SB2248 • 2026

Civil Emergencies

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 9; Title 13; Title 16; Title 39; Title 55; Title 58; Title 62; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 71, relative to emergency management.

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Johnson, Lamberth
Last action: 2026-05-27
Official status: Comp. became Pub. Ch. 1045
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Civil Emergencies

ON APRIL 14, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #3 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2560, AS AMENDED.

What This Bill Does

ON APRIL 14, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #3 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2560, AS AMENDED.
AMENDMENT #3 rewrites the bill to, instead, create the department of Tennessee emergency management assistance ("TEMA"), to authorize the creation of local organizations for emergency management in the political subdivisions of the state, and to authoriz e cooperation with the federal government and the governments of other states.
This amendment would also transfer all current rules, orders, decisions, and policies issued or promulgated by the Tennessee emergency management agency effect to the departme nt for administration and enforcement.
THE COMMISSIONER This amendment charges TEMA and its general supervision to the commissioner of TEMA.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

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

HA0738

Amendment 1-0 to HB2560

Plain English: House State & Local Government 1 Amendment No.

House State & Local Government 1 Amendment No.
1 to HB2560 Crawford Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
2248* House Bill No.
2560 HA0738 015042 - 1 - by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting: SECTION 1.

HA0746

Amendment 2-0 to HB2560

Plain English: House Government Operations 1 Amendment No.

House Government Operations 1 Amendment No.
2 to HB2560 Lafferty Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
2248* House Bill No.
2560 HA0746 016280 - 1 - by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting: SECTION 1.

HA1064

Amendment 3-0 to HB2560

Plain English: House Finance, Ways, and Means 1 Amendment No.

House Finance, Ways, and Means 1 Amendment No.
3 to HB2560 Hicks G Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
2248* House Bill No.
2560 HA1064 016761 - 1 - by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting: SECTION 1.

SA0740

Amendment 1-0 to SB2248

Plain English: Senate State and Local Government 1 Amendment No.

Senate State and Local Government 1 Amendment No.
1 to SB2248 Briggs Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
2248* House Bill No.
2560 SA0740 015042 - 1 - by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting: SECTION 1.

SA0849

Amendment 2-0 to SB2248

Plain English: Senate Government Operations 1 Amendment No.

Senate Government Operations 1 Amendment No.
2 to SB2248 Jackson Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
2248* House Bill No.
2560 SA0849 016466 - 1 - by deleting SECTION 5 and substituting: SECTION 5.

SA0987

Amendment 3-0 to SB2248

Plain English: Senate Finance, Ways, and Means 1 Amendment No.

Senate Finance, Ways, and Means 1 Amendment No.
3 to SB2248 Watson Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
2248* House Bill No.
2560 SA0987 016761 - 1 - by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting: SECTION 1.

SA1034

Amendment 4-0 to SB2248

Plain English: Amendment No.

Amendment No.
4 to SB2248 Johnson Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
2248* House Bill No.
2560 SA1034 017848 - 1 - by deleting SECTION 5 and substituting: SECTION 5.

Bill History

2026-05-27 Tennessee General Assembly
Comp. became Pub. Ch. 1045
2026-05-27 Tennessee General Assembly
Effective date(s) 07/01/2026
2026-05-27 Tennessee General Assembly
Pub. Ch. 1045
2026-05-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Signed by Governor.
2026-05-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Transmitted to Governor for his action.
2026-05-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Signed by Senate Speaker
2026-04-30 Tennessee General Assembly
Signed by H. Speaker
2026-04-28 Tennessee General Assembly
Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.
2026-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly
H. concurred in S. am. no. 4 Ayes 84, Nays 1 PNV 5
2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Companion House Bill substituted
2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 32, Nays 0
2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0740)
2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 4 - SA1034)
2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 3 - SA0987)
2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 2 - SA0849)
2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.
2026-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/21/2026
2026-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/21/2026
2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Received from House, Passed on First Consideration
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed H., as am., Ayes 85, Nays 9, PNV 1
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
H. adopted am. (Amendment 3 - HA1064)
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 2 - HA0746)
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0738)
2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly
H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/13/2026
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/9/2026
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 11, Nays 0 PNV 0
2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/7/2026
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for 4/7/2026
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/1/2026
2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee
2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Government Operations Committee calendar for 3/25/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Government Operations Committee for 3/23/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Government Operations Committee
2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Government Operations Committee Ayes 8, Nays 0 PNV 1
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/17/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/18/2026
2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to State & Local Government Committee
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Departments & Agencies Subcommittee for 3/10/2026
2026-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Departments & Agencies Subcommittee
2026-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Ref. to State & Local Government Committee - Government Operations for Review
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate State and Local Government Committee
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.
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

