Tennessee House Bill HB1684

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/14/26
• Refer: 1/21/26
• Refer: 2/3/26
• Refer: 2/10/26
• Chaptered: 3/16/26
• Passed: 3/16/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55, Chapter 8, relative to personal delivery devices.

Summary

HB1684 amends Tennessee traffic law to expressly authorize and regulate the operation of personal delivery devices, such as autonomous delivery robots, in public spaces. The bill allows these devices to operate on sidewalks, crosswalks, bicycle lanes or paths, shoulders, the area adjacent to the right-hand edge or curb of the roadway, parking lots, and similar areas, and it assigns them the rights and duties of pedestrians when used in pedestrian areas and bicyclists when used in other areas, subject to exceptions where the law would not reasonably apply. The bill also updates the speed limit framework for these devices, allowing operation up to 20 miles per hour in areas other than those specifically listed, and changes local authority from a power to prohibit personal delivery devices to a power to regulate them for public safety, so long as local rules are not inconsistent with state law. The act is set to take effect July 1, 2026.

Impact

HB1684 would amend Title 55 of the Tennessee Code Annotated, primarily Section 55-8-209 and related definitions in Section 55-8-101, to create a clearer statewide legal framework for personal delivery devices. It preempts local governments from banning these devices outright, while still allowing local regulation for safety, and it establishes how these devices are treated under pedestrian and bicyclist traffic rules. The bill affects operators of autonomous delivery robots, municipalities, and potentially pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists sharing public rights-of-way.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests generally favorable committee sentiment toward the bill. It received strong support in the House Transportation Subcommittee and House Transportation Committee, both of which recommended passage with amendments or referral onward. No committee transcript is available, but the vote margins indicate broad acceptance of the concept of regulating personal delivery devices rather than prohibiting them.

Contention

The main point of contention appears to be the balance between statewide authorization and local control. The bill removes local governments’ ability to prohibit personal delivery devices and replaces it with a narrower power to regulate them, which may concern municipalities that want stronger authority to limit these devices for safety or operational reasons. Another likely issue is how these devices interact with existing traffic and pedestrian laws, including whether their operation on sidewalks, bike lanes, and road edges could create safety or enforcement challenges.