House Bill 808 amends Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-24-102, to provide counties experiencing significant economic distress the option to forgo increases in compensation for county officials. The bill designates the existing language as subdivision (d)(1) and introduces a new subdivision (d)(2). Under this new provision, if the Department of Economic and Community Development determines that a county has faced substantial economic distress in the previous fiscal year, the county's legislative body may pass a resolution to forgo the compensation increase. The minimum compensation for county officials will revert to the level it would have been without the resolution once the county is no longer deemed to be in economic distress or when new officials take office after the next county election.

The bill outlines criteria for determining "substantial characteristics of economic distress," which includes factors such as major job losses, high unemployment rates, low family incomes, and high poverty levels. The Department of Economic and Community Development is tasked with assessing each county's economic status annually by July 1, using relevant statistical data. The provisions regarding economic distress take effect immediately upon becoming law, while the other provisions will be effective starting July 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 8-24-102(d), 8-24-102