TVA Service Area Utilities Grant Fund; establish, and fund with g.o. bonds and diversion of TVA payments in lieu of taxes.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Hob Bryan and 3 co-sponsors

Creates the TVA Service Area Utilities Grant Fund, funded by G.O. bonds and diverted TVA PILOT payments, to grant infrastructure support to utilities in the TVA service area.

Died In Committee

#finance #waysandmeans

Summary — SB 2844

Title: TVA Service Area Utilities Grant Fund; establish, and fund with g.o. bonds and diversion of TVA payments in lieu of taxes
Bill No.: SB 2844
Introduced: March 14, 2025
Status: Died In Committee (recorded 2025-03-18)
Subject: Finance / Ways and Means
Primary Sponsors: KIDANI; WAKAI; FEVELLA. Cosponsor: San Buenaventura
Companion Bill: HB 1543

Purpose / Intent

SB 2844 would create a dedicated grant program — the "TVA Service Area Utilities Grant Fund" — to provide financial assistance to utilities that operate within the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) service territory. The bill proposes to capitalize that fund by authorizing general obligation (G.O.) bonds and by diverting TVA payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) to the new fund. The stated intent is to support utility infrastructure needs in the TVA service area through targeted grant awards.

Key Provisions (as summarized from title/summary)

Establishment of a TVA Service Area Utilities Grant Fund for grant-making to eligible utilities.

Authorization to issue general obligation bonds to provide initial or continuing capital for the Fund.

Redirection/diversion of TVA payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) into the Fund as an ongoing revenue source.

Implicit authorization for a state entity to administer the Fund and set eligibility, award criteria, and reporting requirements (specifics not provided in the available summary).

Note: The full bill text would define eligible recipients, permissible uses (e.g., capital projects, resilience upgrades, operations), grant application and award processes, and administrative oversight. Those details were not provided in the materials supplied.

Who Would Be Affected

Utilities operating within the TVA service territory (public power utilities, municipal or cooperative utilities, possibly investor-owned utilities depending on statutory definitions).

Local governments and other entities that currently receive TVA PILOT distributions — because diverting PILOTs would change funding flows.

State fiscal condition — issuance of G.O. bonds increases state-supported debt and would create future debt-service obligations.

Fiscal and Policy Implications

New state borrowing (G.O. bonds) increases long-term debt and requires annual debt-service appropriations.

Diverting TVA PILOTs reduces revenues available for their current uses (local government distributions or state general fund), shifting those dollars to utility grants.

Potential benefits include accelerated utility infrastructure investment, improved resilience and service, and local economic impacts where projects are implemented.

Legislative / Procedural History

Introduced March 14, 2025; referred sequentially to relevant committees (Finance; Ways & Means; Water, Agriculture & Rural Affairs; Culture, Recreation & Tourism).

Committee activity and hearings were recorded; companion bill HB 1543 exists.

Official status in the provided record: Died In Committee (2025-03-18). The legislative log also contains later entries (readings, amendments, and passage actions dated through April 2025); however, the bill’s stated final status is that it did not advance out of committee.

If you want, I can:
- Pull up and summarize the full bill text (if available), including eligibility, governance, and appropriation sections; or
- Compare SB 2844 to companion HB 1543 to see whether differences exist.