HB0152 • 2026

Local Government, General

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5; Title 6; Title 7 and Title 8, Chapter 44, relative to meetings conducted with electronic participation.

Healthcare

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Wright, Briggs
Last action: 2025-05-15
Official status: Comp. became Pub. Ch. 411
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Some provisions for counties will expire on July 1, 2028, not July 1, 2018.

Local Government Meetings with Electronic Participation

This act allows members of county and municipal legislative bodies in Tennessee to participate in meetings remotely under certain conditions.

What This Bill Does

Allows a member of a local government's legislative body to join meetings by video or web-based media if they have a family or medical emergency, are called into military service, or cannot attend due to bad weather.
Requires that the remote participant can be seen and identified by the chair during the meeting.
Limits the number of members who can participate electronically to no more than 20% of total membership, up to three members.
Ensures all meetings conducted with electronic participation are open to the public in real-time and recorded for later viewing.
Requires local legislative bodies to develop policies for conducting such meetings.

Who It Names or Affects

Members of county and municipal legislative bodies who need to attend meetings remotely.
The general public, as all remote meetings must be accessible and recorded.

Terms To Know

quorum: The minimum number of members required to hold a meeting legally.
electronic participation: Joining a meeting remotely through video or web-based media.

Limits and Unknowns

Local legislative bodies must approve electronic participation by a two-thirds majority vote.
The act limits the number of times a member can participate electronically to twice per year.
Some provisions will expire on July 1, 2028 for municipalities.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HA0393

Amendment 1-0 to HB0152

Plain English: The amendment removes certain sections of the bill related to electronic participation in meetings from July 1, 2028.

Subsections (b)-(g) will be deleted on July 1, 2028.

The amendment does not provide details about what specific sections are being removed or why they are being deleted.

SA0382

Amendment 1-0 to SB0136

Plain English: The amendment removes certain sections of the bill related to meetings conducted with electronic participation and deletes them from the law on July 1, 2028.

Removes subsections (b) through (g) of Section 1 in the future.

The amendment does not specify what exactly is in subsections (b)-(f), so it's unclear what specific rules or requirements are being deleted.
It only mentions deleting these sections on July 1, 2028, but doesn't provide details about the content of those sections.

Bill History

2025-05-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Comp. became Pub. Ch. 411
2025-05-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Effective date(s) 05/09/2025
2025-05-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Pub. Ch. 411
2025-05-09 Tennessee General Assembly
Signed by Governor.
2025-05-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Transmitted to Governor for action.
2025-04-30 Tennessee General Assembly
Signed by H. Speaker
2025-04-29 Tennessee General Assembly
Signed by Senate Speaker
2025-04-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Enrolled and ready for signatures
2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Comp. SB subst.
2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed H., Ayes 77, Nays 10, PNV 5
2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0393)
2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Subst. for comp. HB.
2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly
H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/21/2025
2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/17/2025
2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in Calendar & Rules Committee to next available Calendar
2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/15/2025
2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee
2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for 4/15/2025
2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2025
2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee
2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly
Engrossed; ready for transmission to House
2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 28, Nays 2
2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly
Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0382)
2025-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/9/2025
2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 4/9/2025
2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 4/9/2025
2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 8, Nays 1 PNV 0
2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 4/2/2025
2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Action deferred in Senate State and Local Government Committee to 4/2/2025
2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 4/2/2025
2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 4/2/2025
2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 4/1/2025
2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/26/2025
2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/26/2025
2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/19/2025
2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/19/2025
2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/12/2025
2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to State & Local Government Committee
2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Cities & Counties Subcommittee for 3/5/2025
2025-01-28 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee
2025-01-16 Tennessee General Assembly
Ref. to State & Local Government Committee
2025-01-16 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C held on desk pending appointment of Standing Committees
2025-01-16 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate State & Local Government Committee
2025-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Intro., P1C.
2025-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2025-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction
2025-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law generally requires that every member of the county legislative body be required to attend each and every session of the body, and allowed to vote and dr
aw pay for attendance. Present law authorizes the governing body of a board, agency, or commission of state government to allow participation by electronic or other means of communication for the benefit of the public and the governing body in connection

with any meeting authorized by law; provided, that a physical quorum is present at the location specified in the notice of the meeting as the location of the meeting.

Subject to local approval by 2/3 majority vote of the applicable local legislative body
, this bill authorizes a member of a county or municipal legislative body to participate in a scheduled local legislative body meeting by electronic means, including, but not limited to, videoconferencing or other web-based media, but only for the followi
n
g reasons:

(1) The member is dealing with a family or medical emergency as determined by the local legislative body;

(2) The member has been called into military service; or

(3) The member is unable to attend in person due to inclement weather.

