Tennessee legislation · 114th General Assembly
Tennessee SB2658: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 29; Title 39 and Title 58, relative to workers responding to emergency declarations.
Status: Chaptered, May 27, 2026
Fiscal Summary NOT SIGNIFICANT Bill Summary ON APRIL 13, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENTS #1 AND #4 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2658, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill to make certain additions to present law for emergency utility workers. For purposes of this amendment, an "emergency utility worker" is an individual who: (1) Is employed by, or acting as an authorized contractor for, a privately, publicly, or cooperatively owned facility or system used to transmit or distribute communications, electricity, gas, liquids, steam, sewerage, or other materials to the public; and (2) Is engaged in the installation, maintenance, repair, or restoration of such facilities or systems during a state of emergency declared by the governor that is based on a natural emergency. During a state of emergency declared by the governor, this amendment authorizes an emergency utility worker to travel upon public roads and enter areas subject to curfew or restricted access orders when such access is necessary to perform emergency utilities restoration activities. This amendment requires state and local law enforcement agencies to allow reasonable access upon presentation of employer or contractor credentials by the emergency utility worker; provided, that law enforcement may address an immediate threat to public safety unrelated to emergency utilities restoration. Under present law, it is a Class A misdemeanor offense, punishable by a mandatory fine of $5,000 and a minimum 30 days incarceration, for a person to assault a first responder who is discharging or attempting to discharge the first responder's duties. The offense is enhanced to aggravated assault against a first responder, which carries a mandatory fine of $15,000 and a minimum 90 days incarceration, if the assault results in serious bodily injury or death of
What the bill says
An act or omission committed in good faith" in § 29-34216(a) in Section 4 and substituting instead "resulting from an act or omission of the emergency utility worker committed in good faith". AND FURTHER AMEND by adding the following subsection to § 29-34-216 in Section 4: (d) Notwithstanding subsection (a), this section does not provide immunity from civil liability to an employer of an emergency utility worker for the negligent acts or omissions of the employer or of the emergency utility worker. SA1001.
From the amended text: