Official Summary Text
When a plan of development is submitted to a utility, including a county-owned or municipal-owned water utility, on or after July 1, 2025, for review of the pl
an's compliance with applicable codes for water, electricity, or natural gas infrastructure, this bill requires the utility to complete the review within 30 days of the plan being submitted. If the utility does not complete the review within 30 days, the
n
the person who submitted the plan may hire a third-party plans examiner to review the plan for compliance with all applicable codes.
THIRD-PARTY PLANS EXAMINER
If a person engages a third-party plans examiner in lieu of review by the utility, then this
bill requires the person to submit the appropriate fee and a stamped and sealed copy of all plans that were examined to the utility and provide (i) the building name, intended address, and local jurisdiction of the planned development; (ii) the third-par
t
y plans examiner's name; (iii) a sworn statement under penalty of perjury by the third-party plans examiner, declaring that the plans comply with the applicable codes and that no deficiencies remain; (iv) a statement of the applicable codes of the local j
u
risdiction and the codes used to perform the plans examination; (v) the occupancy classification of the structure; and (vi) other information as the utility may reasonably require.
APPROVAL OF PLANS
No later than 10 business days after submission of the
documents described above, this bill requires the utility to (i) approve the plans, if the plans comply with adopted codes; (ii) provide to the person, or the person's designee, a report of deficiencies; or (iii) request additional information necessary
t
o ensure compliance with applicable codes. If 10 business days pass and the utility fails to take such action, then the utility must refund any associated plan review fees that were collected and the plans are deemed approved.
INSPECTIONS
–
FEE
If a pl
an of development is approved after review by a third-party plans examiner, then this bill requires the utility to perform inspections of the installation and construction of the water, electric, and natural gas infrastructure of the development. The uti
l
ity may charge a fee for such inspections. However, the fee must not exceed 2% of the total cost of the development.
SCHEDULE REQUIRED
This bill requires a utility to provide persons with a schedule of all approved materials for water, electric, and na
tural gas infrastructure with specifications for such materials.
ON APRIL 21, 2025, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 542, AS AMENDED.
AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, make the following revisions to present law:
INSTALLATION OF UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE BY PRIVATE CONTRACTORS
Requires a
utility in this state
to
allow a customer of the utility or person submitting a plan of development to the utility the option to use an approved contractor or approved contractors of the customer's choosing for the installation of such utility infrastructure. Utilities
must
produce a publicly available list of approved contractors and the process for becoming an approved contractor.
Provides that if
a customer or customer representative engages an approved contractor, then, prior to the commencement of work, the customer or customer representative
must
provide
(
i
)
t
he name, intended address, and local jurisdiction of the planned development;
(ii) the approved contractor's name;
(iii) evidence of the contractor's eligibility to operate as an approved contractor; and
(iv) other information as the utility may reasonably require.
Requires, n
o later than 10 business days after submission of the documents, the utility
to do any of the following:
Confirm the contractor's status as an approved contractor and allow the contractor to proceed as an approved contractor in accordance with the requirements for an approved contractor under this
amendment
, if the customer or customer representative complies with the requirements of
this amendment.
Provide to the customer, or the customer's representative, a report of deficiencies
.
Request additional information necessary to determine the eligibility of the contractor's status as an approved contractor.
Authorizes, if
10 business days pass and the utility fails to take an action as required by
above,
the contractor
to
proceed as an approved contractor and
requires compliance
with the requirements for an approved contractor under
this amendment.
Requires the
utility
to
perform inspections of the installation and construction of the utility infrastructure installed by the approved contractor in the development, and
authorizes
the utility
to
also inspect materials and test the utility infrastructure as part of such inspections. The approved contractor is responsible for correcting any deficiencies associated with its installation or construction, and the utility is not required to accept or commission the utility infrastructure until it determines that the installation and construction complies with all applicable requirements under this
amendment
. The utility may charge a reasonable fee for such inspections and testing in accordance with a schedule of fees or charges adopted by the utility and made publicly available.
Authorizes
a utility
to
require the direct installation or construction of specific utility infrastructure by the utility or by an approved contractor under the direct supervision of the utility where the requirement is necessary to ensure public safety or service reliability of the utility.
UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE SPECIFICATIONS
Authorizes a
utility
to
provide reasonable construction and manufacturer's specifications for utility infrastructure to ensure that the infrastructure is constructed properly and with appropriate materials. A utility that chooses to provide such specifications
must
provide persons with a schedule of all approved materials for utility infrastructure with specifications for such materials.
Prohibits
a utility
from
requir
ing
that materials or services for the construction of the utility infrastructure be provided by a specific vendor or manufacturer unless using the materials or services by a specific vendor or manufacturer is deemed necessary by the utility for the quality and integrity of the utility's system.
UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE PLANS AND DESIGNS
Requires, where
a utility does not customarily prepare plans and designs for utility infrastructure within a plan of development and requires a customer or customer representative to prepare and submit such plans and designs, the utility
to (i) n
ot charge a fee of more than the fee established in a schedule of fees and charges adopted by the utility for review of the plans and designs; and
(ii) complete the review of the plans and designs within 60 business days of the date the plans and designs are submitted to the utility and are determined by the utility to be complete. The sixty-business-day review time frame does not include the time spent by a state or federal regulatory body to provide any approvals that are required under applicable state or federal regulatory requirements.
