Legislature Approves $56.2B State Budget for 2024 - Articles

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Legislature Approves $56.2B State Budget for 2024

Posted by: Jamie Rhode on Apr 26, 2023

Last week, Tennessee lawmakers approved a $56.2 billion state operating budget for the 2024 fiscal year. Specifics include $3.3 billion for road projects, $140 million for public school resource officers (SRO), a $1.1 billion funding increase for the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act, and $18.5 million in one-time grant funds for volunteer fire departments, rescue squads, EMS providers and inclusion parks for the intellectual and developmentally disabled. The budget passed with wide bipartisan support. Republicans were unanimous in their votes, but some Democrats criticized the SRO funding item as not addressing the root cause of gun violence in the state and wanted the state to do more to relieve citizens' financial stress by expanding Medicaid and offering permanent grocery tax cuts instead of a temporary holiday. Read more at The Tennessean.