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State Briefs

Sports betting has generated $261M in tax revenue for Tennessee

Sports betting has generated more than $261 million in taxes for Tennessee since its legalization in 2019. More than $14.7 billion in sports bets have been placed in Tennessee during that period with Tennessee being the first state to go fully online for its sports betting. The industry has...

Tennessee September unemployment rate increases

Tennessee’s unemployment rate increased in September but remained 1% lower than the national rate. The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said the state’s September unemployment rate was at 3.2%, up from 3.1% the previous month and a three-month record-low of 3% between May and...

Tennessee's September revenues $101.2M above estimates

Tennessee revenues exceeded budgeted estimates for the month of September.  

Finance and Administration Commissioner Jim Bryson reported total September tax revenues were $2.2 billion, $101.2 million more than the budgeted estimate and $18.9 million more than September 2023. The total tax growth rate...

memphis

FBI to open new Nashville headquarters, continue field offices in Knoxville, Memphis

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has moved its main Tennessee headquarters to a new office in Nashville, but said it will continue to operate “resident agencies” in Memphis and Knoxville.  Instead of having two separate sets of leadership operating in Knoxville and Memphis, FBI Director Chris...

White Oak

State seeks help in white oak restoration efforts

A new initiative is seeking to aid in the restoration of native white oaks across Tennessee. The Tennessee White Oak Initiative is a cooperative effort between the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry (TDF), TDF’s East Tennessee Nursery, the University of Tennessee Extension, and...

Comptroller

New Comptroller guidance issued for volunteer fire departments

The Tennessee Comptroller’s division of Local Government Audit has launched a new resource designed to improve and emphasize the importance of good financial management within Tennessee’s hundreds of volunteer fire departments.

“While volunteer fire departments provide essential services across the...

PEP photo

Franklin, Lake and White counties selected for Property Evaluation Program

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) announced Franklin, Lake and White counties were selected to participate in the latest round of the Select Tennessee Property Evaluation Program (PEP). 

PEP evaluates potential industrial properties, advising counties on...

MTSU Housing report

State housing report shows progress, challenges

With continued rising home prices and an emerging trend of fewer closings in some areas of the state during the second quarter of the year, Tennessee’s housing market presents mixed signals heading into the fall, according to the latest statewide report from Middle Tennessee State University.

“The...

TCRS

TCRS exceeds projected rate of return

The Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System wrapped up the 2024 fiscal year with a 10.06% investment return, well exceeding the plan’s 6.75% assumed rate of return.

The annual earnings represent over $6.2 billion in new investment income added to the portfolio in a single year. The TCRS portfolio...

Blue Ribbon Schools

Six Tennessee Schools selected as Blue Ribbon Schools

The U.S. Department of Education recognized six Tennessee schools as 2024 National Blue Ribbon Schools. Awardees included the Brentwood’s Jordan Elementary School, Clarksville’s Spanish Immersion at Barksdale Elementary, Hendersonville’s Merrol Hyde Magnet School, Kingsport’s Miller Perry Elementary...

Tennessee Honor vote Program

Secretary of State's office encourages participation in Honor Vote program

On a clear, peaceful, September morning 23 years ago, our world and our lives as we knew them changed forever in only moments. 

Terrorists struck our country at home on American soil, claiming 2,977 innocent lives in New York City, Washington DC, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. 

Rising from the ashes...

'Area Development' ranks Tennessee third in business

Tennessee was recently named the No. 3 state for doing business by Area Development off the heels of the state being rated the eighth-best state for business by CNBC in July. Ranking Tennessee just behind Georgia and South Carolina, Area Development also ranked  Tennessee in the top three in...