Tennessee Senate Bills

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, increases the penalty for obstruction of a highway, street, sidewalk, railway, waterway, elevator, aisle, hallway, or other place used for the passage of persons or vehicles from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony; establishes an increased penalty of a Class D felony if the offense was committed by intentionally obstructing a highway, street, or other place used for the passage of vehicles. - Amends TCA Title 39.

Remedies and Special Proceedings - As introduced, increases the amount of compensation an injured plaintiff in a civil action may receive for noneconomic damages from $750,000 to $1.5 million; increases the amount of compensation an injured plaintiff in a civil action may receive for noneconomic damages, if the injury or loss is catastrophic in nature, from $1 million to $2 million. - Amends TCA Section 29-39-102.

Election Laws - As introduced, requires all public institutions of higher education in this state to observe an academic holiday on each general election day. - Amends TCA Title 2; Title 49, Chapter 11; Title 49, Chapter 7; Title 49, Chapter 8 and Title 49, Chapter 9.

Damages - As introduced, states that the amount of damages awarded as noneconomic damages must not exceed $1 million in a health care liability action arising from obstetric or maternity negligence resulting in the death or permanent injury of a pregnant or postpartum woman. - Amends TCA Section 29-39-102.

Medical Occupations - As enacted, allows a physician assistant to delegate medication administration to a certified medical assistant; adds categories of medications to the list of medications that a certified medical assistant is authorized to administer or prepare, and makes other related changes. - Amends TCA Title 63; Title 68, Chapter 11, Part 2 and Chapter 1042 of the Public Acts of 2024.

Highway Signs - As enacted, requires the department of transportation to install signs or markers displaying language or an appropriate symbol indicating to motorists that a rest area or welcome center has an adult-sized changing table; requires the department to publish on its website the locations of rest areas and welcome centers that have an adult-sized changing table. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3; Title 12 and Title 54.

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, prohibits a juvenile adjudicated delinquent for conduct that, if committed by an adult, would constitute the offense of threatening to commit an act of mass violence from purchasing or possessing a firearm until the juvenile reaches 25; prohibits a person appropriately licensed by the federal government from selling a firearm to a person who is ineligible to possess a firearm pursuant to any court order or under any law of this state; increases penalties for sexual exploitation of a minor offenses. - Amends TCA Title 37 and Title 39.

District Attorneys - As introduced, revises the data that district attorneys general are required to include in the annual report submitted to various officials and the public; requires the clerk of every court having jurisdiction over misdemeanor and felony cases to provide the district attorneys general conference direct and unlimited access to the clerk's case management or reporting system for the purposes of complying with the district attorneys general conference's and district attorneys general's statutory reporting requirements. - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 8.

State Government - As introduced, requires departments, agencies, and other state governmental entities to make information and records available, including by means of direct electronic access, to the staff of the general assembly's fiscal review committee; requires the department of finance and administration to provide the office of legislative budget analysis with access to applicable state budget formulation and management systems. - Amends TCA Title 3, Chapter 13; Title 3, Chapter 14 and Title 3, Chapter 7.

Real Property - As enacted, requires a homeowners' association that collects assessments for common expenses to obtain and maintain a blanket fidelity bond to insure the homeowners' association against losses resulting from theft or dishonesty committed by the officers, directors, or persons employed by the homeowners' association, or committed by any managing agent or employees of the managing agent. - Amends TCA Title 66.

School Transportation - As enacted, requires a local education agency that installs cameras on the exterior of school buses for the purpose of recording images of motor vehicles that fail to stop upon approaching a school bus to either enter into a memorandum of understanding with local law enforcement that includes the review of evidence from a camera and overall enforcement, or authorize school safety personnel to review evidence from a camera to determine whether a violation has occurred. - Amends TCA Section 55-8-151.

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, makes it a class A misdemeanor for a virtual kiosk operator or other person to knowingly install or allow installation of, permit, place, or otherwise operate a virtual currency kiosk in this state. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 12; Title 13; Title 29; Title 39; Title 45; Title 47 and Title 67.

