114 session

Education - As introduced, makes various changes to the categories of individuals who are not required to use a preferred pronoun, and for whom a preferred pronoun can be disregarded, if the pronoun is inconsistent with the person's biological sex; makes various changes to the civil liability and adverse action protections as it relates to the use of, or the refusal to use, a pronoun or preferred pronoun. - Amends TCA Title 49.

2025-04-02 — Taken off notice for cal. in Education Committee

Children - As enacted, provides, in addition to present law, an alternative method for the voluntary surrender of parental rights if executed within the geographic boundaries of the state. - Amends TCA Title 36; Title 37 and Title 68.

2026-05-15 — Effective date(s) 05/07/2026, 01/01/2027

State Government - As introduced, prohibits a nongovernmental or intergovernmental entity in this state from infringing upon or restricting private property rights without due process or an individual's constitutional rights by virtue of pursuing a policy recommendation originating from or traceable to the United Nations, a subsidiary entity thereof, or an international policymaking organization; makes it an offense for the state or an official or political subdivision in this state to infringe upon or restrict private property rights without due process or an individual's constitutional rights in pursuing United Nations or international policymaking organizational policy. - Amends TCA Section 4-1-422.

2025-03-05 — Sponsor(s) Added.

Treasurer, State - As introduced, reduces from four to three months, the amount of time following the end of a fiscal year by which the treasurer must submit a report to the governor, comptroller of the treasury, speaker of the senate, and speaker of the house of representatives regarding the operation of the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act during the immediately preceding fiscal year. - Amends TCA Title 47; Title 48 and Title 66.

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

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, requires notice of the Class B misdemeanor of transferring dangerous materials to a metals recycling facility without first obtaining a signed written acknowledgment that the item has been transferred to be posted in a conspicuous location at each public entrance to the facility. - Amends TCA Title 36, Chapter 3, Part 6; Title 39; Title 40 and Title 55.

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

Election Laws - As introduced, requires a municipality that adopts an ordinance requiring nonresident property owners to vote by absentee ballot to file such ordinance with the county election commission no later than 75 days, rather than 60 days, before the election. - Amends TCA Title 2 and Title 41.

2026-03-17 — Failed in s/c Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee of State & Local Government Committee

Courts - As enacted, enacts the "Violent Criminal Court Act." - Amends TCA Title 8; Title 10; Title 16; Title 37; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 41 and Title 55.

2026-05-15 — Pub. Ch. 937

Alcoholic Beverage Commission - As introduced, restricts the prohibition on holding an interest in or being employed by a distillery, wholesale dealer, or retail dealer, or holding an alcoholic beverage license in this state, only to family members of voting members of the commission. - Amends TCA Title 57, Chapter 1.

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

Education - As enacted, prohibits a public school, LEA, or teacher, employee, or contractor of a public school or LEA from requiring a student, teacher, employee, or contractor of the public school or LEA to provide the individual's preferred pronouns; makes related revisions. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 9, Chapter 8; Title 29, Chapter 20 and Title 49.

2025-05-15 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 453

State Government - As enacted, requires each governmental entity to revise any existing ordinance, resolution, rule, policy, and procedure that includes a reference to a natural person's sex or gender to state that those terms are defined as the immutable characteristics of the person's reproductive system that identify the person as male or female, as determined by anatomy and genetics testing at the time of birth; makes related changes. - Amends TCA Title 1; Title 3; Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7 and Title 8.

2026-05-15 — Effective date(s) 05/07/2026

Traffic Safety - As introduced, creates a Class B misdemeanor for failure to properly adjust headlights by a person or entity that installs tires on a passenger motor vehicle or truck that are larger in total diameter than the original equipment manufacturer's tires installed; creates a Class B misdemeanor for installing such tires so as to cause the bumper or frame to exceed the maximum heights established in present law. - Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 9.

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

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, clarifies, for purposes of criminal offenses relative to threats of mass violence on school property or at a school-related activity or failing to report such threats, that a threat of mass violence is credible if the threat causes another to reasonably expect the commission of an act of mass violence. - Amends TCA Title 39.

2026-04-28 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 780

DUI Offenses - As enacted, requires the Tennessee bureau of investigation to provide a report to the speakers of the senate and the house of representatives on or before January 1 each year, until July 1, 2029, detailing the instances in the most recent year for which complete data is available in which a person was arrested for driving under the influence but where no alcohol or other intoxicants are detected in the person's blood or breath. - Amends TCA Title 6; Title 7; Title 8 and Title 38.

2025-05-13 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 327

Local Education Agencies - As introduced, requires the department of education, by July 31 each year, to list on its website each LEA designated as a high performing school district for the upcoming school year and how long the LEA will be designated a high performing school district before having to meet the criteria for re-designation. - Amends TCA Title 49.

2026-02-25 — Sponsor change.

Education - As introduced, removes a provision that required the board of regents, the University of Tennessee, and the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association to provide a report by April 1, 2009, to the Tennessee higher education commission on the reasonable efforts their institutions have taken to attempt to deter infringement of copyrighted works over the school's computer and network resources. - Amends TCA Title 49.

