Tennessee 114th General Assembly Status: Enacted 2 R cosponsors

HB 0796 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 69, relative to utility infrastructure.

Last action — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 532

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed House
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 03, 2025. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Bill Lee (Republican) on February 11, 2026.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 74% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    1 primary, 1 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (2 R).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 3 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Utilities, Utility Districts - As enacted, clarifies that prior to the acquisition of assets of a natural gas utility regulated by the Tennessee public utility commission by a new owner or any other change in control of such assets, the commission has exclusive authority to approve the acquisition or change in control, including the assignment of franchise rights, upon a finding by the commission that such transfers of assets or control is in the public interest. - Amends TCA Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 69.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Filed for introduction

  2. Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

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

  4. Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 1/20/2026

  5. Action deferred in Senate State and Local Government Committee to 1/27/2026

  6. Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 1/27/2026

  7. Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 2/3/2026

  8. Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0

  9. Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 2/5/2026

  10. Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0462)

  11. Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 32, Nays 0

  12. Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

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

  14. Subst. for comp. HB.

  15. Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0545)

  16. Passed H., Ayes 96, Nays 0, PNV 0

  17. Enrolled and ready for signatures

  18. Signed by Senate Speaker

  19. Signed by H. Speaker

  20. Transmitted to Governor for action.

  21. Signed by Governor.

  22. Pub. Ch. 532

  23. Effective date(s) 02/17/2026

  24. Filed for introduction

  25. Intro., P1C.

  26. P2C, ref. to Commerce Committee

  27. Assigned to s/c Business & Utilities Subcommittee

  28. Placed on s/c cal Business & Utilities Subcommittee for 1/21/2026

  29. Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Commerce Committee

  30. Placed on cal. Commerce Committee for 1/28/2026

  31. Meeting Canceled

  32. Placed on cal. Commerce Committee for 2/4/2026

  33. Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  34. Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 2/5/2026

  35. H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 2/9/2026

  36. Sponsor(s) Added.

  37. Comp. SB subst.

  38. Comp. became Pub. Ch. 532

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 131 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (1)

Not signed on (131)

131 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 131 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Subjects

public-safety energy
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 0796 do?
Utilities, Utility Districts - As enacted, clarifies that prior to the acquisition of assets of a natural gas utility regulated by the Tennessee public utility commission by a new owner or any other change in control of such assets, the commission has exclusive authority to approve the acquisition or change in control, including the assignment of franchise rights, upon a finding by the commission that such transfers of assets or control is in the public interest. - Amends TCA Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 69.
Who sponsors HB 0796?
HB 0796 is sponsored by Vaughan, Kevin (Republican) and Powers, Dennis (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 0796?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 03, 2025. Enacted.
Where can I track HB 0796?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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