---
type: "Bill"
title: "Tennessee Fish & Wildlife Commission - As enacted, authorizes the executive director of the wildlife resources agency to enter into agreements with local law enforcement agencies for the purpose of enforcing wildlife management laws and rules; creates a criminal offense for feeding black bears under certain circumstances. - Amends TCA Title 70."
description: "Tennessee Fish & Wildlife Commission - As enacted, authorizes the executive director of the wildlife resources agency to enter into agreements with local law enforcement agencies for the purpose of enforcing wildlife management laws and rules; creates a criminal offense for feeding black bears under certain circumstances. - Amends TCA Title 70."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "114"
identifier: "SB 2597"
citation: "Tennessee SB 2597 (114)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Tennessee Fish & Wildlife Commission"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Southerland"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 22
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2026-02-02"
last_action: "2026-05-04"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/a9a4628d-7185-4b05-9258-81c73991a9b0"
source_url: "https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default?BillNumber=SB2597&ga=114"
source_hash: "a7efe2ac6f4f9cc454e81b2313ec2a247766c1ea074ecb67591815ebd1e79ca3"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-tn"]
---

# Tennessee SB 2597 (114) — Tennessee Fish & Wildlife Commission - As enacted, authorizes the executive director of the wildlife resources agency to enter into agreements with local law enforcement agencies for the purpose of enforcing wildlife management laws and rules; creates a criminal offense for feeding black bears under certain circumstances. - Amends TCA Title 70.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Amendment HA0622** (committee substitute) — [source](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Amend/HA0622.pdf)
2. **Amendment SA0595** (committee substitute) — [source](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Amend/SA0595.pdf)
3. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Bill/SB2597.pdf)

## Votes

- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 3/30/2026 Passed (1) — **84–3** (pass) · lower
- SENATE ENERGY, AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 8, Nays 0 PNV 0 3/4/2026 Passed — **8–0** (pass) · upper
- FLOOR VOTE: as Amended Third Consideration 3/16/2026 Passed (1) — **30–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Southerland — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2026-02-02** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2026-02-02** Sponsor change. `sponsorship`
- **2026-02-02** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2026-02-05** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Energy, Ag., and Nat. Resources Committee `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-25** Placed on Senate Energy, Ag., and Nat. Resources Committee calendar for 3/4/2026
- **2026-03-04** Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 8, Nays 0 PNV 0
- **2026-03-13** Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/16/2026
- **2026-03-16** Sponsor(s) Added. `sponsorship`
- **2026-03-16** Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 30, Nays 0 `passage`
- **2026-03-16** Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0595)
- **2026-03-16** Engrossed; ready for transmission to House `receipt`
- **2026-03-19** Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
- **2026-03-30** Passed H., Ayes 84, Nays 3, PNV 1 `passage`
- **2026-03-30** Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0622) `amendment-withdrawal`
- **2026-03-30** Subst. for comp. HB. `substitution`
- **2026-04-01** Signed by Senate Speaker `passage`
- **2026-04-01** Enrolled and ready for signatures `enrolled`
- **2026-04-02** Transmitted to Governor for action. `executive-receipt`
- **2026-04-02** Signed by H. Speaker `passage`
- **2026-04-14** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2026-05-04** Effective date(s) 07/01/2026
- **2026-05-04** Pub. Ch. 738

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/a9a4628d-7185-4b05-9258-81c73991a9b0`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).