Tennessee House Bill HB0245

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 7, Chapter 86, relative to the emergency communications board.

Summary

HB0245 amends Tennessee law governing state boards and commissions to update the status of the emergency communications board. The bill removes the board from the list of entities that are scheduled to be repealed under the state’s periodic review process and adds it to the list of entities that are expressly continued in law. In effect, the measure confirms the board’s ongoing existence under Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 7, Chapter 86. The bill is a narrow administrative measure focused on preserving the emergency communications board created by § 7-86-302. It does not create new powers, duties, or funding mechanisms for the board; rather, it changes how the board is treated under the state’s sunset/review statutes in Title 4, Chapter 29. The practical result is to keep the board active and avoid automatic termination under the general review framework for state entities.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated § 4-29-246 by deleting the emergency communications board from the list of entities subject to repeal, and amends § 4-29-252 to add the board to the list of entities continued in law. This preserves the board’s legal status and ensures it remains operative without interruption. The measure affects the state’s administrative law governing boards and commissions, but it does not directly alter local government operations, emergency dispatch services, or telecommunications regulation beyond maintaining the board’s statutory existence.

Sentiment

The available legislative history shows strong, unanimous support for the bill. It passed the House Government Operations Committee 10-0 and later passed the House on the consent calendar by a vote of 89-0. The lack of recorded opposition and the consent-calendar treatment suggest the bill was viewed as routine housekeeping legislation with little controversy.

Contention

There is no recorded substantive contention in the available materials. Because the bill simply preserves the emergency communications board within the state’s continuing-entity statutes, any discussion would likely have centered on administrative necessity rather than policy disagreement. No committee transcript is available, and the votes indicate no visible opposition from either chamber.