Game and Fish Laws - As enacted, increases the criminal classification for hunting on the land of another without permission from a Class C misdemeanor to a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by a fine only, not to exceed $500 per violation. - Amends TCA Title 70.

114th Regular Session (2025-2026) Introduced by Caleb Hemmer

Restores local governments’ authority to initiate down-zoning with retroactive effect to December 11, 2024.

Comp. became Pub. Ch. 407

Main purpose / intent

Reinstate the authority of local governments to initiate down‑zoning (i.e., to reduce zoning density/intensity or otherwise restrict previously allowed uses) by repealing a provision of prior session law that limited or removed that authority. The bill expressly makes the change retroactive to December 11, 2024 so that affected ordinances revert to their status as of that date.

Key provisions

Repeals Section 3K.1 of S.L. 2024‑57. (Section 3K.1 was the prior law provision that restricted or eliminated the ability of local governments to initiate down‑zoning.)

States that the act is effective upon becoming law and applies retroactively to December 11, 2024.

Provides that any ordinance adopted and affected by Section 3K.1 of S.L. 2024‑57 “shall be in effect as it was on or before December 11, 2024.” In practice this restores local action taken before that date that was altered or invalidated by Section 3K.1.

Who/what is affected

Local governments (municipalities and counties): regain the explicit authority to initiate and adopt down‑zoning measures.

Property owners and developers: zoning changes initiated by local governments can reduce permitted density, change allowed uses, or impose new restrictions; this can affect development plans, property valuations, and ongoing permit reviews.

Planning and permitting processes: zoning map amendments and local comprehensive plan implementation will be impacted where down‑zoning is pursued.

Potentially state and local budgets: while the bill itself has no direct appropriation, changes in land use and property values can have secondary fiscal effects on tax bases and development activity.

Practical/legal implications

Restores a traditional tool of land‑use regulation for local governments (allowing local legislative bodies to file rezonings that reduce permitted intensity or uses).

Retroactivity may revive or validate ordinances, decisions, or local actions that were otherwise nullified or constrained by Section 3K.1 after December 11, 2024.

Could prompt legal challenges (e.g., takings, vested‑rights, due‑process claims) from property owners affected by newly revived or newly adopted down‑zoning ordinances.

Localities should follow standard procedural requirements (notice, hearings, record‑making) when adopting down‑zoning to strengthen defensibility.

Procedural status / timeline (as of supplied records)

Introduced: August 15, 2025. Read first time: August 18, 2025. Referred to Natural Resources (per the bill text record).

Public hearing and committee consideration held August 21, 2025; committee substitute considered and testimony recorded. The bill was left pending in committee.

Later action: Serial referral to Housing and Development was stricken (bill removed from that serial referral). Current status: pending committee action (left pending in committee as of Aug 21, 2025).

Bottom line

HB 24 is narrowly focused: it removes a statutory restriction (Section 3K.1 of S.L. 2024‑57) and restores local governments’ authority to initiate down‑zoning, with retroactive effect to December 11, 2024. The change re‑empowers local legislative bodies but may produce immediate impacts on development projects, property owners’ expectations, and litigation risk where down‑zoning is pursued.

Bill