Tennessee Senate Bill SB1814

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/20/26
• Engrossed: 3/9/26
• Enrolled: 4/29/26
• Passed: 5/22/26
• Chaptered: 5/27/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39; Title 62, Chapter 18 and Title 66, relative to land surveying monuments.

Summary

SB1814 creates a new criminal offense in Tennessee for intentionally moving, altering, destroying, or removing certain land surveying monuments without replacing them. The bill covers three categories of monuments: property corner monuments used to mark property lines and corners, historic land surveying monuments that establish governmental boundaries, and geodetic control monuments used by surveyors and government agencies as reference points. It defines these terms broadly and ties property corner monuments to recorded documents in county register of deeds offices. The bill also exempts Tennessee Department of Transportation employees and contractors when acting within the scope of their official duties. A violation is classified as a Class A misdemeanor. The act takes effect July 1, 2026, and amends Tennessee Code Annotated Title 39, with related references to Titles 62 and 66 in the caption.

Impact

The bill adds a new criminal prohibition to Tennessee’s criminal code protecting survey markers, boundary monuments, and control points from intentional disturbance. It affects property owners, surveyors, developers, contractors, and anyone working near boundary or control monuments, while expressly preserving TDOT operational activities. The measure reinforces the legal significance of recorded property lines and governmental boundary markers and provides a misdemeanor penalty for interference.

Sentiment

The available voting history shows strong and unanimous support for the bill. It passed the Senate Judiciary Committee 9-0, then passed the Senate floor 32-0 on third consideration, and later passed regular calendar passage in the House 90-0. No committee transcript is available, but the recorded votes indicate broad bipartisan agreement and little visible opposition.

Contention

There is little evidence of substantive controversy in the available record, given the unanimous committee and floor votes. The main policy line reflected in the text is the scope of the criminal prohibition and the carve-out for TDOT employees and contractors, which suggests an effort to avoid interfering with transportation work while still protecting monuments. Any potential concerns would likely center on accidental disturbance versus intentional conduct, but the bill is limited to actions a person knows or reasonably should know affect protected monuments.