Senate Democratic leaders react to Gov. Bill Lee’s State of the State

NASHVILLE — Tennessee Senate Democratic leaders issued a statement following Gov. Bill Lee’s State of the State address, which took place tonight.

Sen. Raumesh Akbari, Senate minority leader:

We are glad to see an emphasis on tax cuts for small business owners, the conservation of our natural resources, and some targeted investments in maternity care, children and state workers.

But most of the new money in this budget is long overdue. They’re putting out fires that have been growing for a decade.

State government has to break its bad habit of waiting until a crisis emerges to make meaningful changes. Our caucus stands ready to work with our colleagues to do the hard work of planning for our shared future.

Sen. London Lamar, Senate Democratic caucus chairwoman:

Instead of leading our state into the 21st century by investing in people and working families, Tennessee is only maintaining the status quo.

We are not leading the nation as long as we have abused children sleeping on the floors of state office buildings. We’re not leading the nation if our families don’t have access to affordable housing, health coverage or childcare.

This budget does some nice things, but with this much funding available, Tennesseans deserve more than business as usual. If we want to lead the nation, let’s get to work on real investments for our people, families and businesses.