Tennessee House Bill HB0794

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/4/25
• Refer: 2/18/26
• Refer: 3/4/26
• Refer: 3/24/26
• Refer: 4/8/26
• Refer: 4/14/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 12; Title 13; Title 29; Title 54; Title 64; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 69, relative to municipal utilities.

Summary

HB0794 makes a narrow change to Tennessee law governing municipal utilities. Specifically, it amends Tennessee Code Annotated § 7-52-110(b) by changing a deadline from “ten (10) days” to “ten (10) business days.” The bill does not create a new program or policy; it simply extends the amount of time allowed for the relevant municipal utility action to be completed, likely making the deadline easier to administer by excluding weekends and holidays. Because the bill is limited to a single statutory timing provision, its legal impact is modest but practical. It affects municipal utilities and any parties who must respond to or comply with the notice or action deadline in § 7-52-110(b). The bill also amends the captioned titles listed in the act, but the substantive change is confined to Title 7, Chapter 52. It takes effect immediately upon becoming law, reflecting a desire for prompt implementation. The overall sentiment in committee votes appears strongly favorable. The bill advanced through multiple House committees and subcommittees with large margins and only one dissenting vote in two of the committee actions. The repeated “rec. for pass” recommendations suggest broad agreement that the change is technical and noncontroversial. The main point of contention, to the extent there was any, appears to be minimal and procedural rather than substantive. The only visible opposition was isolated one-vote dissent in the State & Local Government Committee and the Finance, Ways, and Means Committee, but no transcript discussion is available to explain the objection. Given the bill’s narrow scope, any concerns likely centered on the effect of extending deadlines for municipal utility-related actions rather than on the policy itself.

Impact

HB0794 amends Tennessee Code Annotated § 7-52-110(b) to replace a 10-day deadline with a 10-business-day deadline for a municipal utility-related requirement. This changes how the statutory time period is counted, effectively giving affected parties more time to act and aligning the deadline with business days rather than calendar days. The bill’s legal effect is limited to municipal utilities and the specific statutory provision in Title 7, Chapter 52, while the act’s caption references multiple titles as part of the standard legislative form.

Sentiment

Committee action indicates broad support for the bill. It received favorable recommendations at each stage shown, including unanimous or near-unanimous votes in subcommittee and committee, with only one nay vote in two committee hearings. The pattern suggests lawmakers viewed the measure as a technical clarification or administrative adjustment rather than a controversial policy change.

Contention

There is little evidence of substantive controversy in the available record. The only notable opposition was a single dissenting vote in the House State & Local Government Committee and again in the House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee. Without transcript discussion, the specific objection is unknown, but the narrow scope of the bill suggests any concern likely involved the extension of a statutory deadline for municipal utility actions rather than broader opposition to municipal utility regulation.