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Senate panel advances bill to reassert state regulation of hunting and fishing; lawmakers debate urban-safety limits
Summary
The committee advanced SB2028 to the calendar after adopting an amendment; the bill clarifies that the state, not municipalities, regulates the taking of wildlife, prompting questions from urban-area senators about public-safety exceptions and opposition from the Tennessee Municipal League.
The committee adopted an amendment to SB2028 and voted to send the bill to the calendar by roll call. Sponsor Vice Chair Lowe said the bill "clarifies that the state maintains the authority to regulate the taking of wildlife, including activities related to hunting and fishing," and that local ordinances cannot be used to contradict that authority. Lowe described the amendment as restating the state's jurisdiction while preserving criminal enforcement of public-safety laws.
Urban-area senators pressed sponsors on how the bill would operate where hunters and non-hunters might be in proximity (for example near schools or densely populated neighborhoods). Senator Campbell told the committee the Tennessee Municipal League opposes the bill as a loss of local control. Horace Tipton of the Tennessee Wildlife Federation testified that reckless-endangerment statutes (citing TCA 39-13-103) and an attorney general opinion mean criminal laws still apply; legal counsel Sean McMinn explained that the bill's defined terms ("notifiable" or "monitored" disease in later discussion) are tied to USDA definitions. The committee recorded 7 ayes and 2 noes on SB2028's final passage to the calendar.
