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SB0275 • 2026

County Government

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5, relative to constitutional officer budgets.

Budget
Active

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

Sponsor
Taylor, Gillespie
Last action
2025-03-31
Official status
Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official summary and text do not provide details on what happens if budget amendments are not approved by the county legislative body.

Budget Rules for County Officials

This bill changes how certain county officials in Tennessee make and manage their budgets if the county has adopted a charter form of government.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires sheriff, register, county clerk, assessor of property, and trustee offices to create their own budgets and submit them directly to the county legislative body if the county has a charter form of government.
  • Allows these offices to transfer money between budget categories within limits set by the approved budget.
  • Prohibits the county legislative body from imposing restrictions on how these officials manage personnel or operational maintenance funds.

Who It Names or Affects

  • County offices of sheriff, register, county clerk, assessor of property, and trustee if the county has a charter form of government.
  • The county legislative body that oversees these offices.

Terms To Know

Charter form of government
A type of local governance where the community adopts its own rules for how it is run, rather than following state laws directly.
Line items
Specific parts or categories in a budget that show exactly how money will be spent.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill only applies to Shelby County.
  • It is not clear what happens if the county legislative body does not approve a submitted budget amendment.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB0306

Plain English: This amendment changes how certain constitutional officers in large charter counties develop and manage their budgets.

  • Offices of sheriff, register, county clerk, assessor of property, and trustee will independently create their budgets for counties with over 900,000 people that have adopted a charter form of government.
  • These offices must follow the budget approved by the county legislative body, but they can transfer money between line items within personnel or operational-maintenance categories without needing approval from the county legislative body.
  • The amendment also states that the county legislative body cannot impose restrictions on these officers regarding personnel or operational-maintenance matters.
  • The exact impact of this change is not fully explained in the provided text, such as how it will affect smaller counties or those with different forms of government.
  • It's unclear what specific changes this amendment would make to existing practices for these offices.
Amendment 1-0 to SB0275

Plain English: This amendment changes how certain county officials in large charter counties develop and manage their budgets.

  • The sheriff, register, county clerk, assessor of property, and trustee offices must independently create their budget and submit it directly to the county legislative body for approval.
  • These offices can make transfers between line items within personnel and operational-maintenance categories but cannot change these totals without approval from the county legislative body.
  • The amendment also states that the county legislative body cannot impose restrictions on how these officials manage their budgets.
  • The exact impact of this amendment is unclear as it depends on future population data and which counties adopt charter forms of government.

Bill History

  1. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Failed in State & Local Government Committee

  2. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  3. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  4. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  5. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 27, Nays 4, PNV 1

  6. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0190)

  7. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 4/2/2025

  8. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 4/2/2025

  9. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/26/2025

  10. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/26/2025

  11. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/26/2025

  12. 2025-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 7, Nays 1 PNV 1

  13. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/19/2025

  14. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/19/2025

  15. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/18/2025

  16. 2025-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  17. 2025-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) withdrawn.

  18. 2025-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  19. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/12/2025

  20. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/12/2025

  21. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/5/2025

  22. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  23. 2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Cities & Counties Subcommittee for 2/26/2025

  24. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Taken off notice for cal in s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee of State & Local Government Committee

  25. 2025-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  26. 2025-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) withdrawn.

  27. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  28. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  29. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Cities & Counties Subcommittee for 2/12/2025

  30. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee

  31. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  32. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  33. 2025-01-29 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  34. 2025-01-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  35. 2025-01-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  36. 2025-01-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  37. 2025-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

This bill requires the offices of sheriff, register, county clerk, assessor of property, and trustee in a county tha
t has adopted a charter form of government to independently develop the budget for such office and submit the budget directly to the county legislative body. Such offices must adhere to the budget as finally approved by the county legislative body, both
i
n total and in line item detail, except that the offices may approve transfers between line items within the total amount of each category of personnel and operational-maintenance as set forth in the approved budget for any such office. Additionally, suc
h
offices must submit budget amendments from line items in personnel categories to operational-maintenance categories, and vice versa, to the county legislative body. This bill prohibits the county legislative body from implementing any kind of personnel
r
estrictions or operational maintenance restrictions on such offices.

ON MARCH 26, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 275, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 limits the application of the bill to Shelby County.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 306
By Gillespie

SENATE BILL 275
By Taylor

SB0275
001627
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5,
relative to constitutional officer budgets.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 5-1-202, is amended by adding the
following as a new subsection:
(d) The offices of sheriff, register, county clerk, assessor of property, and trustee
in a county that has adopted a charter form of government shall independently develop
the budget for such office and submit the budget directly to the county legislative body.
These offices shall adhere to the budget as finally approved by the county legislative
body, both in total and in line item detail, except that the offices may approve transfers
between line items within the total amount of each category of personnel and
operational-maintenance as set forth in the approved budget for any such office. These
offices shall submit budget amendments from line items in personnel categories to
operational-maintenance categories, and vice versa, to the county legislative body. The
county legislative body shall not implement any kind of personnel restrictions or
operational maintenance restrictions on these offices.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.