Rep. Clay Doggett Proposes Grant Fund to Support Tennessee’s Rural Counties

State Rep. Clay Doggett of Pulaski has proposed legislation to establish a grant fund to support rural communities across Tennessee.

The Greenbelt Initiative Fund Transfer (GIFT) Act, or House Bill 2375, would create a $210 million Rural Revenue Equity Fund to help finance various services and projects in eligible rural counties. The program aims to offset property tax revenue lost in counties with high percentages of greenbelt-classified property, which is taxed on use value rather than market value.

Doggett said the greenbelt program is an important part of efforts to preserve Tennessee’s agricultural heritage. He noted that rural counties often have significantly higher percentages of land classified as greenbelt, which limits local tax revenue needed for essential services. The GIFT Act would provide additional funding to benefit vital projects while recognizing the families and farms that make the Volunteer State unique.

Funding from the Rural Revenue Equity Fund could be used for law enforcement, firefighter and emergency medical services, property tax stabilization, and capital improvement and infrastructure projects. The proposal requires the state treasurer to invest the fund’s assets, with all interest credited to the fund.

Rural counties would be awarded funding based on a total weighted score considering factors such as the percentage and acreage of land under greenbelt, annual agricultural sales, statutory authority to levy a development tax or impact fee, economic outputs of licensed livestock or dairy farms, population, and whether the county adopted a property tax increase in the preceding five years.

Counties with 70% or more of land classified under greenbelt would receive the highest scores. At least 26 counties currently meet this threshold, including Lincoln County (86.3%), Giles County (84.8%), Hardeman County (81.9%), and Fayette County (78%). Approximately 51 counties are qualified as rural and would be eligible for the grant.

Applications would be submitted to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, which will administer the program.

Tennessee’s Greenbelt Law, originally passed in 1976, helps preserve agricultural, forest, and open-space land by taxing it based on its current use rather than potential development. Without these protections, landowners could face higher property taxes that make it harder to keep land in agriculture or conservation, increasing pressure to sell or develop.

House Bill 2375 will be considered in the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee in the coming weeks.

Rep. Doggett represents District 70 in the Tennessee House of Representatives, which includes Giles County and parts of Lawrence and Lincoln counties.