Tennessee legislation · 114th General Assembly
Tennessee SB599: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, relative to state government.
Status: Chaptered, May 27, 2026
Fiscal Summary NOT SIGNIFICANT Bill Summary ON FEBRUARY 19, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 599, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, terminate the James K. Polk Memorial Association and require the Tennessee historical commission ("commission") to enter into good faith negotiations for the purchase and transfer of the James K. Polk Home in Columbia. Present law conveyed the James K. Polk home to the James K. Polk Memorial Association in trust for the restoration and preservation of the property. This amendment authorizes the commission to expend funds appropriated or available to it for the repair, renovation, and restoration of the James K. Polk Home, and the improvement of the premises. This amendment provides that the commission will hold legal title to the James K. Polk Home. However, the commission may assign actual custody and control of the property to a Tennessee nonprofit corporation organized for the express purpose of restoring, maintaining, and operating the James K. Polk Home and its premises. Such a nonprofit corporation may operate and manage the James K. Polk Home on behalf of the commission for the general public and to keep the James K. Polk Home and property in a high state of improvement and repair in a manner consistent with guidelines promulgated by the commission. Present law requires the James K. Polk Memorial Associate to make an annual report to the governor of its performance in restoring and maintaining the James K. Polk Home. This amendment requires the commission to make such an annual report to the governor and the speakers of the senate and house of representatives. This amendment clarifies that it is not an appropriation of funds, and that funds must not be obligated or expended pursuant to it unless the funds are specifically app
What the bill says
From the amended text:
House State & Local Government 1 Amendment No. 1 to HB0519 Crawford Signature of Sponsor AMEND S e n ate Bill No. 599 House Bill No. 519* by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting: SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-13-201, is amended by deleting the section and substituting: The Tennessee historical commission shall enter into good faith negotiations for the purchase and transfer of a tract of land in the second ward of the city of Columbia, located on the corner of West Seventh Street and South High Street, known as the James K. Polk Home, originally conveyed to this state by George L. Reynolds and Bessie F. Reynolds by deed dated January 8, 1929, recorded in the registrar's office of Maury County, Tennessee, book 177, page 71, and subsequently conveyed in trust to the James K. Polk Memorial Association for its general welfare and maintenance, such trust now being terminated by the general assembly in accordance with § 4-13-204, as that section existed on June 30, 2026. SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-13-202, is amended by deleting the section and substituting: (a) The Tennessee historical commission may expend funds appropriated or available to it in the repair, renovation, and restoration of the James K. Polk Home, and the improvement of the premises for use …