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Subcommittee approves bill to raise county mineral severance tax cap, adds delay for Revenue response
Summary
House Bill 695, as amended, would raise the statutory cap on county mineral severance tax (sand, gravel, sandstone, chert, limestone) from 15¢ per ton to higher caps phased over time; amendment 3678 extends Department of Revenue response time to 60 days. The committee approved the measure 7–0.
Chairman Baugh told the Cities & Counties Subcommittee on Feb. 19, 2025, that House Bill 695 would raise the statutory cap on county mineral severance taxes—currently capped at 15 cents per ton since 1985—and phase higher maximum caps over time to provide additional revenue for county roads.
Baugh said the bill, negotiated with the Tennessee County Highway Officials Association, the Tennessee Road Builders Association, and the aggregate industry, would raise the statutory maximum to 20 cents per ton by July 1, 2025, and then to higher caps in later phases; the sponsor described those later dates and amounts in testimony but did not provide full calendar-year specificity for each subsequent phase.
The committee also considered and adopted Amendment 3678, requested by the Department of Revenue, to give the department 60 days to react to any changes resulting from the bill rather than 30 days. With the amendment, the committee voted 7–0 to move the bill to the next available State and Local Government calendar.
