Tennessee Senate Bill SB0717

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/3/25
• Engrossed: 2/5/26
• Enrolled: 2/10/26
• Passed: 2/17/26
• Chaptered: 3/16/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 69, relative to utility infrastructure.

Summary

SB0717 would change Tennessee law to limit how public utilities—defined here as county, metropolitan, and municipal water, wastewater, natural gas, and electric systems—control the installation of utility infrastructure on customer projects. The bill prohibits a utility from requiring that the utility itself build the infrastructure and requires the utility to allow the customer to hire a contractor of the customer’s choosing for installation. The bill also allows utilities to set reasonable construction and manufacturer specifications, but bars them from forcing the use of a particular vendor or manufacturer. If a utility chooses to review plans and designs, it must complete that review within 30 days and may not charge more than $1,000. If the utility misses the deadline or exceeds the fee cap, the plans are deemed approved if a licensed engineer certifies that they meet applicable standards and the engineer carries sufficient liability insurance.

Impact

The bill would add a new part to Tennessee Code Annotated Title 7 governing public utility infrastructure installation and plan review. It would restrict local utility systems’ ability to monopolize construction work, vendor selection, and design approval processes, while preserving their authority to impose reasonable technical standards. Customers developing utility infrastructure would gain more flexibility to use private contractors and, in some cases, obtain deemed approval through engineer certification if utility review is delayed or too costly.

Sentiment

The available voting history shows strong support for the bill, with unanimous committee approval and unanimous floor passage in both recorded votes. No committee discussion transcripts were provided, but the vote totals suggest broad bipartisan agreement and little visible opposition during the legislative process.

Contention

The main policy tension in the bill is between customer choice and utility control. Supporters appear to favor allowing property owners and developers to hire their own contractors and avoid delays or exclusive vendor requirements, while utilities may be concerned about maintaining construction standards, safety, and oversight. The bill addresses that concern by preserving the utility’s ability to set reasonable specifications and review plans, but it limits that authority with deadlines, a fee cap, and deemed approval provisions if the utility does not act in time.