Last night, members of the 112th General Assembly filed into the House chamber to hear Governor Lee deliver his fourth and final State of the State address of his first term. The Governor revealed his legislative priorities for this session and his proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which could be the largest budget in state history. The proposed budget totals $52.6 billion and seeks to address an array of issues. Highlights of the Governor’s proposed legislative agenda, includes:

• • Over $1 billion in new, recurring education spending
  • $750 million increase for new K-12 education funding formula
  • $124.7 million for teacher salary increases
  • $200 million for TCAT infrastructure investments
  • $250 million in infrastructure improvement at Tennessee State University, an HBCU in Nashville
  • $170 million to invest in a statewide Enterprise Resource System for the University of Tennessee and the Locally Governed Institutions
  • Adding 100 Tennessee Highway Patrol Troopers, 20 new TBI Agents, and 25 new TBI Forensic Science Personnel
  • $179 million to complete full construction of Tennessee Advanced Communication Network coverage
  • $150 million to create the Violent Crime Intervention Grant Fund
  • $82 million to reimburse public hospitals for uncompensated care
  • $55 million to increase access to services across each of the Medicaid Pathways to Independence programs
  • $619 million to accelerate projects listed in the IMPROVE Act and invest in transportation projects to ensure economic opportunity
  • $103 million for the Department of Economic and Community Development’s FastTrack program
  • $2.541 billion for capital improvements over the next several years
  • $214.8 million for capital maintenance
  • Reducing the employee headcount at departments by five percent without making layoffs

A full transcript of the address can be found here, a more in-depth summary from the Governor’s office can be accessed here, and a budget overview may be found here.