Tennessee House Bills

Education, Dept. of - As enacted, requires the department to provide at least one professional development course that provides asynchronous instruction on the use of artificial intelligence in the classroom and that is made available, at no cost, to teachers in grades 6-12; requires such teachers to complete at least one department-approved professional development course on the use of artificial intelligence in the classroom by the later of August 1, 2028, or within two years of becoming licensed as a teacher in this state. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Public Utilities - As introduced, requires that a public utility's request to the public utility commission for a cost recovery mechanism regarding innovative natural gas resource infrastructure be submitted in writing. - Amends TCA Title 7; Title 13, Chapter 7; Title 65 and Title 68.

Teachers, Principals and School Personnel - As introduced, clarifies that an individual who has begun, but not completed, the amount of clinical practice required by the educator preparation provider in which the individual is enrolled may receive a temporary clinical permit if all other requirements for the permit are satisfied; allows such an individual who is issued a temporary clinical permit to meet the clinical practice requirements of the EPP in which the individual is enrolled by combining the amount of clinical practice the individual completed before being issued a temporary clinical permit with the amount of time the individual taught under the temporary clinical permit. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 5.

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, expands the offense of adulteration of food, liquids, or pharmaceuticals to include adulteration for the purpose of making the user of the food, liquid, or pharmaceutical involuntarily intoxicated; classifies the offense as a Class D felony; requires a licensee that sells or offers samples of an intoxicating alcoholic beverage for consumption on the licensed premises to maintain drink drug testing devices for customers for the purpose of rapidly testing a beverage suspected of being spiked or laced with a controlled substance or drug. - Amends TCA Title 39; Title 40 and Title 57.

Education - As introduced, requires public schools to annually submit to the department of education a list of all local assessments administered by the school each year and the administration schedule for each such local assessment; removes the option for a local education agency or public charter school to administer to students a universal screener that is not the universal screener provided by the state; creates the assessment review board composed of nine classroom teachers to review the Tennessee comprehensive assessment program tests administered to students in the most recent school year. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 49.

Children - As enacted, enacts the "Tennessee Child Care Red Tape Reduction Act." - Amends TCA Title 13, Chapter 7 and Title 71, Chapter 3.

Tennessee Fish & Wildlife Commission - As introduced, requires the executive director of the Tennessee wildlife resources agency to post a list of areas within the state that allow the use of off-highway motor vehicles, including the acreage of the area and the estimated length of the trails, on the commission's website. - Amends TCA Title 70, Chapter 9.

Public Funds and Financing - As enacted, revises law relative to pension plans and proxy advisors. - Amends TCA Title 9, Chapter 4.

Firearms and Ammunition - As introduced, lowers the standard for the use of deadly force to protect property. - Amends TCA Title 39.

Education - As enacted, revises the assessment testing requirements for students who participate in the education savings account (ESA) program. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 9; Title 12; Title 48; Title 49 and Title 67.

Criminal Procedure - As enacted, requires a defendant who is ordered to wear a transdermal monitoring device or alternative device, including other alternative alcohol or drug monitoring device, or global positioning monitoring device, as a condition of pretrial release, and who has not been determined by the court to be indigent, to pay all fees associated with the installation, monitoring, maintenance, and operation of the device. - Amends TCA Title 38; Title 39; Title 40 and Title 55.

Election Laws - As enacted, authorizes the county election commission to designate restroom facilities in each building in which the election is held that are for the use of workers or volunteers working for a campaign with certain limitations on access. - Amends TCA Title 2, Chapter 7.

Historical Sites and Preservation - As enacted, authorizes local historical boards to lease land owned or managed by such boards for agricultural purposes, with all proceeds received by the boards to be used for the preservation of historic sites and structures. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 11; Title 12; Title 29 and Title 43.

Natural Disasters - As enacted, enacts the "Local Disaster Displacement Tax Relief Act." - Amends TCA Title 7, Chapter 4; Title 58 and Title 67, Chapter 4.

Open Meetings - As enacted, authorizes a governing body to conduct an executive session for the purpose of interviewing applicants for employment as director-level staff of the body without providing public notice of such session. - Amends TCA Title 8.

