Tennessee House Bill HB1060

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/5/25
• Refer: 2/10/25
• Refer: 3/5/25
• Refer: 3/11/25
• Refer: 3/19/25
• Refer: 3/25/25
• Engrossed: 4/3/25
• Enrolled: 4/15/25
• Passed: 5/2/25
• Chaptered: 5/8/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 70-2-106, relative to agent fees.

Summary

HB1060 amends Tennessee Code Annotated § 70-2-106, which governs fees collected by county clerks and other authorized agents who sell licenses, permits, stamps, tags, registrations, and similar privileges on behalf of a state agency. The bill sets a flat agent fee of $3.00 for the sale of one annual license, permit, stamp, tag, registration, or other privilege, and also $3.00 for one item valid for a specified day or number of days. It also preserves the executive director’s authority to establish an alternative agent fee through competitive bidding for telephone or other electronic sales. In practical terms, the bill standardizes the amount that agents may collect from purchasers for these transactions, while leaving room for a separate fee structure when sales are handled electronically under a competitive contract. The measure applies to county clerks and any other designated agents selling state-issued wildlife or related licenses and permits, and it takes effect immediately upon becoming law.

Impact

The bill directly amends Tennessee’s wildlife licensing fee statute, Tennessee Code Annotated § 70-2-106, by replacing the existing subdivision on agent compensation with a specific $3.00 flat fee for qualifying sales. It affects county clerks and other appointed agents that process license and permit transactions for the state, and it continues to allow the executive director to set a different agent fee for telephone or electronic sales through competitive bidding procedures.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial in committee, advancing unanimously through the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee, the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, the House Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee, and the House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee. It also passed the House floor by a substantial margin and later cleared the final House vote overwhelmingly, indicating general agreement with the fee adjustment and the administrative approach used in the bill.

Contention

There is little evidence of substantive opposition in the available record, but the only notable policy issue is the fee structure itself: the bill fixes a standard $3.00 agent fee for in-person sales while allowing a separate, competitively bid fee for telephone or electronic sales. Any concern would likely center on whether the flat fee is adequate compensation for local agents or whether the alternative electronic-sales arrangement should be treated differently, but no specific objections are reflected in the votes or transcripts provided.