Tennessee House Bill HB1604

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/13/26
• Refer: 1/21/26
• Refer: 2/2/26
• Engrossed: 2/9/26
• Enrolled: 2/10/26
• Passed: 2/25/26
• Chaptered: 3/16/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 49, Chapter 8, relative to the state university and community college system, board of regents.

Summary

HB1604 amends Tennessee law governing state boards and commissions to update the statutory listing for the Board of Regents, which oversees the state university and community college system. The bill removes the Board of Regents from one section of the Tennessee Code Annotated that lists certain entities and adds it to another section that identifies boards and commissions created by specific education statutes. In practical terms, the measure is a housekeeping or technical correction to keep the state’s board-reference statutes aligned with the current legal structure of the Board of Regents under Title 49. It does not appear to change the board’s powers, duties, membership, or governance of higher education institutions; rather, it updates cross-references in the code so the board is properly categorized in the state’s administrative law framework.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 49, Chapter 8 by deleting the Board of Regents from one statutory list and inserting it into another. This affects the statutory organization of state boards and commissions and ensures the Board of Regents is correctly recognized as a board created by the higher education statutes governing the state university and community college system. No substantive policy changes to the Board of Regents or to universities and community colleges are indicated.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been received very positively and without controversy. It passed the House Government Operations Committee unanimously and later passed the House on the consent calendar with 94 yeas and 0 nays, suggesting broad agreement that the measure is a routine technical update rather than a substantive policy dispute.

Contention

There is little to no apparent contention around HB1604. Because the bill is a noncontroversial statutory cleanup measure, no opposing arguments are reflected in the available discussion or voting record. The only likely point of interest is the administrative placement of the Board of Regents within the Tennessee Code, but the votes indicate consensus that the correction was appropriate.