Tennessee Senate Bill SB0743

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/4/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 68, Chapter 221, Part 9, relative to the Water and Wastewater Operator Certification Act.

Summary

SB 743 amends Tennessee’s Water and Wastewater Operator Certification Act to change how the state board prepares, administers, and grades operator certification exams. The bill requires examinations to measure the skills, knowledge, ability, and judgment needed for each operator classification, to use the same questions for all applicants, and to include at least 10% state-regulatory questions specific to the classification. Applicants must answer at least 70% of the overall exam and 70% of the state-regulatory questions correctly to receive a certificate, in addition to meeting the other requirements of the certification program. The bill also limits the board’s use of applicant demographic information by prohibiting collection or use of age, race, sex, or cultural background data. It further bars the board from delegating its core authority over minimum competency standards or exam preparation, administration, and grading to a third party, while still allowing staff under the board’s direct supervision to perform those tasks. The act takes effect immediately upon becoming law and applies to contracts or agreements entered into, amended, or renewed on or after that date.

Impact

This bill would amend Tennessee Code Annotated Title 68, Chapter 221, Part 9 by adding new statutory requirements for water and wastewater operator certification examinations and by narrowing how the board may contract for exam-related services. It standardizes exam content and passing thresholds, imposes a minimum share of state-specific regulatory questions, and restricts the board’s ability to outsource core certification functions. The bill also creates a statutory prohibition on collecting or using certain demographic data in the certification process, affecting the board’s administrative practices and any related contracts.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the bill appears to be framed as a technical and administrative reform to certification testing rather than a highly controversial policy change. Its provisions suggest a focus on consistency, state oversight, and limiting outside influence in licensing exams. No formal opposition or support is documented in the supplied context, so the overall sentiment cannot be measured from debate history, but the structure of the bill indicates a regulatory-compliance orientation.

Contention

The main points of potential contention are the restrictions on third-party involvement and the prohibition on collecting or using demographic data. Supporters may view these provisions as protecting state control over licensing standards and ensuring uniform, objective testing, while critics could argue that banning third-party administration reduces flexibility or efficiency and that limiting demographic data collection may affect oversight or fairness monitoring. Another possible issue is the requirement that applicants pass both the overall exam and the state-regulatory portion at 70%, which could be seen as raising or clarifying the bar for certification.