TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Legislators to Face Budget, Access Questions Upon Return

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on May 18, 2020

When lawmakers return to Nashville on June 1 to grapple with the state budget, they will not have much to work with other than the obvious reality that revenues are way down, the Daily Memphian reports. The legislature also is facing conflicting opinions on how much work it should undertake. The Senate reportedly is set to concentrate on budget and virus-related legislation, while the House is open to considering other legislation. The leaders also have not agreed on whether the general public should be allowed to return to the Cordell Hull Building and the House and Senate chambers, though Gov. Bill Lee says he plans to continue keeping the general public out of public spaces in the Capitol “through the foreseeable future.” News broke last week that state revenues collected in March were $693.8 million less than budgeted because of the COVID-19 crisis, while general fund revenues were down by $651 million and sales tax collections were down $61.2 million. The June session will start with House committee hearings the final week of May. In related news, TN Journal reports that the State Funding Board has canceled a meeting for this week to assess the impact the pandemic is having on state finances. 

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