Subcommittee approves bill letting TPUC approval substitute for municipal franchise amendments in investor-owned gas company acquisitions

NASHVILLE — The Business Utility Subcommittee on Wednesday in January 2026 approved House Bill 796 as amended, a measure that would allow the Tennessee Public Utility Commission(TPUC) approval of an acquisition or change of control of an investor-owned natural gas company to stand in place of separate municipal franchise amendments.

Chairman Vaughn, the bill sponsor, told the panel the amendment (filed as 010429) limits the billto investor-owned natural gas companies regulated by the TPUC and excludes municipal gas systems and utility districts. "It applies only to investor owned natural gas companies who are regulated by TPUC, the Tennessee Public Utility Commission," Vaughn said during his explanation of the amendment.

The sponsor described practical effects the amendment is intended to address: when a company's assets are purchased and span many municipalities, requiring the purchaser to seek amendments to each municipal franchise creates duplicative calendar appearances and administrative burden. Under the change approved by the subcommittee, Vaughn said, TPUC review of the acquisition or change of control would cover transfer-of-franchise issues so companies would not have to amend every local franchise agreement individually.

Committee members did not ask substantive questions after the sponsor's explanation. The panel first adopted the amendment by voice vote; the chair declared, "The ayes have it. The bill is amended." The committee then voted on the bill as amended; the chair again announced that the ayes had it and said the bill passes. The measure now goes to the full Commerce Committee for further consideration.

Clerk/staff recorded that nine members were present at roll call and that the committee had a quorum. The transcript does not include roll-call tallies or names tied to individual yes/no votes on the final passage.

House Bill 1047, listed on the subcommittee notice as sponsored by Speaker Marsh, had been taken off notice and was not considered at this meeting.

What the bill does and what it does not: according to the sponsor's explanation on the record, the change applies only to investor-owned natural gas companies regulated by the TPUC and does not affect municipal gas systems or utility districts. The amendment specifically addresses transfers of franchises associated with an acquisition and is intended to streamline regulatory and municipal procedures when ownership changes are approved by the TPUC.

Next steps: HB 796, as amended, advances to the full Commerce Committee. No implementation dates, fiscal amounts, or detailed municipal procedures were specified during the subcommittee discussion.

Quotes used in this report are drawn from the subcommittee transcript; where the transcript contained inconsistent spellings for the newly introduced member, the article uses the full name that the member gave on the record: Representative Michael Lankford.