Tennessee House Bills

Zoning - As introduced, prohibits local governments or planning commissions from requiring more than one means of ingress and egress into a proposed subdivision unless the proposed subdivision has at least 70 residential dwellings. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7 and Title 13.

State Employees - As introduced, authorizes an employee who has been employed full-time with this state for at least 12 months to receive up to 15 hours of paid leave for certain qualified volunteer work. - Amends TCA Title 8.

Day Care - As introduced, requires the governor's office of faith-based and community initiatives to establish a grant program for the purpose of supporting and funding nonprofit and faith-based child care programs for children four years of age and younger. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 32; Title 8; Title 9 and Title 71.

Museums - As introduced, requires the state to enter into good faith negotiations for the purchase of the Cotton Museum in Memphis, subject to approval by the state building commission. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 9; Title 10; Title 11 and Title 12.

Local Education Agencies - As introduced, authorizes LEAs and public charter schools to create a physical education through community service program by partnering with a community service partner to provide students in grades nine through 12 the opportunity to earn one-half credit in physical education by completing yardwork projects for older persons and persons with disabilities within the community served by the LEA or public charter school. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Education - As introduced, enacts the "Student Comfort through Alternative Restorative Environments (CARE) Act"; requires local education agencies and public charter schools to allow students of a school in the LEA or public charter school where an act of mass violence occurs to voluntarily participate in remote instruction or a virtual education program for at least 31 calendar days. - Amends TCA Title 33; Title 37 and Title 49.

Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services, Dept. of - As introduced, enacts the "Tennessee Mental Health Volunteer Alliance Act." - Amends TCA Title 33; Title 49; Title 63 and Title 68.

Memorials, Death - Darek Tanner -

Civil Procedure - As introduced, specifies that an unauthorized alien does not have standing to commence or appear as a plaintiff in any civil action in this state. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 16; Title 20; Title 28 and Title 29.

State Symbols - As introduced, designates "Tennessee" by Arrested Development as an official state song. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 1, Part 3.

Housing - As introduced, requires multi-family facilities, buildings, and structures constructed under a voluntary attainable housing incentive program to be deed-restricted to ensure that the attainable housing continues for at least 30 years, instead of in perpetuity. - Amends TCA Title 13, Chapter 3.

Election Laws - As introduced, directs the state coordinator of elections to promulgate rules regulating the spacing of political campaign signs by candidates seeking election to state and local offices. - Amends TCA Title 2.

Local Education Agencies - As introduced, authorizes LEAs and public charter schools to employ retired law enforcement officers who are retired from a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency and honorably discharged veterans of the United States armed forces to serve as school resource officers on school premises; requires local boards of education and public charter school governing bodies to adopt policies to effectuate same. - Amends TCA Title 8; Title 10, Chapter 7, Part 5; Title 37; Title 38; Title 49; Section 55-8-151 and Title 62.

Licenses - As introduced, extends to smoking hemp the existing licensure and certain other requirements for hemp-derived cannabinoid products; imposes a tax on the privilege of engaging in the business of selling smoking hemp and products containing a hemp-derived cannabinoid in this state. - Amends TCA Section 1-3-113; Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 15; Title 43, Chapter 27; Section 53-11-451 and Title 67.

Law Enforcement - As introduced, requires an employing law enforcement agency to contact any prior law enforcement agency that employed the agency's officer or special deputy as part of the thorough investigation into the person's good moral character. - Amends TCA Title 38, Chapter 8.

Drugs, Synthetic or Analogue - As introduced, removes the limitation that a person who is experiencing a drug overdose only has immunity from being arrested, charged, or prosecuted on the first drug overdose. - Amends TCA Title 50; Title 53; Title 63 and Title 68.

Zoning - As introduced, prohibits the construction of correctional facilities, hospitals, and nursing homes in areas designated as 100-year flood plains; applies to all applications for construction permits submitted on or after July 1, 2025. - Amends TCA Title 5; Title 6; Title 7 and Title 13.

TennCare - As introduced, requires, on and after July 1, 2026, a minor who is enrolled in TennCare medicaid or the CoverKids program to remain eligible for such program until the minor reaches 18; prohibits the division of TennCare from subjecting the minor to a redetermination of eligibility or disenrollment, except under certain circumstances; requires the director of TennCare to submit any necessary federal waiver request by December 31, 2025. - Amends TCA Title 71.

Insurance Companies, Agents, Brokers, Policies - As introduced, imposes requirements for health insurance issuers using artificial intelligence, algorithms, or other software for utilization review or utilization management functions. - Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 27; Title 56 and Title 71.

