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HB1309 • 2026

Regional Authorities and Special Districts

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 64-9-107, relative to the management of utility systems.

Enacted

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

Sponsor
Lamberth, Johnson
Last action
2025-04-29
Official status
Comp. became Pub. Ch. 274
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The exact fiscal impact cannot be determined due to multiple unknown factors.

Managing Utility Systems in Tennessee

This bill requires that interest income from investments and deposits related to water or wastewater rates charged by the Megasite Authority of West Tennessee be kept in a separate account and not revert to the general fund.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires that any interest earned on money invested or deposited as a result of rates charged for water or wastewater services must be put into a separate account.
  • Specifies that this interest income cannot go back into the general fund.
  • Allows the interest income to stay in the separate account and carry over from one fiscal year to the next.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Megasite Authority of West Tennessee
  • Customers who use water or wastewater systems operated by the authority

Terms To Know

Megasite Authority of West Tennessee
A special district that manages large-scale industrial sites and related infrastructure in West Tennessee.
Fiscal Year
The period used for budgeting, financial reporting, and auditing purposes by governments or organizations.

Limits and Unknowns

  • It's not clear how much money this will affect because of uncertain factors.
  • There is no specific date when the bill becomes law; it takes effect immediately upon being signed into law.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB1309

Plain English: The amendment changes how interest income from investments related to utility systems is managed by creating a separate account and setting an expiration date for this provision.

  • Interest income from investments must be put into a special account instead of going back to the general fund or being used up at the end of each fiscal year.
  • The special interest management rules will stop working on June 30, 2029.
  • It is unclear what happens after June 30, 2029, regarding how interest income should be managed.

Bill History

  1. 2025-04-29 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 274

  2. 2025-04-29 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 04/24/2025

  3. 2025-04-29 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 274

  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. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  9. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Concurred, Ayes 31, Nays 0 (Amendment 1 - HA0129)

  10. 2025-04-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Message Calendar for 4/14/2025

  11. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  12. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  13. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., as am., Ayes 93, Nays 3, PNV 0

  14. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0129)

  15. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  16. 2025-04-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/10/2025

  17. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  18. 2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  19. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  20. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  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. if am., ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  24. 2025-03-13 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  25. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Commerce Committee for 3/19/2025

  26. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Commerce Committee

  27. 2025-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  28. 2025-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 30, Nays 0

  29. 2025-03-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 3/10/2025

  30. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Business & Utilities Subcommittee for 3/12/2025

  31. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Business and Utilities Subcommittee to 3/12/2025

  32. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  33. 2025-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  34. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Business & Utilities Subcommittee for 3/5/2025

  35. 2025-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/4/2025

  36. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Business & Utilities Subcommittee

  37. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Commerce Committee

  38. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  39. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  40. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  41. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  42. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON APRIL 10, 2025, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 1281 FOR HOUSE BILL 1309, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AN
D PASSED SENATE BILL 1281, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 removes the changes made in the bill on June 30, 2029.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 1281
By Johnson

HOUSE BILL 1309
By Lamberth

HB1309
000785
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section
64-9-107, relative to the management of utility
systems.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 64-9-107, is amended by inserting
the following as a new subsection:
(e) Interest income accruing on investments and deposits as a result of
subsection (a) must be credited to a separate account for the purpose of carrying out
this section, must not revert to the general fund, and must be carried forward into each
subsequent fiscal year.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.