Tennessee Senate Bill SB2613

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/2/26
• Engrossed: 4/15/26
• Enrolled: 4/29/26
• Passed: 5/19/26
• Chaptered: 5/27/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 7, Chapter 89, relative to convention center authorities.

Summary

SB2613 revises Tennessee’s Convention Center Authorities Act by renaming it the “Convention Center and Agricultural Exposition Authorities Act” and expanding the law so that agricultural exposition facilities are treated similarly to convention center facilities. The bill updates definitions throughout Title 7, Chapter 89 to expressly include agricultural exposition facilities, related supporting systems, and associated public-use infrastructure within the scope of a project that an authority may construct, lease, equip, renovate, or acquire. The bill also authorizes an “agriculture exposition authority” as a type of public corporation under the chapter and makes conforming changes to terminology throughout the statute. In addition, it creates a new board appointment mechanism for agricultural fair operations: if a nonprofit organization leases or uses an authority-owned agricultural exposition facility to operate an annual agricultural fair, that organization may appoint an additional voting director to the authority’s board for the duration of its lease or agreement.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 7, Chapter 89, to broaden the powers and scope of local convention center authorities to include agricultural exposition authorities and agricultural fair facilities. It affects the statutory definitions of “authority,” “project,” and related terms, and it allows public corporations organized under the chapter to support agricultural exposition facilities and associated infrastructure. It also changes board governance by permitting a qualifying nonprofit fair operator to appoint an additional voting board member when it uses an authority-owned agricultural exposition facility.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the Senate State & Local Government Committee 9-0, the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee 10-0, and both floor votes were unanimous or near-unanimous, including 33-0 on third consideration and 87-0 for final passage. The lack of recorded opposition suggests general agreement with the bill’s expansion of authority powers to support agricultural exposition uses.

Contention

There is little evidence of substantive opposition in the available record. The only potentially notable policy issue is the governance change allowing a nonprofit agricultural fair operator to appoint an additional voting director to the authority board, which could raise questions about board composition and influence over publicly owned facilities. Otherwise, the bill’s changes are largely technical and conforming, aimed at extending an existing local development framework to agricultural exposition facilities and related public infrastructure.