Tickets, Admission - As introduced, prohibits a third-party reseller from selling or offering for sale a speculative ticket; requires the division of consumer affairs in the attorney general's office to enforce the prohibition and assess a penalty of $5,000 per violation. - Amends TCA Title 47.

Law Enforcement - As introduced, requires a law enforcement officer initiating a traffic stop or pedestrian stop, on or after January 1, 2026, to inform the person stopped of the reason for the stop before engaging the person in questioning related to an investigation of a possible criminal offense or traffic violation; permits the officer to withhold such information if the officer believes that doing so is necessary to protect life or property from an imminent threat. - Amends TCA Title 38; Title 39 and Title 40.

Economic and Community Development, Dept. of - As introduced, creates the small business recovery grant fund, to be administered by the department, to assist eligible small businesses temporarily with costs incurred as a result of extenuating circumstances. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 9; Title 50 and Title 67.

Sentencing - As introduced, permits a person who is serving a sentence of incarceration of eight years or more for an offense committed prior to January 1, 2026, and who is a victim of domestic abuse subjected to substantial physical, sexual, or psychological abuse inflicted by a member of the same family or household as the person to submit to the sentencing court, a request to apply for resentencing. - Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40.

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) - As introduced, authorizes the suspension of certain requirements for purposes of obtaining unemployment benefits during emergencies; authorizes the agency to assist local governments and local emergency management agencies with recovery from disasters and emergencies on public property. - Amends TCA Section 50-7-302 and Section 58-2-106.

Employees, Employers - As introduced, changes the maximum penalty amount from $7,000 for each violation by an employer of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1972, and from $70,000 for each willful and repeated violation of the act, to the maximum penalty allowed by the federal occupational safety and health administration. - Amends TCA Title 50, Chapter 3, Part 4.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Drugs, Prescription - As introduced, requires the department of finance and administration, in collaboration with the department of health and the bureau of TennCare, to apply for federal approval to import prescription drugs from Canada. - Amends TCA Title 8; Title 33; Title 53; Title 56; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

Local Education Agencies - As introduced, excludes materials obtained by an individual teacher that are made available in the teacher's classroom to students assigned to the teacher's class from having to be identified in a list of library collection materials posted on the school's website; requires each local board of education and public charter school governing body to adopt a policy for developing and reviewing classroom libraries. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 6.

Highways, Roads and Bridges - As introduced, requires TACIR to study overall road safety and submit its recommendations to the chair of the committee in the house of representatives with jurisdiction over transportation matters, the chair of the transportation and safety committee of the senate, and the legislative librarian on or before January 15, 2026. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 54 and Title 55.

Insurance, Health, Accident - As introduced, requires Tennessee advisory commission on intergovernmental relations (TACIR) to conduct an evaluation examining the frequency at which health insurers deny healthcare claims or reimbursements for policyholders and healthcare providers and an evaluation of related data for the past five calendar years; requires TACIR to report its findings to the appropriate standing committees of the general assembly by January 15, 2026. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 10 and Title 56.

Boards and Commissions - As introduced, provides for a new definition for the term "artificial intelligence" for the Tennessee artificial intelligence advisory council act; expands, from 24 to at least 24 and at most 27, the number of members on the council; directs the council to make various other changes. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 31.

Boards and Commissions - As introduced, vacates and reconstitutes the Tennessee board of water quality, oil and gas effective July 1, 2025. - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 69, Chapter 3.

Hospitals and Health Care Facilities - As introduced, requires the dissolution and reconstitution, upon appointments by the governor, of the board of directors of any hospital that is part of a certificate of public advantage. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 56; Title 63 and Title 68.

Schools, Home - As introduced, eliminates various requirements for parents conducting a home school if the parent provides a normed curriculum to their child at home; prohibits this state from regulating, overseeing, or otherwise imposing requirements on a home school parent or student unless the home school parent or student is participating in a state program or applies for and receives state funds. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Education, Dept. of - As introduced, requires the department to allocate to each local education agency sufficient funds for the LEA to employ one full-time licensed professional school counselor at each high school in the LEA that enrolls at least 600 students in grades 10 through 12; requires each LEA to employ one full-time licensed professional school counselor at each high school for which the LEA receives such funding from the department. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Real Property - As introduced, abolishes various estates and reversion interests in land. - Amends TCA Title 66, Chapter 1.

Credit and Debit Cards - As introduced, requires state and local taxes and fees be excluded from the calculation of interchange fees by payment card networks for electronic payment transactions. - Amends TCA Title 67.

