Finance committee advances $59.7 billion appropriations bill with disaster-relief, education and health priorities

The Finance, Ways and Means Committee on April 15 approved House Bill 14-09, the Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2026, advancing a $59,700,000,000 spending package to the next stage of the legislative process.

Chairman Hicks described the bill on the committee floor as "the Appropriations Act, house bill 14 o 9," and walked members through the budget composition and major allocations. The fiscal 2026 plan Presidented to the committee totals $59.7 billion, with roughly 50.5% from state appropriations ($29.7 billion), 30.5% from federal funds ($20.8 billion) and about 15% from other sources ($9.2 billion), according to the committee presentation.

The bill packages a mixture of recurring and nonrecurring spending. Chairman Hicks told the committee that recent practice has been to use recurring revenue for one-time items, leaving substantial balances at each fiscal-year start. The bill assumes a 2% growth in recurring state revenues for fiscal 2026 and incorporates roughly $700 million in nonrecurring investment earnings and $346 million in nonrecurring TennCare shared savings. The legislative amendment reallocates roughly $179 million from the governor's proposal to fund about $181 million in member-requested amendments and legislation.

Major allocations highlighted in the committee presentation include:

- Disaster relief: $597 million total, including $240 million for TEMA disaster relief grants, $110 million for the Helene interest payment fund, $125 million for the governor's response and recovery fund, $100 million from TennCare shared savings for the Helene Emergency Assistance Loan Fund for local governments, $20 million for reconstruction of Hampton High School in Carter County and $2.3 million in grants to damaged property owners. The chairman said portions of the governor's recovery fund will aid the Erwin wastewater plant and Northeast Tennessee counties.

- Education: More than $640 million in new state funding for K–12, including $198 million for one-time teacher bonuses, $148 million for TISA growth, $17 million for financial incentives for high-performing local education agencies, $25 million for fast-growth TISA stops, $20 million for a charter school facilities fund, $20 million for school safety grants and $27.3 million for summer learning camps and transportation. Higher-education funding totals about $264 million to fully fund performance outcomes for institutions of higher learning, support raises and insurance cost increases, and capital improvements.

- Health and social services: Over $1.5 billion in new spending (state, federal and shared savings), including $98 million from shared savings for hospital buybacks, $28 million for nursing-home provider stability, a wage increase for direct support professionals from $15.37 to $15.68 per hour, $15 million for behavioral-health infrastructure and $24 million to fund year four of a dental pilot program.

- Law enforcement and public safety: Approximately $378 million in new initiatives, including funds for 22 additional TBI positions, 116 highway-patrol positions, $175 million for public safety grants and $30 million for violent-crime intervention grants.

- Economic and infrastructure: About $213 million through the Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) from state and fast-track reserves for projects including fast-track infrastructure and training, a rural development fund and R&D grants; and roughly $1 billion in TDOT funding plus a $1 billion general fund subsidy for TDOT operations and projects.

The bill also carries a set of grant pools: $20 million for volunteer fire departments, $5 million each for EMS and rescue squads, $5 million for senior centers, $5 million for museums, $2 million for local courthouse capital maintenance and $500,000 for food banks, according to the committee summary.

Lawmakers on both sides described the process that produced the legislative amendment. Deputy Speaker Zachary told the committee the budget is "the legislature's budget," noting a months-long process of hearings and review that precedes committee action. Several members asked how and why some supplemental items from the governor's proposal were reduced or eliminated in the legislative amendment; Chairman Hicks said the shifts reflected legislative priorities and attempts to spread limited funds across a broader set of requests.

Chair members asked for line-item clarifications during the hearing. The chairman cited a specific carry-forward figure: roughly $422,819,460 in recurring dollars that were carried forward, with about $412,424,950 spent on nonrecurring items and the remainder available for planning into fiscal year 2027.

Committee members also noted geographic patterns in the legislative amendment. Representative Kent and others questioned reductions affecting urban districts such as Memphis; Chairman Hicks pointed to a number of allocations for Memphis — including funding for the Memphis Zoo, scholarships for the University of Memphis law school, and support for TCAT Memphis — and stressed statewide distribution as a goal.

After discussion, the committee took a roll call; the clerk reported 27 ayes, 0 nays. The committee approved House Bill 14-09 as amended and sent it to calendar and rules.

Ending: The next steps for House Bill 14-09 are consideration on the floor calendar; lawmakers and staff said additional amendments and adjustments remain possible as the bill proceeds. Chairman Hicks concluded the committee session with public thanks to budget staff, including the budget director and fiscal-review personnel, for their work on the bill.