Tennessee House Bill HB0238

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/21/25
• Refer: 2/3/25
• Refer: 2/10/25
• Chaptered: 3/21/25
• Passed: 3/21/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 58, Chapter 2, relative to the Civil Defense and Disaster Compact.

Summary

HB0238 amends Tennessee’s statutory sunset provisions to account for the Civil Defense and Disaster Compact, which is created in Tennessee law under Title 58, Chapter 2. The bill removes the compact from a list of entities subject to an existing termination provision in Title 4, Chapter 29, and then adds a new sunset section stating that the compact will terminate on June 30, 2033 unless continued, reestablished, or restructured under state law. It also preserves the legislature’s ability to revisit the entity later under the state’s general governmental-entity review framework. In practical terms, the bill updates Tennessee Code Annotated to keep the compact within the state’s periodic review and termination system while setting a specific future expiration date. The act takes effect immediately upon becoming law, reflecting the state’s intent to maintain current disaster-response compact authority while aligning it with Tennessee’s administrative sunset schedule.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated Title 4, Chapter 29 by deleting the Civil Defense and Disaster Compact from one existing termination list and adding a new section that expressly sunsets the compact on June 30, 2033. It also references Title 58, Chapter 2, where the compact is created, but does not otherwise alter the compact’s substantive emergency-management powers. The main legal effect is to place the compact under a defined future review/expiration date, while allowing the General Assembly to continue, reestablish, or restructure it later.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly noncontroversial and received unanimous support in both committee and on the House floor. The House Government Operations Committee recommended passage by a 10-0 vote, and the floor vote passed on the consent calendar by 89-0. The absence of recorded opposition or committee debate suggests general agreement that the measure was a routine administrative update rather than a substantive policy change.

Contention

No notable contention is reflected in the available record. Because there were no committee transcripts and the votes were unanimous, there is no evidence of disagreement over the sunset date, the compact’s continued existence, or the legislature’s authority to reauthorize it. The bill’s limited scope and technical nature likely contributed to the lack of opposition.