Tennessee House Bills

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.

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

Aircraft and Airports - As introduced, prohibits public airports that provide commercial services from entering into an agreement that authorizes a private third-party vendor that provides expedited security screening to use the standard security lane or the transportation security administration PreCheck security lane; exempts an agreement between a public airport and a private third-party vendor if the private third-party vendor has obtained dedicated transportation security administration security lanes solely for use by the private third-party vendor at that public airport. - Amends TCA Title 42.

Law Enforcement - As introduced, requires law enforcement agencies and officials to communicate with federal officials regarding the immigration status only for an individual who has been arrested for a criminal offense; sets a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a law enforcement agency that does not comply to be enforced by the attorney general and reporter. - Amends TCA Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 40 and Chapter 716 of the Public Acts of 2024.

Alcoholic Beverage Commission - As introduced, requires the presence of one rather than two credible witnesses to be present when an officer of the commission destroys contraband distillation equipment, paraphernalia, and personal property. - Amends TCA Title 57.

Students - As introduced, prohibits local education agencies and public charter schools from suspending or expelling a student enrolled in any of the grades pre-K-2 unless the student's behavior endangers the physical safety of others; authorizes local education agencies and public charter schools to suspend such a student for such behavior for no more than three days if certain measures are taken before the student is suspended. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Education, Dept. of - As introduced, requires the department to award grants to local education agencies that operate or authorize at least one public school located in a county with a county juvenile offense rate that is at least 10 percent higher than the statewide juvenile offense rate to enable such LEAs to provide after school programs for students in grades K-12. - Amends TCA Title 37 and Title 49.

Immigration - As introduced, requires a law enforcement agency in custody of an individual unlawfully present in the United States to request an immigration detainer and detain such individual for the maximum period as specified in the detainer; requires such agency to transport such individuals not taken into federal custody to a sanctuary city; requires department of revenue to request reimbursement for costs of detention and transportation of illegal aliens and to withhold federal petroleum taxes collected in this state if such reimbursement is not received. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 7; Title 38; Title 39; Title 55 and Title 67.

Controlled Substances - As introduced, changes from January 1 to January 15 the date by which the medical cannabis commission must submit its annual findings and recommendations to the general assembly. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 9; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 43; Title 49; Title 50; Title 53; Title 63; Title 67 and Title 68.

Environment and Conservation, Department of - As introduced, prohibits the board of water and wastewater operator certification from delegating, by contract or other agreement, to a third-party its authority to determine minimum operator competency or to prepare examinations administered to applicants seeking operator certification; establishes requirements for such examinations and minimum scores required for issuance of a certificate. - Amends TCA Title 68, Chapter 221, Part 9.

Environment and Conservation, Department of - As introduced, requires the department to make the catalog of materials on source reduction and recycling created by the department available on the department's website. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7 and Title 68, Chapter 211.

Pensions and Retirement Benefits - As introduced, authorizes a retired campus police officer to be reemployed in a position covered by TCRS as a law enforcement officer without the loss or suspension of the retired officer's TCRS benefits; extends the repeal date for the provision authorizing retired law enforcement officers to be reemployed without the loss or suspension of retirement benefits from June 30, 2025, to June 30, 2027. - Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 36, Part 8.

Landlord and Tenant - As introduced, increases, from 30 to 45, the number of days a tenant or household member and a landlord have to agree upon a date to terminate a residential rental or lease agreement, provided the tenant supplies written notice and documentation to the landlord that the tenant is a domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking victim. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 13; Title 20; Title 21; Title 25; Title 26; Title 28; Title 29; Title 40; Title 62; Title 66; and Title 68.

Law Enforcement - As introduced, requires a law enforcement agency that uses body cameras to adopt a written policy for the use of the cameras by its law enforcement officers; establishes certain requirements for the policies. - Amends TCA Title 38, Chapter 1.

District Attorneys - As introduced, allows an assistant district attorney general to receive year-for-year service credit for prior law enforcement experience upon recommendation of the hiring district attorney general and subject to the approval of the executive director of the district attorneys general conference; defines prior law enforcement experience as full-time employment with a law enforcement agency as a POST-certified law enforcement officer; requires an employment record from the law enforcement agency to be used to establish the law enforcement experience. - Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 7.

Taxes, Sales - As introduced, exempts the retail sale of fresh, frozen, and canned fruit and vegetables for human consumption from the food retail sales tax. - Amends TCA Section 67-6-228.

Consumer Protection - As introduced, authorizes a consumer to designate an authorized agent who may opt the consumer out of the processing of the consumer’s personal data; requires a controller to comply with an opt-out request from an authorized agent if certain conditions are met. - Amends TCA Title 47, Chapter 18.

