NASHVILLE -Putting the finishing touches on the budget he’ll present to lawmakers early next year, Gov. Bill Haslam said he has a “good problem” on his hands: extra revenue two years in a row that he can spend on priorities such as K-12 and higher education.
“We have a good problem, having a surplus right now,” Haslam told the Nashville Rotary Club last week.
It’s interesting, he added, that “once you have a surplus, all the different ideas come out of the woodwork” about what do do with the extra money.
Haslam last week wrapped up two weeks of public hearings for the fiscal 2017-18 budget that would take effect July 1.
This year’s state budget is $34.9 billion, including federal funds and higher education tuition. Tax collections in the first few months have been about $200 million above expectations.