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SB1668 • 2026

Local Government, General

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 6 and Title 7, relative to penalties for violations of ordinances.

Active

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

Sponsor
Powers, Maberry
Last action
2026-04-02
Official status
Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Tennessee Act for Tiered Penalties for Repeated Ordinance Violations

This act allows municipalities in Tennessee to create higher fines for people who break the same city rule more than once within a year.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows home rule municipalities to set up tiered penalties for repeated ordinance violations by the same person or entity within one year.
  • Permits regular municipalities to establish tiered monetary penalties for repeat offenders of municipal ordinances over twelve months.
  • Enables metropolitan governments to adopt a system where fines increase for people who repeatedly break the same city rule within a year.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Home rule municipalities in Tennessee
  • Regular municipalities in Tennessee
  • Metropolitan governments in Tennessee

Terms To Know

Tiered system of monetary penalties
A system where fines increase for repeated violations of the same city rule within a year.
Home rule municipality
A city or town that has been granted certain powers to govern itself without state interference.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The exact financial impact on penalty fee revenue collected by municipalities cannot be determined due to multiple unknown factors.
  • This act applies only after July 1, 2026, for acts and omissions occurring on or after that date.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/16/2026

  2. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/14/2026

  3. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  4. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for 4/14/2026

  5. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  6. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2026

  7. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  8. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  9. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  10. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  11. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  12. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 33, Nays 0

  13. 2026-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 3/30/2026

  14. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  15. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/25/2026

  16. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  17. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  18. 2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/25/2026

  19. 2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate State and Local Government Committee to 3/25/2026

  20. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/24/2026

  21. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  22. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  23. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate State and Local Government Committee to 3/24/2026

  24. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/17/2026

  25. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Cities & Counties Subcommittee for 3/18/2026

  26. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee to 3/18/2026

  27. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Cities & Counties Subcommittee for 3/11/2026

  28. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee to 3/11/2026

  29. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Cities & Counties Subcommittee for 3/4/2026

  30. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  31. 2026-02-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  32. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee to 2/25/2026

  33. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  34. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  35. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee

  36. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  37. 2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  38. 2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  39. 2026-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  40. 2026-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Abstract summarizes the bill.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 1667
By Maberry

SENATE BILL 1668
By Powers
SB1668
010368
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 6 and
Title 7, relative to penalties for violations of
ordinances.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 6-54-306, is amended by adding the
following as a new subsection:
(c) Within the limitations of subsection (a), a home rule municipality may, by
ordinance, adopt a tiered system of monetary penalties for repeated violations of the
same municipal ordinance by the same person or entity within a twelve-month period.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 6-54-308, is amended by adding the
following as a new subsection:
(c) Within the limitations of subsection (a), a municipality may, by ordinance,
adopt a tiered system of monetary penalties for repeated violations of the same
municipal ordinance by the same person or entity within a twelve-month period.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 7-3-507, is amended by designating
the existing language as subsection (a) and adding the following as a new subsection:
(b) Within the limitations of subsection (a), a metropolitan government may, by
ordinance, adopt a tiered system of monetary penalties for repeated violations of the
same municipal ordinance by the same person or entity within a twelve-month period.
SECTION 4. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to acts and omissions on or after July 1, 2026.