Tennessee Senate Bill SB0648

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/31/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 29, Chapter 16; Title 29, Chapter 17; Title 54 and Title 58, Chapter 2, relative to the use of eminent domain during declared emergencies.

Summary

SB0648 amends Tennessee’s emergency management law to limit how the governor may use eminent domain during a declared emergency. The bill preserves the governor’s existing authority to commandeer or use private property when necessary to respond to an emergency, but it adds an explicit exception stating that private property does not include firearms, ammunition, or firearm and ammunition components. It also provides that, while eminent domain over real property may still be available, it may not be used in any expedited manner. In practical terms, the bill narrows emergency powers by clarifying that certain gun-related property cannot be seized or treated as ordinary private property for emergency commandeering purposes. It does not eliminate eminent domain or emergency commandeering authority altogether; instead, it places a procedural restriction on the use of eminent domain for real property and a substantive carve-out for firearms-related items.

Impact

The bill would amend Tennessee Code Annotated § 58-2-107(e)(4), which governs the governor’s powers during emergencies, by adding limits on the use of eminent domain and by excluding firearms, ammunition, and firearm components from the category of property that may be commandeered or utilized under that provision. The change would affect state emergency management authority, property owners, and gun owners or firearm businesses by restricting the state’s ability to seize or use those items during a declared emergency and by preventing expedited eminent-domain action against real property in that context.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the measure appears to reflect a protective, pro-property-rights and pro-Second Amendment approach to emergency powers. The bill’s framing suggests support for limiting government overreach during crises, especially with respect to firearms-related property and fast-tracked takings of real estate. No contrary sentiment is documented in the supplied record.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely the scope of executive power in emergencies versus individual property and gun rights. Supporters would favor the bill’s restrictions as safeguards against government seizure of firearms, ammunition, and related components, and against accelerated eminent-domain use. Opponents, if any, would likely argue that the bill could constrain emergency response flexibility by narrowing what the state may commandeer and by limiting the speed of real-property takings when rapid action is needed.