AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39 and Title 70, relative to the use of certain colors while hunting.
Summary
HB0646 amends Tennessee’s hunting safety requirements for big game hunts, except turkey, during gun hunts proclaimed by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission. It requires hunters to wear daylight fluorescent orange or daylight fluorescent pink outer garments on both the upper body and head, with a combined minimum of 500 square inches, visible from the front and back. The bill also deletes a prior subsection of the statute, simplifying the existing clothing requirement.
The measure is set to take effect July 1, 2025, and it updates Tennessee Code Annotated Title 70, with a caption also referencing Title 39. In practical terms, it changes the state’s hunter-visibility rules and affects hunters participating in regulated big game firearm seasons, as well as enforcement by wildlife officers and agencies responsible for hunting regulations and public safety.
Impact
The bill revises Tennessee Code Annotated § 70-4-124 by replacing the existing hunter blaze-orange requirement with an expanded allowance for either fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink and by specifying the amount and placement of visible clothing. It removes a prior subsection, thereby streamlining the statute and clarifying the mandatory safety apparel standard for big game hunting during gun hunts. The change directly affects hunters, wildlife regulators, and enforcement personnel, while leaving turkey hunting outside the requirement.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee and full Committee unanimously, and then passed the House on the consent calendar by a 96-0 vote. The available record suggests general agreement that the measure is a straightforward hunting safety update rather than a contentious policy change.
Contention
No notable opposition is reflected in the available votes or record. The only substantive policy point apparent from the text is the shift from fluorescent orange only to fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink, along with the deletion of a subsection, but there is no evidence in the provided materials of disagreement over that change. The bill’s unanimous committee approvals and consent-calendar floor passage indicate little to no contention among lawmakers.