Tennessee lawmakers pass budget, recess amid virus outbreak

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and JONATHAN MATTISE
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tennessee lawmakers have shut down their 2020 session early in reaction to widespread disruptions caused by the coronavirus after passing a dramatically reduced spending plan for the upcoming year. Lawmakers have been scrambling to approve a newly designed 2020-21 fiscal year budget since the beginning of the week, maintaining that the only “mission critical” proposals would be passed before recessing and heading back to work as soon as June 1. The overhauled $39.8 billion spending plan approved Thursday is nearly a $1 billion less than what Republican Gov. Bill Lee originally proposed earlier this year.

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