108th General Assembly adjourns for year
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The 108th Tennessee General Assembly has finished its business for the year.
Lawmakers adjourned Friday, the first time in 45 years that the General Assembly has finished in April.
Legislative librarian Eddie Weeks said since 1967 lawmakers have never adjourned the first year of the two-year General Assembly in April.
Constitutionally, the only legislation lawmakers are required to pass is the governor’s spending plan.
The Senate unanimously approved the $32.8 billion plan earlier this week, and the House followed suit on Thursday.
The budget includes more than $77 million for a 1.5 percent pay raise for state employees, $22 million to reduce the sales tax on food by a quarter of a cent, and nearly $19 million for a multi-year plan to eliminate the state inheritance tax.
