114 session

Boards and Commissions - As enacted, removes requirement that a license issued by a health related board be signed by members of the board prior to such issuance; authorizes the presiding officer to divide the board into panels to conduct contested case hearings or disciplinary matters; includes patient billing records as part of the medical and practice records that providers must make available for inspection upon the department's request; clarifies that identifying information of certain parties to a contested case hearing involving disciplinary charges filed against a provider must only be produced by the provider in response to a subpoena from a law enforcement agency. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 63 and Title 68.

2025-04-08 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 127

State Employees - As enacted, expands bereavement leave for certain state officers and employees upon the death of certain relatives. - Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 50, Part 1.

2025-04-08 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 74

Employees, Employers - As introduced, changes the maximum penalty amount from $7,000 for each violation by an employer of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1972, and from $70,000 for each willful and repeated violation of the act, to the maximum penalty allowed by the federal occupational safety and health administration. - Amends TCA Title 50, Chapter 3, Part 4.

2025-02-12 — Assigned to s/c Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, creates the criminal offense of threatening to commit an act of mass violence; creates the criminal offense of posting on a publicly accessible website the telephone number or home address of an individual with the intent to cause harm or a threat of harm to the individual or a member of the individual's family or household. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 13, Part 8 and Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 3.

2025-05-27 — Effective date(s) 07/01/2025

DUI Offenses - As enacted, requires an ignition interlock provider to permit a person to appear for calibration, monitoring, or inspection of the device at any time within a two-week period; authorizes a court to order reinstatement of a person’s driver license if the person has no other revocations or suspensions on the person’s driving record and the person’s only noncompliance with ignition interlock requirements has been with regard to the required calibration, monitoring, or inspection of the ignition interlock device; makes various other changes in regard to ignition interlock devices and the ignition interlock usage period. - Amends TCA Section 55-10-417 and Section 55-10-425.

2025-04-30 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 184

Driver Licenses - As enacted, prohibits the use of digital driver licenses and digital photo identification licenses for voter identification purposes; regulates the use, retention, and disclosure of data submitted by persons participating in the digital driver license system, including biometric identifiers; prohibits geolocation data from being collected for purposes of the digital driver license system; revises other provisions related to driver licenses. - Amends TCA Section 2-7-112 and Title 55, Chapter 50.

2025-04-28 — Effective date(s) 04/24/2025

Safety, Dept. of - As enacted, removes present law that requires an offender sentenced to a period of incarceration for a DUI to begin their sentence within 30 days of conviction or, if space is not immediately available in the appropriate municipal or county jail or workhouse within such time, as soon as such space is available; requires, instead, the sentencing court to determine when such an offender is required to commence service of their sentence. - Amends TCA Title 55 and Title 65.

2026-05-05 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 819

Insurance, Health, Accident - As enacted, extends the Access Tennessee health insurance program from June 30, 2025, to June 30, 2030. - Amends TCA Section 56-7-2916.

2025-04-30 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 185

Health Care - As enacted, extends the CoverKids program from June 30, 2025, to June 30, 2030. - Amends TCA Section 71-3-1113.

2025-04-08 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 130

Transportation, Dept. of - As enacted, in the event of a transportation system failure or other emergency, grants the commissioner emergency contracting authority to enter into contracts for design-build, construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC), and progressive design-build (PDB) services for the delivery of transportation projects; exempts the department from having to identify such contracts exceeding $100 million in its transportation improvement program submitted annually to the general assembly in support of its annual funding recommendations, if they are issued under such emergency contracting authority; makes other revisions to the CM/GC and PDB process. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 12 and Title 54.

2025-04-08 — Effective date(s) 07/01/2025, 07/01/2029

Tourist Development, Dept. of - As enacted, creates a marketing division within the department to replace the tourism division; authorizes the department to enter into agreements with the department of transportation to assist with maintenance of welcome center facilities; creates a welcome centers division within the department to oversee such centers throughout the state; directs the commissioner of finance and administration to transfer from highway user taxes allocated to the highway fund an amount sufficient to support the annual appropriation for implementation and administration of all welcome centers in the state. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 22.

