Gov. Lee provides update on funding during State of the State address

JACKSON, Tenn. — Gov. Bill Lee gave his second State of the State address in Nashville Monday night.

“You may have heard rural Tennessee is a priority of mine,” Gov. Lee said.

And Gov. Lee proved that during the address on Monday night.

Last year the state invested $20 million in broadband expansion for rural areas.

“And this year I’m pleased to announce a recommended $25 million in broadband expansion,” Gov. Lee said.

He is also recommending an additional $2 million dollars for UT extension agents in distressed rural counties, and he plans to help bring more people to what rural Tennessee has to offer.

“The Department of Tourism has created an Office of Rural Tourism, and we’ve set aside $2.4 million for their efforts to draw attention to the beautiful parts of Tennessee that are off the beaten path,” Gov. Lee said.

West Tennessee Rep. Johnny Shaw, D-Bolivar, says on a scale from one to 10, Gov. Lee was a nine, but there were two things he was hoping Lee would have mentioned.

“Megasite and early education,” Rep. Shaw said.

Lee also recommended $100 million for grants for local governments to use on a variety of projects.

If you wanted to hear the State of the State address, you’re in luck.

Gov. Lee will be here in Jackson at Lane College giving that speech on February 13.

He also plans on adding another $50 million to the rainy day fund, which, at the end of 2019, had $1.1 billion.