The 114th Tennessee General Assembly gaveled in on January 27 for a special session called by Gov. Bill Lee. Among education and immigration, disaster relief was a priority for the counties left devastated by Hurricane Helene last fall. Farm Bureau was proud to support the efforts of legislative and administrative leadership to provide support to those who are in great need.
On Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, both the House and Senate passed disaster relief legislation.
SB6003(Johnson)/HB6003(Hicks) – Creates two funds: the Hurricane Helene Interest Payment Fund and the Governor’s Response and Recovery Fund. These funds are to be used by local governments in response to recovery from certain declared emergencies. The Hurricane Helene Interest Payment fund will allow for grants to cover interest fees incurred from money borrowed to cover disaster recovery costs.
SB6007(Crowe)/HB6007(Faison) – Grants property tax repayment to those who were impacted by Hurricane Helene. Eligible landowners will be able to receive a grant in the amount of their property tax bill plus 30%.
“We are grateful to Gov. Bill Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly for passing much needed disaster relief from our folks in East Tennessee,” said Tennessee Farm Bureau President Eric Mayberry. “We were proud to support this legislation, and we hope these actions can be a small step to help those who were impacted continue to rebuild in the days, weeks and months ahead.”
