Senate Bill 2199, known as the "Regulatory Freedom Act of 2026," amends the Tennessee Code Annotated to enhance oversight of administrative rules by requiring agencies to publish new or amended rules on their homepage and notify relevant trade associations at least 45 days before public hearings. The bill introduces a definition for "fiscal impact statement," which estimates the actual compliance costs of new or amended rules, excluding speculative costs. Agencies must generate these statements for rules expected to have a negative fiscal impact, and they are required to include feedback from affected industries in their reports. Additionally, the bill mandates independent reviews by the fiscal review committee for rules with significant fiscal impacts and allows agencies to repeal rules under certain conditions.

The legislation also stipulates that agencies must file a fiscal impact statement if a rule is anticipated to have a negative fiscal impact exceeding one million dollars over five years, or one year for emergency rules. Such rules will only take effect upon majority approval from both the house of representatives and the senate, following the joint government operations committee's approval. Furthermore, agencies must file a fiscal impact statement within 45 days after an emergency rule takes effect, with the rule expiring after 180 days unless approved by the general assembly if the statement indicates a negative fiscal impact exceeding one million dollars. The act is set to take effect on January 1, 2027, and applies to rules for which a notice has not been filed with the secretary of state prior to that date.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 4-5-203(a)(2), 4-5-203, 4-5-226, 4-5-208
Amended with HA1046 -- 04/13/2026: 4-5-203(a)(2), 4-5-203, 4-5-226, 4-5-208, 4-5-102