Tennessee House Bill HB0303

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/22/25
• Refer: 2/3/25
• Refer: 2/12/25
• Refer: 3/12/25
• Chaptered: 4/8/25
• Passed: 4/8/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55, Chapter 17 and Title 62, Chapter 19, relative to auctions of previously titled motor vehicles that are antique or unique.

Summary

HB0303 creates a narrow exemption from Tennessee motor vehicle dealer licensing requirements for the sale or purchase of previously titled antique or unique motor vehicles when those transactions occur through an auction format tied to a motor vehicle festival. The exemption applies only to festivals held at a municipal convention center in a county meeting a very specific population range and where part of the festival proceeds are donated to a hospital neurological institute in that same county. The bill amends two separate code sections—one in Title 55 and one in Title 62—to make the exemption effective under both dealer-licensing frameworks. The measure is temporary: the new subsection in each code section is repealed on October 22, 2025, and the act itself takes effect October 17, 2025. In practical terms, the bill allows a limited, location-specific auction event to operate without requiring a motor vehicle dealer license for these antique or unique vehicles, while leaving the broader dealer licensing rules intact for other sales and auctions.

Impact

The bill makes a targeted exception to Tennessee’s motor vehicle dealer licensing laws in Title 55, Chapter 17 and Title 62, Chapter 19. It does not broadly deregulate vehicle auctions; instead, it creates a short-term carveout for a single class of events involving previously titled antique or unique vehicles at a qualifying motor vehicle festival in a narrowly defined county. The effect is to exempt certain sellers and purchasers from dealer licensing requirements for that specific auction format, while preserving the general licensing regime elsewhere.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been received very favorably and without recorded opposition. It advanced unanimously through the House Business and Utilities Subcommittee, the House Commerce Committee, and the House floor on consent calendar passage, with no nay votes at any stage shown in the available history. The lack of committee transcripts limits insight into detailed debate, but the voting record suggests broad agreement that the measure was a limited, noncontroversial exception.

Contention

No explicit contention is reflected in the available record. The main policy feature that could draw scrutiny is the bill’s highly specific geographic and event-based criteria, which effectively limit the exemption to a single qualifying festival and county population bracket. That kind of narrow tailoring can sometimes raise questions about special legislation or unequal treatment, but no such objections are documented in the provided votes or materials.