Tennessee House Bill HB1415

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/25/25
• Refer: 3/3/25
• Refer: 3/10/25
• Refer: 3/26/25
• Engrossed: 4/8/25
• Enrolled: 4/15/25
• Passed: 5/2/25
• Chaptered: 5/8/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Chapter 234 of the Private Acts of 1972; as amended by Chapter 121 of the Private Acts of 1975; Chapter 96 of the Private Acts of 1983; Chapter 8 of the Private Acts of 1985; Chapter 47 of the Private Acts of 2005; and any other acts amendatory thereto, relative to motor vehicle privilege tax in Chester County.

Summary

HB1415 is a local private act for Chester County that rewrites the county’s existing motor vehicle privilege tax law. It sets the tax at $65.35 per motor vehicle per year for vehicles owned by county residents, with exemptions for vehicles held by auto dealers for resale and for farm tractors. The bill also states that paying the tax is a condition for operating a motor vehicle in Chester County. The act assigns collection to the Chester County Clerk and requires proof of payment through a receipt kept by the owner and a decal displayed on the vehicle’s license plate. It also makes violations of the act a Class C misdemeanor under the referenced Tennessee code provisions. The bill does not create a statewide tax; it amends a series of prior private acts governing Chester County’s local motor vehicle privilege tax.

Impact

HB1415 updates Chester County’s private act authority on motor vehicle privilege taxes by replacing prior versions of the county’s local tax law. It affects county residents who own motor vehicles, the county clerk’s office responsible for collection and enforcement, and vehicle owners who must show proof of payment. Because it is a private act, it has no effect unless approved by a two-thirds vote of the Chester County legislative body, and it operates only within Chester County.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported and moved through the legislative process with little resistance. It received unanimous or near-unanimous committee recommendations and passed the House on consent calendar with no recorded opposition, followed by a unanimous motion to adopt in the final floor action. The voting pattern suggests the measure was viewed as routine local legislation rather than a controversial policy change.

Contention

There is little evidence of substantive controversy in the available record. The only notable point of potential concern is the tax itself, since it imposes a county-level fee on vehicle owners and includes misdemeanor penalties for noncompliance. However, the committee and floor votes show minimal opposition, indicating that any disagreement was limited or not strongly expressed in the recorded proceedings.