House Agriculture committee advances oil‑and‑gas rewrite and 'Hunting for Heroes' license bill

The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on March 17 advanced two measures: House Bill 2535, a revision of the Tennessee Production of Oil and Gas Act, and House Bill 2550, the "Hunting for Heroes" Act. Both bills were approved on committee voice vote tallies recorded by the clerk and will move on to further review in other committees.

Representative Grills presented House Bill 2535 and told the committee it "modernizes the Tennessee Production of Oil and Gas Act," originally enacted in 1943, by updating outdated definitions, removing duplicative and conflicting statutory provisions, and clarifying permitting, reporting and operational requirements while maintaining environmental protections. After limited discussion, the clerk reported the committee vote as 13 ayes, 0 nays and 1 present, not voting; the committee advanced HB 2535 to the Government Operations Committee.

Representative Wright introduced House Bill 2550, the "Hunting for Heroes" Act, describing it as a measure to allow a member of the Tennessee National Guard with a valid U.S. military identification and verification by the adjutant general to qualify for a no‑cost sportsman's license comparable to a residential annual sportsman's license. The clerk recorded the vote on HB 2550 as 14 ayes, 0 nays; the committee advanced the bill to the Finance Committee.

The committee took both votes as part of its regular calendar and recorded the procedural outcomes above; no amendments or roll‑call member names beyond the clerk's tallies were provided in the committee record. The next steps are referral to the Government Operations Committee for HB 2535 and to the Finance Committee for HB 2550.

Actions recorded in committee: HB 2535 advanced to Government Operations (vote: 13‑0 with 1 present, not voting); HB 2550 advanced to Finance (vote: 14‑0).