Tennessee House Bill HB2657

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/4/26
• Refer: 3/9/26
• Refer: 3/16/26
• Refer: 3/24/26
• Engrossed: 3/31/26
• Enrolled: 4/2/26
• Passed: 4/16/26
• Chaptered: 5/1/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Chapter 121 of the Private Acts of 2004; as amended and rewritten by Chapter 84 of the Private Acts of 2014; Chapter 58 of the Private Acts of 2018; and Chapter 17 of the Private Acts of 2023; and any other acts amendatory thereto, relative to the town of Ashland City.

Summary

HB2657 is a local private act affecting the charter of the Town of Ashland City. It revises the town’s election structure beginning January 1, 2026, to provide for a mayor elected at-large and six council members, with two council members elected from each of the town’s three wards. The bill makes these elections nonpartisan, sets a two-year residency requirement for candidates, and directs that filing, withdrawal, and ballot placement follow Tennessee election law. The bill also establishes staggered four-year terms for the mayor and council members, with elections held on the first Thursday in August in even-numbered years. It includes tie-breaking procedures: if there is a tie for mayor, the elected council members choose one of the tied candidates; if there is a tie among council candidates in a ward, the town council selects one of the tied candidates. The measure further updates vacancy rules to define when a mayor or council member’s seat becomes vacant, including resignation, death, moving out of the ward, certain convictions, charter or election-law violations, or prolonged unexcused absence from council meetings.

Impact

This bill amends the private acts governing Ashland City’s charter, specifically changing sections on election of the mayor and council and on vacancies in office. It shifts the town from its prior structure to a ward-based council system with staggered terms and new election timing, while preserving current incumbents’ terms and salaries until those terms expire. The act does not take effect unless approved by a two-thirds vote of the Ashland City legislative body, making local approval a condition precedent to implementation.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported throughout the legislative process. It received unanimous or near-unanimous committee recommendations and passed the House floor overwhelmingly, with only one nay on third consideration. The final motion to adopt also passed unanimously in the recorded vote. The voting pattern suggests the measure was viewed as a routine local charter update rather than a controversial statewide policy change.

Contention

There is little evidence of substantive opposition in the available record. The only recorded dissent was a single nay on the House floor, but no committee transcripts or debate summaries are provided to explain the objection. The main structural issue in the bill is local control: it requires approval by a two-thirds vote of Ashland City’s legislative body before becoming effective, indicating that the town itself must agree to the charter changes before they take effect.