Insurance, Health, Accident - As introduced, enacts the "Freedom to Grow Our Tennessee Families Act." - Amends TCA Title 56 and Title 71.

Remedies and Special Proceedings - As introduced, requires that the trial for an unlawful detainer action be held no later than 14 days from the date the plaintiff filed the unlawful detainer motion; limits the scope of a hearing for an unlawful detainer motion based on nonpayment of rent to facts and issues related to nonpayment of rent; makes other changes related to judicial proceedings for unlawful detainer. - Amends TCA Title 29 and Title 66.

Financial Institutions, Dept. of - As introduced, increases, from November 1 to December 31 to October 15 to December 31, the time frame during which a licensee under the Money Transmission Modernization Act must pay the annual nonrefundable supervision fee and submit its annual renewal report to the department. - Amends TCA Title 38; Title 45 and Title 67, Chapter 6.

Consumer Protection - As introduced, prohibits consumer reporting agencies from including on a consumer report a record of a medical debt judgment that is filed in this state. - Amends TCA Title 9, Chapter 8; Title 16; Title 18; Title 20; Title 21; Title 27; Title 28; Title 29; Title 45 and Title 47.

Municipal Government - As introduced, expands the criteria for real property that is eligible for the property owner to petition a municipality to deannex. - Amends TCA Section 6-51-201.

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.

Education - As introduced, requires local boards of education to notify the department of education when a board declares itself to be a high performing school district; requires the department to maintain a list of high performing school districts on the department's website. - Amends TCA Title 49.

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.

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.

Real Property - As introduced, makes void and unenforceable a restriction in a homeowners’ association declaration that would prohibit the operation of a family child care home at a property that is the site of a proposed family child care home, if the operator of the proposed family child care home has obtained a license from the department of human services and any necessary permits or licenses from the applicable local government for the operation of the family child care home. - Amends TCA Title 13 and Title 66.

Zoning - As introduced, requires, on and after July 1, 2025, a deed of conveyance of real property to include the zoning classification of the property at the time the deed is recorded; prescribes a process by which a local zoning authority may notify a state department, agency, or officer of a local zoning violation by a business resulting in the revocation or suspension of a license, permit, or certificate of a business in violation of a local zoning ordinance, resolution, or law; prescribes the process for reinstatement or appeal, including the assessment of a reinstatement fee. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8, Chapter 13; Title 13, Chapter 7; Title 62; Title 66 and Title 68.

Election Laws - As introduced, requires a candidate's name on a nominating petition to match the candidate's name as it appears on the candidate's voter registration record; prohibits the use of nicknames, abbreviations, and variations in spelling of candidates' names on ballots. - Amends TCA Title 2.

Alcoholic Beverage Commission - As introduced, requires the commission to submit its biennial report on underage drinking, drunk driving, and other harmful uses of alcohol to the governor in addition to members of the general assembly. - Amends TCA Title 57.

Insurance, Motor Vehicles - As introduced, prohibits an insurance company from requiring a visually impaired owner of a motor vehicle to obtain a commercial motor vehicle liability policy in lieu of a standard owner's policy of liability insurance if the covered motor vehicle is not used for commercial purposes. - Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 12.

Abortion - As introduced, enacts the "Reproductive Freedom Act." - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 20; Title 29; Title 37; Title 39; Title 49; Title 53; Title 56; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

Motor Vehicles - As introduced, authorizes the department of safety to publish biannually, instead of annually, statistical information regarding the number, cause, and location of highway accidents based on its analysis of accident reports that it receives. - Amends TCA Title 54; Title 55; Title 65 and Title 67.

Local Education Agencies - As introduced, requires LEAs to publish the school lunch menu on the LEA's website. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Boards and Commissions - As introduced, expands, from nine to 11, the number of members appointed to serve on the emergency communications board. - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 7, Chapter 86, Part 3.

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

Local Education Agencies - As introduced, requires each local school board to establish a school lunch program and a school breakfast program that provide a free breakfast and lunch to each student enrolled in a school under the board's jurisdiction; requires the state to reimburse each LEA for the cost of providing a free breakfast and lunch to each student enrolled in the LEA after all available federal funds have been applied. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Children - As introduced, specifies that "neglect" does not include permitting a child, whose basic needs are met and who is of sufficient age and maturity to avoid harm or unreasonable risk of harm, to engage in independent activities, including traveling to and from school by walking, running, or bicycling; traveling to and from commercial or recreational facilities; playing outdoors; remaining at home unattended for a reasonable period of time; and other similar independent activity. - Amends TCA Title 36; Title 37 and Title 39.

