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HB0975 • 2026

Traffic Safety

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55, Chapter 8, relative to speed limits.

Enacted

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

Sponsor
Burkhart, Powers
Last action
2025-04-08
Official status
Comp. became Pub. Ch. 123
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official summary and bill text do not provide details on how many counties will choose to delegate authority or when the new rules take effect.

Speed Limit Changes for Tennessee Counties

This bill changes how counties can set lower speed limits on roads they maintain and specifies that appropriate signs must be put up when setting new speed limits.

What This Bill Does

  • Gives county legislative bodies the power to set lower speed limits on roads maintained by their county, including those with a metropolitan form of government.
  • Requires counties to erect appropriate signs and traffic signals when setting new speed limits.
  • Allows counties to delegate authority to lower speed limits to the chief administrative officer of the highway department if an engineer capable of conducting engineering and traffic investigations is employed.

Who It Names or Affects

  • County legislative bodies
  • Chief administrative officers of county highway departments

Terms To Know

MUTCD
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which provides guidelines for traffic signs and signals.
Engineering and traffic investigations
Studies done to determine safe speed limits based on road conditions and traffic patterns.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify when the new rules will take effect.
  • It is unclear how many counties will choose to delegate authority to lower speed limits.

Bill History

  1. 2025-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 123

  2. 2025-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 04/03/2025

  3. 2025-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 123

  4. 2025-04-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for action.

  6. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  7. 2025-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  8. 2025-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  9. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  10. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  11. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  12. 2025-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Consent Calendar for 3/24/2025

  13. 2025-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  14. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/20/2025

  15. 2025-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  16. 2025-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 32, Nays 0

  17. 2025-03-14 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  18. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  19. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  20. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Transportation Committee for 3/11/2025

  21. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Transportation and Safety Committee calendar for 3/12/2025

  22. 2025-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Transportation Committee

  23. 2025-02-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  24. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Transportation Subcommittee for 3/4/2025

  25. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Transportation and Safety Committee

  26. 2025-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Transportation Subcommittee

  27. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Transportation Committee

  28. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  29. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  30. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  31. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law authorizes t
he legislative body of any county, except the legislative bodies of any counties having a commission form of government, to prescri
be such lower speed limits as it may deem appropriate on any road being maintained by the county and shall erect appropriate signs and traffic signals.

In those counties having a commission form of government, the board of commissioners
has such authority
.

This bill rewrites the provisions above to, instead, provide the following:



The legislative body of any county, including a county having a metropolitan form of government, has the power to prescribe such lower speed limits as it may deem appropriate on any road being maintained by the county and
must
erect appropriate signs and traffic signals.
T
he board of commissioners has
such
power in a county that has a commission form of government.



A county legislative body may delegate, by resolution of the body, the authority to lower
such
speed limits on roads to the chief administrative officer of the county highway department if the department employs an engineer capable of completing engineering and traffic investigations and ensures the completion of the same.



Engineering and traffic investigations used to establish speed limits by counties on roads maintained by the county must be made in accordance with established traffic engineering practices and in a manner that conforms to the guidelines in the manual on uniform traffic control devices (MUTCD), and within state supplemental guidelines. The investigations must be documented, and documentation must be maintained by the jurisdiction performing or sponsoring the investigation.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
SENATE BILL 954
By Powers

HOUSE BILL 975
By Burkhart

HB0975
003075
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55,
Chapter 8, relative to speed limits.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-8-153, is amended by deleting
subsection (d) and substituting instead the following:
(1) The legislative body of any county, including a county having a metropolitan
form of government, has the power to prescribe such lower speed limits as it may deem
appropriate on any road being maintained by the county and shall erect appropriate
signs and traffic signals.
(2) A county legislative body may delegate, by resolution of the body, the
authority to lower speed limits on roads described in this subsection (d) to the chief
administrative officer of the county highway department if the department employs an
engineer capable of completing engineering and traffic investigations and ensures the
completion of the same. For purposes of this subdivision (d)(2), "chief administrative
officer" has the same meaning as defined in § 54-7-103.
(3) Engineering and traffic investigations used to establish speed limits by
counties on roads maintained by the county must be made in accordance with
established traffic engineering practices and in a manner that conforms to the guidelines
in the manual on uniform traffic control devices (MUTCD), and within state supplemental
guidelines. The investigations must be documented, and documentation must be
maintained by the jurisdiction performing or sponsoring the investigation.

- 2 - 003075

(4) Notwithstanding subdivision (d)(1), the board of commissioners has the
power prescribed in this section in a county that has a commission form of government.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.