Editor’s note: Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville) is the one who carries the governor’s budget through the legislative process.
Governor Bill Haslam delivered his proposal to fund state government for the 2016-2017 fiscal year in his annual State of the State Address last week, unveiling a balanced $34.8 billion proposal that makes the largest investment in K-12 education without a tax increase in Tennessee’s history.
My focus has been and remains on the “Four E’s of Tennessee”: Employment, Education, Economic Opportunity and Efficiency.
This budget reflects and furthers that focus through additional funding for the Labor Education Alignment Program (LEAP) I crafted in 2013. The Tennessee Higher Education Commissions 2016 LEAP Report, released last month, calls for more funding for expansion, and this budget answers that call.
The governor’s budget proposes $261 million in new dollars for Tennessee public education, including $104.6 million for teacher salaries.
It also builds up state reserves, puts Tennessee on the path to catch up on long-deferred maintenance of buildings, reinvests in the state workforce and focuses one-time dollars on reducing the state’s ongoing costs.
Gov. Haslam highlighted the collaborative effort with the General Assembly to grow Tennessee’s economy, reduce ongoing costs, provide high quality service to taxpayers and maintain fiscal discipline that has positioned Tennessee to invest in its priorities.
The governor said that the budget proposal takes advantage of a strengthening economy combined with the hard work and discipline of departments of state government and the conservative fiscal strategy employed by the General Assembly, the state’s constitutional officers and his administration.
Including the current fiscal year’s appropriation, state government will invest more than $414 million in new dollars in Tennessee schools.
Haslam proposed funding the 12th month of health insurance for teachers and doubling the state’s recurring contribution for technology needs at schools.
The governor’s proposal puts $100 million into the state’s Rainy Day Fund, bringing it to an estimated $668 million on June 30, 2017; $60 million for salary increases for state employees; and another $36 million for market rate adjustments for state employees making less than $50,000 annually.
Haslam proposed significant investments in higher education and the Drive to 55 initiative, the state’s effort to increase the number of Tennesseans with a postsecondary credential to 55 percent by 2025, including:
- $50 million for the Complete College funding formula for higher education;
- $20 million for the Drive to 55 Capacity Fund to help community and technical colleges meet the growing demand for degrees and certificates; and
- $10 million for LEAP, helping communities align degree and course offerings with the needs of the local workforce.
The governor’s budget proposal invests $581.6 million in state and other funds to build new buildings and fix existing higher education and general state government facilities.
This includes the top recommended capital projects for both the University of Tennessee (UT) system and the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR):
- $85.5 million for a new Tennessee Tech University laboratory science building;
- $39 million for a new dentistry building at the UT Health Science Center in Memphis;
- $38.8 million for Tennessee State University’s new health science building; and
- $36 million for renovations to UT-Chattanooga academic buildings.
Other notable budget investments are:
- $130 million from the General Fund to repay the Highway Fund;
- $24 million in state funds for the Employment and Community First (ECF) CHOICES program to serve more people currently on the Department of Intellectual and Devel-opmental Disabilities’ waiting list and others eligible for services;
- $12.8 million for facilities and homeland security upgrades for the Military Department;
- $10 million for the Department of Economic and Community Devel-opment’s Rural Devel-opment Initiative;
- $1.27 million to increase the number of drug recovery courts from 41 to 50 and for two additional veterans courts.
Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Bo Watson (R-Hixson), vice-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said, “We have been very prudent with Tennessee’s finances. We have the lowest state debt in the nation and nothing in this budget will create new debt. Rather, this budget increases the state’s savings account which declined greatly during the recession years to ensure we have the financial safety net we need in the event of a downturn in the economy.”
Tennessee Sen. Mark Norris (R-Collierville), Senate Majority Leader, may be reached via the contact page of his website at marknorris.org/blog1/. Alss see updates on his Facebook page.
