Tennessee legislation · 114th General Assembly
Tennessee HB1870: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5; Title 6; Title 38 and Title 68, relative to fire investigation.
Status: Chaptered, May 5, 2026
Fiscal Summary NOT SIGNIFICANT Bill Summary Present law grants police power to the following individuals in the following circumstances: The commissioner of commerce and insurance and the commissioner's deputies have police powers and the right to make arrests when necessary to preserve the law in the department, and may, in addition to investigations made by any of the commissioner's assistants, at any time make further investigations as to the origin or circumstances of any fire occurring in this state, by the appointment of special assistants or the employment of other means necessary in the commissioner's discretion. Municipal fire investigators who have been authorized by the chief of the municipal fire department or the director of fire services to conduct investigations relative to the cause and origin of fires and/or arson investigations also have police powers and the right to make arrests when necessary to preserve the laws of this state or their respective municipalities relative to cases of arson or suspected arson. Salaried county fire investigators who have been authorized by the chief of the countywide fire department or the director of fire services to conduct investigations relative to the cause and origin of fires or arson investigations have police powers and the right to make arrests when necessary to preserve the laws of this state or their respective jurisdiction relative to cases of arson or suspected arson. This bill removes the authority described above and, instead, generally requires a person to be certified by the peace officer standards and training commission (POST) in order to have police powers to make arrests in all of the following circumstances: The commissioner of commerce and insurance and the commissioner's deputies have police powers when necessary to preserve the law rel
What the bill says
From the amended text:
House State & Local Government 1 Amendment No. 1 to HB1870 Crawford Signature of Sponsor AMEND S e n ate Bill No. 2005 House Bill No. 1870* by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting: SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-102-127, is amended by deleting the section and substituting: (a) (1) The commissioner of commerce and insurance and the commissioner's deputies have police powers when necessary to preserve the law relative to cases of arson or suspected arson, including the power to make arrests; provided, that, the individual seeking to exercise the powers has a current certification from the peace officer standards and training commission (POST). In addition, the commissioner and the commissioner's deputies may conduct further investigations as to the origin or circumstances of a fire occurring in this state by the appointment of special assistants or the employment of other means necessary in the commissioner's discretion. (2) Subdivision (a)(1) does not prohibit the commissioner or the commissioner's deputies from otherwise conducting investigations as to the origin or circumstances of a fire occurring in this state without a current certification from POST if the commissioner or the commissioner's deputy is not exercising police powers in conducting the investigation. (b) (1) A municipal fire investigator has police powers, including the power to make arrests, when necessary to …