NASHVILLE, Tenn. — On January 31, Governor Lee delivered his fourth State of the State address, outlining his budget and legislative priorities to a joint session of the General Assembly.
Part of Lee's address included a proposed budget of $52.6 billion for the fiscal year of 2023. The plan would include investments in K-12 education, higher education, improving transportation infrastructure, and more.
Lee also proposed updating K-12 education funding. The new plan would set aside dollars for each student, based on their individual needs, paying particular attention to students with disabilities, rural students, low-income students, and students with other priority needs.
Gov. Lee’s FY23 budget also proposes more than $1 billion in new, recurring education spending for public schools across Tennessee.
Some other key highlights part of Gov. Lee's agenda included:
- $750M recurring increase for new K-12 education funding formula
- Proposing a new law that would ensure parents know what materials are available to students in their libraries
- Proposing new legislation to make computer science and coding available to every high school student in Tennessee.
- $124.7M to provide an increase into the teacher salary pool
- $90M to fully fund the outcomes-based formula, enabling a zero percent tuition increase for public universities
- $200M for TCAT infrastructure investments to help double the skilled workforce by 2026
- $75.2M to increase the 4-year HOPE Award to $5,100 per student, per year, and the 2-year HOPE Award to $3,200 per student, per year
- Four percent salary pool increase for higher education employees
- Adding 100 Highway Patrol Troopers, 20 Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Agents, and 25 Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Forensic Science Personnel
- Directing the Department of Safety and Homeland Security to create a plan so every house of worship in Tennessee can receive high-quality safety training
- $355.6M in a Multi-Agency Law Enforcement Training Academy
- $82M to reimburse public hospitals for uncompensated care, primarily in rural communities
- $619M to accelerate projects listed in the IMPROVE Act and invest in transportation projects to ensure economic opportunity
You can read Gov. Lee's full address here, and you can read an overview of the proposed budget for FY23 here.
