Budget stamped by legislature

The budget put together by Gov. Bill Haslam was released in January and has since been amended by the both the governor and legislators. Photo credit Blake Farmer/WPLN

The Tennessee legislature has now done the one thing it must do each year – pass a budget. The nearly $33 billion spending plan was approved in the House Wednesday night.

Including tweaks from legislators, there are 132-pages of changes from the original proposal. A few in the Republican majority wanted more time to comb through it.

“They did not elect me to ram our budget through only two and a half hours after it was handed to me,” Rep. Micah Van Huss (R-Jonesborough) said on the floor.

The freshman from upper East Tennessee was dressed down by House Finance Committee chairman Charles Sargent (R-Franklin) who told him anyone can sit in on budget hearings.

Ultimately, only Democrats voted no. By contrast, the spending plan was approved unanimously in the Senate.

It includes $350 million in new money for TennCare, which will cover an expected surge in enrollment. The budget also adds $100 million to the state’s rainy day fund and gives $50 million more to higher education.