Legislative Bulletin - Feb 9, 2026

As amended, upon the sale of a private natural gas utility, all terms and conditions of a local franchise agreement shall apply to the successor utility. As introduced, requires a public utility to allow a customer of the utility to use a contractor of the customer's choosing for the installation of utility infrastructure; allows the public utility to provide reasonable construction and manufacturer specifications for the utility infrastructure. As used in this bill, "public utility" or "utility" means the water, wastewater, natural gas, or electric system of a county, metropolitan government, or municipality. This bill authorizes a public utility to review the plans and designs of the utility infrastructure to be installed for approval.  If the utility performs or requires such review, then the utility must (i) complete the review within 30 days of submission of the plans and designs and (ii) not charge a fee of more than $1,000 for review of the plans and designs.

As amended, restores the authority of local governments to allow, regulate or ban personal delivery devices. As introduced, allows personal delivery devices to be operated on bicycle paths, shoulders, parking lots, and the area adjacent to the right-hand edge or curb of the roadway; removes the authority of local governments to prohibit the operation of personal delivery devices. 

As introduced, requires 95.3970 percent, instead of 100 percent, of sales and use tax revenue generated from the sale of new or used tires to be deposited in the highway fund; adds 95.3970 percent of sales and use tax revenue generated from the sale of new or used motor vehicles to be deposited in the highway fund; requires the remaining 4.6030 percent of such revenue to be allocated to the several incorporated municipalities; allocates single article sales tax collections on the retail sale of new or used motor vehicles to the highway fund.

As introduced, permits a local government adopting a prohibition of class 1 or class 2 electric bicycles on a bicycle path or trail in a public park or greenway to submit a copy of the resolution or ordinance to the department of safety; authorizes the department to compile and publish to its website a list of public parks and greenways where such operation is prohibited. 

As introduced, directs the Tennessee advisory commission on intergovernmental relations (TACIR) to perform a study of this state's emergency communications system.

As amended, establishes that a defendant who commits the Class E felony offense of mailing or delivering an abortion-inducing drug to a patient in this state, and such drug results in the death of an unborn child, is strictly liable in the amount of $5,000,000 in damages for the wrongful death of a person. Specifies that such liability does not apply to a pharmacist, physician, motor carrier, freight forwarder, or an air carrier.  As introduced, increases the amount of compensation an injured plaintiff in a civil action may receive for non-economic damages from $750,000 to $1.5 million; increases the amount of compensation an injured plaintiff in a civil action may receive for non-economic damages, if the injury or loss is catastrophic in nature, from $1 million to $2 million.

As amended, restores the authority of local governments to allow, regulate or ban personal delivery devices. As introduced, allows personal delivery devices to be operated on bicycle paths, shoulders, parking lots, and the area adjacent to the right-hand edge or curb of the roadway; removes the authority of local governments to prohibit the operation of personal delivery devices. 

As introduced, prohibits an individual holding an elected office of a local government from holding another elected office in this state at the same time; grandfathers individuals holding more than one office presently until the terms expire; clarifies that such prohibition does not apply to an office in a political party's state executive committee. 

As introduced, requires a governing body subject to the open meetings laws to reserve a period of public comment to provide the public with the opportunity to comment on any matter germane to the jurisdiction of the governing body, regardless of whether the matter is listed on the agenda for the meeting

As introduced, adds the governing body of a local education agency and any other local governing body of a public body with the authority to make binding decisions or the ability to appropriate funds to the list of governing bodies that are required to make meeting agendas available to the public in advance of such meetings.

As amended, authorizes the board of directors of an industrial development corporation (IDC) to initiate a merger with another IDC in the manner provided for public benefit corporations (PBCs) pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. Title 48, Chapter 61. Authorizes an IDC to negotiate and receive from any lessee of the IDC, without any delegation from the municipality, payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) with respect to tax-credit housing projects, despite such PILOT resulting in a reduction in taxes relative to the tax year prior to the year the project became a tax-credit housing project; provided, the chief executive officer of each affected taxing jurisdiction has executed a letter supporting the project. Requires any agreement to accept or waive PILOTs from any of the IDC's lessees to be submitted to the legislative body of the municipality or municipalities making the delegation and any other taxing jurisdiction affected by the delegation. As introduced, authorizes the board of directors of an industrial development corporation to initiate a merger with another corporation in the manner provided for public benefit corporations under the Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act.

