Tennessee legislation · 114th General Assembly
Tennessee HB2381: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 7; Title 13, Chapter 7; Title 65 and Title 68, relative to utilities.
Status: Chaptered, May 27, 2026
Fiscal Summary NOT SIGNIFICANT Bill Summary ON MARCH 23, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2213, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #2, rewrites the bill to, instead, require a utility to provide material that is required for construction of utility infrastructure for the customer's or approved contractor's use at the same price as the utility paid for the material, if such material is available only from the utility. Present law prohibits a utility from requiring that materials or services from the construction of the utility infrastructure be provided by a specific vendor or contractor, unless necessary for the quality or integrity of the utility's system. Present law requires a utility in this state to provide a customer of the utility or person submitting a plan of development to the utility with the option to use an approved contractor or approved contractors of the customer's choosing for the installation of such utility infrastructure. This amendment authorizes a customer or approved contractor installing utility infrastructure to install street lights. However, a utility is prohibited from requiring a customer or approved contractor from installing street lights. Present law authorizes a utility to charge a reasonable fee for inspections of the installation and construction of the utility infrastructure in a plan of development, including any materials used in the construction. A utility may also charge a reasonable fee for reviewing plans and designs for utility infrastructure within a plan of development when a utility does not customarily prepare plans and designs for such infrastructure. This amendment prohibits these fees from exceeding a combined total of 10% of the proposed cost of the project.
What the bill says
From the amended text:
House Commerce 1 Amendment No. 1 to HB2381 Vaughan Signature of Sponsor AMEND S e n ate Bill No. 2213* House Bill No. 2381 by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting: SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 7-51-2703, is amended by adding the following as a new subsection: (c) If a material that is required for the construction of the utility infrastructure is available only from the utility, then the utility must provide that material for the customer's or approved contractor's use at the same price as the utility paid for the material. The utility shall not require the customer or approved contractor to pay taxes on the materials above the amount of taxes that the utility paid when acquiring the materials. The utility shall provide an itemized statement of the cost of materials sold to a customer or approved contractor pursuant to this subsection (c). SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 7-51-2702, is amended by adding the following as a new subsection: (g) A customer or approved contractor installing utility infrastructure pursuant to this section may, but is not required to, install street lights. A utility shall not require a customer or approved contractor to install street lights when installing utility infrastructure in accordance with this section. SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 7-51-2704(a)(1), is amended …