Fire Prevention and Investigation

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 68, relative to grants to volunteer fire departments.

Active

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

Sponsor: Hicks G, Seal
Last action: 2026-04-08
Official status: Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2026
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details on how grant decisions are made or the impact on funding levels.

Fire Prevention and Volunteer Fire Department Grants

This bill changes Tennessee's volunteer firefighter grant program by allowing funds for fire trucks or vehicles and removing the requirement that grants be split evenly among three regions of the state.

What This Bill Does

Allows volunteer fire departments to use grant money to buy fire trucks or other vehicles, not just firefighting equipment.
Removes the rule that requires grants to be split evenly between three parts of Tennessee.

Who It Names or Affects

Volunteer fire departments in Tennessee
The commissioner of commerce and insurance

Terms To Know

grant program: A government plan that gives money to organizations or individuals for specific purposes.
grand divisions: Three main regions in Tennessee: East, Middle, and West.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify how the commissioner will decide which fire departments receive grants.
It is unclear if this change will affect funding levels for volunteer fire departments.

Amendments

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

HA0799

Amendment 1-0 to HB2446

Plain English: The amendment adds a new section to Tennessee law that creates a volunteer firefighter vehicle grant program to help select volunteer fire departments with local matching funds for federal grants to buy vehicles.

Establishes a new volunteer firefighter vehicle grant program to provide annual grants to selected volunteer fire departments.
Requires the commissioner of commerce and insurance to distribute funding proportionally based on the number of recognized volunteer fire departments in each of Tennessee's three grand divisions.
Directs the commissioner to establish rules for evaluating grant requests and determining which departments will receive grants.

The amendment does not specify how much money will be allocated for the program or when it will start receiving funds.

SA0660

Amendment 1-0 to SB2338

Plain English: The amendment changes what firefighting equipment can be used for grants by removing specific vehicle restrictions and clarifying the definition of firefighting equipment.

Removes the phrase ', other than fire trucks or vehicles' from Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-102-154(e)(1), allowing more types of equipment to qualify for grants.
Replaces the existing definition of 'firefighting equipment' with a new one that includes all items used by firefighters to fight fires and protect themselves.

The exact impact on current grant programs is not fully explained in the amendment text.

Bill History

2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/15/2026
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Action deferred in Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee to 4/15/2026
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2026
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed behind the budget
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/14/2026
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/8/2026
2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee
2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass; ref to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Government Operations Committee for 3/30/2026
2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Government Operations Committee
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/24/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to State & Local Government Committee
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Cities & Counties Subcommittee for 3/18/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Action Def. in s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee to 3/18/2026
2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0
2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Cities & Counties Subcommittee for 3/11/2026
2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Commerce and Labor Committee calendar for 3/10/2026
2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly
Action deferred in Senate Commerce and Labor Committee to 3/10/2026
2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Commerce and Labor Committee calendar for 3/3/2026
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, ref. to State & Local Government Committee
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Commerce and Labor Committee
2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Intro., P1C.
2026-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law establishes the v
olunteer firefighter equipment and training grant program

to annually provide grants to select volunteer fire departments to be used for the purchase of firefighting equipment or to meet local match requirements of federal grants for the purchase of firefighting equipment and training.
As used in present law, "firefighting equipment" does not include fire trucks or vehicles. For grants awarded after June 30, 2026, this bill revises this provision to, instead, include fire tru
cks or vehicles as firefighting equipment.

Present law requires the
commissioner of commerce and insurance
to
decide which grants to award and
to
disburse the grants to the selected volunteer fire departments.

The total amount of grants awarded each year must be equally divided among the
three
grand divisions of the state.
For grants awarded after June 30, 2026, this bill removes the requirement that the
total amount of grants awarded each year must be equally divided among the
three
grand divisions of the state
.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SENATE BILL 2338
By Seal

HOUSE BILL 2446
By Hicks G
HB2446
010163
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 68,
relative to grants to volunteer fire departments.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-102-154(d), is amended by
deleting the language:
The total amount of grants awarded each year must be equally divided among the three
(3) grand divisions of the state.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-102-154(e)(1), is amended by
deleting the language:
, other than fire trucks or vehicles
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it,
and applies to grants awarded after June 30, 2026.