[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6301259,"mediaKeyId","2488899-d67262e57f1e4b9cf3b5c3004e166512","parentId",2488899,"title","Senate finance committee approves expansion requests for lead testing, opioid response, veterans approvals, TBI staffing and college mental health grants","audioSeconds",1306,"startMs",1649000,"endMs",2955000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2488899-d67262e57f1e4b9cf3b5c3004e166512&start=1649&end=2955","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2488899-d67262e57f1e4b9cf3b5c3004e166512/thumbnail_1649000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6301259/Tennessee/Senate-finance-committee-approves-expansion-requests-for-lead-testing-opioid-response-veterans-approvals-TBI-staffing-and-college-mental-health-grants","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6301259-e2b64604cb7234aaa70a6e4aad0595aa/orig.mp4?Expires=1770509653&Signature=bwQGpgPYBbAgFbjcL6SC2breTtkiRkQaBYL6jYXtp-EJ27R4xZFNs3eVMMvhhI0w6XUYiSLWUb53gpY0AK3Z3RAzzr~138OnoRhjDimytJQoCVXVSIcI3Y5qnfFL9qx0lLm5c8vnar4U3Mme6UpHpqkBZq0s-KuIU29jvf-yuPIItzFLNgF-S2UN7vvTOXtDEeebYuHO26m38X3mdNF1aPN8qZIDMHAWrIQyqqovOBTVVmNUiVFyIzHbOu8619tkJA8dahpsZnfusm4HvOXS~e8qTJYrG6LfnrldAGNSZaHt~NowrCoftdaGAfgISZ7coYs~8jS3rLg9~3mJ8-lC1w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","TN State Legislature","date","2025-03-04T00:00:00Z","article","The Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee on March 4 approved a series of expansion requests from state agencies to accept federal or other outside funds and add grant-funded staffing.

Department of Health — lead testing: John Webb, deputy commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Health, told the committee the department seeks permission to accept an $815,000 federal grant from the Environmental Protection Agency under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act. Webb said the money, spread over two years, will fund voluntary lead testing for schools and child-care centers. \"It's $815,000 federal funding over 2 years, and it will require no new state positions,\" Webb said. The program will supply test kits that schools or day-care facilities can request; samples are sent to a laboratory for analysis. Margaret Major, with the department’s Maternal and Child Health Program, told senators the grant does not cover remediation: \"The grant funding ... does not, at this point, cover remediation. So remediation's the responsibility of the testing facility, the school, or the childcare center.\" The committee approved the expansion by voice vote.

Department of Health — opioid abatement funds: Webb also described a roughly $2,400,000 grant from the Opioid Abatement Council, spread over three years, to expand opioid treatment and prevention work in high-impact areas. The funding will support six contract community health workers stationed at local health departments and expanded services in additional counties. Webb said the grant requires no new state positions and that the workers will be physically located in county health departments and also conduct community outreach. He listed Hancock, Hawkins, Marion, Grundy, Sequatchie, Rutherford and Shelby among the counties receiving resources; two county names in the committee record were redacted and are therefore recorded here as not specified. The department said it collects metrics bimonthly and conducts annual evaluations for the CDC; the committee approved the expansion by voice vote.

Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) — veterans education: Steven Gentile, THEC executive director, described a $125,000 annual federal allocation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to support the state approving agency that manages GI Bill approvals across roughly 280 education providers. Gentile said the funding will add capacity without creating a net new state position by reorganizing existing staff. The committee approved the request by voice vote.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) — CJIS supervisor: Patrick Powell, policy director for the TBI, asked to use $108,400 in TICS (Tennessee Instant Check System) reserve funds to create a CJIS supervisor position within the TICS unit. The supervisor will lead training and auditing for local courts, law enforcement and other criminal justice users of the instant check system for firearm background checks. Powell said the position will be funded from TICS fees and reserves and that the statutory $10 fee per firearm background check will not be increased. \"It's $10 for a background check,\" Powell said. The committee approved the expansion by voice vote.

Department of Mental Health — college-based integrated care: Deputy Commissioner Matt Yancey presented a five-year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of $900,000 annually. The grant will be used to embed behavioral health staff in primary care clinics at three college campuses — the University of Tennessee at Martin, Tennessee Tech University and Bethel University — in partnership with local community mental health centers. Yancey said about $810,000 of the annual award will go to the community providers to hire two positions per campus (a master's-level mental health therapist and a case manager or peer specialist), with roughly 10% retained for administrative oversight by the department. The committee approved the expansion by voice vote.

