Finance, Ways and Means advances seven bills to calendar and rules; eminent-domain changes draw sustained debate

The Finance, Ways and Means Committee met March 11, 2025, and voted to move seven bills to calendar and rules, including House Bill 444, which would change the statutory phrase “blighted area” to “blighted property” in Tennessee law and place limits on eminent-domain transfers of agricultural land to private parties. All seven bills before the committee were approved and will advance to calendar and rules.

The change in HB 444 prompted the most extended discussion. Chairman Halsey, the bill’s sponsor, described the measure as narrowing the scope of condemnation so that housing authorities and development agencies could take only specifically blighted parcels rather than entire neighborhoods. Representative Freeman and other members pressed the sponsor for examples; Halsey cited two prior cases in which broad condemnation was attempted. Committee members also asked whether the bill adds a new rule that agricultural land may be taken only for public use; the sponsor said the bill does impose that limit but acknowledged he was not certain whether that restriction already exists in current law.

Other bills advanced with briefer discussion:

- House Bill 65 (Chairman Balso): Creates a discretionary…