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.

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.

Uniform Commercial Code - As introduced, changes from February 1 to January 15, the date by which the secretary of state must annually report to the governor and general assembly on the operation of the filing office. - Amends TCA Title 47.

Law Enforcement - As introduced, expands the notification and uniform requirements for peace officers who provide security or other duties outside of their primary jurisdiction to apply statewide rather than only in certain counties. - Amends TCA Title 62, Chapter 35.

Expunction - As introduced, shortens the length of time that a petitioner must wait before having an eligible Class D felony expunged from 10 years after the completion of the sentence imposed for the offense the petitioner is seeking to have expunged, to eight years from completion. - Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 32.

Lobbying, Lobbyists - As introduced, requires each lobbyist to include and maintain in the lobbyist's registration statement filed with the Tennessee ethics commission the identification of each bill and legislative measure for which the lobbyist is receiving compensation to oppose or support. - Amends TCA Title 3, Chapter 6.

Ethics - As introduced, specifies that an impermissible indirect gift to candidates for public office and certain officials and their family members includes, but is not limited to, a gift provided by an entity that is related to, and its business or political activities are intertwined with, an employer of a lobbyist; requires the governor and officers of the governor's cabinet to disclose certain travel expenses. - Amends TCA Title 3, Chapter 6 and Title 8, Chapter 50, Part 5.

Uniform Commercial Code - As introduced, changes, from the local law of the securities intermediary's jurisdiction to the law of this state, the law governing certain aspects of an investment security transaction; makes other related changes. - Amends TCA Title 47.

Education, Higher - As introduced, requires the Tennessee higher education commission to develop a program to award full-time students enrolled in public institutions of higher education in this state a $250 grant for voluntarily obtaining testing for sexually transmitted diseases. - Amends TCA Title 10, Chapter 7 and Title 49.

TennCare - As introduced, directs the bureau to establish a temporary TennCare benefits program to provide medical assistance on a temporary basis to certain individuals who do not qualify for enrollment in TennCare, CoverKids, or a successor program; requires the bureau to submit a waiver to the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services by December 31, 2025. - Amends TCA Title 71, Chapter 5.

Military - As introduced, prohibits the Tennessee national guard, or a member of the national guard, from being released from state duty into federal active duty combat unless the United States congress has passed an official declaration of war or has taken an official action pursuant to Article 1, Section 8, Clause 15, of the United States Constitution to explicitly call forth the Tennessee national guard or a member of the national guard for the enumerated purposes to expressly execute the laws of the union, repel an invasion, or suppress an insurrection. - Amends TCA Title 58, Chapter 1.

Motor Vehicles - As introduced, increases, to the extent permissible under federal law, the maximum gross vehicle weight of a vehicle with an axle group of three axles that can be operated on the public highways of this state to 85,000 pounds. - Amends TCA Title 55.

Right to Die - As introduced, creates a process whereby an adult suffering from a terminal disease may request medication for the purpose of ending the adult's life in a humane and dignified manner if certain requirements are met. - Amends TCA Title 32; Title 39; Title 56; Title 63 and Title 68.

Election Laws - As introduced, revises the definition of "signature" for purposes of certain election-related documents, including absentee ballot and voter registration forms, and petitions for nomination, referendum, or another purpose; revises requirements for signing such petitions. - Amends TCA Title 2.

Abortion - As introduced, enacts the "Unborn Child Protection Act of 2025." - Amends TCA Title 29; Title 39, Chapter 15, Part 2; Title 53; Title 63 and Title 68.

Election Laws - As introduced, requires the state coordinator of elections to monthly compare the statewide voter registration database with relevant databases of state and federal agencies to ensure non-United States citizens are not registered to vote in this state; revises documents that may be provided to prove United States citizenship upon request by a county election commission; revises the process of appealing a determination that an individual is not qualified to vote based upon citizenship status. - Amends TCA Title 2.

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

Children - As introduced, deletes the responsibility of a parent or legal guardian to ensure that such person's child receives vaccines as recommended by guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the American Academy of Pediatrics. - Amends TCA Title 37.

State Symbols - As introduced, designates Nashville as the hot chicken capital of this state. - Amends TCA Title 4.

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.

Environmental Preservation - As introduced, enacts the "Climate Resiliency Fund Act." - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 5; Title 9; Title 60; Title 67 and Title 68.

Soil Conservation - As introduced, enacts the "Healthy Soil Act." - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 43, Chapter 14.