Tennessee Senate Bill SB1451

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/10/25
• Chaptered: 6/4/25
• Passed: 6/4/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Chapter 120 of the Private Acts of 1953; as amended and rewritten by Chapter 29 of the Private Acts of 2009; as amended by Chapter 18 of the Private Acts of 2015; and any other acts amendatory thereto, relative to the City of Red Boiling Springs.

Summary

SB1451 is a local private act for the City of Red Boiling Springs that revises the city charter provisions governing compensation for the mayor and city council. It sets a minimum annual salary of $18,200 for the mayor and a minimum annual salary of $1,800 for council members, while allowing the council to establish salary and fringe benefits by ordinance so long as any changes comply with the Tennessee Constitution. The act also confirms that the mayor and council may be reimbursed for expenses incurred in performing official duties under the city’s travel and reimbursement policy. The bill further provides that no incumbent official’s salary may be changed before the end of the term for which the official was elected, and it is contingent on approval by a two-thirds vote of the Red Boiling Springs legislative body. The act takes effect immediately for the limited purpose of local approval, but otherwise becomes operative only if the city approves it and the approval is certified to the Secretary of State.

Impact

This bill amends the private acts governing Red Boiling Springs by updating local salary floors and reimbursement authority for elected municipal officials. It affects the city’s charter-style governance structure rather than general state law, and it preserves constitutional limits on mid-term compensation changes for incumbents. The practical effect is to authorize the city to maintain or adjust elected-official pay within the new minimums, subject to local ordinance and local approval.

Sentiment

The available record suggests little to no opposition. The bill passed the House floor unanimously by a 33-0 vote, indicating broad support for the local compensation update. No committee transcript or recorded debate is available in the provided materials, so the sentiment can only be inferred from the unanimous vote and the routine, noncontroversial nature of the charter amendment.

Contention

The main potential point of contention is local control over elected-official compensation, including whether the salary floors are appropriate and whether the council should have discretion to set pay and fringe benefits by ordinance. Another issue is the constitutional restriction preventing salary changes for incumbents until the end of their terms, which limits immediate implementation for current officeholders. Because the act requires approval by a two-thirds vote of the Red Boiling Springs legislative body, local officials—not state legislators—are the primary decision-makers on whether the change takes effect.