With regard to electronic participation in meetings, this bill provides:

(1) A member of a local legislative body who is absent shall only participate in a meeting through electronic means if the member can be visually identified by the chair;

(2) A l
ocal legislative body may opt out of electronic participation in accordance with this bill by 2/3 majority vote;

(3) A local legislative body must not conduct a meeting with electronic participation unless a quorum of members is present at the physical l
ocation of the meeting;

(4) No more than 20% of the total membership of the legislative body, not to exceed three members, may participate electronically;

(5) A member shall not participate electronically in meetings of the local legislative body more
than two times per year;

(6) All meetings of a legislative body conducted by electronic means under this bill must remain open and accessible to the public by providing real-time, live audio or video access to the public;

(7) A clear audio or video rec
ording of the meeting must be made available to the public as soon as practicable following the meeting, and in no event more than two business days after the meeting;

(8) In the public notice, the local legislative body shall provide information regardi
ng how the public can obtain real-time, live access to, or a broadcast of, the meeting, and the legislative body is strongly urged to provide an agenda for the meeting in such notice;

(9) A local legislative body that approves participation by electronic
means is required to develop a policy for conducting meetings with electronic participation; and

(10) The provisions of this bill authorizing county legislative bodies to approve electronic participation in meetings are deleted July 1, 2018, and the pro
visions of this bill authorizing municipal legislative bodies to approve electronic participation in meetings are deleted July 1, 2028.

ON APRIL 9, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 136, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 extends the
authori
ty granted in the bill to
county legislative bodies to approve electronic participation in meetings
from
July 1, 2018
, to July 1, 2028.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SENATE BILL 136
By Briggs

HOUSE BILL 152
By Wright

HB0152
000646
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5;
Title 6; Title 7 and Title 8, Chapter 44, relative to
meetings conducted with electronic participation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 5-5-106, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting:
(a) Each member of a county legislative body must attend each and every
session of the body, and be allowed to vote and draw pay for attendance.
(b)
(1) Notwithstanding subsection (a) and title 8, chapter 44, part 1, and
upon the adoption of this subsection (b) by the county legislative body by a two-
thirds (2/3) majority vote, a member of a county legislative body may participate
in a scheduled commission meeting by electronic means, including, but not
limited to, videoconferencing or other web-based media, but only for the following
reasons:
(A) The commissioner is dealing with a family or medical
emergency as determined by the county legislative body;
(B) The commissioner has been called into military service; or
(C) The commissioner is unable to attend in person due to
inclement weather.
(2) A commissioner who is absent shall only participate in a meeting
through electronic means if the commissioner can be visually identified by the
chair.

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(3) A county legislative body may opt out of electronic participation in
accordance with this section in the same manner that the legislative body opts in
under subdivision (b)(1).
(c) A county legislative body shall not conduct a commission meeting with
electronic participation unless a quorum of commissioners is present at the physical
location of the meeting. No more than twenty percent (20%) of the total membership of
the legislative body, not to exceed three (3) members, may participate electronically.
(d) A commissioner shall not participate electronically in commission meetings
more than two (2) times per year.
(e)
(1) All meetings of a legislative body conducted by electronic means
under this section must remain open and accessible to the public by providing
real-time, live audio or video access to the public.
(2) A clear audio or video recording of the meeting must be made
available to the public as soon as practicable following the meeting, and in no
event more than two (2) business days after the meeting.
(3) In the public notice required by § 8-44-103, the county legislative
body shall provide information regarding how the public can obtain real-time, live
access to, or a broadcast of, the meeting, and the legislative body is strongly
urged to provide an agenda for the meeting in such notice.
(f) The county legislative body adopting this section shall develop a policy for
conducting meetings with electronic participation.
(g) Subsections (b)-(g) are deleted on July 1, 2018.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 6, Chapter 54, Part 1, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:

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(a)
(1) Notwithstanding title 8, chapter 44, part 1, or any private act, home
rule, or general law charter to the contrary, and upon adoption of this section by
the municipal legislative body by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote, a member of a
municipal legislative body may participate in a scheduled legislative body
meeting by electronic means, including, but not limited to, videoconferencing or
other web-based media, but only for the following reasons:
(A) The municipal legislative body member is dealing with a
family or medical emergency as determined by the municipal legislative
body;
(B) The municipal legislative body member has been called into
military service; or
(C) The municipal legislative body member is unable to attend a
meeting due to inclement weather.
(2) A municipal legislative body member who is absent shall only
participate in a meeting through electronic means if the member can be visually
identified by the chair.
(3) A municipal legislative body may opt out of electronic participation in
accordance with this section in the same manner that the legislative body opts in
under subdivision (a)(1).
(b) A municipal legislative body shall not conduct a meeting that includes
electronic participation unless a quorum of the municipal legislative body is present at
the physical location of the meeting. No more than twenty percent (20%) of the total
membership of the legislative body, not to exceed three (3) members, may participate
electronically.

- 4 - 000646

(c) A municipal legislative body member shall not participate electronically in
meetings more than two (2) times per year.
(d)
(1) All meetings of a legislative body conducted by electronic means
under this section must remain open and accessible to the public by providing
real-time, live audio or video access to the public.
(2) A clear audio or video recording of the meeting must be made
available to the public as soon as practicable following the meeting, and in no
event more than two (2) business days after the meeting.
(3) In the public notice required by § 8-44-103, the municipal legislative
body shall provide information regarding how the public can obtain real-time, live
access to, or a broadcast of, the meeting, and the legislative body is strongly
urged to provide an agenda for the meeting in such notice.
(e) The municipal legislative body shall develop a policy for conducting meetings
that include electronic participation.
(f) This section is deleted on July 1, 2028.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.