Tennessee House Bill HB2538

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/3/26
• Refer: 3/3/26
• Refer: 3/11/26
• Refer: 3/18/26
• Chaptered: 5/5/26
• Passed: 5/5/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 64, Chapter 9, relative to the Megasite Authority of West Tennessee.

Summary

HB2538 amends Tennessee law governing the Megasite Authority of West Tennessee to give the authority explicit power to issue bonds for water and wastewater system projects. The bill authorizes bonds to finance, in whole or in part, acquisition, construction, reconstruction, improvement, betterment, or extension of the authority’s water or wastewater systems, and it allows related issuance costs, engineering, inspection, fiscal and legal expenses, and certain construction-period interest to be included in the financed amount. The bill also makes clear that these bonds are not debts of the State of Tennessee and that the state is not liable for them; the bonds must state that on their face. Even with board approval, bond issuance for these purposes would still require approval from the state funding board under Tennessee Code Annotated § 9-9-101. The act takes effect immediately upon becoming law.

Impact

This bill would expand the financing tools available to the Megasite Authority of West Tennessee by amending Title 64, Chapter 9 to expressly authorize bond issuance for utility infrastructure tied to the authority’s water and wastewater systems. It affects the authority’s governing statute and the state’s public finance framework by routing any such bond issuance through the state funding board and by preserving the state’s non-liability for the authority’s obligations.

Sentiment

The available legislative history suggests broad support and little opposition. The bill advanced through the House Cities & Counties Subcommittee and the House State & Local Government Committee with unanimous votes, indicating a generally favorable view of the measure as a practical infrastructure-financing tool for the megasite project. No committee transcript objections are available in the record provided.

Contention

No major points of contention are reflected in the provided materials. The main policy issue inherent in the bill is whether the Megasite Authority should be granted additional bonding authority for water and wastewater infrastructure, but the recorded votes show no opposition. The bill also preserves safeguards by requiring state funding board approval and by disclaiming any state debt obligation, which likely reduced concern about state financial exposure.