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HB1697 • 2026

Flags

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5; Title 6 and Title 7, relative to lowering flags to half-staff.

Active

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

Sponsor
McCalmon, Johnson
Last action
2026-04-13
Official status
Sponsor(s) Added.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill does not specify that flags must be lowered only in response to a death, but it is implied by the context.

Lowering Flags for Prominent Citizens

This bill allows county mayors and municipal chief executives to order flags on their property to be lowered to half-staff when a prominent citizen dies.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows county mayors to lower flags on county property to honor the death of a prominent citizen.
  • Gives municipal chief executives the power to lower flags on city property for the same reason.

Who It Names or Affects

  • County mayors and municipal chief executives who can order flag lowering.
  • Residents of counties and municipalities where flags are lowered on public property.

Terms To Know

Prominent citizen
A person who is well-known or important in their community.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not define exactly what makes someone a 'prominent citizen'.
  • It only applies to flags on county and municipal property, not state or federal properties.
  • There are no penalties for not following this law.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  2. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  3. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 94, Nays 0, PNV 0

  4. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  5. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Consent Calendar for 4/13/2026

  6. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/9/2026

  7. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  8. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/31/2026

  9. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/31/2026

  10. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/24/2026

  11. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/24/2026

  12. 2026-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/18/2026

  13. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/18/2026

  14. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  15. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/11/2026

  16. 2026-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  17. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/4/2026

  18. 2026-02-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  19. 2026-02-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 32, Nays 0

  20. 2026-02-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 2/23/2026

  21. 2026-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/4/2026

  22. 2026-02-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  23. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 2/18/2026

  24. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  25. 2026-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 2/17/2026

  26. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Cities & Counties Subcommittee for 2/11/2026

  27. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee

  28. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  29. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  30. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  31. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  32. 2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  33. 2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Abstract summarizes the bill.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 1712
By Johnson

HOUSE BILL 1697
By McCalmon
HB1697
011281
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5;
Title 6 and Title 7, relative to lowering flags to half-
staff.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5, Chapter 1, Part 1, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
A county mayor may order the flags flown on county property to be lowered to
half-staff to honor the death of a prominent citizen of that county.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 6, Chapter 54, Part 1, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
The chief executive officer of a municipality may order the flags flown on
municipal property to be lowered to half-staff to honor the death of a prominent citizen of
that municipality.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.