As introduced, authorizes municipalities, including those with home rule charters, and metropolitan forms of government to adopt a tiered system of monetary penalties for repeated violations of the same municipal ordinance by the same person or entity within a 12-month period.

As introduced, authorizes a county mayor and the chief executive officer of a municipality to order the flags flown on county or municipal property to be lowered to half-staff to honor the death of a prominent citizen of that county or municipality.

As introduced, requires each utility system to obtain a certificate of analysis for any water sold by the utility system that contains fluoride, and post the certificate and the material safety data sheet for fluoride online. 

As introduced, eliminates liability for rollback taxes on agricultural, forest, or open space land with a greenbelt classification when the land is sold; requires that a buyer of property with a greenbelt classification submit a new application to renew the property's greenbelt classification.

As introduced, authorizes certain counties to adopt a resolution prohibiting a municipality or regional zoning commission from exercising zoning authority outside of the boundaries of the municipality. 

As introduced, prohibits the enforcement of an ordinance governing the discharge of a firearm within city limits, if the responsible individual(s) is otherwise hunting legally. Accordingly, the only restrictions that may be imposed upon any individual seeking to hunt on his/her private property, another’s private property with consent, or on a designated state hunting area that is located within city limits are those included in state law or TWRA regulations. Therefore, any ordinance that regulates the discharge of firearms within the city or imposes restrictions on hunting for public safety reasons would be preempted and unenforceable if this bill is adopted.

As introduced, enacts the "Tennessee Private Property Vesting Rights of 2026," which entitles a property owner to just compensation from a public entity if the public entity enacts a land use regulation that has the effect of reducing the fair market value of the property.

As introduced, establishes requirements for entities engaged in business with the public in rounding a cash transaction to the nearest nickel if the penny is no longer in production. 

As introduced, clarifies that the general assembly preempts and occupies the entire field of regulating the terms and conditions of employment; prohibits local governments from adopting or enforcing any law, rule, or policy that requires a term or condition of employment that exceeds or conflicts with state or federal law.

As introduced, enacts the "Ola Mae Ransom Reintegration Act," which exempts veterans of the United States military, including the national guard and reserves, from payment of the $15 fee for a business license. 

As introduced, restates the criminal offense of drag racing as street drag racing; expands the offense to include acts committed on commercial property; authorizes a vehicle used in the commission of the offense or to flee after commission of the offense to be impounded for the purpose of collecting evidence; makes various other changes regarding the offense of street drag racing.

As introduced, authorizes local governmental bodies to conduct certain community meetings via electronic means of communication.

As introduced, increases from $50,000 to $100,000 the bond amount that every insurance company doing a workers' compensation business in this state must furnish with a surety company; increases from $100,000 to $200,000 the certificate amount that such a company may deposit with the commissioner of labor and workforce development in lieu of the bond.

As introduced, requires officials who are employed or contracted by the federal government, the state government, or a local government within this state, or an agency or department thereof, to obtain a search warrant that identifies the person or property that is the subject of the search before entering private property, unless a judicially recognized exception to the warrant requirement exists.

As introduced, restates the criminal offense of drag racing as street drag racing; expands the offense to include acts committed on commercial property; authorizes a vehicle used in the commission of the offense or to flee after commission of the offense to be impounded for the purpose of collecting evidence; makes various other changes regarding the offense of street drag racing.

As introduced, creates a process for continuing funding for a municipal LEA when the municipal legislative body and the governing body for the LEA cannot agree on a budget; provides a process for continuing funding of municipal operations when a municipal legislative body has not adopted a budget by the first day of a fiscal year.

As introduced, expands the applicability of the presumption that a firefighter's cancer was caused by the firefighter's employment to include arson investigators.

As introduced, authorizes a municipality to create and require the use of a landlord registry for a real estate investment trust that owns, operates, or finances 10 or more dwelling units located within the municipality.