Joint subcommittee recommends multi‑year extensions for boards and interstate compacts

The joint subcommittee on commerce, labor, transportation and agriculture recommended extensions for numerous boards and interstate compacts during a sunset hearing, advancing draft language that will appear in sunset bills during the 2027 legislative session.

The House members present voted by voice to recommend extensions for the Tennessee Transportation Financing Authority (six years), the Board of Professional Bondsmen (three years), the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (six years), the Tennessee Ag and Forestry Hall of Fame board (two years), the Southeastern Interstate Forest Fire Protection Compact (eight years), the Southern States Energy Board (eight years) and the Tennessee Aeronautics Commission (six years). The chair noted the Senate lacked a quorum and would not record votes; the committee’s recommendations will be forwarded to the government operations committee for final deliberation before placement on the session calendar.

Caroline Grassi, legislative director for the Comptroller’s Office, described the Tennessee Transportation Financing Authority as a conduit issuer created to support projects authorized under the state’s transportation modernization framework; she said the authority adopted an inducement resolution that enabled TDOT to secure a $2,000,000,000 allocation of federal private activity bonds for the I‑24 Choice Lanes project. Jordan Flynn, deputy general counsel for the Comptroller, and other presenters noted the authority meets as project milestones require.

Department of Commerce and Insurance staff summarized the recently established Board of Professional Bondsmen, citing Public Chapter 491 of 2025. Officials said licensure took effect January 1, 2026, with practice beginning March 1, 2026; the board reported roughly 750 individual bondsmen and about 200 bonding companies are licensed. Staff told the committee current fee levels were set using higher projections for licensees and that the program will be monitored monthly; they said the board expects to end the current fiscal year in the black but could operate in the red the following year depending on revenues, complaint volume and meeting frequency.

Officials for the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission outlined the commission’s role as an independent reviewer of contested TOSHA citations, described the review timeline (inspectors have up to 180 days to issue citations and employers have 20 days to contest), and asked the committee to recommend continued authorization.

Logan Hess, assistant commissioner at the Department of Agriculture, and Commissioner Andy Holt discussed the reconstituted Tennessee Ag and Forestry Hall of Fame (renamed in 2025); Holt cited a University of Tennessee estimate of a roughly $103.8 billion contribution from agriculture to the state economy and said three of nine board seats remain vacant while appointments are under consideration. Officials asked for additional time to fill vacancies and restart nomination work.

Presenters representing the Southeastern Interstate Forest and Fire Protection Compact and Tennessee Division of Forestry detailed the compact’s mutual‑aid functions for multi‑state wildfire response and said Tennessee has been reimbursed for recent assistance; they recommended continuing participation. Kimberly Gray of the Southern States Energy Board described SSEB’s regional role, Tennessee’s small annual appropriation ($34,267) and the board’s administration of federal funds for regional preparedness; committee members discussed SSEB’s financial reporting and the board’s interactions with utilities and policy trends across member states.

The Tennessee Aeronautics Commission described advising on airport planning and financial self‑sufficiency for general aviation airports and reported the TAC reviewed 36 airport improvement projects in fiscal years 2025 and 2026.

The committee’s voice votes carry recommendations only; the chair reiterated the Senate’s lack of quorum and that the proposals will be drafted into bills for formal consideration in 2027. The committee adjourned and said rule review would take place later the same day in House Hearing Room 1.