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Gov. Lee highlights $1.2 billion damage and urges continued recovery for East Tennessee after Hurricane Helene
Summary
In his State of the State, Governor Bill Lee said East Tennessee has sustained $1.2 billion in damages from Hurricane Helene, praised local leaders and nonprofits for response efforts, and thanked the legislature for actions taken in a recent special session to support recovery.
In his State of the State address to a joint convention of the Tennessee General Assembly, Governor Bill Lee said East Tennessee faced “an unprecedented disaster, damages to the tune of 1,200,000,000,” and praised local officials, churches and nonprofits for immediate recovery efforts.
The governor said state agencies “have been on the ground for months helping with recovery efforts,” but added “still there's a long road ahead,” and thanked the general assembly for acting in a recent special session to support residents in the hardest-hit counties.
Lee named four county mayors from affected areas — Carter, Greene, Johnson and Washington counties — and urged continued partnership among local, state and federal governments for recovery. "Both local and federal governments will need a partner, and the volunteer state and the volunteer state is ready for that," he said.
The governor did not provide an itemized breakdown of the $1.2 billion damage estimate in the address nor specific line-item appropriations tied to that total within the speech. He characterized the special session as having produced “innovative solutions” to assist recovery but did not list specific grant programs or statutory changes in the speech record.
