NASHVILLE – Tennessee GOP legislative leaders plan to bring the state’s proposed $52 billion fiscal 2023 budget up for floor votes Thursday despite several lingering disagreements among themselves and with Republican Gov. Bill Lee over several major provisions in the annual spending plan.
Those include a controversial “truth in sentencing” measure pressed by House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senate Speaker Randy McNally. It would require felons convicted of violent offenses in 14 categories to serve 100% of the sentences handed out by judges.
It would undo some provisions that Lee, who has championed sentencing reform, had previously pushed through the legislature. Sexton and House Republicans earlier this week sent the governor a message at one point, zeroing out $150 million Lee had included for his proposed Violent Crime Intervention Fund.
It’s now back, albeit at $100 million, a peace offering of sorts.
And the House also came back to restore some deleted funding for two prisoner advocacy groups Lee has supported and worked with prior to his entering politics. One of them is Nashville-based Men of Valor, which works with men in prison and helps them adjust to the outside world when released. Another was a Tim Tebow-backed anti-trafficking initiative.