Criminal Offenses - As enacted, creates a Class A misdemeanor offense of intentionally moving, altering, destroying, or removing a monument the person knows, or reasonably should know, is a property corner monument, hist, the official text

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Staie f/Jennessee

                            PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 1097

                                                    SENATE BILL NO. 1814

                                                       By Bailey, Bowling

                                           Substituted for: House Bill No. 2026

                         By Williams, Lamberth, Powell, McCalmon, Wright, Hawk, Todd

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39; Title 62, Chapter 18 and Title 66, relative to
          land surveying monuments.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:

          SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 1, is amended by adding
the following as a new section:

                    (a) As used in this section:

                              (1) "Geodetic control monument" means a land surveying monument
                    established by licensed professional land surveyors and governmental agencies. A
                    geodetic control monument may be in the form of, but is not limited to, a metal pin,
                    aluminum disk, brass disk, or other permanent or semi-permanent object, set in soil,
                    concrete, or rock, and must be marked as a control point or with "do not disturb" or
                    other language to identify the monument's purpose;

                              (2) "Historic land surveying monument" means a land surveying monument
                    established by federal, state, or local governments establishing a state boundary line,
                    county boundary line, or city boundary line; and

                              (3) "Property corner monument" means a land surveying monument
                    established by a licensed professional land surveyor to identify property corners or
                    property lines, the location and description of which are described in a recorded
                    document in the register of deeds office of any county in this state. A property corner
                    monument may be any permanent or semi-permanent object, including, but not
                    limited to:

                                        (A) Iron or steel pipes, rebar, spikes, nails, or rods;

                                        (B) Concrete markers, including highway right-of-way markers;

                                        (C) Stone or rock, whether natural or set;

                                        (D) Trees, stumps, or temporary wooden stakes;

                                        (E) Markings or scribes made on trees, concrete, or metal; and

                                        (F) Such other monuments as may be described in deeds, on plats,
                              and in other instruments of record.

                    (b)(1) It is an offense for a person to intentionally move without replacing, alter,
                    destroy, or remove a monument the person knows, or reasonably should know, is a
                    property corner monument, historic land surveying monument, or geodetic control
                    monument.
SB 1814
                              (2) As used in subdivision (b)(1), "person" does not include an employee or

                    contractor of the department of transportation when engaged in the discharge of the
                    employee's or contractor's official duties on behalf of the department.

                              (3) A violation of subdivision (b)(1) is a Class A misdemeanor.
          SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.

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         SENATE BILL NO. 1814

PASSED:  April 21, 2026

                                                        RANDY ~NALLY
                                           SPEAKER OF THE SENATE

                         CAMERO~EXTON, SPEAKER
                         HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

t'Y\-,_, APPROVED this ::J;)..wJ., day of  ~  2026

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                      BILL LEE, GOVERNOR