AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39 and Title 70, relative to the use of certain colors while hunting.
Summary
SB0206 amends Tennessee hunting law to change the required hunter-orange safety clothing rules for big game hunting during commission-proclaimed gun hunts. Under the bill, hunters of big game other than turkey must wear daylight fluorescent orange or daylight fluorescent pink on both the upper body and head, with a combined minimum of 500 square inches, and the clothing must be visible from both the front and back.
The bill also removes a prior subsection of the statute, simplifying the existing hunter-visibility requirements. It takes effect July 1, 2025, and updates Tennessee Code Annotated Title 70, with a reference to Title 39 in the caption. In practical terms, the measure changes what colors are acceptable for high-visibility hunting apparel and clarifies the amount and placement of required fluorescent material.
Impact
The bill directly amends Tennessee Code Annotated § 70-4-124, altering the legal safety apparel requirements for hunters during gun hunts. It expands the acceptable color options from fluorescent orange alone to fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink, while retaining the 500-square-inch visibility standard and front-and-back coverage requirement. The change affects hunters, wildlife enforcement, and retailers of hunting safety gear, and it becomes operative statewide on July 1, 2025.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests strong bipartisan support and little controversy. The Senate committee recommended passage unanimously, and the floor motion to adopt also passed 30-0. With no committee transcript debate provided, the overall sentiment appears favorable and procedural, indicating the bill was viewed as a straightforward hunting-safety update rather than a contentious policy change.
Contention
No notable opposition is reflected in the available record. The only substantive policy choice apparent from the text is the addition of fluorescent pink as an acceptable alternative to fluorescent orange for hunter visibility, along with the deletion of a prior subsection. If there was any concern, it would likely have centered on whether expanding color options could affect safety standards, but the unanimous votes suggest that issue was not a major point of contention.