Municipal Government

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide details on potential costs or benefits.

Equal Representation for Tennessee Citizens

This bill changes how municipalities and joint economic and community development boards operate in Tennessee to ensure fair representation of all citizens.

What This Bill Does

• Prohibits a municipality from taking actions that affect property taxes, fees, or costs for real property owners outside the city limits without approval from the county legislative body where such property is located.
• Requires joint economic and community development boards to represent at least 90% of their county's population fairly by July 1, 2029.
• Allows existing board members' terms to expire and be replaced with new members who help bring the board into compliance with fair representation requirements.
• Gives the state department of economic and community development authority to create rules that help boards adjust their membership over time to meet these fairness standards.

Who It Names or Affects

• Property owners outside city limits
• Municipalities and county legislative bodies in Tennessee
• Members of joint economic and community development boards

Terms To Know

Corporate boundary

The official edge or limit of a municipality.

Joint economic and community development board

A group that works to improve the economy and living conditions in a county by working with local government, businesses, and citizens.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how much it will cost or what exact benefits it might bring.
• It is unclear if there are any penalties for not following these new rules.

Official Summary Text

This bill prohibits a municipality, or an instrumentality of a municipality, from taking any action that affects, or has the
potential to affect
,
the tax obligations, fees, or other costs for real property owners whose property is located outside a municipality's corporate boundary, unless the action is approved by the county legislative body in which such property is located.

JOINT ECONOMIC AN
D COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BOARDS

Present law requires each county to establish a joint economic and community development board, the purpose of which is to foster communication relative to economic and community development between and among governmental
entities, industry, and private citizens. Community development is authorized to include initiatives to address issues impacting communities that are not directly related to economic growth but hinder development such as drug abuse and crime.

By July 1
, 2029, this bill requires
at least
90%
of a county's population
that is
represented by
such
a board
to
be proportionately represented on a per capita basis by the members of such board. After July 1, 2029, each board must remain in compliance with this
b
ill.
To facilitate
this bill,
as existing board members' terms expire, newly appointed or elected members, in addition to satisfying all other criteria for appointment or election, are only qualified if their election or appointment revises the board's re
presentation of a county's population in a manner that incrementally brings the board into compliance with
this bill
on or before July 1, 2029.

TRANSITION MECHANISM

This bill requires t
he department of economic and community development, in consultatio
n with representatives of
such
boards,
to
promulgate rules to create the mechanism by which each board must incrementally transition
. The mechanism must do all of the following, as necessary by the jurisdiction:



Provide for a percentage deviation of no more than 5% below the ideal average population representation prescribed by this bill
.



A
djust the number of members on a board to facilitate compliance this bill
.



B
e adjusted every 10 years following the release of the most recent federal decennial census.

Current Bill Text

HOUSE BILL 365
By Fritts

SENATE BILL 1404
By Hensley

SB1404
000151
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5 and
Title 6, relative to equal representation for the
citizenry of this state.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 6, Chapter 54, Part 1, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
A municipality, or an instrumentality of a municipality, shall not take any action
that affects or has the potential to affect the tax obligations, fees, or other costs for real
property owners whose property is located outside a municipality's corporate boundary,
unless the action is approved by the county legislative body in which such property is
located.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 6-58-114, is amended by designating
subsection (a) as subdivision (a)(1) and adding the following new subdivision (a)(2):
(2) It is further the intent of the general assembly that the membership of joint
economic and community development boards be representative of the populations of
the cities and counties for which the board is formed.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 6-58-114, is amended by adding the
following new subsection (m):
(1) Notwithstanding this section to the contrary, at least ninety percent (90%) of
a county's population represented by a board created under this section must be
proportionately represented on a per capita basis by the members of such board not
later than July 1, 2029. After July 1, 2029, each board must remain in compliance with
this subdivision (m)(1).

- 2 - 000151

(2) To facilitate subdivision (m)(1), as existing board members' terms expire,
newly appointed or elected members, in addition to satisfying all other criteria for
appointment or election, are only qualified if their election or appointment revises the
board's representation of a county's population in a manner that incrementally brings the
board into compliance with subdivision (m)(1) on or before July 1, 2029.
(3) The department of economic and community development, in consultation
with representatives of joint economic and community development boards, shall
promulgate rules to create the mechanism by which each board must incrementally
transition into compliance with subdivision (m)(1). The rules must be promulgated in
accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter
5, and within the existing resources of the department. The mechanism:
(A) Must, as necessary by jurisdiction:
(i) Provide for a percentage deviation of no more than five percent
(5%) below the ideal average population representation prescribed by
subdivision (m)(1);
(ii) Adjust the number of members on a board to facilitate
compliance with subdivision (m)(1); and
(iii) Be adjusted every ten (10) years following the release of the
most recent decennial census by the United States census bureau.
(4) For purposes of this subsection (m), a county's population includes the
population of each municipality within such county.
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.