NASHVILLE – The Tennessee House today laid down its marker on the state’s $38.5 billion budget, approving its version of the state’s annual spending plan as senators continue to working on the document in committee.
The appropriations act was approved 95-1.
It largely reflects what Republican Gov. Bill Lee proposed back in March in his budget proposal, such as a 2 percent pay raise for teachers and a $50 million state cash grant for Volkwagen’s planned $800 million electric vehicle plant in Chattanooga and subsequent additions.
But in a political in-your-face approach to Senate majority Republicans, House Speaker Glen Casada and his GOP-led House’s plan also adopts a number of the lower chamber’s priorities despite no agreement yet from the Senate.
That includes a $27.3 million bill to create a Katie Beckett waiver program in Tennessee for severely disabled children whose parents’ higher incomes make them ineligible for TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program.