Remedies and Special Proceedings - As enacted, removes the right of a cause of action for any affected person who seeks declaratory and injunctive relief in any action brought regarding the legality or constitutionality of a state governmental action; authorizes such an action against a political subdivision of this state; does not limit any other cause of action or waiver of sovereign immunity to vindicate rights under the Tennessee Constitution or the United States Constitution. - Amends TCA Title 1, Chapter 3 and Title 49.

Transportation, Dept. of - As introduced, extends for one year the annual report the department must submit to committees of the general assembly regarding blocked highway-rail grade crossings data collected by the federal railroad administration. - Amends TCA Title 55 and Title 65.

Boats, Boating - As introduced, urges the department of transportation, in consultation with the department of revenue, to study the potential impact on transportation infrastructure needs of requiring personal trailers used for the transportation of boats to be registered in this state; requires the department of transportation to report to the chairs of the transportation and safety committee of the senate and the committee in the house of representatives having jurisdiction over transportation on or before January 1, 2027, if such study is conducted. - Amends TCA Title 10, Chapter 7, Part 5; Title 55 and Title 69.

Correction, Dept. of - As enacted, authorizes the department to adopt or amend a formulary for use in the correctional facilities operated by or on behalf of the department. - Amends TCA Title 8; Title 41; Title 53; Title 56; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

Sunset Laws - As enacted, creates sunrise provisions for certain governmental entities created during the 2025 legislative session. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 29; Title 8, Chapter 4, Part 6; Title 34, Chapter 3 and Title 40, Chapter 11, Part 3.

Education, Curriculum - As enacted, requires public schools and public charter schools to provide instruction in child trafficking awareness and prevention to students in grades kindergarten through 12 through health education, instead of being provided through a family life curriculum. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Campaigns and Campaign Finance - As enacted, authorizes the executive director of or an attorney employed by the bureau of ethics and campaign finance to conduct a training program for members of the bureau and Tennessee ethics commission. - Amends TCA Title 2, Chapter 10, Part 2 and Title 3, Chapter 6, Part 1.

Comptroller, State - As enacted, deletes the reports the comptroller is required to submit to the general assembly regarding the provision of broadband services in historically unserved areas and the Tennessee Helping Heroes Scholarship Program; revises the information the comptroller is required to submit to the general assembly regarding the property tax relief program. - Amends TCA Section 7-59-316; Section 49-4-938 and Section 67-5-701.

Health Care - As enacted, prohibits certain healthcare providers from knowingly or willfully asking a minor, or a health insurance issuer, managed care organization, or entity providing reimbursement for healthcare services from requiring or requesting a healthcare provider or facility to ask, certain gender-related questions for any purpose; makes other related changes. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 33; Title 47; Title 56; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

State Symbols - As enacted, designates "Tennessee" by Drew Holcomb as an official state song. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 1, Part 3.

Holidays and Days of Special Observance - As enacted, designates August 8 of each year as "Clog Dancing Day in the Volunteer State." - Amends TCA Title 15, Chapter 2.

Architects, Engineers and Designers - As introduced, requires the state board of examiners for architects and engineers to publish the time and place at which examinations to receive an engineer intern certificate or to register as a professional engineer are held and the acceptable grade necessary for passage of the examinations on the board's website. - Amends TCA Title 49; Title 62 and Title 63.

Redistricting, Legislative - As enacted, adds that geographic descriptions affecting part of the boundary line between Fayette County and Shelby County are to be construed as the boundary line when census descriptions, counties, voting districts (VTDs), tracts, blocks, census delineations, census district lines, and other census designations are those established for or by the United States department of commerce, bureau of the census, for taking the 2020 federal decennial census in this state as contained in the topologically integrated geographic encoding and referencing system for the composition of state congressional districts, state senatorial districts, and state house of representative districts. - Amends TCA Title 2, Chapter 16 and Title 3, Chapter 1.

