TLRC position
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2026 · Government · Property
Requires airport authorities to compensate property owners upon acquiring their property.
HB 2037 / SB 2120
Bill description
Require airport authorities to pay enhanced compensation, appraisal and relocation costs, interest differences, and attorneys' fees when taking private property.
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 29 and Title 42, relative to the exercise of eminent domain by airport authorities.
Bill sponsors
TLRC statement
The “Tennessee Just Compensation for Property Owners Act” would impose enhanced compensation requirements on any airport authority that uses eminent domain to condemn private land. Under current law, airport authorities follow general condemnation procedures in Title 29, but this bill would supersede those provisions for airport takings and guarantee landowners:
• The right to choose a certified appraiser (with court-appointed backup if needed) and a 150% multiplier on the average appraisal value;
• Recovery of relocation costs for household or business property (based on three competitive estimates);
• Damages for lost wages and profits if a business must move;
• Damages to cover any increase in loan-interest costs caused by relocation;
• Attorneys’ fees and other costs, plus any additional damages needed to make the owner “financially whole”;
• The requirement that all of these payments be made before the authority can take possession of the property.
By layering these enhanced remedies onto airport takings, the bill effectively raises the price and procedural hurdles for any authority seeking land for runway expansions, hangars, or other airport projects.