(The Center Square) – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is asking lawmakers for an additional $3.9 billion in new spending.
The governor presented his $59.5 billion plan to lawmakers during his State of the State address on Monday night. It includes a $36.5 million investment in the state’s rainy day fund, which would bring it to $2.2 billion, according to the governor’s office.
The Department of Transportation will receive one of the most significant chunks of the budget with an additional $1 billion. The money would be used for roads and bridges, the governor said.
State Democrats questioned Lee’s plan.
“Today, Tennessee has a $78 billion dollar backlog of infrastructure projects – roads, bridges, schools, water systems – critical investments that we cannot afford,” said Rep. Johnny Ray Clemmons in a prebuttal to Lee’s speech released Friday. “Republican fiscal mismanagement is so bad that they argued the necessity of toll lanes on state roadways just to pay for road projects.”
Lee introduced two new programs during his speech. The governors announced a TennesseeWORKS scholarship that would cover all of the tuition and fees for students attending the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology. The cost for the initial year is $12 million.
Lee said the average home price has edged up 42% in the past four years and mortgages have doubled.
“Our state needs a housing plan that makes this key part of the American Dream possible,” Lee said. “First, we’re proposing a $60 million Starter Home Revolving Loan Fund. This self-sustaining program will provide 0% interest construction loans for the building of new single-family homes.”
The governor said he is allocating $30 million for a new Rural and Workforce Housing Tax Credit.
Education is receiving most of the funding – 37% of each dollar for a total of $580 million. Lee is asking for $244 million for the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement formula growth that includes teacher pay raises. An additional $198.4 million would go to a teacher bonus program approved in the school choice bill that passed during the special session.
The budget includes $24 million that would provide an increase in pay through the state’s WAGES program and cover child care for families through the Smart Steps Child Care Program.
“All of this – plus our work to streamline childcare facility licensing and permitting – will lead to tens of thousands of new daycare spots across rural and urban Tennessee, and in turn, create one of the most family-friendly workforces in the nation,” Lee said.
Lee said he would follow the example of the federal government’s Department of Government Efficiency.
“More bureaucracy does not mean better service. Businesses already know this – government should do the same. So, this year, we are bringing multiple proposals to streamline state boards, to simplify licensing practices, and to save local governments millions in administrative fees,” Lee said. “All of this will save taxpayer dollars and better serve Tennesseans.”
Other highlights from Lee’s budget:
An additional $130 million in the state’s Violent Crime Intervention Fund.A new Downtown Public Safety grants program. The cost is $75 million.Spending for the Education Freedom Scholarships, the school choice program passed by lawmakers at $145.9 million.
Democratic lawmakers said in a news conference after the State of the State that they were united against Lee and his “harmful agenda” presented.
“This is the type of fiscal recklessness and misplaced priorities that we’ve been railing against for years and seven years into this governor’s administration he continues to say the same old tired agenda items when he’s up there trying to talk about being innovative,” Clemmons said at the news conference.