2025-05-27 — Effective date(s) 05/21/2025

Schools, Charter - As enacted, establishes a process by which the governing body of an existing public charter school may replicate that public charter school in the same district by applying to the local board of education or directly to the Tennessee public charter school commission; allows, in certain circumstances, a public charter school sponsor to apply directly to the commission to open a new public charter school; makes various changes to the state agencies responsible for performing certain functions in the Tennessee Public Charter Schools Act of 2002. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 13.

2025-04-29 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 275

Teachers, Principals and School Personnel - As enacted, makes various changes to certain teacher licensure requirements. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 5 and Title 49, Chapter 6.

2025-05-13 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 328

Education, Higher - As introduced, terminates the governing board of directors for the Tennessee student assistance corporation (TSAC); requires the Tennessee higher education commission to be the governing board for TSAC; changes the name of the "Wilder-Naifeh technical skills grant" to "TennesseeWORKS scholarship." - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 49, Chapter 4 and Title 49, Chapter 7.

2025-04-09 — Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2025

Agriculture, Dept. of - As enacted, establishes a fund for the development and implementation of programs that benefit Tennesseans by preserving farmland and forestland, including a grant program for conservation easements. - Amends TCA Title 43, Chapter 1, Part 1.

2025-05-15 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 470

Real Property - As enacted, creates a vested property right upon the submission, rather than the approval, of a development plan or building permit; specifies that the vesting period applicable when it is based on the submission of a building permit is three years. - Amends TCA Title 13.

2025-05-15 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 465

Tennessee Housing Development Agency - As introduced, deletes provision requiring Tennessee rural and workforce housing tax credits to be authorized by joint resolution of the general assembly. - Amends TCA Section 13-23-134 and Chapter 971 of the Public Acts of 2024.

2025-03-19 — Taken off notice for cal. in State & Local Government Committee

Criminal Procedure - As enacted, establishes a permanent criminal proceedings notification system, rather than a pilot project; removes the July 1, 2025, termination date for the criminal proceedings notification system. - Amends TCA Section 40-38-507.

2025-05-08 — Effective date(s) 05/02/2025

Revenue, Dept. of - As enacted, reduces from 1.125 percent to 0.75 percent the administrative fee percentage the department takes from the proceeds of the business tax, short-term rental unit occupancy tax, local tax surcharge, coal severance tax, and local option sales tax to assist in defraying the expenses of administration and collection, before remitting proceeds to the appropriate county, city, or town. - Amends TCA Title 67, Chapter 4; Title 67, Chapter 6 and Title 67, Chapter 7.

2025-05-08 — Effective date(s) 07/01/2025

Boards and Commissions - As enacted, enacts the "Less is More Act of 2025." - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 20; Title 33; Title 38; Title 40; Title 52; Title 55; Title 62; Title 63; Title 68; Title 70 and Title 76.

2025-05-27 — Effective date(s) 05/21/2025, 07/01/2025, 01/01/2026

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) - As introduced, authorizes the suspension of certain requirements for purposes of obtaining unemployment benefits during emergencies; authorizes the agency to assist local governments and local emergency management agencies with recovery from disasters and emergencies on public property. - Amends TCA Section 50-7-302 and Section 58-2-106.

2025-02-12 — Assigned to s/c Departments & Agencies Subcommittee

Handgun Permits - As enacted, clarifies that an applicant who has a DUI conviction that occurred within five years from the date of application or renewal is not eligible for an enhanced handgun carry permit; lowers the age for an applicant for an enhanced handgun carry permit from 21 to 18 if other eligibility requirements for issuance of the permit are met. - Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40.

2025-05-08 — Effective date(s) 05/02/2025

Safety, Dept. of - As introduced, requires, by February 1 of each year, the department to submit a report to the governor, the speaker of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives that provides the number of individuals for whom a court enhanced their statutory penalty because either the conviction is for the commission of a violent crime and the defendant was an illegal alien or the conviction involved the use or display of a deadly weapon and the defendant was an illegal alien. - Amends TCA Title 2; Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8 and Title 55.

