AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 9-4-216, relative to the governor's response and recovery fund.
HB2543 amends Tennessee’s governor’s response and recovery fund statute to expand and clarify how the fund may be used after emergencies and disasters. The bill shifts administration of the fund from the commissioner of finance and administration to the director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), and it authorizes the fund to provide aid not only to eligible local governmental entities but also to eligible individuals in qualifying counties.
For local governments, the bill sets detailed conditions for grants or loans, including a gubernatorial emergency or disaster declaration, a local emergency declaration, a showing that federal Stafford Act aid is unavailable or insufficient, and a damage threshold tied to TEMA’s countywide per capita impact indicator. It also limits eligible projects to debris removal, emergency protective measures, infrastructure repair, building repair, equipment replacement, and utility repair, while requiring completion within 18 months unless extended. For individuals, assistance is available only in counties meeting specified emergency and damage criteria, and only when the damage is unlikely to qualify for federal individual assistance.
The bill changes Tennessee Code Annotated § 9-4-216 by redefining the fund’s administration and by adding a structured state disaster-assistance framework for both local governments and certain residents. It imposes eligibility standards, cost-share rules based on county economic status, procurement requirements, insurance conditions, and restrictions on using the fund for insurance deductibles or costs already covered by other sources. It also requires repayment from loans to remain in the fund and directs TEMA to manage procedures and thresholds.
The available voting history shows strong and unanimous support at each committee stage, with no recorded dissenting votes in the House subcommittee, House State & Local Government Committee, House Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee, or House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee. The bill appears to have been viewed as a practical disaster-response measure, with support for giving the state more flexible tools to help local governments and individuals after emergencies when federal aid is delayed, unavailable, or inadequate.
No committee transcript is available, and the recorded votes show no opposition, so there is no documented substantive controversy in the provided materials. The main policy choices embedded in the bill are the use of state funds for individual assistance, the strict eligibility and damage-threshold requirements, the local cost-share formula tied to county economic status, and the requirement that recipients obtain insurance coverage after receiving aid. Those provisions suggest the bill balances expanded disaster aid with fiscal controls and accountability.