Survey Says Tennessee’s Anti-LGBTQ+ Bills Could Cost State $2 Billion (And Growing)

According to the Tennessee General Assembly Fiscal Review Committee, Tennessee could lose up to $2 billion in revenue if the state legislature passes an anti-trans bill that defines sex as “biological anatomy at birth.”
A February 28 report from the committee says that the bill could result in increased state and local spending to comply with the new law.
The Federal Department of Education said that the bill, if passed, could jeopardize the funding that the state's schools get through the Individuals with Disabilities Act and Title 1, intended to give financial assistance to low-income children.
The state health department also stands to lose $750 million in federal grant money if the bill passes because it could be out of compliance with Title X, which allows for alternate definitions of "sex."
Brian Sullivan, director of the Trans Equality Project, told WREG that the bill "sends the message that LGBTQ Tennesseans are not wanted."
Republican state Rep. Gino Bulso, who filed the bill, told WREG that he disagrees with the report because the term 'sex' is already used repeatedly in the code. He says, “All that this particular bill does is to provide clarity as to what prior General Assemblies meant.”
Tennessee has passed several anti-trans and anti-drag laws in recent years.