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HB0166 • 2026

Redistricting, Legislative

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 2, Chapter 16 and Title 3, Chapter 1, relative to redistricting.

Elections
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Marsh, Johnson
Last action
2026-04-16
Official status
Signed by Governor.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation included additional requirements not supported by the official source material.

Redistricting Law for Tennessee

This bill changes how certain parts of the boundary between Fayette County and Shelby County are defined using information from the U.S. Census Bureau's geographic database.

What This Bill Does

  • Adds a new rule to make sure that when redrawing district lines, specific descriptions about the border between Fayette County and Shelby County use data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s TIGER system for the 2020 census.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People living in Fayette County and Shelby County
  • The Office of Legislative Information Systems

Terms To Know

TIGER system
A geographic database used by the U.S. Census Bureau to define census areas.
Redistricting
The process of redrawing electoral district boundaries based on population changes.

Limits and Unknowns

  • It is not clear how this bill will affect other counties or districts beyond Fayette and Shelby.
  • There are no specific penalties mentioned for failing to comply with the requirements set by this act.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB0166

Plain English: This amendment changes Tennessee laws to clarify that geographic descriptions affecting parts of the boundary between Fayette County and Shelby County should be interpreted based on an existing state statute.

  • Adds language to Section 2-16-103(a)(1) in Title 2, Chapter 16 of the Tennessee Code Annotated.
  • Adds similar language to Section 3-1-102(b)(1) and Section 3-1-103(a)(1) in Title 3, Chapter 1 of the Tennessee Code Annotated.
  • The amendment text does not provide specific details about what geographic descriptions or boundary lines are being referred to.
  • It is unclear how this change will affect existing laws and practices regarding redistricting in Fayette County and Shelby County.
Amendment 1-0 to SB1076

Plain English: This amendment changes Tennessee's laws to clarify that geographic descriptions affecting parts of the boundary between Fayette County and Shelby County should be interpreted according to § 5-2-118.

  • Adds a provision in Section 2-16-103(a)(1) of Title 2, Chapter 16 of Tennessee Code Annotated to clarify geographic descriptions for the boundary line between Fayette County and Shelby County.
  • Adds similar provisions in Sections 3-1-102(b)(1) and 3-1-103(a)(1) of Title 3, Chapter 1 of Tennessee Code Annotated.
  • The amendment text does not provide specific details about the geographic descriptions or § 5-2-118, which limits a full understanding of how this change will be applied in practice.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  2. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for his action.

  3. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  4. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  5. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.

  6. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 32, Nays 0

  7. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0930)

  8. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  9. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  10. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Companion House Bill substituted

  11. 2026-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/30/2026

  12. 2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0

  13. 2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/24/2026

  14. 2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/24/2026

  15. 2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  16. 2026-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  17. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/23/2026

  18. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  19. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., as am., Ayes 93, Nays 0, PNV 0

  20. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0669)

  21. 2026-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/16/2026

  22. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/12/2026

  23. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  24. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/11/2026

  25. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  26. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Public Service Subcommittee for 3/4/2026

  27. 2026-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  28. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  29. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  30. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  31. 2025-01-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Public Service Subcommittee

  32. 2025-01-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  33. 2025-01-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  34. 2025-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON MARCH 16, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 166, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, add
that geographic descriptions affecting part of the boundary line between Fayette County and Shelby County
is to
be construed as the boundary line established by
present law when a
ll census descriptions, counties, voting districts (VTDs), tracts, blocks, census delineations, census district lines, and other census designations are those established for or by the United States department of commerce, bureau of the census, for taking
the 2020 federal decennial c
ensus in
this state
as contained in the automated geographic database, known as the topologically integrated geographic encoding and referencing
(TIGER)
system
for the composition of state congressional districts, state senatorial districts, and state house of representative districts.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 1076
By Johnson

HOUSE BILL 166
By Marsh

HB0166
000279
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 2,
Chapter 16 and Title 3, Chapter 1, relative to
redistricting.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 3-1-103, is amended by adding the
following language as a new subsection:
(f) The office of legislative information systems shall archive the webpage of the
house select committee on redistricting for the 112th general assembly. The office of
legislative information systems shall strive to ensure that all videos, documents, maps,
and other information on the archived webpage remain functional and accessible to the
general public.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.