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SB0249 • 2026

Parks, Natural Areas Preservation

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 11, Chapter 3 and Title 58, relative to state park discounts for veterans.

Labor
Active

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

Sponsor
Haile, Slater
Last action
2026-04-14
Official status
Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2026
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details on funding or implementation, leaving these aspects open-ended.

Veteran Discounts at State Parks

This bill requires Tennessee to offer veterans resident discounts for activities and stays at state parks similar to those offered to state employees.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires the commissioner of Tennessee's Department of Environment and Conservation to provide discounts on camping, lodging, retail purchases, and activities in state parks to eligible veterans.
  • Specifies that these discounts must be given at the same rates and frequency as those provided to state employees.
  • Adds a year-round discount of no less than 50% for camping and overnight cabin lodging fees to veterans with a 100% service-connected disability.
  • Requires veterans to provide proof of status and residency before receiving any discounts.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Tennessee residents who are veterans
  • The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation

Terms To Know

Service-connected disability
A disability that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs determines is related to a veteran's military service.
Residency
The legal status of living in a particular place as one’s permanent home.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Does not specify how the discounts will be funded.
  • Details about implementation and enforcement are not provided.
  • The year-round discount for veterans with a 100% service-connected disability is subject to availability and only applies to reservations made within thirty days of the intended stay.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2026

  2. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2025

  3. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/15/2025

  4. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rule #83(8) Suspended, to be heard in Senate Finance, Ways & Means Committee on 4/15/2025

  5. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2025

  6. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed behind the budget

  7. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/19/2025

  8. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee

  9. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  10. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee for 3/11/2025

  11. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee

  12. 2025-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  13. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  14. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee for 3/5/2025

  15. 2025-02-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  16. 2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Energy, Ag., and Nat. Resources Committee calendar for 2/26/2025

  17. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Energy, Ag., and Nat. Resources Committee

  18. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee

  19. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee

  20. 2025-01-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  21. 2025-01-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  22. 2025-01-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  23. 2025-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Abstract summarizes the bill.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 328
By Slater

SENATE BILL 249
By Haile

SB0249
001809
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 11,
Chapter 3 and Title 58, relative to state park
discounts for veterans.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 11-3-121(b)(1), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead:
(1)
(A) Subject to subdivision (b)(1)(B) and § 58-3-112, the commissioner
shall offer discounts for activities, retail purchases, camping, and lodging at state
parks to veterans who are Tennessee residents with the same frequency, and at
the same rates, as the discounts for activities, retail purchases, camping, and
lodging at state parks that are offered to state employees.
(B) In addition to the discounts required by subdivision (b)(1)(A), the
commissioner shall offer a year-round discount in the amount of no less than fifty
percent (50%) for camping and overnight cabin lodging fees at state parks to a
veteran who:
(i) Has a service-connected disability that is determined by the
veterans' administration to constitute a one hundred percent (100%)
permanent total disability; and
(ii) Is a resident of this state.
(C)

- 2 - 001809

(i) Each veteran must be required to show proof of veteran status,
as determined by the commissioner, and residence in this state prior to
being granted a discount offered pursuant to subdivision (b)(1)(A).
(ii) Certification from the veterans' administration indicating the
veteran's percentage of service-connected disability and proof of
residence in this state must be presented in order to receive the
discounted fee required by subdivision (b)(1)(B). The discount required
by subdivision (b)(1)(B) is subject to availability, as determined by the
commissioner, and only applies to reservations made within thirty (30)
days of the intended stay.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 11-3-121(b)(3), is amended by
deleting the subdivision.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 58-3-112, is amended by designating
the existing language as subsection (a) and adding the following as a new subsection:
(b) The requirements of subsection (a) are in addition to the discounts for
veterans required by § 11-3-121.
SECTION 4. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.