May 202 min read

Update on Legislative Adjournment and TN Specialty License Plate Bill

Welcome To TFTANews

The 113th Tennessee General Assembly adjourned Sine Die on Thursday, April 25. A General Assembly runs for two years and Sine Die — Latin for “without day” — is the official motion made to conclude the business of a General Assembly in its second year. The official signaling there is no plan or date recognized/set for the body to reconvene.

For practical purposes, it also means that any pending legislation can not be acted on and would have to be introduced as a new piece of legislation when the 114th TN General Assembly organizes and convenes in January of 2025.

Specialty License Plate Omnibus Bill

The Legislation Tn4Arts watches closely - the Specialty License Plate bill - passed

unanimously in both the Senate and House, and was signed by the Governor on April 29. It now has been assigned the notation of Public Chapter 804 by the Tennessee Secretary of State and goes into effect on July 1, 2024.

Public Chapter 804 created 19 new specialty plates and granted an extension for an additional year to 12 plates that did not reach the 1,000 plate threshold when initially passed in last year’s Omnibus bill. Once authorized, a new specialty plate has a year to pre-sell 1,000 plates which is the statutory requirement to go into production unless an extension of one year is requested. The request for an additional year is often seen in the Omnibus bill — pre-selling 1,000 plates is not an easy task.

In addition to the Specialty License Plate Omnibus bill, Tn4Arts carefully watches the

appropriations/budget process. This year’s appropriations bill was a 52.8 billion dollar budget that was a combination of the Governor’s originally proposed budget, the Governor’s supplemental recommendation and additions made by the General Assembly.

Thanking Our Retiring Art Caucus Members

The Sine Die end of a General Assembly also signals that it is election season. All 99 members of the House and the Senators serving in even-numbered Senate seats are up for reelection. It also is a time when members announce their retirement. Three members of the Arts Caucus will not be returning. From left to right, Representative Sam Whitson, R-Franklin, Representative Dewayne Thompson, D-Cordova and Senator Art Swann, R-Maryville will be stepping down.