Bill giving Tenn. bond flexibility passes Senate

The Jackson Sun
February 26, 2009

NASHVILLE — Legislation authorizing the use of bonds to pay for infrastructure promises the state has made to companies coming to Tennessee has passed the Senate.

The measure sponsored by Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jim Kyle of Memphis was unanimously approved on Thursday. The companion bill is scheduled for a House vote on Monday.

A bond bill sponsored by Sen. Paul Stanley, R-Memphis, was also unanimously approved by the Senate. The measure would expand the guidelines for becoming a surety bond issuer.

Administration officials, facing a severe budget shortfall, need to use the bonds to fulfill promises they’ve made to Volkswagen and Hemlock Semiconductor Corp.

Volkswagen is building a $1 billion assembly plant in Chattanooga, and Hemlock plans to construct a $1.2 billion plant in Clarksville.

Also Thursday, Wacker Chemie AG, a German chemical company, announced that it will build a $1 billion plant in southeastern Tennessee to produce hyperpure polycrystalline silicon, a product used to make solar panels and semiconductors.

‘‘In a time of economic upheaval, I think this speaks well for Tennessee,’’ Kyle said. ‘‘We won in the harshest of times.’’