Tennessee Senate Bills

Local Education Agencies - As introduced, allows a nonprofit or for-profit entity that operates an adult high school under a contract with a local board of education to receive state and local funding in years subsequent to the first year of the adult high school's operation based on current enrollment numbers that are reported and adjusted no less than three times per year. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Water - As introduced, enacts the "Tennessee Fluoride-Free Water Act" to prohibit public water systems from adding fluoride to drinking water, prohibit sales of bottled water containing added fluoride, and requires certain actions for naturally occurring fluoride that exceeds certain levels in drinking water and bottled water. - Amends TCA Title 47, Chapter 18; Title 53 and Title 68, Chapter 221.

Boats, Boating - As introduced, increases, from 50 to 75 feet, the distance a jet boat that carries passengers for hire must be from a private or public dock or boat ramp before the boat may travel at a speed greater than no-wake speed. - Amends TCA Title 69.

Education, Dept. of - As introduced, changes from September 1 to November 1 the day by which the department is required to compile and publish to its website a directory of the name and contact information for the apprenticeship training program contact for each public high school. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Tourist Development, Dept. of - As introduced, requires a copy of an annual audit report prepared by certain organizations under the department to be submitted to the legislative librarian. - Amends TCA Title 2; Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 9; Title 11; Title 13; Title 24; Title 36; Title 39; Title 42; Title 43; Title 47; Title 49; Title 54; Title 55; Title 56; Title 57; Title 58; Title 64; Title 65; Title 66; Title 67; Title 68; Title 69 and Title 70.

Highways, Roads and Bridges - As introduced, requires the department of transportation to allocate federal and state funds to rural planning organizations in parity with its allocation of such funds to metropolitan planning organizations. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 54 and Title 64, Chapter 8.

Education - As introduced, requires a private school that participates in the Individualized Education Act or the Tennessee Education Savings Account Pilot Program to comply with certain requirements in order to receive public funds through the program; prohibits a student from receiving an education freedom scholarship if the student is enrolled in a private school that doesn't comply with certain requirements. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 10, Part 14; Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 26 and Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 35.

Lottery, Scholarships and Programs - As introduced, requires the Tennessee higher education commission to submit a report to the education and finance committees of the senate and house of representatives identifying any fiscal year, beginning with the 2004 fiscal year, for which net lottery proceeds were insufficient to fully fund certain scholarships and grants, resulting in a pro rata reduction in award amounts or a draw upon the general shortfall reserve subaccount. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 49; Title 4, Chapter 51 and Title 49, Chapter 4.

Parks, Natural Areas Preservation - As introduced, requires playgrounds at Booker T. Washington State Park and Harrison Bay State Park to be built no later than January 1, 2027; requires existing resources of the department of environment and conservation to be used to build the parks. - Amends TCA Title 11, Chapter 3.

Highways, Roads and Bridges - As introduced, requires the commissioner of transportation to establish rules governing reimbursement of relocation costs to a utility; requires reimbursement of at least $2.5 million for projects with utility relocation costs exceeding $2.5 million; requires the department to approve a utility owner's plan to accomplish the proposed new location of utility facilities in highway rights-of-way if the proposal would effectuate the relocation at the lowest cost to the utility and its ratepayers; makes other related revisions. - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 54.

Education, Higher - As introduced, requires the governing board for each public institution of higher education to install and maintain a "Charlie Kirk Memorial Courtyard for Civil Debate" at the main campus of each public institution of higher education governed by the board. - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 49.

Driver Licenses - As introduced, authorizes the department of safety to issue a for-hire endorsement to operate a Class D vehicle to an applicant who would otherwise qualify for a for-hire endorsement but for the requirement of at least two years of unrestricted driving prior to the date of application if the applicant has completed a sentence of incarceration after conviction for an offense and currently has a restricted license for unpaid fines and court costs and is making payments in accordance with a payment plan. - Amends TCA Title 55.

Teachers, Principals and School Personnel - As introduced, creates a pathway for a person to obtain an alternative instructional leader license for purposes of serving as a principal, an assistant principal, or an instructional supervisor. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 5.

Highways, Roads and Bridges - As introduced, requires the department of transportation to study the development of a new bridge crossing the Mississippi River and connecting to Arkansas. - Amends TCA Title 54.

Education - As introduced, allows students to use their score on the Classic Learning Test (CLT) to satisfy the eligibility requirements for certain grants and scholarships funded using net proceeds of the state lottery; requires the Tennessee student assistance corporation to include information concerning testing dates for the CLT when informing students about lottery scholarship opportunities; allows public institutions of higher education to accept student scores on the CLT for admissions purposes. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Aircraft and Airports - As introduced, requires the Tennessee Aeronautics Commission to study the laws and regulations of other states regarding restrictions on the operation of drones over private property. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 38; Title 39; Title 42; Title 56 and 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.

