Analysis shows Tennessee budget returning to ‘normal’

(The Center Square) – Tennessee’s budget may look tight, but it’s actually a return to “normal” after an influx of federal dollars related to the pandemic ends, according to an analysis.

Lawmakers raised concerns before Gov. Bill Lee’s $57.9 billion budget announcement earlier this month. The State Funding Board predicted a modest growth of just over 2.3%.

“If you take away the federal dollars, it is tight but it is relatively flat,” said Mandy Spears, executive vice president of the Sycamore Institute. “So it’s not going down quite as much as theat headline number suggests that it is going down.”

Lee’s final budget of his tenure includes a $425 million infusion into the Department of Transportation.

Transportation projects are besieged by rising costs and flat user-fee revenues used to fund them, according to state transportation officials. Inflation is another challenge. Since 2019, inflation has led to a 100% increase in lead pipe costs and an 80% increase in guardrail costs, Natalie Krzysztof, d...