Tennessee House Bill HB2666

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 4/6/26
• Refer: 4/8/26
• Refer: 4/13/26
• Refer: 4/15/26
• Engrossed: 4/21/26
• Enrolled: 4/29/26
• Passed: 5/21/26
• Chaptered: 5/27/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Chapter 131 of the Private Acts of 1969; as amended by Chapter 85 of the Private Acts of 1987; Chapter 74 of the Private Acts of 1995; Chapter 57 of the Private Acts of 2001 and Chapter 67 of the Private Acts of 2024; and any other acts amendatory thereto, relative to the privilege tax upon hotel occupancy in Shelby County.

Summary

HB2666 is a Shelby County private act that revises the county’s hotel occupancy privilege tax, which is tied to funding arrangements for local convention and sports facilities. The bill changes the sunset provisions for the tax by replacing the prior trigger, which was based on repayment of Cook Convention Center-related bonds and a June 30, 2015 date, with a new trigger that allows the tax to continue until the later of June 30, 2050 or the time when a National Basketball Association franchise is no longer a tenant of an indoor sports facility. The bill also revises how certain tax revenues are distributed. It removes the phrase “and ticket shortfall” from one subsection and updates the allocation formula so that, once an indoor sports facility is no longer occupied by an NBA franchise, 61.25% of the tax revenue goes to the Convention and Visitors Bureau and 38.75% goes to the county for any purpose allowed under the private act. The measure is structured as an amendment to a series of prior private acts governing the same tax and related revenue uses in Shelby County.

Impact

HB2666 would extend and modify the legal authority for Shelby County to levy its hotel occupancy privilege tax and would alter the statutory conditions under which the tax ends. It also changes the distribution of tax proceeds after the departure of an NBA tenant from an indoor sports facility, affecting the Convention and Visitors Bureau and county government revenue streams. Because it amends a private act rather than general state law, its effect is localized to Shelby County and depends on approval by a two-thirds vote of the Shelby County legislative body.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have received broadly favorable treatment in the legislature. It was recommended for passage in both the House Private Acts Committee and the House State & Local Government Committee, and it passed the House floor and final consideration with large margins. The voting history suggests general support for the measure, with only a small number of dissenting votes at the floor stage.

Contention

The main point of contention is the policy choice to extend a hotel tax and tie its duration to the presence of an NBA franchise in an indoor sports facility rather than to the retirement of convention-center-related debt. That structure may raise concerns about the length of the tax, the use of tourism-related revenues, and the allocation of funds between the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the county. However, the recorded committee votes and floor votes indicate that any opposition was limited and did not prevent passage.