Citizen Portal
Sign In

Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!

Get email alerts on the Homeland Security topic

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Committee moves bill to enshrine Homeland Security office in statute

State and Local Government Committee, Tennessee House of Representatives · March 19, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Members advanced HB 16‑39 to put the state’s Homeland Security office into statute; sponsor said the office has functioned under executive order and the bill lists duties and responsibilities in code.

House Bill 16-39 was placed on the committee calendar with an amendment and advanced to calendar and rules. Chairman Doggett, the sponsor, told members the Department/Office of Homeland Security has been operating under executive order for about 20 years and the bill would put its duties and responsibilities into statute.

Representative Dixie asked how terrorism is defined in the legislation; Chairman Doggett replied that the relevant definitions already exist in code and that the bill’s purpose is to codify responsibilities and authorities that the office has performed since 9/11.

The committee voted to advance the bill; the clerk reported 19 ayes and 2 nos.