Across the approvals, committee members asked for implementation details: how rules will be written (for grants where department authority is described), which counties are designated \"high impact\" for opioid funds, whether grant dollars pay for remediation in lead cases (they do not), where community health workers will be located (in county health departments), and whether TICS fee revenue is sufficient to support TBI staffing (TBI said a reserve covers the request and no fee increase is planned). Committee leaders recorded each approval by voice vote and noted that federal or other non-state funds carry no ongoing state funding obligation should the external dollars expire.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee\tMar 4, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee on March 4 approved multiple expansion requests allowing state agencies to accept federal and external funds for lead testing, opioid response, veterans approvals, TBI staffing and college mental health services.","taxTitle","Finance, Ways and Means, Senate, Committees, Legislative, Tennessee","taxId",29604,"location","Tennessee","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6301264,"Senate committee backs $25 million farmland preservation fund",906,742000,1648000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2488899-d67262e57f1e4b9cf3b5c3004e166512&start=742&end=1648","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2488899-d67262e57f1e4b9cf3b5c3004e166512/thumbnail_742000.jpg","/articles/6301264/Tennessee/Senate-committee-backs-25-million-farmland-preservation-fund","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6301264-716711ecfad682e3fee75da78c0c27b1/orig.mp4?Expires=1770509653&Signature=G4pxcHXDAVlO50V6AETD~DkRm1ri~faV42DGr48Qht-jW4ptUwEni6dLH5Y1ebh46z1bH5BOQ~3DAuw2~YqFtglGi0ngm9cqFVW-iiiJpdmnBu-itJqhkMC0ayeqlFG4P4bE94RGxC0N~BcCHHVXvQJB~g~Gyw-zHo993zePTCSqLhDbzG8jnhUj4JgxgKIe4RYLMfKF3gsDwXHKAk3qqfSMo1-3Fn8RHw6RwqkL~KYKWQP5RrOk10bhAjlRSbCs0GimJj6xbsrizDZ3Yu1ElsXV7PrHPplqmRJZaXREieGiEw5tA-3d7bJNZ8RfkwuGCLmmQ75F~dvKp0JFH-xJ6g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee on March 4 recommended passage of Senate Bill 207, approving a one-time $25,000,000 appropriation to create a farmland preservation fund aimed at helping landowners place voluntary conservation easements on farmland and forestland.

Sponsor Senator Johnson said the program would be administered by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and that the money is included in the governor’s budget. \"Senate bill 207 would establish the farmland preservation fund to help combat the loss of farmland and forestland in Tennessee. The governor has appropriated $25,000,000 in the budget, which would be used to fund grants, to encourage conservation easements on farmland and forestland across the state,\" Johnson said.

The bill’s supporters told the committee the measure is voluntary and meant to assist family farmers for whom conservation easements are not otherwise economically feasible. Johnson and co-sponsor Senator Yeager cited state land-loss figures during debate: the committee heard that Tennessee lost roughly 1,100,000 acres to development between 1997 and 2017 and an additional 432,941 acres since 2017.

On process and administration, Johnson said the Department of Agriculture would have broad authority to adopt rules and determine how grants are awarded. \"Each situation is so incredibly unique,\" he said, describing factors such as parcel size and easement valuation that will affect awards. Committee members were told those department rules would be subject to the legislature’s oversight process through the Government Operations Committee.

Committee members also asked whether an easement prevents a landowner from selling property. Johnson clarified that owners may sell land subject to an easement but the easement’s restrictions travel with the property. \"This does not in any way prohibit a land owner who enters into one of these conservation easements from selling their land. They can,\" he said. The sponsor also gave an example of an easement that allowed one home per 100 acres as an illustration of how owners can tailor restrictions.

Senator Yarbrough asked how the program will prioritize parcels that would not otherwise be preserved. Johnson said the bill expresses legislative intent to focus on easements that \"might not otherwise happen because they're not economically viable,\" and said the department and stakeholders would monitor rulemaking and program outcomes.

The committee recorded a roll-call vote and the motion passed unanimously. The clerk reported 10 ayes and advised the calendar committee accordingly: \"Senate bill 207 is recommended for passage to the committee on calendar.\" The bill moves forward with the $25,000,000 one-time appropriation and administration by the Department of Agriculture.

This measure would create a permanent easement mechanism (the easement itself runs in perpetuity unless the specific easement language allows limits). The appropriation is a one-time allocation in the governor’s budget; any future funding would require action by a later General Assembly.","The Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee voted 10-0 March 4 to recommend Senate Bill 207, a one-time $25 million appropriation to create a farmland preservation fund administered by the Department of Agriculture to support voluntary conservation easements.","actionData","errors"]

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Senate finance committee approves expansion requests for lead testing, opioid response, veterans approvals, TBI staffing and college mental health grants

Senate committee backs $25 million farmland preservation fund