Education, Dept. of - As introduced, establishes October 15 of each year as the date by which the department must submit an early grades reading report; updates the committees for which the department must submit the early grades reading report to be the education committee of the senate and the committee of the house of representatives having jurisdiction over education. - Amends Chapter __ of the Public Acts of 2025 (1st Ex. Sess. – SB 6001 / HB 6004); and TCA Title 4; Title 8 and Title 49.

Constitutional Amendments - Proposes an amendment to the Constitution of Tennessee to authorize the General Assembly to set the dates and manner of elections. -

Insurance Companies, Agents, Brokers, Policies - As introduced, decreases from 30 to 21 days, the amount of time each insurer of personal risk insurance must file with the commissioner of commerce and insurance before the proposed effective date of all rates, supplementary rate information, supporting information, policy forms, and endorsements. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 56 and Title 71.

Consumer Protection - As introduced, enacts the "Agricultural Right to Repair Act." - Amends TCA Title 43 and Title 47, Chapter 18.

Consumer Protection - As introduced, prohibits electric utilities and high performance computing centers in this state from using transformers, parts, or equipment manufactured or sold by entities owned or controlled by foreign adversaries to support any part of their operations; requires such utilities and centers to report to the comptroller of the treasury; makes related changes. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 7; Title 8; Title 47, Chapter 18; Title 65 and Title 68.

Taxes, Exemption and Credits - As introduced, exempts the retail sale of food and food ingredients from the sales tax if sold to a person who is 65 or older and a Tennessee resident. - Amends TCA Section 67-6-228.

Insurance, Health, Accident - As introduced, increases, from 60 to 65 days prior to the effective date of the change, the required minimum notice that a health insurance entity must provide to a healthcare provider of any material change made in the sole discretion of the insurance entity to the entity's previously released provider manual or a reimbursement rule and policy. - Amends TCA Title 56, Chapter 7.

State Government - As introduced, expands the requirements of the 2026 and 2027 annual reports to be submitted by the artificial intelligence advisory council to the governor, speaker of the senate, and speaker of the house of representatives by requiring such reports to include recommendations on strategies to detect and minimize the risk of fraud committed by persons using artificial intelligence. - Amends TCA Title 2; Title 4; Title 8; Title 10; Title 16; Title 29; Title 36; Title 37; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 45; Title 47; Title 48; Title 49; Title 53; Title 62; Title 63; Title 65; Title 67; Title 68 and Title 71.

Consumer Protection - As introduced, updates the mandatory notice regarding security freezes to specify that identity theft complaints to the federal trade commission and attorney general and reporter may be submitted via electronic means as specified by the federal trade commission and the attorney general and reporter, instead of only in writing or via their websites. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 7; Title 8; Title 10; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 47; Title 49; Title 53; Title 56; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

Health, Dept. of - As introduced, requires the commissioner to use existing resources to conduct a study of the use of designated caregivers for admitted patients in hospitals in neighboring states in order to determine the prevalence of and identify the best practices for the use of designated caregivers; requires the commissioner to compile study findings and any legislative recommendations into a report to the general assembly no later than December 31, 2026. - Amends TCA Title 68.

TennCare - As introduced, requires a managed care organization or pharmacy benefits manager that is contracted with the bureau to reimburse a claim for a long-acting injectable drug intended for treatment and prevention of human immunodeficiency virus and administered in a pharmacy, physician's office, clinic, ambulatory surgical treatment center, or hospital. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 56 and Title 71.

Health Care - As introduced, exempts a nurse who provides home health services to four or less patients from hiring staff or maintaining an office in order to qualify for licensure as a home care organization by the health facilities commission; requires a nurse who does not hire staff or maintain an office to submit a request to the department of health for space at a location deemed appropriate by the department to securely store patient records. - Amends TCA Title 63 and Title 68.

Children - As introduced, requires certain commercial online platforms, websites, and applications to maintain a content moderation system that allows users to report material harmful to minors that is not properly marked or age-restricted; makes other changes related to platform content and minors. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 9 and Title 47, Chapter 18.

Employees, Employers - As introduced, requires private-sector employers to compensate employees for accumulated paid leave upon separation from service from employment. - Amends TCA Title 8 and Title 50, Chapter 2.

Pensions and Retirement Benefits - As introduced, increases the employer contribution under the hybrid retirement plan from 5 percent to 10 percent for current members of the general assembly who have 10 years of creditable service on or after July 1, 2026. - Amends TCA Section 8-36-916.

Housing - As introduced, provides for the regulation of accessory dwelling units. - Amends TCA Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 13; Title 66 and Title 68.

