On Tuesday, April 22, 2025, lawmakers completed their business and adjourned the first half of the 114th General Assembly. Highlights of the session included passing a $59.8 billion dollar balanced budget and several bills which will benefit the agricultural industry. Lawmakers will return to Nashville on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, to complete the business of the 114th General Assembly. See below for more details on the fiscal year 2025-2026 budget and other legislation which passed this session, including this year’s Farm Bureau priority issues.
2025-2026 Fiscal Year Budget
Last week, Senate and House completed their only constitutional obligation and passed a $59.8 billion budget, coming in at just over $7 billion more than last year. However, this year’s budget appears to be back in line with the 2023-2024 fiscal year budget, acknowledging a 2% growth rate. Agriculture will benefit greatly from the coming year’s budget, with over $130 million worth of new investments. Here are the highlights:
Agriculture
Recurring Investments:
- $15 million for the Agricultural Enterprise Fund – establishing a baseline for this fund.
- $5 million added to the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program (TAEP) baseline, bringing the total allocated to TAEP to $31 million.
- $1.5 million to the University of Tennessee Institute of Public Service for local government planning.
- $1.5 million for the state meat inspection program passed by the 113th General Assembly.
- $547,000 for the University of Tennessee Center for Profitable Agriculture for landowner education.
Nonrecurring Investments:
- $90.5 million for FFA and 4-H camp infrastructure – $45.25 million awarded to each youth organization.*
- $25 million to establish the Farmland Preservation Fund as instructed by SB207/HB1325.
- $1.5 million for county and regional fair capital investments.
- $1 million for AgLaunch programming and investments.
Law and Order
- $175 million for public safety grants.
- $38 million for 116 additional Tennessee Highway Patrol positions.
- $30 million towards additional violent crime intervention grants.
- $6 million to be put towards 22 new positions within the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).
Investments into law and order initiatives total $378 million.
Rural Health
$78 million has been allocated for rural hospitals and healthcare access. Among other investments totaling $1.5 billion in new investment including $15 million for behavioral health infrastructure improvements and training and workforce support.
Disaster Relief
The total for disaster relief initiatives nears $600 million, with several projects earmarked:
- $240 million for Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) disaster relief grants, which alleviate the burden on local governments for obtaining financial assistance for recovery measures.
- $125 million to establish the Governor’s Response and Recovery Fund to allow the state to act quickly in instances of future natural disasters.
- $110 million for Hurricane Helene Interest Payment Fund to assist the local burden which comes with obtaining loans.
Investments in disaster relief continue to come after Governor Lee called lawmakers back to Nashville after their organizational session for a special session regarding education, infrastructure, immigration, and disaster relief.
Supporting Tennessee Communities
Additional grants for rural communities will soon be available, with $42.5 million allocated for grants for services such as volunteer fire prevention, emergency medical services, senior centers, and food banks.
PASSED: Farmland Conservation – SB207/HB1325
Tennessee continues to lose farmland across the state at a rate of 9.8 acres an hour and ranks third nationwide for the rate at which farmland is converted out of production. Last General Assembly, Gov. Lee made farmland preservation efforts a priority for his legislative agenda and recently announced his plans to again keep farmland preservation a priority for the 114th General Assembly.
As introduced, the legislation acknowledges the Tennessee General Assembly finds that Tennessee history and culture is positively impacted by agricultural endeavors and believes preserving farmland and forestland will provide food security for generations to come. Furthermore, it establishes the Farmland Preservation Fund for the development and implementation of programs which benefit Tennesseans by preserving farmland and forestland, including a grant program for voluntary conservation easements.
Administered by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, the grants will allow landowners to voluntarily enroll their land in a permanent conservation easement held by a qualified easement holder, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that exists for the purpose of managing conservation easements on farmland and forestland.
The Senate originally passed SB207 by Sen. Jack Johnson (R – Franklin) on March 13th by a 27-4 vote. However, the version which passed the House on April 16th by 84-8 votes had some minor technical differences. HB1325 by Rep. Greg Vital (R – Harrison) was sent back to the Senate on message calendar on Monday, April 21 and the Senate accepted the changes, officially sending the bill to the governor’s desk.
PASSED: Constitutional Amendment – SJR1/HJR2
A continued effort from the 113th General Assembly, this constitutional amendment would prohibit the state of Tennessee from ever collecting a statewide property tax. This tax, which has not been collected since the 1940s, is separate from local government property taxes.
This is the second hurdle of a multi-year effort and must pass both chambers by a two-thirds vote to be considered on the 2026 gubernatorial ballot, where half of those voting for governor must support the amendment for it to be codified in the state’s Constitution.
On March 26, the Senate passed SJR1 by Sen. Ferrell Haile (R – Gallatin) 26-5. Later, on April 21, the House substituted and confirmed and passed what was formerly HJR2 (but became SJR1 by technicality) by Rep. Tandy Darby (R – Greenfield) 89-6.
PASSED SENATE: Crop Protection Liability Protection – SB527/HB809
In order to protect crop protection providers from frivolous and unjustified “failure to warn” lawsuits and allow farmers to continue to use vital crop protection technology, Farm Bureau seeks to pass liability protection to companies who manufacture and label chemicals according to Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) guidelines. Failure to provide such protection could result in a withdrawal from the market of crucial products for farmers such as glyphosate.
While this legislation passed the Senate by a 21-7 vote, it was moved to the second calendar of the House Judiciary Committee for 2026.
Wetlands Legislation Heads to Governor’s Desk
HB541 by Rep. Kevin Vaughan (R – Collierville) passed the House Floor Monday, April 21 with a 71-21 vote. Its companion, SB670 by Sen. Brent Taylor (R – Memphis), passed the Senate 25-6.
Last General Assembly, lawmakers discussed at great length how to regulate wetlands in Tennessee. Ultimately, no action on legislation was taken, except for a Senate committee directed summer study to be conducted by TDEC and pertinent stakeholders, including Farm Bureau.
Legislation passed by Chairman Vaughan and Sen. Taylor which seeks to establish clear definitions on the types of isolated wetlands in Tennessee. The Supreme Court ruled in Sackett v. EPA that states have certain regulatory authority over state waters, thus these definitions provide clarity on isolated, artificial, low-quality, moderate-quality, and high-quality isolated wetlands. The proposal further creates and updates an existing structure of responsibility in terms of mitigation requirements for each type of isolated wetland based on the level of quality.
Farm Bureau supports this legislation, and would like to thank the sponsors and the stakeholders who came to the table and engaged on this issue.
Cell Cultured Protein Legislation Heads to Governor’s Desk
HB804 by Rep. Rusty Grills (R – Newbern) is also a part of the stack of bills which are headed to the Governor’s desk after passing the House on Monday 81-5.
As passed, the legislation defines “cell-cultured food products” as food produced from harvested animal cells without slaughter. Prohibits labeling such products as “meat” or “meat food products” and imposes a $2,000 fine per violation for misbranding.
Farm Bureau would like to thank Chairman Grills for crafting the amendment based upon Farm Bureau policy. The companion legislation, SB931 by Sen. Paul Rose (R – Covington) unanimously passed the Senate floor on March 27.
