Gov. Bill Lee is proposing a $55.6 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Lee unveiled his proposal Monday during the State of the State address at the Tennessee State Capitol, seeking to garner support from the lawmakers who must approve the line items in his wish list. Some protesters were present at the Capitol for the address, including one who shouted over a portion of the speech about the state's opposition to abortion. She and others were removed from the chambers. 

Read the full address here, and see the full rundown here.

Here are some of the highlights from Lee’s pitch for 2023-24:

  • $1 billion in capital spending for Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology, including building six new TCAT campuses and improvements and expansions at existing vocational colleges
  • $3 billion for state road projects, plus $300 million for local road projects as part of infrastructure plan that includes a proposal to allow private companies to build toll lanes on state roads
  • $125 million for teacher raises, with the goal of getting the minimum teacher salary to $50,000 in the next four years
  • Three-month grocery tax holiday
  • $250 million for the state’s rainy-day fund, boosting it north of $2 billion
  • $200 million for moving the Tennessee Performing Arts Center from its current home; Nashville Mayor John Cooper had previously pitched the East Bank as a possible site for a new theater building
  • $100 million in grants for anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers,” a dramatic escalation in funding for organizations like the Hope Clinic for Women, for which Lee sits on an advisory board; the Associated Press reported that anti-abortion state governments allocated $89 million nationwide to such centers during the 2021-22 fiscal year
  • Another go at paid family leave for state employees, killed by Republicans in the legislature the last time Lee pushed it
  • $350 million for improvements at sports facilities FedEx Forum and Simmons Bank Liberty Bowl in Memphis
  • $50 million to invest in nuclear power
  • Increasing TennCare eligibility for postpartum coverage and pregnant patients
  • $193.5 million for the in-crisis Department of Children’s Services
  • $450 million for state parks and recreation areas
  • $357 million for law enforcement communications upgrades

Photos by Hamilton Matthew Masters

Tags

Like what you read?


Click here to become a member of the Scene !