Summary of Senate Bill 987 (SB 987) – 114th Tennessee General Assembly
Purpose
SB 987 would create parking-fee exemptions at Tennessee airports for motor vehicles displaying certain military or memorial license plates. The bill extends exemptions to both in-state and out-of-state disabled veteran and military award plates when the vehicle is used to transport the owner/lessee or a disabled veteran.
Key Provisions
New exemptions across multiple sections
The bill adds new sections to Tennessee Code:
- Title 42, Chapter 3, Part 1
- Title 42, Chapter 4
- Title 42, Chapter 5, Part 1
For each of these chapters, a motor vehicle bearing an eligible military or memorial license plate is exempt from airport parking fees charged by authorities (excluding federal government branches) when the vehicle is used to transport:
- The owner or lessee of the vehicle, or
- A disabled veteran (as defined in state law: §§ 55-4-256 or 55-4-277)
Eligible license plates (same list across sections)
Eligible plates include, but are not limited to:
- Congressional Medal of Honor, under § 55-4-258
- Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, Air Force Cross, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star (Valor), or Air Medal (Valor), under § 55-4-259
- Purple Heart, under § 55-4-257
- Disabled Veteran, under § 55-4-256
- Disabled Veteran (service-connected), under § 55-4-277
- Former Prisoner of War, under § 55-4-261
- Bronze Star (Meritorious) or Air Medal (Meritorious), under § 55-4-260
- Legion of Merit, under § 55-4-275
- A disabled veteran license plate issued by another state
Note: The same list appears in Sections 1, 2, and 3 of the bill, across the three referenced title chapters.
Effective date
- The act would take effect July 1, 2025.
Affected Parties
Who benefits
- Vehicle owners or lessees displaying an eligible military or memorial license plate.
- Specifically, both in-state and out-of-state (disabled veteran) plates are covered, expanding the pool beyond Tennessee-issued plates.
Who is affected financially
- Airports and airport authorities (local government entities) would experience a loss of parking-fee revenue from vehicles meeting the exemption criteria.
- The state would not directly lose parking-fee revenue, as airport-related property is exempt from state and local taxation, but local governments (cities/counties hosting airports) would bear the revenue impact.
Fiscal and Administrative Impact
Revenue impact
- Estimated recurring loss in local airport parking-fee revenue beginning FY25-26:
- Total statewide impact: about $3.72 million annually (local revenue loss).
- Distribution across major Tennessee airports is approximated in the fiscal note (Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Blountville) with calculated shares based on population and airport usage.
Expenditure impact
- Airports would need additional staff to verify eligibility for exemptions:
- Approximately 4 additional employees per airport, totaling about 20 statewide.
- Recurring local expenditures to support these staff:
- Estimated at about $873,600 annually, beginning FY25-26.
Compliance and administration
- The bill requires airport authorities to verify that the vehicle displays an eligible plate and to determine that the vehicle is being used to transport the owner/lessee or a disabled veteran.
- The existing framework for parking-fee exemptions would be amended to include Sections 1, 2, and 3 of this act, expanding the scope of exemptions.
Procedural Timeline
- Introduced and referred to Senate committees:
- February 5, 2025: Filed for introduction
- February 10, 2025: Passed on First Consideration
- February 12, 2025: Passed on Second Consideration; referred to Senate Transportation and Safety Committee
- Effective date set for July 1, 2025, contingent on passage.
Caveats and Considerations
- The fiscal impact relies on the assumption that disabled-veteran and military award plate holders frequently travel via personal vehicles and that a subset would use airport parking.
- The size of local revenue loss is sensitive to actual parking rates and utilization patterns at each airport.
- The state is not known to own airport parking lots, so no direct state-revenue loss is anticipated; the impact is primarily on local airport authorities.
If you’d like, I can tailor this summary for a specific audience (e.g., policymakers, airport administrators, or veterans groups) or provide a one-page briefing with bullet-point highlights.