Energy - As introduced, enacts the "Data Center, Artificial Intelligence, and Clean Transition Tariff Accountability Act." - Amends TCA Title 7 and Title 65.

Consumer Protection - As introduced, requires certain food retail establishments to use a nondigital presentation of price; prohibits a food retail establishment from using personalized algorithmic pricing; makes other changes related to food retail establishments. - Amends TCA Title 47 and Title 53.

Children - As introduced, requires, in contested child custody, dependency and neglect, adoption, and guardianship proceedings in which the court has appointed a guardian ad litem, a court to order the child to be evaluated by a qualified expert unless the court determines an examination is unnecessary; requires the expert to submit a report containing certain information; specifies that the submitted report constitutes prima facie evidence of the child's condition and the factors relevant to the child's best interest; specifies various other requirements for the guardian ad litem's consideration of the report and the allocation of the examination costs. - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 37.

Firearms and Ammunition - As introduced, states that a person who has not been convicted of a violent, felony crime and who is lawfully able to own or to possess a firearm under the Constitution of Tennessee is considered to be individually licensed and verified by this state within the meaning of the provisions regarding individual licensure and verification in the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act. - Amends TCA Title 39.

Computers and Electronic Processing - As introduced, requires high performance computing (HPC) facility operators to devote 50 percent of the computing and data processing output of the facility for a public benefit; requires HPC facility operators to produce an annual report of the facility's energy consumption and carbon footprint; requires such operators to conduct an annual internal compliance audit and submit to an audit upon request by certain governmental entities. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8 and Title 68.

Insurance, Health, Accident - As introduced, requires health benefit plans entered into, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, to provide coverage for services related to acquired brain injury; requires the commissioner of commerce and insurance to promulgate rules to provide a process for an expedited appeal of an adverse determination related to such coverage. - Amends TCA Title 8; Title 56 and Title 71.

Remedies and Special Proceedings - As introduced, prevents a receivership proceeding from interfering with the rights of a superior interest holder in property subject to the receivership absent the express consent of the superior interest holder. - Amends TCA Title 29.

Courts, Juvenile - As introduced, requires the department of children's services, and others, to provide certain information to court-appointed special advocates in order to provide judicial officers with the most comprehensive information to be used in the consideration of the placement and custody of a child. - Amends TCA Title 37, Chapter 1, Part 1.

Law Enforcement - As introduced, entitles qualified law enforcement officers upon retirement or separation from service from their employing law enforcement agency to continue to maintain annual POST-certification upon meeting certain requirements. - Amends TCA Title 38, Chapter 8.

Real Property - As introduced, requires corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships that purchase or acquire residential rental property in this state to register the property with the secretary of state. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 13; Title 47; Title 48; Title 61 and Title 66.

Local Government, General - As introduced, authorizes a municipality to create and require the use of a landlord registry for a real estate investment trust that owns, operates, or finances 10 or more dwelling units located within the municipality. - Amends TCA Title 66.

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.

Finance and Administration, Dept. of - As introduced, allows the department, office of criminal justice programs, to use available existing resources to seek appropriate funding and resources from the federal and state governments to design and implement grants to reduce gun violence in this state. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 38; Title 39; Title 47 and Title 68.

Civil Procedure - As introduced, enacts the "Tennessee Foreign Law Non-Recognition Act." - Amends TCA Title 20 and Title 29.

Sentencing - As introduced, increases the penalty for failing to stop at the scene of an accident when the person knew or should reasonably have known that death resulted from the accident by requiring a mandatory period of confinement of not less than one year and a minimum fine of $10,000. - Amends TCA Title 39; Title 40 and Title 55.

Civil Procedure - As introduced, creates an affirmative defense that may be utilized by a covered entity that is the subject of a data breach, if the covered entity’s cybersecurity program meets certain criteria at the time the breach occurs. - Amends TCA Title 20; Title 29 and Title 47, Chapter 18.

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.

Memorials, Sports - Halls High School Unified Cheerleading Team, 2025 TSSAA Unified Cheerleading Varsity Game Day State Champions -

Memorials, Death - Charles Maxwell "Charlie" Severance -

Memorials, Sports - University of Tennessee men's rugby team, national champions -

Memorials, Recognition - Members of the 168th Military Police Battalion, Tennessee Army National Guard -

Memorials, Recognition - Tennessee Justice Center, 30th community birthday -

Memorials, Death - Robert Chris "Bob" Carroll -

Memorials, Retirement - Dr. Randy Wykoff -

Memorials, Recognition - Kathy Stark -

Memorials, Sports - Connor Breeden, Region 1-3A All-Region Academic Team -

Memorials, Recognition - WIN Learning, 30th anniversary -