NASHVILLE — House and Senate leaders said late today they struck an agreement on the state’s $29.6 billion spending plan for 2009-2010 that slashes recurring state expenditures but uses bonds to meet higher education construction commitments such as the new UTC library.
The state-funded portion of the budget, including items such as federal spending, would drop from $13.5 billion in the 2009 budget, which ends June 30, to $12.1 billion in the budget that begins July 1, according to Bredesen administration officials.
“I think it’s pretty locked in,” said Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, of the deal. “We’re passing for the most part the governor’s budget. I’m pleased we were able to include a lot of projects like the UTC library which will bring the jobs of today and tomorrow to the district and the state.”
Rep. Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, agreed, saying, “there has been a deal struck on the budget that would protect the UTC library, and the Volkswagen supplier training funds are not in danger. I think we’ve been reassured that’s OK.”
For complete details, see tomorrow's Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Andy Sher is a Nashville-based staff writer covering Tennessee state government and politics for the Times Free Press. A Washington correspondent from 1999-2005 for the Times Free Press, Andy previously headed up state Capitol coverage for The Chattanooga Times, worked as a state Capitol reporter for The Nashville Banner and was a contributor to The Tennessee Journal, among other publications. Andy worked for 17 years at The Chattanooga Times covering police, health care, county government, ...
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