Bill > SB0520

This bill expands the service area of the West Tennessee River Basin Authority to include four additional counties: Perry, Stewart, Houston, and Humphreys. The bill modifies existing Tennessee law to broaden the authority's geographical jurisdiction and scope of activities. Specifically, while the authority will now include these new counties in its service area, its role in Perry, Stewart, Houston, and Humphreys counties will be limited to providing technical assistance, engineering services, and project management support. The bill updates multiple sections of the Tennessee Code to replace specific references to river basins (like Hatchie, Obion, and Forked Deer) with a more generalized "authority service area" terminology. Additionally, the bill empowers county governments to potentially impose taxes to support the authority's programs, though such taxation is not mandatory. The changes aim to provide more flexible and comprehensive river basin management across a wider geographic region in West Tennessee, while maintaining specific constraints on the authority's activities in the newly added counties.

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Budget and Finance

https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/Billinfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB0520&ga=114