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

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.

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