Utilities, Utility Districts - As enacted, prohibits the comptroller of the treasury, in determining whether a utility system is financially distressed, from considering the straight-line depreciation of an asset acquired or completed in the 12 calendar months preceding the audit, so long as the asset's depreciation is calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and if this prohibition is approved by a simple majority vote of the governing body of a utility system at a meeting of the governing body. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 9; Title 65; Title 67 and Title 68.

This law changes how the state comptroller evaluates whether a utility system is financially struggling. When making this determination, the comptroller must now ignore the depreciation value of any equipment or infrastructure purchased or finished in the last 12 months, provided the utility's leaders voted to allow this exclusion. The rule applies only if the utility follows standard accounting methods and explicitly approves the change through a majority vote of its governing board. By removing these recent asset costs from the financial assessment, the bill alters how the state calculates the financial health of utility systems across Tennessee.