‘Tennessee is Leading the Nation:’ Governor Bill Lee Delivers Fifth State of the State Address

Kaitlin Housler

One year after declaring “the state of our state is strong,” Governor Bill Lee touted Tennessee as a leader in the nation in regards to being a “guiding light for opportunity, security and freedom” during his fifth State of the State address on Monday in the House Chamber of the Tennessee State Capitol.

“In 2019, I stood in this chamber and said, “Tennessee can lead the nation.” Tonight – standing on the shoulders of giants who came before us – I say with great pride that Tennessee is leading the nation. The state of our beloved state is prosperous, hopeful, and unrivaled,” Lee declared.

Lee also proposed his $55.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2023-2024 during his speech to a joint session of the General Assembly.

Lee’s budget and legislative priorities for the upcoming year include funding to “modernize transportation, ensure economic and educational opportunity, preserve our natural resources, protect children, strengthen families and more.”

“To continue leading the nation, I’m proposing a legislative agenda and a budget that will focus on the fundamentals that put our state in this enviable position in the first place,” Lee stated.

Notable highlights from Governor Lee’s fiscal year 2023-2024 agenda include:

Transportation & Infrastructure Modernization

“It’s time to invest in a transportation strategy for one of the fastest growing states in the country. We cannot solve this problem with debt or higher taxes, but we have to do something,” Lee said. “Right now, there’s a $26 billion backlog of projects across the state. Simply put, we are way behind, and we have to change the way we fund and build our roads and bridges.”

  • $3B to the Transportation Modernization Fund to alleviate urban congestion and fund rural road projects across the state
  • $750M allocated to each of TN’s four TDOT regions
  • $300M to expand the State Aid Program for local road projects
  • Proposing new comprehensive legislation centering on Alternative Delivery Models, Public-Private Partnerships, Electric/Hybrid Vehicle Fees

 

Economic Opportunity & Tax Relief

“Tennessee has a legacy of fiscal responsibility that has allowed our state’s economy to flourish,” Lee stated. “The same cannot be said for the rest of the country. Economic pressure is building, and it’s hitting the pocket of every American family. At times like this, many states are forced to choose between raising taxes or taking on more debt, but not Tennessee.”

“Decades of smart fiscal stewardship have enabled us to weather the national economic storms and do so while maintaining a healthy savings account and cutting taxes for Tennesseans. So, this year, we’re cutting taxes again,” Lee added.

  • $288.3M for a one-time three-month sales tax holiday on food from August 1 to October 31, 2023, providing tax relief for Tennessee families
  • Beginning a three-year transition to Single Sales Factor for franchise and excise taxes to improve TN’s ability to compete for jobs and investment
  • $64M to simplify tax administration and conform with the federal bonus depreciation provisions of 2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, allowing businesses to more quickly recover costs and further incentivize investment in Tennessee production
  • $37.8M for Small Business Excise Tax Relief, establishing a standard deduction from excise tax for up to $50,000 of reported net income, earning taxpayers a maximum of $3,250 in direct savings for Tennessee businesses
  • $20.3M for Small Business Franchise Tax Relief that exempts up to $500,000 of property from the franchise tax, giving small- and medium-sized businesses that own property in Tennessee up to $1,250 in tax savings on their annual franchise tax liability
  • $7.9M for Small Business Relief from the Business Gross Receipts Tax, increasing the filing threshold for business tax from $10,000 to $100,000 to ensure that only businesses with $100,000 of gross receipts or more will be subject to the business tax. This includes funding to hold local jurisdictions harmless.
  • $7.3M to establish a state paid family leave tax credit against franchise and excise tax for a two-year pilot period that will mirror the federal tax credit

Skilled Workforce

“This year, I propose that we complete Tennessee’s TCAT Master Plan. To do that, we’ll expand and improve 16 existing TCATs, replace seven outdated facilities, and build six brand new TCATs at strategic locations across our state,” Lee said; adding, “Our goal is to train 10,000 new skilled workers a year. To achieve this, we’re proposing $1 billion in this budget – the largest investment in our technical colleges in state history.”

  • $370.8M to update outdated facilities in seven TCAT campuses state-wide
  • $386.2M to invest in new buildings, expansions and improvements to sixteen current TCAT campuses
  • $147.5M to build six new TCATs to better serve more students across Tennessee

Strong & Healthy Families

“Two years ago, at the request of the General Assembly, we secured an historic TennCare Medicaid waiver agreement – the only federally-approved waiver of its kind in the nation,” Lee announced.

The governor said, “Our waiver actually rewards a state for efficient, responsible management of taxpayer resources by awarding additional federal funds – known as shared savings – to serve the most vulnerable.” I want to thank our TennCare Director Stephen Smith for his remarkable leadership in working with the federal government to secure this waiver.

  • $18.7M to increase the income threshold for pregnant women and caregivers to expand access to TennCare Services
  • $5.2M to provide 12-month continuous TennCare eligibility for low-income children
  • $4.7M to permanently extend postpartum health coverage under TennCare
  • $100M for Crisis Pregnancy Provider Support Grants supporting crisis pregnancy centers statewide, improving access to healthcare and information for expecting mothers
  • $10.25M for TN Fosters Hope grant funding to elevate high quality care for children and families impacted by foster care and adoption, allowing providers to expand their services to foster and adoptive families
  • $27M to expand programming for children with complex or special needs that face challenges being placed in a traditional foster or adoptive home by further developing the provider network and providing respite and long-term care
  • $15M to fund the Summer Youth Employment Program to connect youth and young adults ages 14 to 24 with career exploration opportunities and paid work experiences

Protecting Tennessee’s Children

“The needs of Tennessee children have evolved, and our approach to serving them must evolve too,” Lee said.

