County Government - As introduced, authorizes a county to forgo the automatic compensation increase for county officers if the department of economic and community development determines that the county experienced substantial characteristics of economic distress in the preceding fiscal year. - Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 24.

SB 1197 allows Tennessee counties to skip automatic annual salary increases for county officials if the Department of Economic and Community Development determines the county faced "substantial economic distress" (based on unemployment, income, and poverty data) in the prior fiscal year. Counties must pass a resolution to forgo the increase, and officials' minimum pay remains frozen at the lower level until the department declares the distress ended or after the next county election. This directly affects county officials' compensation in counties meeting the economic distress criteria. The bill creates a temporary freeze mechanism tied to state economic data, with automatic reinstatement of higher pay when conditions improve or following a new election cycle.