Bill Lee on Budget & Economy

	Bill Lee on Budget & Economy

Public-private partnerships to modernize transportation

Right now, there's a $26 billion backlog of projects across the state. Simply put, we are way behind, and we have to change the way we fund and build our roads and bridges.

That's why I'm introducing the Transportation Modernization Act--a plan to engage public-private partnerships to build additional choice lanes on urban highways, to ensure electric vehicle owners pay their share in maintaining our roads, and to provide a delivery model that builds rural and urban projects faster.

Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Tennessee legislature , Feb 6, 2023

Addressing maintenance the fiscally responsible thing to do

In this year's budget I'm proposing the largest capital maintenance budget in our state's history - more than 900 million dollars in capital improvements and maintenance on both state buildings and higher education campuses. We are also eliminating the backlog of deferred maintenance at state parks with a 30 million dollar investment. Addressing maintenance is the fiscally responsible thing to do. Source: 2021 State of the State Address to the Tennessee legislature , Feb 8, 2021

Investment & incentives to support rural counties

I'm also recommending $20 million for ECD's Rural Opportunity Fund, which supports site development, main-street development, and critical infrastructure assistance. We expanded an incentive program in Tennessee medical schools that will grow the pipeline of primary care doctors locating in rural communities. We're adding more than $4 million for payment increases to rural health clinics and expanding rural access to dental care. We're adding $7 million to the Ag Enhancement program and an additional $2 million for UT Extension Agents in distressed rural counties. The Department of Tourism has created an Office of Rural Tourism, and we've set aside nearly $2.4 million for their efforts to draw attention to beautiful parts of Tennessee that are off the beaten path. Source: 2020 State of the State Address to the Tennessee legislature , Feb 3, 2020

Better to save for emergencies than spend now

As a conservative businessman, I know a good budget needs to pay for what is needed, take on zero long-term debt, and, perhaps most importantly, save for a rainy day. I am particularly proud of this: in my budget, we are making the largest single contribution to our Rainy Day Fund in the state's history. When this budget is implemented, our Rainy Day Fund will be $1.1 billion--the largest it has ever been in both real dollars and as a percentage of our overall revenue. Source: 2019 State of the State address to the Tennessee legislature , Mar 6, 2019

Made hard decisions needed on company budget; it worked

Lee was forced to lay off about 400 employees in 14 months. "When you cut a company's budget from $100 million to $70 million, you have to make a lot of hard decisions," Lee said. "I had to say, `I know you have been here for 14 years, but today is your last day.' It was brutal." [One observer] said Lee could have resigned himself to the CEO office and delegated the duties, but didn't.

The cuts and reductions worked. Three years later, Lee says the company was rebuilt, and stronger than before.

Source: The Tennessean on 2018 Tennessee Gubernatorial race , Jul 21, 2018

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