Memorials, Sports - Milligan University Disc Golf national champions -

Memorials, Recognition - Glenda Akin -

Memorials, Recognition - Grady Eades, Hillcourt Bronze Medal -

Memorials, Recognition - Rita Taylor -

Memorials, Recognition - William M. "Bill" Grady -

Memorials, Personal Occasion - Audrey Jean Glodé Campbell, 90th birthday -

Memorials, Retirement - Melanie McDearman Minter -

Memorials, Recognition - Henry County High School Madrigals -

Memorials, Death - Carmon Thomas Hooper III -

Memorials, Recognition - Clayton Home's Rutledge frame shop -

Memorials, Recognition - Liz Reese -

Memorials, Recognition - Westmoreland High School robotics team -

Memorials, Recognition - Oak Ridge, "Birthplace of the Nuclear Navy" -

Memorials, Sports - Upper Cumberland 18U RAMS homeschool basketball team, NCHBC Division 5 National Champions -

Memorials, Sports - White County High School Lady Warriors basketball team, TSSAA Division I, Class 3A state runner-up -

Memorials, Academic Achievement - Parker Belle Hayes, 2026 Graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville -

Memorials, Recognition - 3rd Annual Tennessee Small Band Association State Championship -

Memorials, Recognition - Ava Grayson Sykes, 2026 Mule Day Queen -

Memorials, Recognition - Phynlee Ryan Keeling, 2026 Mule Day Court First Runner-Up -

Memorials, Recognition - Graciee Katherine English, 2026 Mule Day Court Second Runner-Up -

Memorials, Recognition - Cayley Jordan Crews, 2026 Mule Day Court Third Runner-Up -

Memorials, Recognition - LaiLah Webster, Fourth Runner-Up, 2026 Mule Day Court -

Memorials, Recognition - Kehilla Upper School of Nashville -

Memorials, Recognition - Fallen veterans of Happy Valley High School -

Memorials, Recognition - Love's Way Church -

Memorials, Interns - Courtney Powell -

Memorials, Sports - Freed-Hardeman University men's basketball team, NAIA champions -

Memorials, Recognition - Tom Sturdivant -

Economic and Community Development - As introduced, increases, from 30 to 45, the number of days within the end of a fiscal year, for which a municipality is requesting an allocation of sales and use taxes revenues, that a municipality may submit a summary of the cost of an economic development project through to the end of that fiscal year, with supporting documentation certified by the chief financial officer of the municipality. - Amends TCA Title 7, Chapter 40.

Traffic Safety - As introduced, limits the use of unmanned traffic cameras that are authorized within the designated distance of a marked school zone to those times when a warning flasher or flashers are in operation or during times when children are present if the school zone does not have a warning flasher or flashers. - Amends TCA Section 55-8-198.

Lobbying, Lobbyists - As introduced, provides that a school board, municipal utility, utility district, and department, agency, or entity of county or municipal government that employs a contractor, subcontractor, or representative for purposes of lobbying is deemed to be an employer of a lobbyist. - Amends TCA Title 2; Title 3 and Title 8.

Children's Services, Dept. of - As introduced, requires the department to create and maintain a website that includes certain information about child care agencies. - Amends TCA Title 37, Chapter 5, Part 5.

County Officers - As introduced, requires a person elected or appointed to the office of constable on or after August 1, 2030, to have graduated from a Tennessee POST-approved certified law enforcement training academy; excludes a person who has held the office of constable for one complete term and is reelected to the office of constable on or after August 1, 2030, from the requirement of graduating from a Tennessee POST-approved certified law enforcement training academy. - Amends TCA Title 5; Title 8 and Title 38.

County Government - As introduced, prohibits an employee of a local government from serving on the legislative body of the local government for which the employee works. - Amends TCA Title 2; Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 12 and Title 49.

General Assembly - As introduced, upon the request of an immediate family member of a deceased member or former member of the general assembly, requires the governor and the speakers of the senate and house of representatives to allow the deceased member or former member to lie in state at the state capitol building for a specified period of time not to exceed the entire day; authorizes the governor and speakers to permit such deceased member to lie in state upon their own initiative if such deceased member does not have an immediate family member. - Amends TCA Title 3, Chapter 1 and Title 4.