2025-02-12 — P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.

Transportation, Dept. of - As introduced, removes obsolete provision requiring the department, in consultation with the department of safety, local law enforcement agencies, and highway safety offices, to submit a report on or before February 15, 2024, of its findings and recommendations regarding the development of a strategic statewide plan to increase pedestrian safety to legislative committees. - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 54.

2025-02-12 — P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) - As introduced, requires TEMA to annually submit by February 1 of each year, a report to the governor, speaker of the senate, and speaker of the house of representatives detailing recovery efforts engaged in by the agency during the prior calendar year and recommendations on how to improve the efficiency of future recovery efforts. - Amends TCA Title 9, Chapter 4, Part 2; Title 50, Chapter 7, Part 3; Title 58, Chapter 8; Title 58, Chapter 2 and Title 67, Chapter 5.

2025-02-12 — P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.

Education - As introduced, removes an obsolete provision requiring a report be provided by July 1, 2024, from the department of education, after working in partnership with the state board and the Tennessee higher education commission, to legislative committees regarding implementation of legislation concerning student literacy. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 49; Title 8 and Title 49.

2025-02-12 — P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.

Charitable Institutions - As enacted, establishes a five-day period after the effective date of this act during which a nonprofit organization may apply to operate a charitable gaming event during the annual period beginning July 1, 2025, until June 30, 2026. - Amends TCA Title 3, Chapter 17.

2025-04-08 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 111

Public Funds and Financing - As enacted, redefines "local government" to include a water, wastewater, or energy authority for purposes of the present law applicable to bonds and notes issued by local governments; makes other related revisions. - Amends TCA Section 9-21-133 and Title 9, Chapter 21, Part 4.

2025-04-29 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 218

Secretary of State - As enacted, allows a litigation financier that is not a business entity or partnership to amend or withdraw its registration with the secretary of state by filing a form prescribed by the secretary of state, along with a filing fee of $20. - Amends TCA Title 47, Chapter 16.

2025-04-29 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 271

Notary Public - As enacted, adds that a person must complete a course of instruction and pass an examination to qualify to be commissioned as an online notary public; clarifies that an application to be commissioned requires a certification that the applicant has reviewed, understands, and will comply with the applicable rules and requirements promulgated by the secretary of state; adds that a course of instruction for online notarization must include, at a minimum, notarial laws, technology procedures of online notarizations, and ethical requirements for online notaries. - Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 16, Part 3.

2025-04-08 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 124

Secretary of State - As enacted, establishes a complaint process with the secretary of state for any person who contends that the person’s name or address was included on a document filed with the secretary of state without the person’s consent. - Amends TCA Title 48.

2025-04-04 — Effective date(s) 07/01/2025

Uniform Commercial Code - As enacted, specifies that a filing office in receipt of a petition for review filed by a secured party contesting a public official's affidavit that a financing statement was filed without legal cause submit the UCC financing statement that is the subject of the petition and the notarized affidavit of the public official to the administrative procedures division of the office of the secretary of state, in addition to the existing requirement that the petition itself be submitted; requires the prevailing party in the contested case hearing to provide the filing office with a copy of the administrative law judge's determination. - Amends TCA Title 47.

2025-04-30 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 171

DUI Offenses - As enacted, requires the state treasurer to deem a person ordered by a court to use a functioning ignition interlock device to be indigent and unable to pay the costs of the device if the person receives funds from the supplemental nutrition assistance, temporary assistance for needy families, or state medicaid program; removes the requirement that a court determine whether a person asserting inability to pay for a functioning ignition interlock device is indigent; revises other provisions relative to the electronic monitoring indigency fund. - Amends TCA Section 55-10-419.

2025-04-29 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 269

Education, Higher - As enacted, authorizes, subject to appropriation, an institution of higher education to request to redirect the institution's capital outlay funds for purposes other than those set out in the 2022 appropriations act; makes related revisions. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 9; Title 10; Title 12; Title 49; Title 66 and Title 67.

