HB 6007
FISCAL NOTE
Fiscal Review Committee
Tennessee General Assembly
January 26, 2025
Fiscal Analyst: Justin Billingsley | Email: justin.billingsley@capitol.tn.gov | Phone: 615-741-2564
HB 6007
SUMMARY OF BILL: Requires the Comptroller of the Treasury (COT) to disburse
payments to owners of real or personal property whose property: (1) was destroyed or damaged by
Hurricane Helene between September 26, 2024 and September 30, 2024; and (2) is located in a
county included in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declaration. Specifies that
payments are allowed regardless of whether the property was restored or replaced by December 31,
2024. Requires such payments to be equal to 130 percent of the property tax paid by each property
owner for tax year 2024. Deletes the provision on December 31, 2025.
Requires a chief executive officer of a governmental entity approve the provision of personnel and
equipment outside its boundaries and into any other jurisdiction following a request for aid in a
municipal, county, state, or federal state of emergency.
FISCAL IMPACT:
STATE GOVERNMENT
EXPENDITURES General Fund
FY24-25 >$1,931,600
FY25-26 >$1,931,600
Assumptions:
• On October 2, 2024, FEMA declared the damage in certain areas of Tennessee resulting
from Hurricane Helene beginning on September 26, 2024, a disaster.
• The following counties were included in the disaster declaration for either Public Assistance
or Individual Assistance: Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock,
Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington.
• The proposed legislation requires the COT to disburse payments to qualifying property
owners in an amount equal to the total amount of the tax levied on the property for tax year
2024 plus 30 percent.
• To qualify for the payment, the property owner’s real or personal property must have been
destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Helene, as determined by the assessor of property by
January 28, 2025, and must be located in a county included in the FEMA declaration.
• Eligible property owners must provide the COT all information and documentation
necessary for payment disbursement, as determined by the COT, by June 30, 2025.
• Based on information provided by the COT, as of January 24, 2025, assessors of property
in the following counties identified 2,340 properties as being destroyed or damaged by
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Hurricane Helene: Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Unicoi,
and Washington.
• The following table provides property tax amounts for tax year 2024 (inclusive of city
property taxes) for the 2,340 properties and the estimated increase in state expenditures to
provide a payment equal to the tax amount plus 30 percent:
County 2024 Tax Amount State Expenditure
Carter $883,808 $1,148,950
Cocke $691,144 $898,487
Greene $358,103 $465,534
Hamblen $76,787 $99,823
Hancock $432 $562
Hawkins $14,393 $18,711
Johnson $112,199 $145,859
Unicoi $642,963 $835,852
Washington $191,911 $249,484
Total $2,971,740 $3,863,262
• The proposed legislation is effective upon becoming law, and the deadline to apply for
payment is June 30, 2025.
• For the purposes of this analysis, it is estimated that 50 percent of payments will occur in
FY24-25 and 50 percent of payments will occur in FY25-26.
• The increase in state expenditures is estimated to exceed:
o $1,931,631 ($3,863,262 x 50%) in FY24-25; and
o $1,931,631 ($3,863,262 x 50%) in FY25-26.
• The COT will disburse payments utilizing existing staff and resources; any impact to COT
expenditures is estimated to be not significant.
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 58-8-106, any participating governmental entity may, upon
receiving a request for mutual aid in an occurrence or for assistance from a requesting party
in a municipal, county, state, or federal state of emergency, send its personnel and
equipment outside its boundaries and into any other jurisdiction necessary for the request.
• This legislation will require the chief executive officer of the assisting governmental entity
to approve any such deployment of personnel or equipment.
• Requiring approval prior to deploying resources will have no significant impact on the
amount of mutual aid that would be offered and accepted between governmental entities in
this state in lieu of this legislation; therefore, this requirement will have no significant fiscal
impact on state or local government.
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CERTIFICATION:
The information contained herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
Bojan Savic, Executive Director