First Half of 113th Tennessee General Assembly Adjourns
In late April, the first half of the 113th Tennessee General Assembly completed their business and adjourned. Farm Bureau had another successful year in Nashville. Here are the highlights:
Farm Bureau Priority Issues Signed by Governor Lee:
SB711 Stevens | HB898 Hurt
With unanimous support in both chambers, SB711 by Stevens and HB898 by Hurt has been signed by Gov. Lee. Upon becoming law in May of 2023, an assessor of property shall consider whether land classified as either agriculture or forestry is enrolled into a USDA conservation program or a state conservation or mitigation program, and thus maintaining Greenbelt status.
SB851 Watson | HB938 Alexander
After several years of discussion and working with lawmakers and stakeholders, we are excited to see SB851 by Watson and HB938 by Alexander passed and has been signed by Gov. Lee. The new law allows owners of real property used primarily for agricultural purposes who reside in a territory previously annexed by ordinance upon the initiative of the municipality to petition the municipality to deannex such property.
The following criteria must be met in order to be eligible to deannex:
- The property does not create an area of unincorporated territory that is completely surrounded by municipal boundaries.
- The owner of the property was either the same owner as when the property was annexed or their direct descendant.
- The property is owned or operated by a person who has filed for three years the appropriate farm business or farm rental income forms with the IRS.
- The property is owned or operated by a person who has the state sales tax exemption.
- The property was classified at the time of annexation and has continued being classified as Greenbelt, unless the property was annexed prior to the Greenbelt law taking effect in 1977.
- The property is used for agricultural purposes as defined in state law.
Property owners wishing to deannex must petition the city and the municipality may continue to levy and collect taxes on property in the excluded territory to pay the excluded territory’s proportion of debt newly contracted after the territory was annexed and prior to the exclusion.
Constitutional Amendment Heads to Senate in 2024:
HJR81 by Darby is ready for transmission to the Senate when the second half of the 113th general assembly convenes next January. This is a continuation of what will be a multi-year effort to constitutionally prohibit the state of Tennessee from levying a statewide property tax. Constitutional amendments must receive passage by a simple majority in the first general assembly they are considered. Passing the House this year with well over a majority is a good sign looking into next year.
If the legislation passes the Senate, it must be reintroduced in the 114th general assembly and pass by a two-thirds vote in both chambers. From there, it will be considered on the November 2026 gubernatorial election ballot and will need a majority of those casting their vote for governor in order to officially be added to Tennessee’s Constitution.
2023 – 2024 Budget Overview:
The $56.2 billion budget contains record investments into transportation, school safety and over $400 million in tax cuts for Tennesseans. Below we have noted the items which may be of interest to our readers.
Agriculture
– $16.5 million investment in Tennessee Agriculture Enterprise Fund, of which $15 million is nonrecurring and $1.5 million is recurring bringing the total recurring annual funding to $2 million
– $4 million nonrecurring for improvements and renovations to FFA Camp Clements
– $3.02 million recurring for salary improvements for Tennessee Division of Forestry positions
– $2.6 million recurring for animal health, emergency preparedness and response, and salary improvements – including 16 new full-time positions in the state’s veterinarian office.
– $580,000 nonrecurring for Grainger County High School to build a cattle working facility
– $100,000 nonrecurring to Tennessee Wine and Grape Board
– $250,000 nonrecurring for Cul2Vate programming
– $400,000 nonrecurring to the Farm to Tap program
Education
– $125 million recurring for teacher pay raises
– $29 million nonrecurring in CTE Grants for mixed-use schools, a continuation of last year’s record investment in Career and Technical Education
– $1 billion nonrecurring to complete the TCAT master plan which includes six new TCATs, 16 TCAT campus improvements and seven TCAT facility replacements and upgrades
– $350 million recurring in additional funding to local education agencies through new TISA formula
Legislation also increases the minimum teacher salary to $50,000 by 2026, placing Tennessee in the top ten states for teacher pay.
Transportation and Infrastructure
– $3 billion nonrecurring for transportation modernization
– $3 million nonrecurring in grants for rescue squad equipment improvements
– $5 million nonrecurring in grants for improving infrastructure for volunteer fire departments
– $2 million nonrecurring in grants for emergency medical service organization equipment upgrades
Rural Tennessee
– $300 million nonrecurring for local infrastructure improvements
– $5.3 million recurring for Rural Brownfields Investment Act to remediate 175 known brownfield sites
– $110 million nonrecurring released from TennCare reserves for hospitals to cover uncompensated care
Taxes and Spending
– $273 million for a three-month sales tax holiday on grocery items (August 1 to October 31)
– $404 million in total tax cuts for Tennesseans
– $250 million deposited into rainy day fund
Governor Lee’s budget spends more than $2.6 billion of recurring revenue on one-time expenditures, which will allow for the return of these financial resources for review and budgeting next fiscal year. The total spending for this year’s budget is identical to last year’s price tag, at $56.2 billion.
Special Session on Public Safety to Begin August 21:
Shortly after adjournment, Governor Lee issued a press release announcing his intention of calling back the general assembly for a special session on August 21. Details regarding the governor’s priority legislation is still in the works, with the focus being on public safety and preserving Constitutional rights. Tennesseans are asked to submit their input and engage in the conversation surrounding public safety by submitting feedback to the governor’s office. Scan the QR code for more information and to submit input.
