WGNS is following up on a story you first heard about on the Tennessee Radio Network this past Friday afternoon. We are told the state is notifying Tennesseans drawing unemployment benefits that they will soon lose a weekly $15-per-child allowance as part of a new law signed by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam.

The Department of Labor and Workforce Development said in a release Friday that the change will help bolster the state unemployment trust fund, which could lead to a reduction in unemployment taxes paid by businesses.

According to the department’s projections, ending the allowance for dependent children will save the state $40 million per year.

Lawmakers had to enact a law providing the dependent allowance in order to qualify for a nearly $142 million federal stimulus grant in 2009. Now that that money had been spent, the Republican-controlled Legislature this year passed a bill to end the program.