2026-03-03 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Education Administration Subcommittee of Education Committee

Local Education Agencies - As introduced, authorizes recall elections in all counties for members of local boards of education. - Amends TCA Title 2 and Title 49, Chapter 2.

2025-02-12 — Assigned to s/c Education Administration Subcommittee

Public Funds and Financing - As enacted, authorizes use of the Hurricane Helene interest payment fund to pay local governments' loan charges; makes related changes. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 9 and Title 58.

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

Zoning - As introduced, specifies that a privately owned property built after 1899 that is located in a tourism development zone is not subject to the authority of a historic zoning commission or a historic zoning law, rule, review guideline, or regulation, with respect to certain aspects of a project. - Amends TCA Title 13, Chapter 7, Part 4.

2025-03-19 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee of State & Local Government Committee

Public Funds and Financing - As introduced, creates the medical expense relief fund to assist the next of kin and the estate of a decedent who was enrolled in TennCare at the time of death with paying the decedent's medical debt and expenses; requires the department of human services to administer the fund and the awarding of grants. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3; Title 9 and Title 71.

2025-04-16 — Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/16/2025

Education - As enacted, prohibits excusing a student from school to attend a released time course in religious moral instruction during the school year unless certain criteria are met. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 2; Title 49, Chapter 5 and Title 49, Chapter 6.

2025-05-13 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 401

Dentists and Dentistry - As introduced, clarifies that the board of dentistry must submit the board's annual report on or before January 1 of each year; adds the legislative librarian as a recipient of the report. - Amends TCA Title 63.

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

Election Laws - As enacted, requires the coordinator of elections to include, in the coordinator's minimum standards for educating election officials, training on temporary forms of identification issued to non-United States citizens that may not be used as evidence of identification on an application for ballot. - Amends TCA Title 2.

2025-05-13 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 394

Traffic Safety - As introduced, requires the driver of a vehicle approaching a slow-moving or stationary farm tractor or implement of husbandry that displays an indicator that it is a slow-moving vehicle to reduce speed and move over, if possible to do so safely. - Amends TCA Title 55.

2025-03-18 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Transportation Subcommittee of Transportation Committee

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) - As introduced, prohibits the use of the power of eminent domain over real property in an expedited manner during a declared emergency. - Amends TCA Title 29, Chapter 16; Title 29, Chapter 17; Title 54 and Title 58, Chapter 2.

2025-03-05 — Sponsor(s) Added.

Death - As introduced, requires, if the person or government agency assuming custody of a body for the purposes of burial does not request an autopsy, or that the body be embalmed, the person or agency to ensure that the body is buried within 48 hours from the time when the person or agency waives the ability to request an autopsy or embalming of the body. - Amends TCA Title 34, Chapter 6, Part 37; Title 38; Title 50; Title 56; Title 62, Chapter 5; Title 62, Chapter 6 and Title 68.

2026-03-25 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Health Subcommittee of Health Committee

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation - As introduced, increases, from 15 to 20, the number of background investigations that the speaker of the senate and speaker of the house of representatives may request a year for persons under consideration for appointment to a position of trust and responsibility. - Amends TCA Title 38; Title 39 and Title 67.

2025-03-26 — Action Def. in s/c Civil Justice Subcommittee to 4/2/2025

Education - As introduced, creates the school safety grant fund to be administered by the department of education; requires that school safety grants be used to support local education agencies and public charter schools with prevention, reduction, and response efforts with regard to school shootings. - Amends TCA Title 9 and Title 49.

2026-03-24 — Taken off notice for cal. in Education Committee

Recreational Areas - As introduced, changes from January 8 to January 31 the date by which the executive director of the Tennessee wildlife resources agency must submit an annual report on the administration of Reelfoot Lake natural area. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 11; Section 28-3-117; Title 39 and Title 70, Chapter 5.

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

Economic and Community Development - As introduced, enacts the "Hollyssee Act." - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3 and Title 64.

2025-03-19 — Failed in s/c Business and Utilities Subcommittee of Commerce Committee

Insurance, Health, Accident - As introduced, requires health insurance carriers to provide mental health coverage in parity with alcoholism and drug dependence coverage. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 33; Title 39; Title 49; Title 53; Title 56; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

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

Firearms and Ammunition - As introduced, expands the circumstances under which a law enforcement agency may petition a court for permission to destroy a firearm that has been confiscated by a law enforcement officer and declared to be contraband by a court, to any firearm, rather than only a firearm that is inoperable or unsafe. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13.

2025-04-01 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee of Judiciary Committee

Public Records - As enacted, deletes the automatic repeal on July 1, 2025, of a provision that authorizes records custodians to seek an injunction against a person who makes requests to view or copy public records with the intent to disrupt government operations. - Amends TCA Title 10, Chapter 7, Part 5.

2025-05-13 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 392

Correction, Dept. of - As introduced, prohibits the department from denying the dissemination or availability of books and materials donated by book vendors to state inmates, with certain exceptions for depictions of nudity and sexually explicit material. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3; Title 40 and Title 41.

