Tennessee House Bill HB0251

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 40, Chapter 31, relative to the Interstate Compact on Detainers.

Summary

HB0251 amends Tennessee’s governmental-entity sunset law to remove the Interstate Compact on Detainers from the list of entities scheduled to terminate under Title 4, Chapter 29. It also adds a new sunset provision stating that the Interstate Compact on Detainers will terminate on June 30, 2033, unless it is continued, reestablished, or restructured under Tennessee’s regular sunset-review process. The bill is a technical statutory update tied to Tennessee Code Annotated Titles 4 and 40. In practical terms, it keeps the Interstate Compact on Detainers in place for now, while placing it under a future expiration date and preserving the legislature’s ability to review or renew it later. The act takes effect immediately upon becoming law. The bill appears to have been noncontroversial. It passed the House Government Operations Committee 10-0 and later passed the House on the consent calendar by an 89-0 vote, indicating broad bipartisan support and no recorded opposition in the available materials. There is little evidence of substantive contention in the record provided. Because no committee transcript is available, no specific objections or debate points are documented. The only notable policy issue is the general question of whether the Interstate Compact on Detainers should remain subject to sunset review, but the unanimous votes suggest that lawmakers viewed the change as routine and administrative rather than disputed.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee’s sunset statute by deleting the Interstate Compact on Detainers from one existing termination list and adding it to a new section that sets a June 30, 2033 termination date. This affects Tennessee Code Annotated Title 4, Chapter 29, and references the compact created in Title 40, Chapter 31. The practical effect is to preserve the compact’s operation in Tennessee while subjecting it to future legislative review under the state’s sunset framework.

Sentiment

The available voting history shows strong support and no recorded opposition. The House Government Operations Committee recommended passage unanimously, and the full House passed the bill on the consent calendar with a 89-0 vote. With no committee transcript available, the overall sentiment appears to have been routine, favorable, and largely procedural rather than politically divisive.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. The only potentially debatable issue is whether the Interstate Compact on Detainers should be placed on a sunset schedule at all, but the unanimous committee and floor votes suggest that any concerns were minimal or resolved without public dispute. The bill was treated as a technical housekeeping measure rather than a contested policy change.