114 session

Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services, Dept. of - As introduced, creates the temporary youth mental health service program. - Amends TCA Title 33 and Title 49.

2025-03-18 — Failed in s/c Population Health Subcommittee of Health Committee

School Vouchers - As introduced, increases the required assessments of students participating in the education savings account program or the individualized education account program to include all Tennessee comprehensive assessment program tests, Tennessee universal reading screeners or universal reading screeners approved by the state board of education, and the assessment administered to public school students in grade 11 that assesses student readiness for postsecondary education and approved by the commissioner of education. - Amends TCA Title 49.

2025-03-25 — Failed in s/c K-12 Subcommittee of Education Committee

School Vouchers - As introduced, requires private schools that participate in the education savings account program or the individualized education account program to publish various items on the school's website; requires private schools that participate in either program to ensure educators hold a valid license to teach; requires students participating in either program to be administered various assessments. - Amends TCA Title 49.

2025-03-25 — Failed in s/c K-12 Subcommittee of Education Committee

Charitable Solicitations - As introduced, exempts a child care agency from the registration requirements for charitable organizations. - Amends TCA Title 48, Chapter 101.

2025-03-04 — Failed for lack of second in: Departments & Agencies Subcommittee

Employees, Employers - As introduced, increases the hourly minimum wage to $20.00, or the federal minimum wage established pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, whichever rate is greater. - Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 23; Title 12, Chapter 4, Part 4 and Title 50, Chapter 2.

2026-02-20 — Sponsor(s) Added.

Abortion - As introduced, deletes the offense of criminal abortion; allows for an abortion before viability of the fetus or when necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant woman. - Amends TCA Title 39; Title 63 and Title 68.

2025-03-18 — Failed in s/c Population Health Subcommittee of Health Committee

Taxes, Sales - As introduced, exempts the sale or use of menstrual hygiene products from sales and use tax. - Amends TCA Title 67, Chapter 6.

2026-04-15 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee of Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

Health, Dept. of - As introduced, requires the department to establish and administer a pilot program for the placement of hygiene vending machines that dispense feminine hygiene products to students at no cost to the student in women's restrooms or locker rooms in each eligible school selected to participate in the program. - Amends TCA Title 49 and Title 68.

2026-04-20 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee of Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

Birth Control - As introduced, enacts the "Tennessee Contraceptive Freedom Act." - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 53; Title 56; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

2025-03-18 — Failed in s/c Population Health Subcommittee of Health Committee

Schools, Charter - As introduced, deletes antiquated language regarding the state board of education being an authorizer for public charter schools which expired at 11:59 p.m. on June 30, 2021. - Amends Chapter __ of the Public Acts of 2025 (1st Ex. Sess. – SB 6001 / HB 6004); and TCA Title 8 and Title 49.

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

Orders of Protection - As introduced, allows a court to issue an emergency protection order upon a finding that a person poses an imminent risk of harm to the person or others if allowed to purchase or possess a firearm; authorizes a family member, household member, intimate partner, or law enforcement officer to petition for such an order. - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 39.

2025-04-01 — Failed in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee of Judiciary Committee

Insurance, Health, Accident - As introduced, requires Tennessee advisory commission on intergovernmental relations (TACIR) to conduct an evaluation examining the frequency at which health insurers deny healthcare claims or reimbursements for policyholders and healthcare providers and an evaluation of related data for the past five calendar years; requires TACIR to report its findings to the appropriate standing committees of the general assembly by January 15, 2026. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 10 and Title 56.

2025-02-12 — Assigned to s/c Insurance Subcommittee

Highways, Roads and Bridges - As introduced, requires TACIR to study overall road safety and submit its recommendations to the chair of the committee in the house of representatives with jurisdiction over transportation matters, the chair of the transportation and safety committee of the senate, and the legislative librarian on or before January 15, 2026. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 54 and Title 55.

2025-02-12 — Assigned to s/c Transportation Subcommittee

Sexual Offenders - As introduced, requires sexual and violent sexual offenders to disclose the name, address, and phone number of any church, temple, or other religious group or organization in this state where the offender is a registered member; specifies that this information is considered public information; requires the TBI to provide all public information about an offender to any church, temple, or other religious group or organization in this state where the offender is a registered member when an offender registers as a sexual or violent sexual offender or updates a registration. - Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 39, Part 2.

2025-03-12 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee of Judiciary Committee

Infectious Diseases - As enacted, deletes all references to the world health organization; requires a pandemic to be declared by the federal centers for disease and prevention control, rather than the world health organization, with a subsequent declaration of a state of emergency by the governor for the governor to have exclusive jurisdiction to issue executive orders and directives related to the pandemic until the pandemic ceases to exist. - Amends TCA Title 7 and Title 68.

