News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
House Speaker Cameron Sexton said he is willing to work with Governor Bill Lee to bring Ford to the Memphis Regional Megasite.
Ford Motor Company selected the industrial park for a $5.6 billion manufacturing campus. Sexton said Lee’s called special session will address the incentives involved.
“The governor is the one that worked out the deal, and if he says he needs it, then I will take him at his word that it was needed, and we need to go into it to get the deal done,” Sexton said. “So, I am going to differ to him and if that’s what he says, then I’m going to agree with him.”
Sexton said a $500 million dollar incentive was set for Ford to come to Tennessee. Sexton said Lee looks to use cash instead of borrowing through a bond.
“The only way to do that is to go into the General Assembly. They are the only ones that can appropriate money. The governor can’t do that lawfully,” Sexton said. “So in order to get things moving quickly, then the General Assembly needs to appropriate the money.”
The project would be one of the largest battery and vehicle manufacturing sites in the nation, creating 5,800 jobs. Sexton said it is big news for West Tennessee.
“Over the last 10 years, I think about 120,000 people have moved out of West Tennessee,” Sexton said. “This is a huge long-term investment for West Tennessee, and it will change peoples lives for generations to come and really gives us an anchor to be the number one automotive manufacturer in the U.S.”
The General Assembly will convene Monday, October 18th for the special called session.
