Legislation that would further the state’s authority over the The Boring Company’s Music City Loop project is moving forward.
The "Subterranean Transportation Infrastructure Coordination Act" advanced in the House Government Operations Committee on Monday. Lawmakers debated the legislation, which now includes a 39-page amendment to create two state governmental entities in charge of overseeing any underground transportation projects in Tennessee — with the only current such project being the Music City Loop, planned to stretch from the Nashville International Airport to downtown.
Sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) and Rep. Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville), the legislation would establish the Governor's Infrastructure Coordination Council, made up of commissioners from various state departments and other executive branch officials as deemed fit by the governor. The council would be responsible for coordinating a review of the project among state departments and agencies.
The legislation would also create the Subterranean Transportation Infrastructure Coordination Authority, which would be responsible for resolving disputes, hearing appeals and “exercising the powers necessary to facilitate the construction, operation, and maintenance of a transit project.”
The authority would be composed of members appointed by the governor and speakers of the House and Senate. In addition, the authority would be allowed to condemn public lands owned by local governments.
The recently filed amendment would now allow the authority to have up to three employees only, down from Johnson’s original proposal to hire 20 people at a $5 million cost to the state. This change helped bring the bill’s fiscal note down to just below $900,000 annually, though the sponsors argue that the project will result in increased state and local tax revenues that will offset the cost.
While construction on the Music City Loop is underway in Nashville, The Boring Company has expressed interest in expanding the tunnel system across Tennessee. Garrett said during Monday’s committee that the purpose of the legislation is to create “uniformity” and “efficiency” for the tunnel framework throughout the state.
“That’s why we’re taking a very unique approach,” said Garrett. “And we hope that this approach will be mimicked or followed by other states.”
Sen. Charlane Oliver, Councilmember Delishia Porterfield sponsor resolutions against Boring tunnel project
Democrats at both the state and local level have opposed both the Music City Loop and the current legislation, which they see as a form of stripping local officials and entities from oversight regarding tunnels that run underneath their communities.
“This is a threat to your local town, your community, your town square, the rights of your citizens’ private property,” House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) said to his fellow lawmakers on Monday. “This isn’t just about Nashville. This is a threat to everyone.”
Clemmons also noted his concerns about the ability of local authorities to respond to potential emergencies in the tunnels due to legislative provisions that give any company operating the tunnel “exclusive authority for initial emergency response, emergency medical services, fire suppression, life safety, and security operations between the points designated for entry into and exit from a transit project.”
“A local governmental entity shall not assert concurrent jurisdiction over emergency response activities located between the points for entry into and exit from the transit project unless requested by the operator,” the bill reads.
The bill passed 8-4 along party lines in the House committee on Monday. It is set to be heard in the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee and Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee in the coming weeks.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
