House Bill 695 amends the Tennessee Code Annotated regarding the mineral severance tax, specifically updating the tax rates that county legislative bodies can impose on the severance of certain minerals, including sand, gravel, sandstone, chert, and limestone. The bill establishes a tiered tax rate structure: fifteen cents per ton for tax periods beginning before July 1, 2025; twenty cents per ton for periods starting between July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2030; twenty-five cents per ton for periods from July 1, 2030, to July 1, 2035; and thirty cents per ton for periods starting on or after July 1, 2035. Additionally, it requires counties to provide an annual report detailing revenue from the tax and its expenditures related to road construction and maintenance.

The bill also allows county legislative bodies to increase the tax rate by a two-thirds majority vote and mandates that any new tax rate will not take effect until at least thirty days after the Department of Revenue receives a certified copy of the resolution. Furthermore, it redesignates existing subsections and adds new reporting requirements for counties receiving revenue from the mineral severance tax. The act is set to take effect upon becoming law.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 67-7-203(a), 67-7-203, 67-7-201, 67-7-207(b), 67-7-207, 67-7-212