A year after giving businesses a $1.5 billion tax break, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s budget plan for the next fiscal year includes no such tax cuts — and none for grocery shoppers as lawmakers push two proposals to lower costs at the checkout counter.
Instead, the $59.4 billion spending proposal reflects a $1 billion increase in road spending, $148.6 million for the governor’s private-school voucher plan and $244,000 more for K-12 schools.
The plan marks a $1.1 billion dip compared with this year’s budget as federal funding decreases. More than one-third of the budget revenue comes from the federal government, $20.1 billion, and $3.6 billion will be taken from state budget balances the last two years.
Funding for K-12 public schools is slated to jump to $6.9 billion next year, including $198 million for teacher pay increases. A total of $450 million is to go toward the governor’s private-school voucher plan, which could take up to 20,000 students, after lawmakers approved one-time bonuses for teachers and funds for vouchers.
Another $17 million will go toward high-performing school districts, along with $7 million for a tourism destination district in Sevier County, part of a package designed to entice votes in a recent special session called to take up the voucher plan.
The governor’s budget plan eliminates 324 unfilled state positions and uses 1% savings from each department.
The state needs $30 billion worth of road work and is proposing $1 billion in funding for construction projects after putting $3 billion toward roads in 2023-24. Some $80 million from the state sales tax on tires is to go into the transportation fund from the general fund to pay for part of the road investment, an “unusual move,” according to Finance and Administration Commissioner Jim Bryson.
Bryson said no business tax breaks or sales tax cuts are included in this budget after the state gave businesses $1.1 billion in rebates on the franchise and excise tax, and $400,000 in future cuts. A reduction in the grocery tax will depend on the legislature, he said.
Democrats and Republicans are proposing different versions of grocery tax cuts for next fiscal year. Democratic Rep. Aftyn Behn and Democratic Sen. Charlane Oliver, both of Nashville, are sponsoring one measure that would be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes. Republican Rep. Elaine Davis of Knoxville and Sen. Bo Watson of Hixson are backing a separate grocery tax break, but it contains no method for replacing lost revenue.
The governor plans to add $35 million to the state’s rainy day fund, pushing it to a total of $2.18 billion. Lee came under criticism for declining to use the fund to help eight counties rebound from Hurricane Helene damage last fall.
Instead, he used $100 million from the TennCare budget to offer loans to the damaged counties. Another $420 million is to be spent on flood-ravaged areas, including a $100 million fund that is under the governor’s discretion.
No higher education construction projects are proposed for Tennessee State University as the governor proposes $650 million for capital spending at universities statewide. Extra funding for the financially strapped university could be contained in a budget amendment, according to Bryson.
The governor is set to spend $25 million on farmland conservation that would enable the state to buy temporary easements on farmland to stave off development. A bill to deal with that plan failed to pass last year.
The spending plan also calls for adding 100 state troopers and 22 agents in the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
In addition, Lee’s budget proposal includes $24.5 million for Duck River planning and $100 million to bring water from other sources to residents who live south of the river.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.
SUMMARY: Rome Ramirez, former Sublime member, celebrates his solo debut with the single “Why Me.” The song reflects his 15-year journey with Sublime, flipping the negative question “Why me?” into a message of gratitude and perseverance. Written with close friend Chris Galbuta, the track showcases Ramirez’s personal growth. The debut single’s cover artwork features a young Ramirez with a Sublime poster, symbolizing his roots. Ramirez, now living in Nashville, is also gearing up for upcoming festivals, including Summerfest in Milwaukee, while releasing more music throughout the year. He remains grateful for his experiences with Sublime and his musical journey.
He is a multi-platinum singer and songwriter, and now He is debuting his solo career today on Local On 2! You know Rome Ramirez from his time as the front man of Sublime and Rome! Now he is stepping out on his own with his new song, “Why Me?”
www.thecentersquare.com – By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-18 12:36:00
(The Center Square) – Tennessee’s revenues for March were $33.3 million less than the budgeted estimates, according to Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Jim Bryson.
The $1.6 billion in collections is $69.3 million less than March 2024.
“Sales tax receipts, which reflect February’s consumer activity, were likely impacted by adverse weather conditions,” Bryson said. “Corporate tax collections came in slightly below target but remained largely in line with expectations.”
Fuel taxes exceeded budget expectations, increasing by $9.1 million, a 10.39% jump.
Corporate collections are down 13.9% when compared to March 2024, a difference of $44 million. Corporate tax revenues year-to-date are 9.65% below estimates and down 22% when compared to August 2023 to March 2024 numbers. The General Assembly passed a corporate franchise tax cut in 2024 that was estimated to cost the state $1.6 billion. Corporations started applying for the tax break in May 2024.
Bryson reported a decline of $35.4 million in general fund revenues for March.
“Although we fell short of our monthly target, year-to-date revenues remain just below forecast,” Bryson said. “We will continue to closely monitor economic indicators and revenue trends to maintain fiscal stability.”
March is the eighth month of the fiscal year 2024-2025 budget.
The General Assembly passed the $59.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2025-2026 earlier this week, which does not include any tax breaks.
Lawmakers from both parties raised concerns about possible federal budget cuts that could affect Tennessee. Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, said when the budget process began in February that the state was already seeing a freeze in some programs.
House and Senate Democrats sent a letter to Bryson this week asking for more details on federal budget cuts.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court announced Thursday it will hear oral arguments next month over President Donald Trump’s efforts to restructure birthright citizenship, though the justices won’t decide on the merits of the case just yet.
Instead, they will choose whether to leave in place nationwide injunctions from lower courts that so far have blocked the Trump administration from implementing the executive order.
The oral arguments, scheduled for May 15, will likely provide the first indication of whether any of the nine justices are interested in revisiting the Court’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 following the Civil War.
The amendment states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
The Supreme Court ruled in 1898 in United States v. Wong Kim Ark that the 14th Amendment guarantees any child born in the United States is entitled to U.S. citizenship, even if their parents are not citizens.
Trump disagrees with that ruling and signed an executive order on his first day in office seeking to change which babies born in the United States become citizens. If that order were implemented, babies whose parents were “unlawfully present in the United States” or whose parents’ presence “was lawful but temporary” would not be eligible for citizenship.
Several organizations and Democratic attorneys general filed lawsuits seeking to block the executive order, leading to nationwide injunctions against its implementation.
Last month, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the lower court’s nationwide injunctions, limiting them to the organizations and states that filed suit.
The three cases are Trump v. State of Washington, Trump v. CASA, Inc. and Trump v. State of New Jersey.
Legislation
Nationwide injunctions by lower court judges have become an issue for Republicans in Congress as well as the Trump administration.
Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley introduced a bill in Congress that would bar federal district court judges from being able to implement nationwide injunctions.
“We all have to agree to give up the universal injunction as a weapon against policies we disagree with,” Grassley said during a hearing earlier this month. “The damage it causes to the judicial system and to our democracy is too great.”
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.
