HB 6006 – SB 6006
FISCAL NOTE
Fiscal Review Committee
Tennessee General Assembly
January 27, 2025
Fiscal Analyst: Justin Billingsley | Email: justin.billingsley@capitol.tn.gov | Phone: 615-741-2564
HB 6006 – SB 6006
SUMMARY OF BILL: Creates the Tennessee Transportation Financing Authority
(Authority), administratively attached to the Comptroller of the Treasury (COT), to provide
financing and refinancing for the development, maintenance, and improvement of transportation
facilities within the state. Creates a governing board (Board), in which the powers of the Authority
are vested and exercised, composed of the Governor, the Commissioner of the Department of
Finance and Administration (F&A), the State Treasurer, the Secretary of the State, and the COT.
The Authority is empowered to exercise all powers necessary and convenient to carry out its
purposes, including, but not limited to:
1) Make, adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws, guidelines, policies and procedures, and rules and
regulations to regulate its affairs and to carry into effect the powers and purposes of the
Authority;
2) Borrow money and issue bonds to finance and refinance transportation facilities, and pledge
or otherwise encumber revenues as security for all or any of the bonds of the Authority as
well as any payment obligations under any agreements entered into in connection with any
such bonds;
3) Make and enter into contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the performance of
its duties, including agreements with any person, entity, federal agency, the state or other
state, or any political subdivision of either;
4) Receive and accept grants, donations of money, or real or personal property from any
federal or private agency, foundation, corporation, association or person for the benefit of
the Authority; and receive and accept from the state or any other state, and any political
subdivision of either and from any other source, aid or contributions of either money,
property, or other things of value to be held, used, and applied for the purposes for which
such grants and contributions may be made;
5) Accept loans from the federal government, the state government, regional authorities,
localities, and private sources;
6) Make loans or grants and to enter into such contracts, instruments, and agreements as may
be expedient to provide for the repayment of such loans and any security therefor, including
to pledge or otherwise encumber revenues;
7) Create and establish such funds and accounts as may be necessary or desirable for the
Authority's purposes;
8) Direct to any fund of the Authority any of its property, including, but not limited to, moneys
appropriated by the state, premiums, fees and any other amounts received by the Authority
with respect to financial assistance provided by the Authority, proceeds from the sale of
bonds, proceeds as designated by the Authority from the loan or other disposition of
property held or acquired by the Authority, income from investments that were made by the
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Authority or on behalf of the Authority from moneys in one or more of its funds, or any
other moneys made available to the Authority consistent with this act;
9) Collect such fees and charges, if any, as the Authority determines to be reasonable in
connection with its loans and commitments and administration thereof;
10) Apply for, execute, and endorse applications submitted by private entities or political
subdivisions of the state to obtain federal credit assistance for one or more transportation
facilities; provided, that any such application, agreement, and endorsement must not
financially obligate the state or be construed to implicate the credit of the state as security for
any such federal credit assistance;
11) Pursue or otherwise apply for, and execute, an agreement to obtain financing using a federal
credit instrument for project financings otherwise authorized by this act;
12) Undertake all actions necessary and convenient to carry out the powers granted in this act or
reasonably implied from them; and
13) Enter into loan agreements with others with respect to one or more transportation facilities
or for activities, costs, debt restructuring, or working capital associated with transportation
facilities for such payments or deferrals and upon such terms and conditions as the Board of
the Authority deems advisable.
Grants the Authority power to do all things in the issuance of bonds and incurrence of related
payment obligations and for their security. Establishes that all expenses incurred by the Authority
and every issue of its bonds must be payable solely from revenues, and liability must not be incurred
by the Authority beyond the extent to which moneys were provided or received pursuant to this act;
additionally, any issue of the Authority’s bonds is not a debt of the state or any other political
subdivision thereof.
Requires the Authority, at the end of each fiscal year, to file an aggregate listing of its current debt
with the State Funding Board within the COT, and to also file notice of default on any debt
obligations within five days of the event.
Requires records received or possessed by the Authority that have been determined to be
proprietary by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), or by another responsible
public entity, to remain confidential and not subject to public inspection, but only upon request by
the private person or entity to the Authority with proof that TDOT or other responsible public
entity has determined that the records are proprietary.
Requires user fee revenue, derived from or related to a user fee facility developed pursuant to the
terms of a concession agreement or other user fee facility development agreement under the
Transportation Modernization Act of 2023, be deposited to such funds as designated in the applicable
concession agreement or user fee facility development agreement, including to a fund or funds
created in connection with the issuance of bonds by the Authority. Prohibits the F&A from
depositing any such user fee revenue into the state user fee fund unless otherwise expressly
instructed to do so in writing by the TDOT.
Establishes that after all bonds of the Authority and any payment obligations are discharged and the
Authority is dissolved, its remaining assets must inure to the benefit of the state.
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FISCAL IMPACT:
NOT SIGNIFICANT
Assumptions:
• The proposed legislation will effectively authorize the Authority to issue private activity
bonds through public-private partnerships to provide financing for the development,
maintenance, and improvement of transportation facilities within the state.
• Obligations issued by the Authority must not be deemed to constitute a debt or liability of
the state or any other political subdivision. Such obligations are payable solely from
revenues or assets of the Authority and will be secured by user fee revenue stream of the
project financed with bond proceeds. Additionally, the Authority or the State will not be
liable for any insufficiency of user fee revenues.
• Based on information provided by the COT, it can provide administrative oversight and
support to the Authority utilizing existing staff and resources.
• Members of the Board will attend meetings in the course of their regular business, resulting
in no significant impact to state government.
• To the extent the Authority does incur any operating costs associated with issuance of
bonds, such costs will be reimbursed out of bond proceeds or other fees.
• Therefore, any fiscal impact to state or local government is not significant.
• Currently, pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 54-3-105(b)(1), all user fee revenue received by
the TDOT must be credited to the State User Fee Fund (UFF).
• There are no user fee facility development agreements or concession agreements, entered
into by TDOT. Consequently, there are no funds in the UFF and there are no funds
currently planned to be directed to the UFF at this time.
• This legislation requires user fee revenue derived from or related to a user fee facility
developed pursuant to the terms of a concession agreement or other user fee facility
development agreement under the Transportation Modernization Act of 2023, be deposited to
such funds as designated in the applicable concession agreement or user fee facility
development agreement, including to a fund or funds created in connection with the
issuance of bonds by the Authority.
• Further, the proposed legislation prohibits the F&A from depositing any such user fee
revenue into the UFF, unless otherwise expressly instructed to do so in writing by the
TDOT.
• The proposed legislation will, therefore, continue to provide an avenue for user fee revenue
collected from state-developed and operated facilities to be deposited to the UFF, upon
request by TDOT. Other user fee revenues derived from concession agreements or other
user fee facility agreements will be deposited to funds designated in such applicable
agreements.
• Any reallocation of future user fee revenue cannot be determined with any reasonable
certainty. However, any impact on state revenue or expenditures is assumed to be not
significant.
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CERTIFICATION:
The information contained herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
Bojan Savic, Executive Director