he said. “As Tennesseans, we are fortunate to live in a state that is a model for the rest of the nation for our low taxes, fiscal stability, and individual liberties. We are prepared to meet any challenge that comes our way.”
Rep. Howell in 2023 led legislative efforts to secure a $3.3 billion investment to modernize Tennessee’s infrastructure and address critical transportation needs in urban and rural communities. The Transportation Modernization Act accommodates Tennessee’s record growth, addresses traffic congestion, and meets the transportation needs of the future all without raising taxes.
Among other recent accomplishments, Howell was instrumental in helping to pass the largest tax cut in state history through the Tennessee Works Tax Act. In addition to benefitting families, these cuts provide important relief for small businesses through various changes to business, franchise, and excise tax collections. These reforms will encourage future entrepreneurship and further strengthen our state’s economic competitiveness.
Rep. Howell, a former broadcast journalist, was appointed to fill a vacancy for the 22nd House District seat in 2013 and was elected to represent the district by popular vote in 2014.
Since then, he has been an effective advocate for District 22 and East Tennessee, supporting several initiatives to bring economic opportunities and tourism to the region. Rep. Howell cosponsored legislation to expand broadband internet services to underserved rural areas of Tennessee. He fought to save tourism in Southeast Tennessee by sponsoring legislation that created the Ocoee River Recreation and Economic Development Fund.
Rep. Howell is committed to ensuring all Tennessee students have the very best opportunities to learn and achieve to their highest potential. His support of major investments in education and focus on early childhood literacy earned him an A+ rating from Tennesseans for Student Success. He has been an outspoken supporter of key initiatives to make Tennessee schools the best in the nation. Last year, he supported the largest pay increase for teachers in state history through the Teacher Paycheck Protection Act. This legislation will put Tennessee teachers among the nation’s top 10 highest-paid educators in the nation by 2026. Since his time in the legislature, he has voted to increase public school resources by investing $3.5 billion in additional education dollars and expanding vocational and technical training.
In recent years, Rep. Howell supported legislation ending dangerous cosmetic gender reassignment surgeries on minors in Tennessee. He voted in favor of a law prohibiting curriculum that promotes racist, sexist, and divisive concepts in Tennessee public schools. He voted to protect the competitive balance of girls’ sports by ensuring boys are not able to displace girls in competitive events that deny female athletes victories, opportunities or scholarships.
As state representative, Rep. Howell has been a strong voice for Tennesseans with disabilities. He guided passage of legislation that cut through red tape and created greater access to high-quality care for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities in a Medicaid home or community-based services program. He sponsored the Tennessee Accessible Transportation and Mobility Act of 2020 which works within the Tennessee Department of Transportation to expand and improve accessible transportation for the aging and disabled.
“Tennessee remains one of the most enviable economies in the nation where companies want to do business and people want to live to enjoy our exceptional quality of life,” Rep. Howell said. “I am incredibly proud of the example Tennessee continues to set when it comes to fiscal responsibility and good governance. I look forward to working to advance the best interests of the people of House District 22 and to ensure Tennessee’s future remains prosperous for everyone. “
