A proposal to make lowering the Tennessee state sales tax on groceries contingent on whether there's a surplus in revenue has failed. The measure failed to get a majority vote in the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday. The companion bill is awaiting a vote in a House subcommittee. Under the legislation, half of the surplus would go toward student assistance awards. Governor Bill Haslam plans to trim the sales tax on groceries by .25%, down to 5.25%, in the budget year beginning July 1, which is projected to cost $21 million. Haslam has said he wants to drop the sales tax on groceries to 5% in the next budget year.