The Budget – Jack Johnson

2023/2024 Budget Highlights

The $55.6 billion, no-debt budget addresses the needs of all Tennesseans while advancing efforts to strengthen families, bolster safety, improve education, create new opportunities for economic development and modernize transportation.
The balanced budget maintains Tennessee’s commitment to responsible fiscal management and deposits $250 million into the state’s Rainy-Day Fund, which serves as the state’s savings account to help withstand economic downturns, bringing the fund to a historic balance of more than $2 billion.

$407 million in tax cuts

$288 million for a 3-month sales tax holiday on food from Aug. 1 – Oct. 31, 2023
$64 million to simplify administration and conform with federal bonus depreciation provisions, allowing businesses to more quickly recover costs and further incentivize investment in Tennessee production
$37.8 million for Small Business Excise Tax Relief
$20.3M for Small Business Franchise Tax Relief
$7.9M for Small Business Relief from the Business Gross Receipts Tax
$7.3M to establish a state paid family leave tax credit against franchise and excise tax for a two-year pilot

$3 billion to the Transportation Modernization Fund to alleviate urban congestion and fund rural road projects across the state
- $750 million allocated to each of Tennessee’s four TDOT regions
$300 million to expand the State Aid Program for local road projects

$952 million to fully fund the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT) Masterplan

370 million to update outdated facilities in seven TCAT campuses state-wide
$386.2 to invest in new buildings, expansion, and improvement to sixteen current TCAT campuses
$147.5 million to build six new TCATs to better serve more students across Tennessee

$103 million for the Jobs4TN program in ECD to create new opportunities for Tennessee’s workforce and support the growth and retention of the state’s traditional job base
$340 million for the Jobs4TN program for new development projects
$45 million for grants and services to assist rural communities and distressed counties with site development, community asset improvement, marketing strategic planning, downtown revitalization, and technical assistance
$50 million for a nuclear energy supply chain investment fund

$223 to improve school safety

$140 million to establish a School Resource Officer (SRO) grant fund to place an on-duty law enforcement officer at every public school
$30 million to expand a statewide homeland security network with 122 agents serving at both public and private schools
$40 million for public school security upgrades
$14 million for private school security upgrades
$8 million for additional school-based behavioral health liaisons across the state

$15.9 million for salary increases for case managers
$8 million for a rate increase for private providers
$13.8 million to increase placements at private providers
$33 million to increase bed capacity in DCS
$39.8 million to increase the rate of payment for providers in DCS provider network that offer residential and clinical services to children in state custody
$4.9 million for foster care, adoption assistance, and subsidized permanent guardianship programs
$1.9 to increase adoption assistance
$1.1 million to DCS to improve adoption and foster care process
$5 million for provider network development for children in DCS custody or foster care but require specialized institutional/residential care
$61 million to replace the Tennessee Family and Child Tracking System (TFACTS), the DCS case management and payment system
$11 million to contract with short-term private case managers to alleviate burden on DCS case managers

$350 million in additional funding to LEAs through TISA
- Includes $125 million for teacher pay raises
$60.8 million to extend summer learning camps and expand eligibility age from 4th grade to K-9th grade
$10 million for Summer Bus Transportation

$4.5 million for 25 new forensic service positions within the TBI to help address the backlog in rape testing kits
$28.7 million for 142 new Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper positions
$24.7 million for 122 new agents in the Department of Safety’s Homeland Security Office
$357 million for the Tennessee Advanced Communications Network
$17.5 million to increase pay for assistant district attorneys, public defenders, and criminal investigators
$50 million set aside for new prison, which will be needed in the next decade

$190 million for the Tennessee Strong Families initiative which includes:
- $13.5 million to increase parental eligibility income threshold to 100% of the federal poverty level
- $5.1 million to TennCare program to increase the pregnancy eligibility threshold to 250% of the federal poverty level
- $4.6 million to permanently extend TennCare coverage for mothers to 12 months postpartum
- $1 million for a doula pilot program
- $2 million to increase grants to regional perinatal health centers
- $15 million for DIDDS services and other funding for children with disabilities in hospitals
- $22 million for children in longer-term placements who are unable to be placed in traditional foster care
- $15 million to the Department of Labor to connect youths and young adults with paid work experience and career exploration opportunities
- $10.25 million for the TN Fosters Hope program
$110 million of TennCare reserves for hospital grants to cover services provided under the hospital assessment for rural and distressed hospitals
$16.3 million to increase pay for Direct Service Providers to $15 per hour
$9 million to the Department of Mental Health to increase provider rates
$16 million to the Department of Health to increase provider rates
$18.7 million for 6-weeks paid leave for state employees after the birth or adoption of a child
$15.5 million for 6-weeks paid leave for teachers and LEA employees after the birth or adoption of a child