Tennessee House Bill HB1907

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/22/26
• Refer: 2/4/26
• Refer: 2/18/26
• Refer: 3/4/26
• Chaptered: 4/6/26
• Passed: 4/6/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8, Chapter 25; Title 8, Chapter 34; Title 8, Chapter 35 and Title 8, Chapter 36, relative to retirement.

Summary

HB1907 amends Tennessee retirement law in several ways, primarily by changing how the Tennessee retirement system and deferred compensation plan respond to subpoenas for records. For both deferred compensation plan administrators and retirement system employees, the bill allows compliance with a subpoena duces tecum by filing certified copies of the requested records, along with a custodian affidavit or declaration, within 14 days. The bill also limits when a custodian can be required to appear in person, allowing personal attendance only when needed to resolve a good-faith dispute about the accuracy of the records provided. The bill also makes a substantive change to monthly benefit payments after a retiree or beneficiary dies, clarifying that benefits stop in the month of death, but that a payment is still issued for the month of death and paid to the deceased member or beneficiary in the circumstances described. In addition, it removes a subsection in the retirement code and adds a new rule for certain temporary reemployment cases involving members with retirement effective dates between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2027. If the retirement system later determines that a member lacked a bona fide separation of service, the member must be treated as having received an in-service distribution, and the system must make any necessary tax reporting corrections. The bill’s impact is focused on state retirement administration, records production, and tax reporting. It affects the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System and related deferred compensation plan processes, as well as retirees, beneficiaries, and members who return to temporary reemployment. It also updates evidentiary procedures in court by making certified records and custodian affidavits sufficient in many subpoena situations, reducing the need for live testimony unless a dispute requires it. The general sentiment around the bill appears favorable and largely noncontroversial. The committee votes shown were strong in support, including a 20-0 recommendation for passage in the House State & Local Government Committee, and the bill was placed on the consent calendar. That pattern suggests broad agreement that the bill is a technical or administrative cleanup measure rather than a major policy change. The main points of potential contention are limited and technical. The subpoena provisions could matter to litigants seeking live testimony from retirement-system custodians, while the temporary reemployment and bona fide separation language may affect retirees whose status is later questioned for tax or benefits purposes. However, the available vote history does not show significant opposition, and no committee discussion transcript is provided indicating major debate.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated Title 8, Chapters 25, 34, 35, and 36 to revise procedures for subpoenas served on deferred compensation plan administrators and retirement system employees, to clarify death-month benefit payments, to delete one retirement-code subsection, and to add rules for temporary reemployment cases involving bona fide separation of service and related tax reporting. It primarily affects the Tennessee retirement system, deferred compensation plan records custodians, retirees, beneficiaries, and members returning to work after retirement.

Sentiment

The available legislative history suggests broad support and little controversy. The bill advanced through committee with strong favorable votes, including unanimous support in one committee, and was placed on the consent calendar, indicating it was treated as a routine retirement-administration measure. No committee transcript is available showing organized opposition or significant debate.

Contention

Any contention would likely center on the bill’s subpoena provisions and the new treatment of members later found not to have had a bona fide separation of service. Parties seeking direct testimony from retirement-system custodians may view the certified-records procedure as limiting, while affected retirees or employers could be concerned about retroactive tax reporting corrections and the reclassification of benefits as in-service distributions. The voting record, however, does not show these issues generating substantial opposition.