Tennessee House Bill HB1344

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/6/25
• Refer: 3/12/25
• Refer: 3/26/25
• Refer: 4/2/25
• Refer: 4/9/25
• Refer: 4/17/25
• Chaptered: 5/15/25
• Passed: 5/15/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 8; Title 9; Title 10; Title 12; Title 49; Title 66 and Title 67, relative to higher education.

Summary

HB1344, as enacted as Public Chapter 467, creates a new process for public four-year colleges and universities in Tennessee to request that certain “capital outlay funds” be redirected for uses other than the purposes originally set in the 2022 appropriations law. To do so, an institution must submit a request to the commissioner of finance and administration showing that the proposed spending is essential to its mission and that no alternative funding source is available. The bill requires the comptroller and the commissioner, in consultation with the institution and higher education commission staff, to negotiate a memorandum of understanding that sets institution-specific conditions, benchmarks, and other requirements for releasing the funds. The comptroller and commissioner may approve all or part of a request, monitor compliance, and withhold additional disbursements if the institution does not meet the agreed terms. The bill also requires notice to the finance committee chairs before funds are disbursed and mandates quarterly reports to legislative leaders and education and finance committee chairs on each request and the institution’s progress.

Impact

The bill adds a new part to Tennessee Code Annotated Title 49, Chapter 7, governing the redirection of capital outlay funds for public four-year institutions. It gives the commissioner of finance and administration and the comptroller of the treasury formal oversight authority over whether and how those funds may be repurposed, and it ties disbursement to compliance with a negotiated memorandum of understanding and legislative notice procedures. It also creates ongoing reporting obligations to the General Assembly, increasing legislative visibility into higher education capital fund use.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have had broad support in the House committees that considered it, with unanimous or near-unanimous favorable recommendations at each stage reflected in the voting history. The committee actions suggest the measure was viewed as a structured, oversight-oriented approach to allowing universities flexibility with unused capital outlay funds while preserving state control and accountability. No committee transcript is available here, but the recorded votes indicate little visible opposition during the legislative process.

Contention

The main policy tension in the bill is between giving institutions flexibility to redirect capital outlay funds and preserving state oversight over appropriated money. Higher education institutions would likely favor the added flexibility, while finance officials and legislative committees retain authority to approve, condition, or deny redirection requests and to require compliance benchmarks. Another potential point of concern is the requirement for legislative committee chair acknowledgment before disbursement, which could be seen as adding an extra layer of review and potentially slowing access to funds, though the bill frames this as a transparency and accountability measure.