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

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, enacts the "Shielding Tennesseans from Oligarchic Power and Eliminating Lawless Obstruction of Necessities Act (STOP ELON Act)," which creates a new offense of interfering with an individual's or entity's receipt of a loan, grant, or financial assistance that the individual or entity is lawfully entitled to receive from the federal, state, or local government, with intent to deprive the individual of the loan, grant, or financial assistance, which is punished as theft; authorizes a victim of an offense to bring a civil action to recover the funds that the victim did not receive because of the offense. - Amends TCA Title 29 and Title 39.

2026-02-04 — Sponsor(s) Added.

Pensions and Retirement Benefits - As introduced, allows a retirement allowance increase equal to the percentage increase in the consumer price index if there is an over-collection of state tax revenue; requires this allowance increase to be used instead of the allowance increase in present law, which cannot exceed 3 percent. - Amends TCA Section 8-36-701.

2025-03-19 — Failed in s/c Public Service Subcommittee of State & Local Government Committee

Landlord and Tenant - As introduced, changes, from three days to three business days from the date written notice is received by a tenant, the date on which a landlord may terminate a rental agreement if the tenant or another person on the premises with the tenant's consent willfully or intentionally commits a violent act; behaves in a manner which constitutes or threatens to be a real and present danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the life or property of other tenants or persons on the premises; creates a hazardous or unsanitary condition on the property that affects the health, safety, or welfare or the life or property of other tenants or persons on the premises; or refuses to vacate the premises after entering the premises as an unauthorized subtenant or other unauthorized occupant. - Amends TCA Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 13; Title 56; Title 62; Title 66; Title 67 and Title 68.

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

Scholarships and Financial Aid - As introduced, enacts the "Speak UP, Tennessee Scholarship Act"; requires the Tennessee student assistance corporation to establish by rules a program that provides scholarships for students in grade 12 and at public institutions of higher education in this state who demonstrate artistic excellence in spoken word poetry through a competitive, performance-based selection process to pursue higher education to further develop their literary and performance skills. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 4 and Title 49, Chapter 7.

2025-02-12 — Assigned to s/c Higher Education Subcommittee

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, creates a civil and criminal action for individuals who are the subject of an intimate digital depiction that is intentionally disclosed without the individual's consent under certain circumstances. - Amends TCA Title 28 and Title 39, Chapter 17.

2025-05-15 — Comp. became Pub. Ch. 466

State Government - As introduced, requires state departments and agencies to submit annual reports on achieving economic efficiency to the governor in addition to committees of the general assembly. - Amends TCA Title 3; Title 4; Title 8 and Title 9.

2026-03-18 — Taken off notice for cal. in State & Local Government Committee

TennCare - As introduced, authorizes the governor to expand medicaid pursuant to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; authorizes the governor to negotiate with the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services to determine the terms of the expansion. - Amends TCA Title 71, Chapter 5.

2026-02-17 — Failed in s/c Tenncare Subcommittee of Insurance Committee

Controlled Substances - As introduced, prohibits a healthcare facility from authorizing a licensed healthcare professional from performing a drug or alcohol test or screen on a patient who is pregnant, less than one year postpartum, or a newborn without written and oral consent; allows for a drug or alcohol test or screen to be performed without the consent of the patient in certain listed situations. - Amends TCA Title 33; Title 63 and Title 68.

2026-01-14 — Sponsor change.

Education, Higher - As introduced, enacts the "Tennessee for Tampons Act," which requires public institutions of higher education to provide feminine hygiene products in all women's and girl's bathrooms and locker rooms. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 7; Title 49, Chapter 8 and Title 49, Chapter 9.

2025-03-26 — Failed for lack of second in: Higher Education Subcommittee

TennCare - As introduced, removes the requirement that the governor receive authorization by the general assembly prior to making any decision or obligating the state with regard to the expansion of optional enrollment in the medical assistance program. - Amends TCA Title 71.

2026-02-17 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Tenncare Subcommittee of Insurance Committee

Abortion - As introduced, creates an exception to the offense of criminal abortion if the person who performed or attempted to perform the abortion was a licensed physician and the patient's pregnancy was the result of rape or incest. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 15, Part 2.

2025-03-11 — Taken off notice for cal in s/c Population Health Subcommittee of Health Committee

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, reduces from a Class C felony to a Class B misdemeanor the offense of criminal exposure of another to HIV; creates a Class C felony for the criminal exposure of another to HIV if a person transmitted HIV to another person. - Amends TCA Title 39.

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

Health Care - As introduced, requires LEAs and public charter schools to provide free feminine hygiene products in all women's and girl's bathrooms and locker rooms used by students in grades four through 12 in certain schools; requires a public health campaign dedicated to encouraging individuals and nonprofit organizations to contribute or drop off feminine hygiene products to eligible schools. - Amends TCA Title 49; Title 63; Title 67 and Title 68.

2025-03-11 — Failed for lack of second in: Education Administration Subcommittee