Tennessee Senate Bill SB0965

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/5/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 6, Chapter 51 and Title 7, Chapter 69, relative to tourism development authorities.

Summary

SB0965 creates a specific deannexation process for tourism development authorities that own real property located wholly or partly inside a municipality. If the property can be removed without creating an unincorporated “island” surrounded by municipal boundaries, the authority may petition the municipality to deannex the property. The petition must include a map of the plat, and the municipality must determine any debt amount owed under existing annexation law within 30 days. The deannexation becomes effective 60 days after the municipality receives the petition. Once operative, municipal jurisdiction ends over the excluded territory, except that the property remains responsible for debt newly contracted after annexation and before jurisdiction is surrendered. The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated Title 7, Chapter 69, and references Title 6, Chapter 51 for debt-related procedures tied to annexed territory.

Impact

The bill narrows and clarifies how municipal boundaries can be adjusted when tourism development authorities own land inside city limits. It gives those authorities a direct statutory path to seek deannexation, imposes a timeline on municipal review of any annexation-related debt, and limits the municipality’s continuing authority over the property after deannexation. The measure affects municipalities, tourism development authorities, and any property subject to annexation/deannexation and associated debt obligations under Tennessee annexation law.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests the bill was received favorably in committee, passing the Senate Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee unanimously 9-0 and being recommended for passage with amendments and referral onward. No committee transcript is available, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to indicate broader opposition or support beyond the vote. Overall, the bill appears to have had a positive reception at the committee stage.

Contention

The main policy issue is the balance between a tourism development authority’s ability to remove property from municipal limits and a municipality’s interest in preserving its boundaries, tax base, and control over annexed territory. Another potential point of concern is the handling of debt tied to annexed property, since the bill preserves responsibility for certain newly contracted debt even after deannexation. The bill also includes a safeguard against creating isolated unincorporated enclaves, which may address municipal planning concerns.