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.
Tax Cuts
$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
Transportation Modernization
- $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
Skilled Workforce / TCATs
$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- 370 million to update outdated facilities in seven TCAT campuses state-wide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
Higher Education
- $47.9 million for higher education outcome funding formula
- $16 million for the Tennessee Board of Regents
- $18 million for the Locally Governed Institutions
- $2.5 million for ETSU college of pharmacy
- $5.2 million to expand the HOPE scholarship
Economic and Community Development
- $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
Preserving Outdoor Heritage
- $328 million for state parks, natural areas, and forests
- $41 million for trails
- $82.7 million for environmental cleanup
School Safety
$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
Department of Children's Services
- $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
Education
- $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
Public Safety and Law Enforcement
- $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
Strong & Healthy Families / Healthcare
- $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