SB2540 • 2026

Public Records

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8, Chapter 4, Part 6 and Title 10, Chapter 7, Part 5, relative to public record fees.

Taxes

Active

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

Sponsor: Hatcher, Alexander
Last action: 2026-02-05
Official status: Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate State and Local Government Committee
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.

Public Records

Present law prohibits a governmental entity from assessing a charge to view a public record unless otherwise required by law.

What This Bill Does

Present law prohibits a governmental entity from assessing a charge to view a public record unless otherwise required by law.
This bill eliminates that prohibition.
PRODUCTION OF RECORDS FOR INSPECTION Present law authorizes a records custodian to charge a requestor a fee to pay the custodian's reasonable costs incurred in producing the requested material for inspection.
This bill also authorizes a records custodian to charge a requester the reasonabl e costs of copies of such requested material.

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.

Bill History

2026-02-09 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor change.
2026-02-09 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) withdrawn.
2026-02-09 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate State and Local Government Committee
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Public Service Subcommittee
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, ref. to State & Local Government Committee
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

Present law prohibits a governmental entity from
assessing a charge to view a public record unless otherwise required by law. This bill eliminates that prohibition.

PRODUCTION OF RECORDS FOR INSPECTION

Present law authorizes a records custodian to charge a requestor a fee to pay the custodian's reasonable costs incurred in producing the requested material for inspection. This bill also authorizes a records custodian to charge a requester the reasonabl
e costs of copies of such requested material.

REDACTION OF RECORDS

Present law requires costs associated with redacting records, including the cost of copies and staff time to provide redacted copies, as provided in the schedule of reasonable charges promulgated by the office of open records counsel. This bill instead
requires such costs to be borne by the requestor seeking to inspect or receive copies of records that require redaction.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HOUSE BILL 2500
By Alexander

SENATE BILL 2540
By Hatcher
SB2540
012564
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8,
Chapter 4, Part 6 and Title 10, Chapter 7, Part 5,
relative to public record fees.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 10-7-503(a)(7)(A)(i), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:
(i) A governmental entity shall not require a written request to view a public
record unless otherwise required by law. Requests to view public records may be
submitted in person or by telephone, fax, mail, or email if the governmental entity uses
such means of communication to transact official business, or via internet portal if the
governmental entity maintains an internet portal that is used for accepting public records
requests.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 10-7-503(a)(5), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead the following:
(5) Information made confidential by state law shall be redacted whenever
possible, and the redacted record shall be made available for inspection and copying.
The redaction of confidential information shall not constitute the creation of a new
record. Costs associated with redacting records, including the cost of copies and staff
time to provide redacted copies, shall be borne by the requestor seeking to inspect or
receive copies of records that require redaction.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 10-7-503(a)(7)(B)(i), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead the following:

- 2 - 012564

(i) A records custodian may require a requestor to pay the custodian's
reasonable costs incurred in producing the requested material for inspection and the
reasonable costs of copies of such requested material. The reasonable costs must be
assessed in the manner established by the office of open records counsel pursuant to §
8-4-604.
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-4-604(a)(1)(A), is amended by
deleting the first sentence and substituting:
A schedule of reasonable charges that a records custodian may use as a
guideline to charge a citizen requesting to inspect or make copies of public records
pursuant to title 10, chapter 7, part 5.
SECTION 5. This act takes effect on July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.