2025-04-08 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 69

Tennessee Higher Education Commission - As enacted, adds the executive director of the commission to the statutorily prescribed selection process for chief executive officers of public institutions of higher education and removes the repeal date for that process; revises various reporting and other duties of the commission; allows the commission to delegate its approval authority to its executive director in certain areas; expands the quality non-degree credentials for which a student may receive the Wilder-Naifeh technical skills grant. - Amends TCA Title 49.

2025-04-30 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 186

Education - As introduced, authorizes the board of regents to produce and make available a copy of the board's tenure policy in an electronic format or in a printed, physical medium. - Amends TCA Title 8; Title 49 and Title 62.

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

Forfeiture of Assets - As enacted, removes the requirement for a claimant to post a bond when filing a claim to seized property. - Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 33.

2025-05-13 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 319

Education, Dept. of - As introduced, changes a department's reporting requirement, regarding local education agencies' and public charter schools' compliance with notice to an association that regulates interscholastic athletics of a student's placement in foster care who is seeking to participate in interscholastic athletics, from annually to upon the request of the education committee of the senate or the committee of the house of representatives having jurisdiction over education. - Amends TCA Title 49.

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

Firearms and Ammunition - As introduced, permits the largest municipality in Shelby, Davidson, Knox, or Hamilton county to regulate the manner of storage of firearms, firearm ammunition, and firearm accessories by ordinance, resolution, policy, rule, or other enactment. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13.

2025-04-02 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Civil Justice Subcommittee of Judiciary Committee

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, makes various changes to present law concerning criminal justice. - Amends TCA Title 10, Chapter 7, Part 5; Title 36; Title 37; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40 and Title 53.

2025-05-15 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 462

Bail, Bail Bonds - As introduced, permits a professional bondsman to issue and retain the required receipt for money or other consideration received in a digital format. - Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 11.

2026-03-18 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee of Judiciary Committee

Local Education Agencies - As introduced, excludes materials obtained by an individual teacher that are made available in the teacher's classroom to students assigned to the teacher's class from having to be identified in a list of library collection materials posted on the school's website; requires each local board of education and public charter school governing body to adopt a policy for developing and reviewing classroom libraries. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 6.

2025-02-12 — Assigned to s/c K-12 Subcommittee

Children's Services, Dept. of - As introduced, requires the department to conserve any federal funds a child in the department's care is eligible for or may receive for the child's reasonable, foreseeable future needs or use for special needs services not currently being provided by the department. - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 37.

2026-04-15 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee of Finance, Ways and Means Committee

Human Resources, Department of - As introduced, enacts the "Tennessee Health SNAP Act," which requires the department to submit a request for a waiver from the United States department of agriculture's food and nutrition service to seek authorization to prohibit the use of SNAP benefits for the purchase of candy and soft drinks. - Amends TCA Title 71.

2025-03-13 — Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

Boards and Commissions - As enacted, prohibits the exclusion of persons from membership on state regulatory and health-related boards on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, and national origin; prohibits such boards from establishing or operating under race-based policies pertaining to their composition; removes requirement that appointing authorities strive to ensure certain boards and commissions are represented by members of racial minorities. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 21; Title 9; Title 62; Title 63 and Title 68.

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

Education - As introduced, creates the division of early child care and education within the department of education. - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 49.

2025-03-11 — Reset on Final cal. of K-12 Subcommittee

Opioids - As enacted, clarifies that a physician licensed in this state is the only healthcare provider authorized to prescribe a buprenorphine product for a FDA-approved use in recovery or medication-assisted treatment; revises criteria for providers not licensed in this state to prescribe a buprenorphine product for the treatment of opioid use disorder. - Amends TCA Title 33; Title 41; Title 53 and Title 63.

2025-04-28 — Effective date(s) 07/01/2025

Insurance Companies, Agents, Brokers, Policies - As introduced, requires an insurance company that is admitted to do business in this state and insures the tangible personal property of a policyholder who resides in this state to provide a discount to the policyholder through the policyholder's homeowners or renters insurance policy if the policyholder secures the policyholder's firearms in a firearm safe or uses a firearm safety device for the firearms and requests to receive the annual discount. - Amends TCA Title 56.

2025-03-19 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Insurance Subcommittee of Insurance Committee

Abortion - As introduced, defines the terms "serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function" and "lethal fetal anomaly"; specifies that a physician does not commit the offense of criminal abortion if, under certain circumstances, the physician performs or attempts to perform an abortion to address a lethal fetal anomaly or a premature delivery of an unborn child with a lethal fetal anomaly. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 29; Title 33; Title 37; Title 39; Title 40; Title 53; Title 56; Title 62; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

2025-03-05 — Sponsor(s) Added.

Insurance, Health, Accident - As enacted, revises present law relative to 340B entities. - Amends TCA Title 47, Chapter 18 and Title 56.

2025-05-13 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 404

Licenses - As introduced, extends to smoking hemp the existing licensure and certain other requirements for hemp-derived cannabinoid products; imposes a tax on the privilege of engaging in the business of selling smoking hemp and products containing a hemp-derived cannabinoid in this state. - Amends TCA Section 1-3-113; Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 15; Title 43, Chapter 27; Section 53-11-451 and Title 67.

