NASHVILLE, Tenn. – This week, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee held the 2024 Governor’s Rural Opportunity Summit, an annual event aimed at engaging local leaders in addressing the unique challenges faced by at-risk and distressed counties. The summit serves as a platform for the Governor to share his vision and commitment to the prosperity of rural Tennessee.
“Although rural America has been in decline for decades, rural Tennessee is proving to be the exception,” said Governor Lee. “Thanks to historic investments in vocational, technical, and agricultural education, our state’s future workforce is being shaped to support unprecedented economic growth and job creation. We’ll continue to prioritize rural communities so that Tennesseans in every county can thrive.”
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Governor Lee’s administration, which began in 2019, has made significant strides in expanding opportunities in rural areas. Over the past year, nearly 50 percent of overall job commitments have been located in rural areas, bringing the total to more than 6,400 jobs.
Several strategic investments have been made to support rural Tennessee since 2019:
– **Executive Order 1**: This order directs all state departments to issue a statement of rural impact and examine their service to rural areas, specifically distressed counties. Departments are also required to provide recommendations for improvements in workforce development, business recruitment, critical infrastructure, education, and more.
– **Workforce Development**: The Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) Act prioritizes career and technical education in distressed and at-risk counties. It expands access to work-based learning, apprenticeship programs, and dual enrollment courses for trade and technical programs. Additionally, more than $200 million has been allocated to improve and expand Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT) infrastructure, alongside $98 million for the TCAT Enrollment Initiative since 2021.
– **Continued Investments in Rural Tennessee**: Several significant financial commitments have been made, including:
– $197 million over five years from TennCare shared savings for rural health investments.
– $3.3 billion for the Transportation Modernization Act, aimed at improving rural interstates and alleviating urban congestion.
– $1 billion for the TCAT Master Plan to enhance existing facilities and build new ones.
– Over $400 million in tax cuts for families and businesses through the Tennessee Works Act.
– The Rural Brownfields Investment Act to begin remediation efforts for 175 known brownfield sites.
– More than $261 million in additional funding to strengthen education through the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) formula.
– $15 million to expand blueway trail access, promoting tourism and economic activity in rural communities.
These initiatives have led to 267 economic development projects in rural counties, resulting in nearly $19 billion in capital investment and 41,500 new job commitments since 2019.
This year’s summit was held at the Governor’s Residence in Nashville, providing county leaders the opportunity to collaborate directly with the Lee administration. Previous summits have taken place in various rural counties across Tennessee, including Hardin, Cocke, and Perry counties.
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