Tennessee House Bill HB0278

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/21/25
• Refer: 2/3/25
• Refer: 2/10/25
• Engrossed: 2/20/25
• Enrolled: 2/25/25
• Passed: 3/14/25
• Chaptered: 3/24/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 29 and Section 49-50-905, relative to the Tennessee public television council.

Summary

HB0278 makes a narrow administrative change to Tennessee law concerning the Tennessee public television council. The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 29, which governs state boards and commissions, to remove the council from one statutory list and add it to another list of entities that are expressly continued in law. It also references the council’s creation under Section 49-50-905, tying the council’s status to the education/public broadcasting statutes. In practical terms, the bill preserves the Tennessee public television council as an ongoing state entity and aligns its statutory placement with the state’s board-and-commission continuation framework. The measure does not appear to change the council’s duties, membership, or powers; rather, it updates the code to reflect the council’s continued existence and ensure it remains properly recognized under state law.

Impact

The bill amends two sections of the Tennessee Code Annotated: Section 4-29-246(a) by deleting subdivision (54), and Section 4-29-251(a) by adding the Tennessee public television council to the list of entities continued in law. This affects the legal status of the council under Tennessee’s sunset/continuation provisions for state boards and commissions, but it does not alter the substantive operations of the council itself or the public television program it supports.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been noncontroversial and broadly supported. It passed the House Government Operations Committee unanimously, then cleared the House on the consent calendar with no recorded opposition, and later received unanimous approval in the final House vote. The lack of committee discussion or dissent suggests general agreement that the measure was a routine technical update rather than a policy change.

Contention

There is little evidence of substantive contention around HB0278. Because the bill is a technical housekeeping measure affecting the statutory status of the Tennessee public television council, any potential concerns would likely have centered on whether the council should remain continued under state law rather than be subject to sunset review. However, the unanimous votes and absence of recorded debate indicate that no significant opposition was raised.