Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee Senate Bill SB0968 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	HOUSE BILL 747
3	3	By Fritts
4	4
5	5	SENATE BILL 968
6	6	By Southerland
7	7
8	8
9	9	SB0968
10	10	002702
11	11	- 1 -
12	12
13	13	AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 68,
14	14	Chapter 204, relative to the state energy policy
15	15	council.
16	16
17	17	WHEREAS, this General Assembly resolved in 2023 for this State to develop an energy
18	18	production plan in order to become an energy exporter; and
19	19	WHEREAS, President Trump has declared a national energy emergency; and
20	20	WHEREAS, this State must continue to build upon its long-standing partnership with the
21	21	Tennessee Valley Authority, which has led the nation in effective and efficient generation of
22	22	electricity using nuclear, gas, coal, and hydro-electric energy sources; and
23	23	WHEREAS, this State must implement a strategic plan for building and maintaining
24	24	energy infrastructure that is scalable and robust enough to not only meet our current energy
25	25	availability and production but to accommodate our ever-increasing future energy demands; and
26	26	WHEREAS, preparing for a nuclear power renaissance and maintaining a competitive
27	27	advantage in all things nuclear, including nuclear manufacturing and nuclear energy, will require
28	28	this State to maintain and build upon the nuclear energy resources in Oak Ridge and other parts
29	29	of East Tennessee while developing traditional and emerging energy technologies; and
30	30	WHEREAS, it is vital that policymakers in this State understand the strengths,
31	31	weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with our current energy sources and
32	32	capabilities, as well as any future energy development and production; and
33	33	WHEREAS, the Tennessee energy policy council was reconstituted in 2024 to include
34	34	subject matter experts from all segments of the energy production and delivery markets in order
35	35	to ensure policymakers receive the best possible recommendations on all aspects of current
36	36	and future energy production capabilities; and
37	37
38	38
39	39	- 2 - 002702
40	40
41	41	WHEREAS, establishing a set of objectives for which the Tennessee energy policy
42	42	council is annually responsible will help in the establishment and maintenance of an effective
43	43	energy policy; and
44	44	WHEREAS, assigning the administrative, reporting, oversight, and accountability
45	45	responsibilities jointly to the Tennessee department of economic and community development
46	46	and the Tennessee department of environment and conservation will help ensure that policy
47	47	suggestions safely, reliably, and effectively leverage current and emerging energy capabilities in
48	48	this State; now, therefore,
49	49	BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
50	50	SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-204-106, is amended by deleting
51	51	the section and substituting:
52	52	(a) To facilitate the work of the council and for administrative purposes, the chair
53	53	of the council shall assign the administrative oversight responsibilities jointly to the
54	54	department of economic and community development and the department of
55	55	environment and conservation.
56	56	(b) The council shall meet quarterly, with members to be physically present at a
57	57	minimum of two (2) quarterly meetings each calendar year. Members may also
58	58	participate by teleconference call. Emergency meetings may be called by the chair or
59	59	upon petition by a majority of the council, with written notice being given to all members.
60	60	SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-204-103, is amended by deleting
61	61	subdivision (b)(1).
62	62	SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-204-108, is amended by deleting
63	63	the section and substituting the following:
64	64
65	65
66	66	- 3 - 002702
67	67
68	68	(a) The council shall compile, compose, and publish an initial report by July 1,
69	69	2026, on recommendations of policy and actions needed in order to address this state's
70	70	energy needs, including, but not limited to:
71	71	(1) Energy source and production goals by capacity;
72	72	(2) An analysis of each energy source's strengths, weaknesses,
73	73	opportunities, and threats;
74	74	(3) An assessment of the current capacity of each energy source against
75	75	projected demand; and
76	76	(4) An assessment of potential energy source extraction and delivery
77	77	systems, emerging innovative energy sources, and energy storage.
78	78	(b) The reports must be:
79	79	(1) Distributed electronically to all members of the energy, agriculture
80	80	and natural resources committee of the senate and the committee of the house
81	81	of representatives with subject jurisdiction over energy; and
82	82	(2) Available on the department of economic and community
83	83	development's and the department of environment and conservation's websites.
84	84	The departments must jointly notify any person who has registered through the
85	85	department's website by email of the report's availability.
86	86	(c) The departments must establish the frequency future reports will be
87	87	distributed, with the longest interval between distributions being two (2) years.
88	88	SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-204-104, is amended by deleting
89	89	subdivision (d)(3) and substituting:
90	90	(3) In case of a vacancy in the membership on the council prior to the expiration
91	91	of a member's term, a successor must be appointed within thirty (30) days of the
92	92
93	93
94	94	- 4 - 002702
95	95
96	96	vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term by the appointing authority who made
97	97	the original appointment and in the same manner as the original appointment.
98	98	SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.