Lottery, Scholarships and Programs - As introduced, creates two special accounts in the state treasury, the K-12 lottery capital outlay special account and the early learning program account, for excess lottery funds; requires the comptroller of the treasury to develop and administer a program to provide grants from such accounts to local education agencies to be used for capital outlay projects for K-12 educational facilities and for new or existing pre-K programs. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 51; Title 8, Chapter 4; Title 9 and Title 49.

Energy - As introduced, enacts the "Clean Energy and Jobs Act"; creates the Clean Energy Workforce Training Grant Fund; establishes a tax credit for certain systems, methods, improvements, structures, devices, or appliances used by renewable energy businesses, and small businesses to implement or improve the business's sustainable practices. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 5 and Title 67.

Food and Food Products - As introduced, prohibits the manufacture, sale, or delivery, holding, or offering for sale in this state of any food that contains an antibiotic, or a vaccine or vaccine material, unless the food labeling contains a conspicuous notification of the presence of the antibiotic, vaccine, or vaccine material in the food; defines food that contains a vaccine or vaccine material as a drug for purposes of the Tennessee Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. - Amends TCA Title 47, Chapter 18 and Title 53.

Redistricting, Legislative - As introduced, requires the comptroller of the treasury to report to the general assembly which counties, if any, redrew precinct lines to ensure no split precincts in legislative districts. - Amends TCA Section 2-16-103; Section 3-1-102 and Section 3-1-103.

Public Funds and Financing - As introduced, creates in the department of human services a community grant advisory board for the purpose of administering the community-based organizations grant program to financially support eligible nonprofit organizations that serve communities in the areas of education, public health, housing, social issues, and economic and workforce development. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 9; Title 67 and Title 71.

Local Education Agencies - As introduced, requires district-wide school safety plans, building-level school safety plans, and the template for such plans to include a process for notifying parents and legal guardians of certain emergencies, incidents of violence, and credible threats of violence made against, or occurring on the grounds of, the LEA or school; requires directors of schools and directors of public charter schools to notify parents and legal guardians of same when reported to the LEA or school by its threat assessment team. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 1 and Title 49, Chapter 6.

Correction, Dept. of - As introduced, enacts "The Parole Advancement and Reintegration Act," which requires the department to develop an early parole termination program for parolees meeting certain requirements. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 40 and Title 41.

Local Government, General - As introduced, authorizes a local government having a population of 100,000 or more and having centralized purchasing with a full-time purchasing agent to use any project delivery method that the local government determines most effectively meets the needs of the local government for the construction of local projects or additions to existing buildings. - Amends TCA Title 12, Chapter 3, Part 12.

General Assembly - As introduced, establishes parameters for biennial September sessions. - Amends TCA Title 2 and Title 3.

Civil Procedure - As introduced, specifies that an unauthorized alien does not have standing to commence or appear as a plaintiff in certain civil actions. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 16; Title 20; Title 28 and Title 29.

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.

Probation and Parole - As introduced, enacts the "Parole Relief and Opportunity Act"; expands the definition of hardship for purposes of determining the ability of a parolee to contribute to the cost of the person's supervision and release. - Amends TCA Title 40 and Title 41.

Public Records - As introduced, requires personal information of certain state and local officials to be maintained confidentially upon request; authorizes the release of such information by court order, subpoena, or pursuant to an active law enforcement investigation. - Amends TCA Title 10, Chapter 7.

Driver Licenses - As introduced, requires that all driver licenses and photo identification licenses be manufactured and printed in this state; requires the department of safety to review and determine the cost-effectiveness of having such licenses manufactured and printed by the department or another state department or agency or through a contract with a private vendor; requires that licenses be manufactured and printed in this state using the most cost-effective means. - Amends TCA Title 12 and Title 55, Chapter 50.

Insurance Companies, Agents, Brokers, Policies - As introduced, clarifies that the phrase "for the benefit of" includes the beneficiary of the insurance policy or annuity contract for purposes of the exemption from claims of creditors for a policy of life insurance or under an annuity contract made for the benefit of, or assigned to, the spouse or children, or dependent relatives of, the person whose life the policy or annuity contract is based on; clarifies that use of exempt funds does not change the classification of the funds from exempt to nonexempt. - Amends TCA Title 56.

Memorials, Recognition - TVA-affiliated distributors -

General Assembly, Recess & Reconvene - Recesses 2025 regular session of 114th General Assembly on January 27, 2025, and reconvenes on February 3, 2025. -

Election Laws - As introduced, establishes automatic restoration of voting rights for people who complete their sentence, including any parole or probationary period. - Amends TCA Title 2; Title 40 and Title 41.

Education, Curriculum - As introduced, requires each local education agency and public charter school to review any new family life curricula recommended by the joint task force on children's justice and child sexual abuse prior to the start of each school year. - Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 49.