2025-02-18 — Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

Insurance, Health, Accident - As enacted, removes the aggregate penalty limits for violations of law concerning pharmacy benefits managers; provides that a pharmacy benefits manager regulated under law relative to pharmacy benefits managers is subject to the insurance laws relative to timely reimbursement of health insurance claims and its requirements for timing of payments to pharmacists; provides that a violation of the prompt pay standards is governed by the penalties set out in insurance laws relative to timely reimbursement of health insurance claims. - Amends TCA Title 56.

2025-05-15 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 446

Juvenile Offenders - As introduced, decreases from six to four the number of hours a juvenile detention facility may delay a telephone call or in-person visit if a child is subject to disciplinary action. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 37 and Title 41.

2026-04-15 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee of Finance, Ways and Means Committee

Consumer Protection - As introduced, requires the office of the attorney general and reporter to submit to the chair of the house committee having jurisdiction over consumer protection and the chair of the commerce and labor committee of the senate a report on the number of investigations into violations of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977 in which artificial intelligence was used to effectuate an unfair or deceptive act or practice affecting the conduct of any trade or commerce between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2025; requires the report to be submitted no later than July 1, 2026; allows the report to be submitted electronically. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 12; Title 39; Title 45; Title 47; Title 48; Title 50; Title 55; Title 61; Title 62; Title 65; Title 66; Title 67 and Title 68.

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

Taxes, Sales - As introduced, exempts from sales tax, the first $20 of the sales price on a sale of tangible personal property paid for with physical cash declared legal tender, including gold and silver. - Amends TCA Title 67, Chapter 6, Part 3.

2026-04-15 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee of Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

Safety, Dept. of - As introduced, changes the timeframe within which a permit holder must notify the department in writing of the permit holder's new address from within 60 days of a change in the permit holder's principal place of residence to within 90 days of a change in the permit holder's principal place of residence. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 10; Title 13; Title 16; Title 29; Title 33; Title 36; Title 37; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 47; Title 49; Title 50; Title 52; Title 55; Title 58; Title 62; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 70.

2026-04-07 — Reset on Final cal. 4 of Criminal Justice Subcommittee

Holidays and Days of Special Observance - As introduced, designates December 14 of each year as "Hazel Moore Day." - Amends TCA Title 3 and Title 4.

2025-03-03 — Taken off notice for cal. in Naming & Designating Committee

Teachers, Principals and School Personnel - As introduced, authorizes a local board of education and public charter school governing body to employ or accept as a volunteer a school chaplain to provide support, services, and programs for students, school staff, and students' parents. - Amends TCA Title 49.

2026-02-26 — Sponsor(s) Added.

Criminal Procedure - As introduced, exempts an applicant seeking to restore the applicant's rights of citizenship from having to pay for the cost of the application if a court orders otherwise. - Amends TCA Title 2; Title 8; Title 39 and Title 40.

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

Taxes, Alcoholic Beverages - As introduced, deletes an obsolete provision relating to a tax credit for beer or ale that was destroyed in a flood occurring between May 1, 2010, and May 8, 2010. - Amends TCA Title 57 and Title 67.

2026-03-17 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Departments & Agencies Subcommittee of State & Local Government Committee

Teachers, Principals and School Personnel - As enacted, increases from 20 to 30, the maximum number of consecutive days a substitute teacher may substitute for a regular teacher on leave without having to possess a teaching license; requires the six weeks of paid parental leave for eligible employees to be taken either consecutively or non-consecutively based on certain criteria. - Amends TCA Section 8-50-814; Title 49, Chapter 6 and Title 49, Chapter 3, Part 3.

2025-04-28 — Effective date(s) 07/01/2025

Law Enforcement - As enacted, requires a prosecuting agency that maintains a Brady list to adopt a policy that meets certain requirements. - Amends TCA Title 38, Chapter 8.

2026-04-27 — Effective date(s) 04/21/2026

Civil Procedure - As enacted, requires, in a child custody order, the court to include written findings of fact as to whether the limitations in present law relative to restrictions in temporary or permanent parenting plans apply; makes other changes relative to child court proceedings; clarifies, for purposes of domestic abuse law, that "abuse" includes acts inflicted directly by the offending party or indirectly through a third party, including, but not limited to, a family member, friend, significant other, or coworker, on behalf of the offending party. - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 37.

2025-04-29 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 265

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, revises provisions of present law relative to placing certain defendants on a fugitives list for failure to appear. - Amends TCA Title 8; Title 10; Title 33; Title 36; Title 37; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 41; Title 49; Title 50; Title 55 and Title 70.

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

Expunction - As enacted, reorganizes present statutes concerning expunction and specifies that facilitation, attempt, or solicitation of an offense that is presently eligible for expunction is also eligible for expunction. - Amends TCA Title 7; Title 16; Title 38; Title 40; Title 55 and Title 57.

2025-04-29 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 268