The Tennessee General Assembly adjourned the 2024 legislative session sine die on April 25 at 5:12 p.m. CDT. Notably, the House and Senate were unable to reach a compromise between their respective amendments to Gov. Bill Lee’s education freedom scholarship plan, causing the governor to pull the bill for the year.

Before adjourning, the General Assembly approved a $52.8 billion budget for FY 2024-2025, reflecting a $10 billion reduction in state spending — a 16% decrease from the previous year's budget. However, the budget did include an $8.6 million appropriation to raise the reimbursement rate for attorneys who are appointed by courts to represent the indigent, largely in the criminal justice and juvenile and family court areas.

Additionally, the House and Senate struck a compromise on Lee’s proposal to amend Tennessee’s 90-year-old franchise tax laws and provide a refund for taxes paid by businesses — a measure deemed crucial in light of recent concerns that Tennessee’s alternative tax base model potentially violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The agreement that passed includes a three and a half year look back on a refund and will make the list of companies receiving refunds publicly available for 30 days between May 31 and June 30, 2025. That list will break the companies down into four different categories: companies receiving refunds ranging from $0 to $750, companies receiving $750-$10,000, companies receiving greater than $10,000, and companies whose applications are pending, but not yet resolved. The legislation provides that in order to receive a refund, companies must agree to waive all further claims with the state. Further, any company not applying for a refund that elects to sue the state instead will not be entitled to attorney’s fees. The conference committee plan passed the Senate 25-6 and the House 69-23, and will be sent to the governor for his signature.

Legislators will now return to their respective districts where the majority of them will soon engage in campaign preparations, given that half of the Senate and all of the House seats are slated for reelection.