Provides that if the
utility does not complete the review, then the customer or customer representative who submitted the plan or design may hire a third-party plans examiner to review the plans and designs for compliance with all applicable state and federal regulatory requirements, codes, and local requirements.
Provides that if
a customer or customer representative engages a third-party plans examiner in lieu of review by the utility, then the customer or customer representative
must
submit the appropriate fee, if such fee was not already submitted, and a stamped and sealed copy of all plans that were examined to the utility and provide
certain documents described in this amendment.
Requires, no later than 10
business days after submission of the documents, the utility
to
(
i
)
a
pprove the plans, if the plans comply with state and federal regulatory requirements, local standards, and applicable codes; (ii) provide to the customer or customer representative a report of deficiencies; or
(iii) request additional information necessary to ensure compliance with state and federal regulatory requirements, local standards, and applicable codes.
Requires, if 10
business days pass and the utility fails to take an action as required
above
, the utili
ty to
refund any associated plan review fees that were collected, and the plans are deemed approved by the utility.
Provides that if
the plan of development is approved after review by a third-party plans examiner and the customer engages an approved contractor to install or construct utility infrastructure, the utility
must
perform inspections of the installation and construction of the utility infrastructure in the development. The utility may also inspect materials and test the utility infrastructure as part of such inspections. The customer or its approved contractor is responsible for the costs of correcting any deficiencies in the installation and construction, and the utility is not required to accept or commission the utility infrastructure until the utility determines that the installation and construction complies with all applicable requirements under this part. The utility may charge a reasonable fee for such inspections and testing in accordance with a schedule of fees or charges adopted by the utility and made publicly available.
Clarifies that the provisions in this heading do
not apply to the types of plans and designs of utility infrastructure that are customarily prepared by the utility for the customer in accordance with a standard practice that is in effect at the utility as of July 1, 2025, or a policy that is subsequently adopted by the utility.
REGULATORY COMPLIANCE
Clarifies that i
n the event that an obligation under this
amendment
conflicts with an applicable state or federal regulatory requirement, the applicable state or federal regulatory requirement controls and supersedes any obligation of the utility under this
amendment
to the extent necessary to resolve the conflict.
EXCUSED DELAY
Clarifies that in
the event that an act of God, fire, flood, storm, accident, or similar event constituting force majeure causes a utility to require more time to meet the review requirements of this
amendment
, then the timelines set forth in this
amendment
must be suspended for so long as the utility's operations are impacted by one or more such events.
APPLICABILITY
Clarifies that this amendment
applies to plans of development submitted on or after
July 1, 2025.
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
SENATE BILL 1139
By Taylor
HOUSE BILL 542
By Vaughan
HB0542
000580
- 1 -
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 7;
Title 13, Chapter 7; Title 65 and Title 68, relative to
utilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 7, Chapter 51, Part 23, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Third-party plans examiner" means an engineer with expertise in
water, electric, or natural gas infrastructure; and
(2) "Utility" includes a county-owned or municipal-owned water utility.
(b) When a plan of development is submitted to a utility for review of the plan's
compliance with applicable codes for water, electricity, or natural gas infrastructure, the
utility shall complete the review within thirty (30) days of the plan being submitted.
(c) If the utility does not complete the review within thirty (30) days, the person
who submitted the plan may hire a third-party plans examiner to review the plan for
compliance with all applicable codes.
(d) If a person engages a third-party plans examiner in lieu of review by the
utility, then the person shall submit the appropriate fee and a stamped and sealed copy
of all plans that were examined to the utility and provide:
(1) The building name, intended address, and local jurisdiction of the
planned development;
(2) The third-party plans examiner's name;
- 2 - 000580
(3) A sworn statement under penalty of perjury by the third-party plans
examiner, declaring that the plans comply with the applicable codes and that no
deficiencies remain;
(4) A statement of the applicable codes of the local jurisdiction and the
codes used to perform the plans examination;
(5) The occupancy classification of the structure; and
(6) Other information as the utility may reasonably require.
(e) No later than ten (10) business days after submission of the documents
required under subsection (d), the utility shall:
(1) Approve the plans, if the plans comply with adopted codes;
(2) Provide to the person, or the person's designee, a report of
deficiencies; or
(3) Request additional information necessary to ensure compliance with
applicable codes.
(f) If ten (10) business days pass and the utility fails to take an action as required
by subsection (e), then the utility must refund any associated plan review fees that were
collected and the plans are deemed approved.
(g) If a plan of development is approved after review by a third-party plans
examiner, the utility shall perform inspections of the installation and construction of the
water, electric, and natural gas infrastructure of the development. The utility may charge
a fee for such inspections. The fee must not exceed two percent (2%) of the total cost of
the development.
(h) A utility shall provide persons with a schedule of all approved materials for
water, electric, and natural gas infrastructure with specifications for such materials.
- 3 - 000580
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to plans of development submitted on or after that date.