Tennessee Senate Bill SB0891

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/5/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 8; Title 10; Title 11; Title 12; Title 43; Title 44; Title 55; Title 64; Title 67; Title 69 and Title 70, relative to wildlife.

Summary

SB0891 is a narrow wildlife administration bill. It amends Tennessee Code Annotated Section 70-5-105 to require the governor’s office to submit an annual report by January 15 to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over natural resources. The report must detail all lands and waters that have been set apart and dedicated by the governor as wildlife preserves, including the boundaries or limits of those preserve areas. The bill does not create new wildlife preserves or change substantive wildlife management rules. Instead, it adds a reporting requirement intended to improve legislative oversight and transparency regarding state-designated wildlife preserve lands and waters. The measure takes effect immediately upon becoming law.

Impact

The bill amends Title 70 of the Tennessee Code, specifically the section governing wildlife preserves, by imposing a new annual reporting duty on the governor’s office. It affects executive branch administrative practice and provides legislative committees with a recurring update on the location and scope of state wildlife preserve lands and waters, but it does not directly alter private rights, hunting regulations, conservation standards, or land-use classifications beyond the reporting obligation.

Sentiment

No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or opposition in the available materials. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears procedural and likely noncontroversial, as it focuses on information-sharing and oversight rather than policy change. The absence of recorded votes or discussion suggests no documented public sentiment in the supplied record.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. If any concerns were raised, they would most likely relate to the administrative burden on the governor’s office or the adequacy and usefulness of the reporting requirement for legislative oversight. However, the record supplied here does not identify any legislators, agencies, or stakeholder groups taking a position for or against the bill.