  • $33M to increase bed capacity in the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) provider network to reduce the time children and youth spend in offices and children’s homes
  • $39.8M to increase the rate of payment for providers in the DCS provider network that offer residential and clinical services to children in state custody
  • $7.3M to support foster families and incentivize foster care and adoption of sibling groups and teens
  • $15.9M to align DCS case manager salary with market salary regionally and in the private sector
  • $11.4M to contract short-term private case managers to alleviate the burden on DCS case managers
  • $5M for Juvenile Justice Youth Intervention Partnerships to increase collaboration with community-based partners to support youth stepping down from juvenile facilities
  • $31M to replace the Tennessee Family and Child Tracking System (TFACTS), the DCS case management and payment system

Great Schools

“Access to career and technical education can change the trajectory of someone’s life. We should expand those opportunities in our K-12 schools,” Lee stated.

  • $350M in additional funding to local education agencies through Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA), including $125 M for teacher pay raises
  • $60.8M to extend summer learning camps and expand eligibility age from 4th grade to Kindergarten through 9th grade
  • $10M for Summer Bus Transportation
  • $20M in School Safety Grants to enhance school security
  • $29.7M for the TN School Safety Initiative, expanding staffing to place at least one Homeland Security Special Agent in each of the state’s 95 counties to provide threat assessments and collaborate with local law enforcement
  • Expanding the Grow Your Own apprenticeship program to help solve teacher shortages, serving 600 new apprenticeship candidates per year
  • Five percent salary pool increase for higher education employees to ensure they attract and retain the best employee base possible

Safe Neighborhoods

“We will never stop investing in the safety of Tennesseans,” Lee declared, as he segued into his law enforcements budget items.

  • Adding 100 Highway Patrol Troopers and related support staff and 25 Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Forensic Services staff
  • $30M addition to the TN Law Enforcement Hiring, Training, and Recruitment Program (Year 2)
  • $50M expansion of the Violent Crime Intervention Fund
  • $357M for network expansion of the Tennessee Advanced Communication Network (TACN) to transition remaining state agencies into TACN, improve coverage and provide infrastructure grants for local agencies to join TACN
  • $10M to support successful re-entry by expanding Evidence-Based Programming Grants in prisons and jails with a focus on mental health

Brighter Future

“From Mountain City to Memphis, our state is blessed with natural beauty and rich resources… Our state parks are a jewel, and they’ll only be around for the future if we invest in them today. Through the years, Tennessee has maintained responsible stewardship of our natural resources, but it’s time to develop a conservation strategy that balances our state’s economic growth with a plan to protect our environment,” Lee said.

  • $66.5M for the Natchez Trace Recreation Area, establishing a sportsman’s themed park with a lodge, cabins, campgrounds and a shooting range
  • $28.3M to create Scott’s Gulf State Park, a 9,000-acre park uniting Virgin Falls State Natural Area with surrounding nature areas into a single wilderness park
  • $30M to revitalize the Heritage Conservation Trust to support public-private partnerships through a matching grant program
  • $15.4M for trail infrastructure and development of the Cumberland Trail
  • $10.3M to address critical gaps along the Wolf River Greenway, a 26-mile paved trail meandering from the Mississippi River to Germantown
  • $6.3M to expand the Tweetsie Trail in Carter County, connecting four communities, two bike parks and a pedestrian bridge
  • $70M to TN Clean Initiative, cleaning up state superfund sites, Oak Ridge and all 47 known dry cleaner sites
  • $6.3M for the Rural Brownfields Investment Act to revitalize 175 known brownfield sites, creating a new state-administered grant and technical support program for remediation and economic development of existing brownfields
  • $4.7M grant funding to improve local water quality by optimizing wastewater treatment plants, collaborating with agricultural partners to practice best management principles and supporting cities with reduction of nutrients in stormwater

 

“Tennessee is leading. The question is, will we lead in a way that lasts – in a way that our grandchildren are equipped and inspired to pick up where we left off? I believe we can, and I look forward to pursuing that with all of you, this year and three more after that,” Lee said, concluding his speech.

 

Lee’s proposed $55.6 billion fiscal year 2023-2024 agenda is $3 billion more than his agenda last year.

Watch the full State of the State address:

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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.

 

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3 Thoughts to “‘Tennessee is Leading the Nation:’ Governor Bill Lee Delivers Fifth State of the State Address”

  1. Ms Independent
    February 8, 2023 at 6:48 am

    Lee is delusional and out of touch just like a democrat

    Reply
  2. Joe Blow
    February 7, 2023 at 1:57 pm

    Lee sure sounds like a liberal Democrat…. and governs like one.

    Where is tax relief for the average Joe/Jane out here busting our tails. Oh, that is right, we get a 3 month tax holiday for groceries. What an insult. A real leader would completely do away with the tax on groceries. After all, as he says, Tennessee is flush with income revenue.

    His “choice lane” proposal is a really bad idea.

    His desire for the state to dictate a minimum wage for teachers is a BIG overreach from the state level. Sounds like a Penny Schwinn idea. The local school boards and taxpayers should determine what the pay should be for ALL educators.

    I hope that we can survive another four years of his “enlightened” leadership.

    Reply
  3. David Blackwell RN, BSN, CCM
    February 7, 2023 at 8:34 am

    What Tennessee needs to do is found a state bank similar to the bank of North Dakota. We then team up with our musicians in Memphis, Nashville and the hills of Appalachia. We simply request that when people come to Tennessee to hear our music, a commodity that no one else in the world has, that they pay admission with $ound Rounds of SILVER, which are in fact United States Constitutional Dollars.

    Reply

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