HB 197 - SB 217
FISCAL NOTE
Fiscal Review Committee
Tennessee General Assembly
February 16, 2025
Fiscal Analyst: Rebecca Chandler | Email: rebecca.chandler@capitol.tn.gov | Phone: 615-741-2564
HB 197 - SB 217
SUMMARY OF BILL: Requires the Department of Transportation (TDOT) to develop and
implement a policy for collecting, storing, claiming, and disposing of personal property used for
camping on state and interstate highways. Requires TDOT to collaborate with local law enforcement
agencies (LEA), the Department of Safety (DOS), the Division of Housing and Emergency Shelter
(DHES), housing authorities, homeless coalitions, and nonprofit organizations.
Mandates site assessments before removal operations, a 72-hour notice to vacate with retrieval
instructions, and outreach services for individuals experiencing homelessness. Requires collected
personal property to be labeled and stored for at least 90 days in a secure, publicly accessible facility,
with unclaimed property disposed of after this period. Specifies immediate disposal of trash,
hazardous materials, perishable food, and abandoned property.
Authorizes TDOT to promulgate rules and regulations.
FISCAL IMPACT:
STATE GOVERNMENT
EXPENDITURES Highway Fund
FY25-26 $64,028,200
FY26-27 & Subsequent Years $63,628,200
Total Positions Required: 12
OTHER FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed legislation is expected to have a significant fiscal impact on local government
expenditures; however, the exact fiscal impact cannot be reasonably quantified.
Assumptions:
• Based on information provided by TDOT, a new program would most likely need to be
created within an existing division. Policy development for this program would involve
both current TDOT personnel and an external consultant.
• The proposed legislation requires TDOT to collaborate with LEAs, DOS, DHES, housing
authorities, homeless coalitions, and nonprofit organizations.
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• Developing a program of this scale and coordinating with various state, local, and non-
governmental entities falls outside the typical responsibilities of TDOT personnel. External
consultation would be required to effectively develop and implement the policy, as well as
to facilitate collaboration with other agencies. Based on previous consultant quotes for
similarly extensive studies, it can be reasonably assumed that this will result in a one-time
expenditure in FY25-26 of $400,000 on such services.
• Personnel will be needed to manage and coordinate operations across 12 district locations,
each covering 7 to 10 counties. It is assumed that a minimum of one employee per district
would be required to oversee the identification and coordination of illegal camping site
removals.
• To manage each district, TDOT will need to hire 12 Project Manager-2 positions to manage
the 12 districts. The calculations are as followed:
Title Salary Benefits
#
Positions Total
Project
Manager-2 $115,212 $27,142 12 $1,708,248
• Therefore, it is expected that there will be a recurring increase of state expenditures of
$1,708,248 for personnel.
• The proposed legislation requires the signing and cleaning of illegal camping sites, which
involves removing hazardous materials such as human waste and used needles.
• Current personnel of TDOT are not trained or certified to clean hazardous materials and
are not vetted to illegal camping sites for safety reasons.
• Due to these limitations, TDOT will be required to enter a service contract for:
o Installing proper signage for camping site clearance
o Removing hazardous materials
o Sorting, storing, redistributing, and properly disposing of unclaimed personal
property
• Based on cost estimates provided by TDOT, entering a service contract for these
operations will cost approximately $5,000,000 per district, resulting in $60,000,000
($50,000,000 x 12 districts) in expenditures annually.
• The proposed legislation mandates that personal property must be stored for 90 days in a
secure, publicly accessible facility.
• The department’s regional facilities do not have the necessary space to store items retrieved
from these camping sites, requiring the agency to rent storage facilities in each of the 12
districts.
• The department will need to acquire 12 storage facilities, with operational costs including
utilities, security, and management. Assuming each facility is 20,000 sq. ft. at $8 per sq. ft.,
the annual cost per facility will be:
o 20,000 sq. ft x $8 per sq. ft. = $160,000 per facility
o 12 facilities x $1,920,000 annually
• Therefore, there is an estimated increase in expenditures from the Highway Fund totaling
$64,028,248 in FY25-26 ($400,000 consultant + $1,708,248 in salaries + $60,000,000 service
contract + $1,920,000 storage facilities).
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• There will be an estimated increase in expenditures from the Highway Fund totaling
$63,628,248 in FY26-27 and subsequent years ($1,708,248 in salaries + $60,000,000 service
contract + $1,920,000 storage facilities).
• The proposed legislation requires collaboration with LEAs to assist in clearing
encampments, but does not expend money directly towards local governments for the
purposes of assisting efforts.
• Passage of the proposed legislation is expected to have a significant fiscal impact on local
government expenditures; however, the exact financial impact cannot be reasonably
quantified.
CERTIFICATION:
The information contained herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
Bojan Savic, Executive Director