Tennessee Senate Bill SB0875

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/5/25
• Chaptered: 5/27/25
• Passed: 5/27/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 3; Title 4, Chapter 49; Section 9-16-101; Title 54, Chapter 4; Title 55, Chapter 4; Title 57, Chapter 5, Part 2; Title 57, Chapter 3, Part 3; Title 67, Chapter 3, Part 9; Title 67, Chapter 4, Part 9 and Title 67, relative to allocations to counties and municipalities.

Summary

SB0875 revises how Tennessee determines population figures used to allocate and distribute certain state moneys to counties and municipalities. The bill directs the Department of Economic and Community Development to annually revise and certify the population of each county and municipality, and the state’s aggregate population, by July 1 during the years between decennial federal censuses. Those certified estimates are to be generated by the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee through the Tennessee State Data Center. The bill also amends multiple sections of the Tennessee Code to require that population-based distributions under several titles of law be made using these annual certified populations, unless a jurisdiction’s population has been updated by a special census or the regular decennial census. It adds conforming language across tax and allocation statutes so that state revenue-sharing and other population-based formulas follow the updated estimates rather than relying solely on the last federal census.

Impact

The bill changes state law governing population-based funding formulas for counties and municipalities by creating an annual certification process and tying several statutory allocation provisions to those certified estimates. It affects provisions in Titles 4, 54, 55, 57, and 67, including tax-related and local-government distribution statutes, and requires coordination among the Department of Economic and Community Development, the Department of Revenue, and the Department of Finance and Administration. The act takes effect January 1, 2026.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests strong support for the bill, with the Senate State & Local Government Committee reporting an 8-0 vote in favor. The bill was enacted as Public Chapter No. 501, indicating it ultimately received broad legislative approval. No committee transcript was provided, but the unanimous committee vote and final passage point to a generally favorable reception.

Contention

The main policy issue is how to measure population for distributing state funds between censuses. Supporters likely favored more current annual estimates to make allocations more equitable and responsive to population changes, while any potential concern would be that annual certification could shift money away from jurisdictions that have grown more slowly or that prefer the certainty of decennial census figures. The bill preserves exceptions for special censuses and decennial census years, which may have reduced opposition by protecting existing mechanisms for local population adjustments.