Tennessee House Bill HB0748

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/3/25
• Introduced: 2/7/07
• Refer: 2/12/25
• Refer: 2/12/07
• Refer: 4/2/25
• Refer: 4/8/25
• Refer: 4/17/25
• Chaptered: 5/15/25
• Passed: 5/15/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 16, Chapter 18 and Title 17, Chapter 3, relative to municipal courts.

Summary

HB0748 amends Tennessee law governing municipal courts by increasing a statutory fee from $1.00 to $2.00 in Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 16-18-304(a). The bill is narrow in scope and does not change the structure of municipal courts or criminal procedure more broadly; it simply updates the amount of an existing court-related charge. Because the bill amends Title 16 and is tied to municipal court operations, its practical effect is to increase the amount collected in cases where the fee applies. The change takes effect July 1, 2025, and will affect municipal court users, court clerks, and local court revenue streams associated with the fee.

Impact

The bill increases a municipal court fee in Tennessee from $1.00 to $2.00, amending Tennessee Code Annotated § 16-18-304(a). This directly affects the amount collected in municipal court proceedings where the fee is assessed, with a likely modest revenue increase for the relevant court or local government fund receiving the fee. It does not appear to alter substantive rights or penalties, but it does change a statutory cost borne by court users.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been noncontroversial and received unanimous support in committee, with recorded votes of 6-0, 19-0, 11-0, and 27-0 as it advanced through the House process. The absence of recorded opposition and the routine nature of the fee adjustment suggest general agreement that the change was administrative rather than policy-driven.

Contention

No major points of contention are reflected in the available committee votes or materials. The only likely area of concern would be the increase in a court-related fee, which could be viewed as a higher cost for municipal court litigants or defendants, but no opposition was recorded in the available history. The bill otherwise appears to have moved as a straightforward technical update to municipal court funding provisions.