ON APRIL 14, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #3 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2560, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #3 rewrites the bill to, instead, create the department of Tennessee emergency management assistance ("TEMA"), to authorize the creation of local organizations for emergency management in the political subdivisions of the state, and to authoriz
e cooperation with the federal government and the governments of other states. This amendment would also transfer all current rules, orders, decisions, and policies issued or promulgated by the Tennessee emergency management agency effect to the departme
nt
for administration and enforcement.

THE COMMISSIONER

This amendment charges TEMA and its general supervision to the commissioner of TEMA. The commissioner, subject to the direction and control of the governor, is the executive head of the department. The commissioner must coordinate the activities of all
organizations for the department within this state and must maintain liaison with and cooperate with emergency management agencies and organizations of other states and of the federal government. Further, the commissioner must make recommendations to th
e
governor for the use of the national guard and other state resources as disaster conditions mandate, including the assistance of local and private agencies. The commissioner must coordinate with the governor's office on the activation or the potential ac
tivation of any mutual aid agreement or compact.

This amendment authorizes the commissioner to employ such area directors and professional, technical, clerical, and other personnel, and the commissioner must fix their compensation and may make expenditures from available funds appropriated for the depa
rtment or from funds made available to the commissioner for purposes of emergency management.

DEPARTMENT OF TEMA POWERS AND DUTIES

This amendment vests the department and its commissioner with the powers required to perform the duties set forth within present law pertaining to disaster and emergencies, and are charged with the administration of such laws.

This amendment authorizes the department to modify or rescind orders, rules, decisions, or policies so issued and to adopt, issue, or promulgate new orders, rules, decisions, or policies as may be necessary for the administration of the programs or funct
ions transferred by this bill. The department may also promulgate emergency rules to implement this bill. In doing so, the department of TEMA must consult with the department of health and must consult with and consider the recommendations of any other
en
tity established to coordinate the implementation of the emergency management assistance compacts and must also consult with and consider rules promulgated by similarly empowered agencies in other states to promote uniformity and make the emergency respon
se systems in the various states reasonably compatible.

This amendment also authorizes the governor to delegate to the commissioner the authority to declare a state of emergency in order that certain commercial vehicles engaged in the distribution of electric power, the supply of fuel, or telecommunications s
ervices to residences and businesses may be considered to be participating in an emergency relief effort for the purpose of the federal hours-of-service regulations promulgated by the federal motor carrier safety administration. Pursuant to the delegatio
n
of authority granted, the commissioner may declare a state of emergency prospectively in anticipation of an emergency.

CONTINUING EFFECT OF CONTRACTS AND LEASES

In order to avoid the impairment of contracts, this amendment continues contracts and leases entered into prior to the effective date of this act, with respect to any program or function transferred to the department of TEMA.

ON APRIL 21, 2026, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 2560 FOR SENATE BILL 2248, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #4, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2560, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #4 s
chedules the department of

the Tennessee emergency management authority
for termination under the governmental entity review law on June 30, 2028, instead of June 30, 2029.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HOUSE BILL 2560
By Lamberth

SENATE BILL 2248
By Johnson
SB2248
012434
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4;
Title 9; Title 13; Title 16; Title 39; Title 55; Title 58;
Title 62; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 71, relative to
emergency management.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 58-2-104(c), is amended by deleting
"During emergency conditions, the agency and director shall report" and substituting "During
emergency conditions, the agency and director shall report in writing, in addition to any other
means,".
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.