Feb 6, 2024 - News

State of the State: Vouchers, AI and rural development

Nate Rau

Photo illustration of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee with lines radiating from him. — Photo illustration: Allie Carl/Axios. Photo: Terry Wyatt/Getty Images

Gov. Lee's State of the State speech underscored his priority for the year ahead: expanding vouchers, rural economic development and copyright protections for Tennessee musicians.

Vouchers: With his proposed voucher expansion plan expected to dominate the legislative session, Lee doubled down on the need to give families more education options.

"It's time that we change that. It's time that parents get to decide — and not the government — where their child goes to school and what they learn."

Economic development: Lee touted the overall jobs created in Tennessee during his tenure, including the progress in rural areas.

Companies have invested $35 billion and created 211,000 jobs in Tennessee since 2019, Lee said, arguing that rural areas are benefiting from the growth.
"Five years ago, we had 15 distressed counties — today we have just eight," Lee said. "And the statistic that really tells the story — for the first time in history, Tennessee's poverty rate is below the national poverty rate."

Copyright protections: Against the backdrop of artificial intelligence growing in popularity, Lee is pitching a new law to protect Tennessee music artists from AI-generated copyright theft.

"While this new AI technology can be used for good, it also allows users to impersonate and make fake works in the voice and likeness of others," he said.

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State of the State: Vouchers, AI and rural development

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