Gov. Lee Asks State Agencies To Be Thrifty, But Says State Revenues Are Healthy

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has asked state agencies to put a pause on building new facilities and other capital projects.

His request is part of what the governor wants commissioners to consider as they craft their budget proposals.

This week, 28 state departments and agencies are sharing their spending plans with the governor. But Lee has been clear he doesn’t want them to focus solely on building or expanding infrastructure.

“I made it very clear to our groups — Before we build new capital projects, we need to have a real understanding of the maintenance of our existing facilities,” Lee said. “Deferring maintenance is a bad idea.”

However, Lee told reporters Monday that he expects to see a few requests to build during this year’s budget proposals.

“There will be capital projects in higher education requests, but we are also asking those institutions to look at their deferred maintenance as well,” Lee said.

He said he wants the commissioners to be fiscally cautious.

That’s why he has also called for a one percent overall cut. That’s less than last year, when the governor asked departments to trim two percent.

All of this thrift is despite the state bringing in more money than projected, so far this year. Last fiscal year, which ended in July, had a surplus of over $600 million.

“As a business person, I always believed that just because we were in a good position today we know that we will not always be in that position,” Lee said. “So, we need to be very cautious about expansions and capital projects in the midst of where we are economically.”