Tennessee Senate Bill SB2658

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/2/26
• Engrossed: 4/13/26
• Enrolled: 4/30/26
• Passed: 5/19/26
• Chaptered: 5/27/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 29; Title 39 and Title 58, relative to workers responding to emergency declarations.

Summary

SB 2658 creates a new category of “emergency utility worker” for people employed by, or contracting with, utilities and related systems that provide communications, electricity, gas, liquids, steam, sewerage, or similar public services. The bill applies when Tennessee has declared a state of emergency based on a natural emergency, and it is aimed at workers performing installation, maintenance, repair, or restoration work during that emergency. The bill gives these workers access rights during declared weather or natural emergencies. It allows them to travel on public roads and enter areas subject to curfews or restricted-access orders when necessary to restore utility service, and it directs state and local law enforcement to provide reasonable access upon presentation of employer or contractor credentials, while preserving law enforcement’s authority to deny access for valid law-enforcement purposes.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated Titles 29, 39, and 58 to add emergency utility workers to the state’s emergency-management framework and to treat them as first responders for purposes of the criminal impersonation/first responder provisions in Title 39. It also creates a new civil immunity provision for emergency utility workers and their employers for good-faith acts or omissions during emergency restoration work in a declared natural-emergency state of emergency, while excluding willful misconduct, gross negligence, unrelated conduct, and certain liability issues such as motor vehicle operation and existing negligence liability rules.

Sentiment

The available voting history shows strong support for the bill. It passed the Senate State & Local Government Committee unanimously, passed the Senate floor overwhelmingly, and later received unanimous approval on the motion to concur with the House amendment. No committee transcript is available, but the recorded votes suggest broad bipartisan agreement that the measure was a practical response to emergency restoration needs.

Contention

There is little evidence of major controversy in the available record. The main policy balance in the bill is between facilitating rapid utility restoration during emergencies and preserving public safety and law-enforcement discretion. The immunity provision is also carefully limited, which suggests attention to concerns about shielding negligent or reckless conduct; the bill expressly excludes willful misconduct, gross negligence, unrelated acts, and certain employer liability questions.