HB 304 - SB 266
FISCAL NOTE
Fiscal Review Committee
Tennessee General Assembly
February 3, 2025
Fiscal Analyst: Alan Hampton | Email: alan.hampton@capitol.tn.gov | Phone: 615-741-2564
HB 304 - SB 266
SUMMARY OF BILL: Prohibits state and local governmental entities from displaying, or
permitting the display of, any flag, image, or stylized version of a political flag, other than the flag of
the United States (U.S.) or the official flag of the state of Tennessee on a public courthouse,
roadway, or sidewalk that is under the jurisdiction of the entity. Authorizes any citizen of this state
to file a civil action against a governmental entity to enforce the act. Requires the judge presiding
over such an action to award a prevailing citizen-plaintiff costs incurred to bring the action,
including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses.
Prohibits a local education agency (LEA) or public charter school from displaying, or permitting any
of its employees or agents to display, any flag other than certain identified flags on or in a public
school. Authorizes a parent or guardian of a student who attends, or who is eligible to attend, a
school operated by an LEA or public charter school to file a civil action against the LEA or public
charter school in chancery court to enforce the act, if the LEA or public charter school does not
remedy a violation within 10 days of receiving a written notice of the violation from the parent or
guardian.
Specifies that the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action (P.O.W./M.I.A.) flag: (1) may be displayed at
the main administrative building of the county on any day the United States flag is displayed;
provided, that the building is not a courthouse; and (2) may be displayed at another county
government building if the building that serves as the main administrative building of the county is a
courthouse.
FISCAL IMPACT:
NOT SIGNIFICANT
Assumptions:
• The proposed legislation limits state and local governmental entities from displaying any
flag or image other than the U.S. or the official flag of the state of Tennessee; state and
local government entities are not required to display any certain flags.
• Disabled or stopped state and local government buses, trucks, and truck tractors that
display red flags to designate a period of disablement or period of stop are exempt from the
legislation.
• The proposed legislation permits only the following flags to be displayed on or in a public
school:
o The U.S. and official Tennessee state flags;
o Historical flags pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-1-412;
HB 304 - SB 266 2
o The P.O.W./M.I.A. flag and flags representing an Indian tribe;
o Flags of a local government or other political subdivision;
o Armed forces and Reserve Officers’ Training Corps flags;
o The current, official flag of a country or political subdivision thereof;
o Flags that represent a college or university;
o A flag displayed temporarily as part of a course curriculum; and
o Official school flags and flags of organizations permitted to use a school building.
• It is assumed that state and local governmental entities, LEAs, and public charter schools
will only display the permitted flags, and thereby avoid litigation. Any fiscal impact to the
court system is considered not significant.
• State and local governmental entities, LEAs, and public charter schools will be able to
remove any flag not permitted by the proposed legislation within existing resources and
during the normal course of business. Therefore, any impact to state or local expenditures is
estimated to be not significant.
CERTIFICATION:
The information contained herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
Bojan Savic, Executive Director