NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is seeking almost $24.7 million to treat hepatitis C in prisons.
On Tuesday, Tennessee Finance Commissioner Stuart McWhorter told a Senate panel about the request within the administration's wide-ranging budget amendment for the fiscal year beginning in July.
McWhorter said the funding would draw from $24 million originally planned for Lee's proposed voucher-style education program, which is working its way through the Legislature. He said that funding would've been unused under the current education savings account proposal.
McWhorter said the funding still wouldn't address the full prison population requiring hepatitis C treatment and the administration likely would request more funding next year.
Hepatitis C is a contagious liver disease that can be serious. It is spread through contact with the blood of an infected person.