Tennessee Senate approves $37.1 billion budget; sends it to governor

Tennessee Senate tile
Tennessee Senate tile

NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Senate voted 28-2 Monday night to send the state's $37.1 billion Fiscal Year 2018 budget on to Republican Gov. Bill Haslam.

The House passed the state's annual spending last week.

Senators also approved the three-other appropriations-related bills, including an indexing bill acknowledging lawmakers were busting the "Copeland Cap," a constitutional provision that says state revenue growth cannot exceed per capita income.

That vote was 24-7.

But senators' actions came with far less drama than last Thursday's House floor meltdown where a coalition of hard-right Republicans and Democrats "hijacked" the annual spending plan and successfully attached a number of amendments.

It took a day to get that resolved in the lower chamber and the deal cut there was readily accepted by the GOP-controlled Senate Monday night.

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