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HB0437 • 2026

County Government

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8, Chapter 8, Part 4, relative to the County Sheriff's Civil Service Law of 1974.

Budget Elections
Enacted

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

Sponsor
Darby, Stevens
Last action
2025-04-29
Official status
Comp. became Pub. Ch. 250
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill does not specify what happens after a county decides to rescind the law.

Amending County Sheriff's Civil Service Law

This bill allows counties that have adopted the County Sheriff's Civil Service Law of 1974 to rescind their adoption with a two-thirds vote from the county legislative body.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows counties that have already adopted the County Sheriff's Civil Service Law of 1974 to remove it by getting a two-thirds vote in the county legislative body.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Counties that have adopted the County Sheriff's Civil Service Law of 1974
  • County legislative bodies responsible for voting on whether to rescind the adoption

Terms To Know

Civil service law
A set of rules and procedures that govern how government jobs are filled, including hiring, promotion, and dismissal.
County legislative body
The group in charge of making decisions for a county, like voting on laws or budgets.

Limits and Unknowns

  • It's not clear how many counties will choose to rescind the adoption.
  • There may be changes in local government spending related to civil service boards, but these depend on future actions and cannot be predicted with certainty.

Bill History

  1. 2025-04-29 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 250

  2. 2025-04-29 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 04/24/2025

  3. 2025-04-29 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 250

  4. 2025-04-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for action.

  6. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  7. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  8. 2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  9. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  10. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  11. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 96, Nays 0, PNV 0

  12. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  13. 2025-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar 4/10/2025

  14. 2025-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Objected to on Consent Calendar.

  15. 2025-04-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Consent Calendar for 4/7/2025

  16. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/3/2025

  17. 2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  18. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for 4/1/2025

  19. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  20. 2025-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  21. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/26/2025

  22. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee

  23. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  24. 2025-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  25. 2025-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 32, Nays 0

  26. 2025-03-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 3/17/2025

  27. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/19/2025

  28. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  29. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  30. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Cities & Counties Subcommittee for 3/12/2025

  31. 2025-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/11/2025

  32. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate State and Local Government Committee

  33. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  34. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee

  35. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  36. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  37. 2025-01-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  38. 2025-01-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Under present law, the
County Sheriff's Civil Service of Law of 1974 is local in effect and can be adopted by a two-thirds vote of a county legislative body, but there is no provision in statute allowing for the repeal of this law once enacted. This bill provides, instead, tha
t
a county that has adopted the County Sheriff's Civil Service Law of 1974
may rescind such adoption by a two-thirds

vote of the county legislative body.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 532
By Stevens

HOUSE BILL 437
By Darby

HB0437
001967
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8,
Chapter 8, Part 4, relative to the County Sheriff's
Civil Service Law of 1974.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-8-402, is amended by adding the
following as a new subsection:
(c) A county that has adopted this part pursuant to subsection (a) may rescind
such adoption by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the county legislative body.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.