Tennessee Senate Bill SB0878

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/5/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 11; Title 43; Title 44; Title 53; Title 57; Title 62; Title 63; Title 66; Title 67; Title 68; Title 69 and Title 70, relative to agriculture.

Summary

SB0878 is a narrow transparency measure related to agriculture. It amends Tennessee Code Annotated section 43-1-503 to require the Department of Agriculture to post the reports required under that section on the department’s website in a publicly accessible location within one month after the governor approves the reports. Although the bill caption references multiple titles of the Tennessee Code Annotated, the operative language in the bill text only adds this website-posting requirement. The practical effect is to make certain agriculture-related reports easier for the public to find and review, rather than changing the substance of the underlying reporting requirement itself.

Impact

The bill would amend Tennessee’s agriculture reporting statute by adding a public disclosure requirement to the Department of Agriculture’s duties. It does not appear to create new reporting obligations, penalties, or substantive regulatory changes; instead, it changes how existing reports are made available to the public. The affected party is primarily the Department of Agriculture, with indirect impact on farmers, agribusinesses, policymakers, and members of the public who rely on state agricultural reports.

Sentiment

No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate, support, or opposition in the available materials. Based on the text alone, the bill appears to be a straightforward government transparency and access measure with a limited administrative burden. The absence of recorded controversy suggests it may have been viewed as noncontroversial or procedural.

Contention

Because there are no transcripts or votes in the provided record, no specific points of contention can be identified from the available materials. If any concerns were raised, they would most likely relate to administrative workload, timing of publication, or the scope of which reports must be posted, but those issues are not documented here. The bill’s narrow focus suggests little substantive disagreement over policy direction.