Tennessee House Bill HB0512

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/29/25
• Refer: 2/5/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 13, Chapter 7, Part 4, relative to historic zoning.

Summary

HB0512 amends Tennessee’s historic zoning law to lengthen the term of office for members of historic zoning commissions from five years to six years. The bill keeps the initial staggered-terms structure in place so that, when commissions are first organized, appointments still expire in a way that preserves continuity and prevents all seats from turning over at once. The bill also provides a transition rule for current members: anyone serving on a historic zoning commission when the act takes effect will finish the term already assigned, and those terms will not be extended. After those terms expire, new appointments will be made to six-year terms. The act takes effect immediately upon becoming law.

Impact

This bill directly amends Tennessee Code Annotated § 13-7-403(a)(1), changing the statutory term length for historic zoning commission members from five years to six years. It affects local historic zoning commissions and the appointing chief executive officials responsible for filling those seats, but it does not alter the commissions’ powers or the underlying historic zoning framework. Existing members are not given extra time in office; only future appointments move to the new six-year term length.

Sentiment

No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or opposition in the available record. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears administrative and noncontroversial, focused on adjusting commission governance rather than changing substantive historic preservation policy.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. The only potentially notable issue is the change from five-year to six-year terms, which could be viewed as either improving continuity and experience on historic zoning commissions or reducing turnover and opportunities for new appointments. However, the record provided does not show any stated opposition or support on that point.