Tennessee House Bill HB1427

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/10/25
• Refer: 3/17/25
• Refer: 3/24/25
• Refer: 4/8/25
• Engrossed: 4/16/25
• Enrolled: 4/24/25
• Passed: 5/21/25
• Chaptered: 6/4/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Chapter 125 of the Private Acts of 1949; as amended by Chapter 291 of the Private Acts of 1957; Chapter 134 of the Private Acts of 1994; and any other acts amendatory thereto, relative to compensation for Putnam County General Sessions Court Judges.

Summary

HB1427 is a local private act affecting Putnam County, Tennessee. It amends prior private acts governing compensation for Putnam County General Sessions Court judges by setting their annual salary, effective September 1, 2030, at the same level as the county’s circuit court judges and chancellors. After that date, the judges’ salaries must be adjusted each September 1 in accordance with the state statutes that govern judicial salary adjustments, and the compensation is to be paid in 12 equal installments. The bill also repeals conflicting private acts or portions of acts applicable to Putnam County and includes a safeguard that it cannot be construed to change the salary of any incumbent judge before the end of the term for which that official was elected, consistent with the Tennessee Constitution. In addition, the act is conditional: it only takes effect if approved by a two-thirds vote of the Putnam County legislative body, and that local approval or rejection must be certified to the Secretary of State.

Impact

The bill changes the compensation structure for Putnam County General Sessions Court judges by tying their pay to the compensation of circuit court judges and chancellors, with future adjustments governed by Tennessee’s judicial salary adjustment statutes. It amends a series of prior private acts specific to Putnam County, repeals conflicting local provisions, and creates a local-approval requirement before the salary changes become operative.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial in the legislature. It advanced unanimously through committee and floor consideration, including a 96-0 consent calendar passage in the House and a 32-0 motion to adopt, suggesting little to no opposition in the General Assembly. The final enactment and gubernatorial approval further indicate a favorable overall reception.

Contention

There is little evidence of substantive contention in the available record. The main procedural issue is that the act depends on approval by a two-thirds vote of the Putnam County legislative body, so the local governing body—not state legislators—holds the key decision on whether the salary changes take effect. The bill also explicitly protects incumbents from mid-term salary changes, which addresses any constitutional concern about altering compensation during an elected term.