Tennessee House Bill HB2633

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/10/26
• Refer: 2/19/26
• Refer: 3/2/26
• Refer: 3/11/26
• Chaptered: 5/1/26
• Passed: 5/1/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Chapter 158 of the Private Acts of 1927; as amended and rewritten by Chapter 1 of the Private Acts of 1989; Chapter 122 of the Private Acts of 1991; Chapter 147 of the Private Acts of 1996; and any other acts amendatory thereto, relative to the charter for the City of Springfield.

Summary

HB2633 is a private act amending the charter of the City of Springfield, Tennessee. The bill replaces the city’s existing nepotism provision with a new rule that bars the city from hiring relatives of elected city officials, relatives of the city manager, and relatives of current employees if they would work in the same department. It also defines “relative” broadly to include immediate family members, in-laws, foster relatives, and other household family members. The measure is structured as a local-option charter amendment: it does not take effect unless approved by a two-thirds vote of Springfield’s legislative body. If approved locally, the act would become part of the city’s governing charter and supersede any inconsistent local charter language on nepotism. The bill is limited to Springfield and does not alter statewide employment law, but it does change the city’s authority and hiring restrictions under its private act charter.

Impact

The bill amends Chapter 158 of the Private Acts of 1927, as previously amended, by deleting and replacing the charter’s nepotism section for Springfield. Its practical effect is to impose stricter local hiring limits on city government, especially for elected officials, the city manager, and employees in the same department, while leaving broader state civil service or employment laws unchanged. Because it is a private act contingent on local approval, the charter change only becomes operative if Springfield’s governing body adopts it by the required supermajority.

Sentiment

The available voting history shows strong support and no recorded opposition at each stage: the House Private Acts Committee recommended passage unanimously, the House State & Local Government Committee also recommended passage unanimously, and the full House passed the bill on the consent calendar with 81 yeas and 0 nays. That pattern suggests the bill was viewed as noncontroversial and administrative in nature. No committee transcripts were provided, so there is no additional evidence of debate or public disagreement in the record supplied.

Contention

The main substantive issue is the scope of the nepotism restriction. The bill prohibits hiring relatives of elected officials and the city manager outright, and also bars relatives of employees from working in the same department, which could be seen as a stricter local ethics rule than some existing policies. The only procedural point of contention is not political opposition but local control: the act depends on a two-thirds vote of Springfield’s legislative body, meaning the city itself must decide whether to accept the charter amendment.