Tennessee House Bill HB0975

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/5/25
• Refer: 2/10/25
• Refer: 3/4/25
• Refer: 3/11/25
• Chaptered: 4/8/25
• Passed: 4/8/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55, Chapter 8, relative to speed limits.

Summary

HB0975 amends Tennessee law governing county-set speed limits on roads maintained by counties. The bill clarifies that a county legislative body may establish lower speed limits it deems appropriate, and it may delegate that authority by resolution to the chief administrative officer of the county highway department if the department has an engineer capable of performing engineering and traffic investigations and ensuring those investigations are completed. The bill also requires that any engineering and traffic investigations used to set county speed limits be conducted according to established traffic engineering practices, consistent with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and state supplemental guidelines, and that the documentation be retained by the jurisdiction performing or sponsoring the investigation. It further specifies that in counties with a commission form of government, the board of commissioners holds the same authority described in the bill.

Impact

The bill updates Tennessee Code Annotated § 55-8-153 to expand and clarify local authority over speed-limit reductions on county-maintained roads. It affects county legislative bodies, county highway departments, and boards of commissioners in commission-form counties by defining who may set lower speed limits and under what procedural and technical standards. The measure also imposes documentation and engineering-review requirements intended to support enforceable speed-limit changes.

Sentiment

The available voting history shows strong and unanimous support for the bill at every stage, including 9-0 in the House Transportation Subcommittee, 16-0 in the House Transportation Committee, and 96-0 on the House floor. No committee transcript was provided, but the unanimous votes suggest the bill was viewed favorably and as a technical or administrative clarification rather than a controversial policy change.

Contention

No recorded opposition appears in the available materials. The only potential point of policy interest is the delegation of speed-limit authority from county legislative bodies to county highway officials, conditioned on the presence of qualified engineering staff and proper investigations. Another possible issue is the requirement that counties follow MUTCD and state supplemental guidelines, which may be seen as adding procedural safeguards while also limiting local discretion. However, the unanimous votes indicate these provisions were not contentious in practice.