Rural Opportunity Summit
Office of the Governor Aug. 23, 2024 Press Release
NASHVILLE – Last week, Governor Bill Lee held the 2024 Governor’s Rural Opportunity Summit, an annual gathering focused on serving at-risk and distressed counties by engaging local leaders to develop innovative solutions to their unique problems.
Lee shared his vision for success and commitment to helping rural Tennessee thrive. “Although rural America has been in decline for decades, rural Tennessee is proving to be the exception, thanks to historic investments in vocational, technical, and agricultural education that are shaping our state’s future workforce.”
When Governor Lee took office in 2019, he began an administration-wide mission to expand opportunity in rural areas.
Tennessee’s rural counties have seen tremendous success over the last year, with nearly 50 percent of overall job commitments located in rural areas, bringing the total to more than 6,400.
Notable strategic investments to support rural Tennessee’s success since 2019 include:
Executive Order 1
Directing all state departments to issue a statement of rural impact and examine how they are serving rural areas in Tennessee, specifically distressed counties.
Requiring departments to provide recommendations for improvements on how to best serve rural communities in a variety of areas, including workforce development, business recruitment, infrastructure, education and more.
Workforce Development
Prioritizing career and technical education (CTE) through the Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) Act, which expanded access to work-based learning, apprenticeship programs, and dual enrollment courses for trade and technical programs.
Allocating more than $200 million to improve and expand Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT) infrastructure statewide.
Continued Investments in Rural Tennessee
$197 million over five years from TennCare shared savings, the largest investment in rural health in the state’s history, by investing in apprenticeships and skilled training, greater access to specialty care and telemedicine, improved career pathways, grants, and a new Center of Excellence.
A $3.3 billion investment to implement Transportation Modernization Act, a new transportation and infrastructure strategy to widen rural interstates including $300 million for local highways across Tennessee – without raising taxes or going into debt.
$1 billion to complete the TCAT Master Plan to improve 16 existing TCATs, replace seven outdated facilities and build six new TCATs at strategic locations across Tennessee.
More than $400 million in tax cuts for families and businesses through the Tennessee Works Act.
More than $261 million in additional funding in FY24 to strengthen education through Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA), including teacher pay raises.
$15 million to expand blueway trail access, which will drive tourism and economic activity.
These targeted strategies have resulted in securing 267 economic development projects in rural counties that have netted nearly $19 billion in capital investment and 41,500 new job commitments since 2019.
