Commissioner Jim Bryson and staff told the Finance, Ways and Means Committee on Oct. 28 that Tennessee has moved from short‑term pandemic relief to longer‑term investments paid for in large part with federal CARES and American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds.

“Through the leadership of the FSAG, the Financial Stimulus Accountability Group led by the governor and the speakers, and careful stewardship of these federal funds, Tennessee didn’t just weather the storm. We built a stronger foundation for our future,” Commissioner Bryson said in opening remarks, citing investments in water, broadband and health systems.

Why it matters: committee members focused on whether the state will be able to spend remaining ARPA allocations ahead of federal deadlines and how that affects the FY27 budget framework. Finance staff said many projects are on track but some capital projects are “backend‑loaded” and could require reallocations if local partners can’t document spend quickly.

Key numbers and projects: Finance staff said CARES Act relief delivered more than $2.3 billion statewide and that ARPA allocations totaled roughly $3.7 billion. Specific ARPA commitments listed in the presentation included $1.3 billion for water and sewer upgrades across about 1,200 projects, $500 million for broadband and digital government, and $950 million for health and mental‑health systems. The state reported $51 million in CARES broadband expansion that connected an estimated 55,000 Tennesseans and roughly $115 million in direct aid to local governments under earlier relief rounds.

ARPA management and timing: Deputy Commissioner Eugene Neubert told the committee that two large ARPA projects—TDOT mega‑site road improvements and a Knox County forensic center—had recorded little state expenditure as of September 2025 because local partners had fronted costs and planned to seek state reimbursement in late 2025 or early 2026. He said Finance staff are preparing “Plan B” fallback options to reallocate funds to eligible state projects if underspend risks materialize.

Technology and cybersecurity: Kristen Darby, state chief information officer for Strategic Technology Solutions (STS), described cloud migration and cybersecurity investments. She said about 250 applications have been migrated to cloud environments (about 60% of eligible apps), more than $1 billion has been awarded to local governments for cybersecurity since FY22, and STS has enabled roughly 145 business process automations across 25 departments.

STS reported ARPA tech funding of roughly $196 million budgeted for projects; as of September STS expected to spend nearly all of it and projected a small unspent balance. Larger IT projects noted by STS included the TDOC offender management replacement (Thomas 2.2), an ERP replacement project (Edison), and the Administrative Office of the Courts e‑filing/case management RFP, all described as in progress with expected deliveries in 2026.

Grants and criminal justice: Jennifer Brinkman, director of the Office of Criminal Justice Programs, reviewed violent crime intervention grants, VOCA funding volatility and investments in jails for evidence‑based programming. She said the state used a mix of federal VOCA and state appropriations to stabilize victim services and to expand vocational and reentry programming for local jails.

Budget outlook: Dave Thurman, director of the state budget, told the committee Tennessee moved from “booming” COVID revenue growth to a slower, more normal pace. He described years in which recurring revenue was used for nonrecurring investments to build infrastructure and shore up pension and OPEB liabilities. Thurman said his planning for FY27 assumes slower revenue growth and cautioned that routine “have to” costs (formula entitlements, Medicaid/TennCare match, multiyear contract inflation, employee benefits) will absorb much of modest revenue gains.

Committee concerns and follow‑up: Members pressed whether FSAG should reconvene to review ARPA allocations and how the administration would prioritize fallback projects. Neubert and other officials said quarterly reports will be accelerated to FSAG and that staff will recommend reallocations if projects appear unable to document spend in time.

What’s next: Finance staff said the State Funding Board will meet in November to set revenue ranges that will shape the governor’s FY27 budget instructions. Officials urged departments to identify base needs, and flagged the potential effect of any federal funding cuts on state program matches.

Ending: The presentation concluded with agency officials offering to provide more frequent ARPA reports to FSAG and to the committee and with staff promising to track at‑risk projects, provide fallbacks, and work with local partners to meet federal deadlines.