Tennessee Senate Bill SB0834

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/4/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 9 and Title 49, relative to land grant institutions.

Summary

SB0834 requires the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, working with the Department of Finance and Administration, to prepare a report for the General Assembly on state appropriations to each land grant institution in Tennessee. The report must cover the years 1987 through 2020 and present the appropriations on a per-pupil basis. The report is due to the legislature by December 31, 2025. The bill does not directly change funding formulas, appropriations levels, or eligibility rules for any institution. Instead, it creates a legislative reporting requirement intended to compile historical funding data for land grant institutions, likely to support review of long-term state support and comparisons among institutions over time.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated Titles 9 and 49 by imposing a one-time reporting duty on the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, in consultation with the Department of Finance and Administration. Its practical effect is to require the collection, organization, and presentation of historical state appropriation data for land grant institutions on a per-student basis, but it does not itself alter existing appropriations, governance, or statutory funding obligations for those institutions.

Sentiment

Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided, the bill’s sentiment can only be inferred from its structure. It appears largely informational and administrative rather than controversial, suggesting a neutral to favorable reception as a transparency and oversight measure. The absence of recorded opposition or debate in the provided materials indicates no documented controversy in the available record.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided bill history or transcripts. If debated, likely issues would center on the accuracy and availability of historical appropriation data, the administrative burden on state agencies, and whether the report could be used to support future claims about equity in funding among land grant institutions. However, none of those concerns are explicitly reflected in the materials provided.