2025-05-15 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 467

Landlord and Tenant - As introduced, reduces the time period, after which a landlord may terminate a rental agreement, from 14 days to seven days following notice to the tenant of a material breach of the rental agreement for the nonpayment of rent, the cost of repairs, damages, or another amount due the landlord under the rental agreement, or for an act of violence or other behavior that poses a real and present danger on the premises. - Amends TCA Title 66.

2025-03-12 — Failed in s/c Business and Utilities Subcommittee of Commerce Committee

Courts - As enacted, enacts the "Recovery Court Renewal Act." - Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 32, Part 1.

2026-05-27 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 1061

Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services, Dept. of - As introduced, adds legislative librarian to the list the department of mental health and substance abuse services must submit its quarterly report to on the implementation and impact of available suitable accommodations, including the number and length of any delayed admissions, in state-owned or -operated hospitals or treatment resources. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 16; Title 17; Title 18; Title 20; Title 21; Title 24; Title 29; Title 30; Title 32; Title 33; Title 34; Title 36; Title 37; Title 39; Title 40; Title 49; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

2025-02-12 — P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.

Education, Higher - As introduced, requires the commission to review and update the outcomes-based funding formula model at least once every five years to provide incentives for institutions that offer programs leading to job placement in high-demand fields in this state. - Amends TCA Title 9; Title 49 and Title 62.

2025-03-26 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Higher Education Subcommittee of Education Committee

Drugs, Prescription - As enacted, requires a county medical examiner to test for, and obtain certain information concerning, the presence of any drugs in a decedent in certain situations; requires the health science center to conduct certain studies regarding drug interactions and submit quarterly reports to the general assembly. - Amends TCA Title 38; Title 53; Title 63 and Title 68.

2025-04-29 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 272

Motor Vehicles, Titling and Registration - As enacted, authorizes issuance of a free distinguishing placard for eligible disabled veterans to be used in lieu of a distinguishing license plate for parking purposes; authorizes issuance of a distinguishing placard upon payment of the applicable fee for eligible disabled veterans who have been issued a free distinguishing license plate for parking purposes. - Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 21 and Title 55, Chapter 4.

2025-04-08 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 73

Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services, Dept. of - As enacted, revises present law relative to recovery residences and alcohol and drug prevention or treatment facilities under certification by the department. - Amends TCA Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 13; Title 33; Title 47; Title 63 and Title 68.

2025-05-13 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 406

Sentencing - As enacted, provides that if the victim in an aggravated sexual battery was less than 18 or was mentally defective, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless, then such battery remains a Class B felony, and the defendant must be punished as a Range II offender; provides that the sentence imposed upon the defendant may, if appropriate, be within Range III but in no case lower than Range II. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 13, Part 5.

2025-05-13 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 375

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, creates an offense for a person who harms or threatens to harm an individual involved in the judicial process or a family member of such person with the intent to impede, intimidate, interfere with, or retaliate against the justice system participant in connection with their participation in the judicial process, punishable as a Class E felony. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 16.

2025-05-15 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 468

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, makes various changes to law relative to human trafficking. - Amends TCA Title 37; Title 39 and Title 40.

2026-05-18 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 886

Children - As enacted, specifies that a biological father or alleged biological father who makes token financial support to or for the benefit of a child or the child's mother during the pregnancy or when the mother had physical custody of the child is not a putative father; makes various other changes regarding final orders of adoption. - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 63.

2025-05-13 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 390

Vital Records - As enacted, requires certain records or papers for a person relating to the adoption or attempted adoption of a person in the possession of the office of the clerk of the adoption court; the offices of the department of health; the office of any child-placing agency, whether or not it is chartered or licensed; or any other information source, to be made available to the department of children's services for the purpose of searching for a kinship foster care placement. - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 68.

2025-05-13 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 393

Children - As enacted, enacts the "End Childhood Hunger Act." - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 37.

2025-05-13 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 397