Boards and Commissions - As introduced, transfers oversight of land surveyors from the state board of examiners for land surveyors to the state board of examiners for architects and engineers; removes registration requirement for interior designers; removes funding mechanism that requires revenues generated from contractor licensing fees, penalties, or interest allocated, in part, to the board of licensing contractors be utilized for the purposes set forth in the Go Build Tennessee Act; and makes other changes relative to occupational boards. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 29, Part 2; Title 20, Chapter 9, Part 6; Title 55, Chapter 17, Part 1; Title 62, Chapter 13; Title 62, Chapter 18; Title 62, Chapter 2; Title 62, Chapter 20; Title 62, Chapter 27; Title 62, Chapter 35; Title 62, Chapter 4; Title 62, Chapter 6; Title 62, Chapter 76; Title 68, Chapter 102 and Title 68, Chapter 105.

Gleason - Subject to local approval, for the term beginning December 2028, increases the mayor's compensation from $200 to $400 per month and compensation for each alderman from $100 to $200 per month. - Amends Chapter 33 of the Private Acts of 1985; as amended.

Recreational Areas - As introduced, expands the purposes for which monies from the Ocoee River recreation and economic development fund may be expended by the Ocoee River recreation and economic development fund board; replaces the park manager member of the board with the director of the division of state parks. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 10 and Title 11, Chapter 8.

County Government - As enacted, authorizes a county legislative body operating under the County Purchasing Law of 1957 to set the compensation for the director of accounts and budgets. - Amends TCA Title 5 and Title 8.

Tobacco, Tobacco Products - As introduced, expands the definition of "consumable material" to include natural and synthetic liquid nicotine solutions and liquid nicotine analogues for purposes of the taxation of vapor products containing such material; requires the alcoholic beverage commission to issue the fines for the offense of selling or offering for sale a vapor product for retail sale in this state to anyone under 21 years of age. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17; Title 43; Title 57 and Title 67, Chapter 4, Part 10.

Winchester - Subject to local approval, expands the board of public utilities' jurisdiction to wastewater treatment systems; requires the mayor to serve as a standing member of the board during the mayor's term; creates four-year terms for members; and makes various other changes. - Amends Chapter 34 of the Private Acts of 2019.

Appropriations - As introduced, makes appropriations for the fiscal years beginning July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2026. -

Monterey - Subject to local approval, deletes obsolete provisions authorizing the mayor to serve as the ex officio recorder for the town of Monterey; establishes the position of Town Administrator and prescribes the Administrator's powers, duties, and functions. - Amends Chapter 492 of the Acts of 1901; as amended.

Haywood County - Subject to local approval, for county attorney, requires state law license; hiring preference to be given to a resident; oath of office; to advise and represent county commission, the county mayor, and other county officials; authorizes county commission to employ legal counsel other than county attorney; replaces "quarterly county court" with "county commission"; and replaces "county judge" with "county mayor". - Amends Chapter 350 of the Private Acts of 1945; as amended.

Regional Authorities and Special Districts - As introduced, revises various provisions of the Real Estate Infrastructure Development Act of 2025. - Amends TCA Title 7; Title 9; Title 12; Title 13; Title 66; Title 67 and Title 68.

State Government - As enacted, terminates the James K. Polk Memorial Association and requires the Tennessee historical commission to enter into good faith negotiations for the purchase and transfer of the James K. Polk Home in Columbia. - Amends TCA Title 4.

Bristol - Subject to local approval, revises election provisions for city council and the board of education to comply with changes to general election law; reduces the time after final passage for an ordinance to take effect from 17 days to seven days; changes the due dates for property taxes; creates a department of education. - Amends Chapter 84 of the Private Acts of 1991; as amended.

Hospitals and Health Care Facilities - As introduced, designates as not requiring a license from the health facilities commission as a regulated healthcare facility or service any magnetic resonance imaging or positron emission tomography that is not used for diagnostic purposes. - Amends TCA Title 33; Title 63 and Title 68.

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, creates a registry within the Tennessee bureau of investigation of persons convicted of certain crimes related to organized retail theft; makes various other changes relative to the offense of organized retail crime. - Amends TCA Title 18; Title 38, Chapter 6, Part 1 and Title 39.

Sewage - As introduced, clarifies that a utility system providing waste water service must provide a connection to the owner of real property for waste water service when the utility system has an existing gravity sewer line located adjacent to the owner's property, not just where the utility system has an existing gravity sewer line on such property. - Amends TCA Title 7, Chapter 35; Title 7, Chapter 82 and Title 68, Chapter 221.