The House Finance Ways and Means Subcommittee met March 5, 2025, at the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville and took final committee action on a 28‑item calendar, advancing some measures to full finance while deferring others for budget consideration.

The meeting opened with roll call and a quorum. Members and bill sponsors discussed a range of measures — from limits on eminent domain to tax changes, mineral severance tax caps, constitutionally‑bound ballot measures and program funding — but many measures with fiscal notes were routed “behind the budget” for further review.

Why it matters: the subcommittee’s decisions determine which bills move quickly toward final funding consideration and which require further fiscal analysis or must be placed on special calendars (constitutional amendments, TAsser/TASSAR). Several bills that would change state or local revenues were deferred, while a smaller number of bills without unresolved fiscal questions were advanced to the full Finance Committee.

Votes at a glance (bill — sponsor — short description — committee outcome [vote if recorded]):

- House Bill 1092 — Chairman Hulsey — federal grant application/oversight transparency; placed behind the budget (fiscal note) — outcome: behind the budget (no roll call tally announced).

- House Bill 444 — Chairman Hulsey — narrows use of eminent domain for redevelopment from “area” to individual “property” and prohibits taking agricultural land by blight for private development; moved to full finance — committee vote: 8 ayes, 0 nos.

- House Joint Resolution 48 (Marcy’s Law) — Chairman Doggett — proposed constitutional amendment expanding certain victims’ rights; moved to the constitutional amendments calendar (no roll call tally announced).

- House Bill 594 — Chairman Doggett — exempts certain religious fundraising events from sales tax in parity with volunteer fire/rescue; placed behind the budget (fiscal note) — outcome: behind the budget (no roll call tally announced).

- House Joint Resolution 49 — Chairman Howe — constitutional amendment to allow judges discretion to deny or set bail for certain violent crimes; moved to the constitutional amendments calendar (no roll call tally announced).

- House Bill 988 — Speaker pro Tem Tim Marsh — franchise and excise tax exemption clarification for agricultural cooperative subsidiaries (updates to include LLCs); placed behind the budget (fiscal note) — outcome: behind the budget (no roll call tally announced).

- House Bill 359 — Leader (Representative) Lambert — raises misdemeanor penalty class for unlicensed driving; placed behind the budget (state fiscal note ~$561,000; local note ~$7.4 million as presented by sponsor).

- House Bill 424 (as amended) — Chairman Baum — allows trading/monetizing industrial machinery tax credits subject to reporting and a 10% fee to Department of Revenue; placed behind the budget (fiscal impact noted) — outcome: behind the budget (no roll call tally announced).

- House Bill 695 — Chairman Baum — raises the statutory cap on county mineral severance taxes (cap currently 15¢/ton from 1985; proposed increases to 20¢ in 2025, 25¢ in 2030, 30¢ in 2035; local adoption still requires county vote); moved to full finance — committee vote: 13 ayes, 0 nos.

- House Bill 65 — Chairman Bulso — authorizes city manager/commission forms of government (47 cities statewide) to enter contracts with private entities for athletic facilities subject to conditions (bond rating requirement added in amendment); moved to full finance — committee vote: 11 ayes, 0 nos.

- House Bill 530 — Chairman Eldridge — rolled one week (no action at this meeting).

- House Bill 823 (as amended) — Chairman Lafferty — authorizes certain new sports authority stadiums to sell wine and spirits (Knoxville and Chattanooga stadium projects referenced); amendment adopted; moved to full finance — committee vote: 7 ayes, 1 no, 1 present not voting.

- House Bill 114 — Chairman Moon — extension of STRONG Act tuition reimbursement for National Guard (funding letter ~ $4.1 million provided); moved to full finance — committee vote: 10 ayes, 0 nos.

- House Bill 123 — Chairman Powers — updates for Tennessee Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) program to preserve an $8.5 million annual federal IIJA funding stream; moved to full finance — committee vote: 10 ayes, 0 nos.

- House Bill 909 — Leader Garrett — restores a share of sales tax revenue to cities (large fiscal note estimated by sponsor); placed behind the budget.

- House Bill 1329 — Representative Garrett — reduces counties’ administrative fee for sales tax collections (from 1.125% to 0.75%); sponsor believes funded; moved to full finance — committee vote: 11 ayes, 0 nos.

- House Bill 1337 (13‑37) — Representative Garrett — allows a limited filing window for nonprofit raffle applications that missed a deadline; moved to full finance — committee vote: 11 ayes, 0 nos.

- House Bill 399 — Representative Bricken — pilot grant program for smart metal detectors in at‑risk school districts; placed behind the budget (fiscal note).

- House Bill 386 — Representative Butler — raises safe‑haven surrender age from 14 to 45 (alignment with other states); placed behind the budget (fiscal note).

- House Bill 784 — Representative Greg Martin — sales tax relief for diapers, formula and related baby items; placed behind the budget (fiscal note).

- House Bill 813 — Representative Miller — rolled one week.

- House Bill 220 — Representative Reedy — permissive addition of four counties to the West Tennessee River Basin Authority and two staff positions (to assist with flood/erosion response); placed behind the budget (fiscal note discussed).

- House Bill 40 — Representative Reedy — TAsser/TASSAR study on juvenile detention/placements; moved to the TASSAR calendar (special study calendar) for later consideration.

- House Bill 496 — Representative Reedy — technical update aligning Tennessee’s ABLE program with the federal ABLE Age Adjustment Act (changes disability onset age for eligibility); placed behind the budget (fiscal note).

- House Bill 122 — Representative Rico Scarborough — allows Tennessee Advanced Communications Network (TACN) assessment proceeds to be used for system improvements (not just operation/maintenance); moved to full finance — committee vote: 12 ayes, 0 nos (the bill was returned from the "heel" and then voted later in the meeting).

- House Bill 767 — Chairman Hicks (as amended) — tax exemption for specialty pharmacies dispensing certain high‑cost, life‑saving drugs; placed behind the budget (fiscal impact to be reviewed); amendment clarified tax year applicability.

- House Bill 987 — Chairman Williams — taken off notice (no action today).

- House Bill 526 (as amended) — Chairman Williams — conformity for real estate agents’ tax treatment (amendment adopted); placed behind the budget (fiscal note reported).

Discussion highlights and committee directions:
- Multiple sponsors acknowledged fiscal notes and accepted routing bills "behind the budget" for the full Finance Committee or to allow the Finance chair/staff to review costs. Several sponsors asked for later consideration or noted funding letters (for example HB114 had a funding letter cited by the sponsor).
- Constitutional amendments (HJR48, HJR49) were moved to the constitutional amendments calendar for collective handling later in the session.
- The committee treated TASSAR study bills on a separate calendar; HB40 was sent to that TASSAR calendar.
- Committee members frequently encouraged sponsors to work with affected local governments, agencies (for example, County Highway Officials, Road Builders Association, aggregate industry on mineral severance) and the Department of Revenue on reporting and administrative details.

What to watch next: bills routed to full finance (for example HB444, HB695, HB65, HB823, HB114, HB123, HB1329, HB1337, HB122) will receive further funding and policy consideration. Measures placed behind the budget will be subject to budget subcommittee and staff fiscal review before possible advancement.

Ending: The subcommittee completed its calendar and adjourned after taking the actions noted above. Committee staff and sponsors may provide additional fiscal detail as bills move through the full Finance Committee and onto subsequent calendars.