Tennessee House Bills

Courts - As enacted, enacts the "Parental Rights Protection Act." - Amends TCA Title 36, Chapter 8 and Title 40, Chapter 11.

Teachers, Principals and School Personnel - As enacted, clarifies that tenure and the process for dismissing a nontenured, licensed employee by a director of schools does not apply to individuals who hold a temporary academic permit or temporary clinical permit. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Flags - As enacted, requires any flag flown over the state capitol building to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset in observance of Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day each December 7. - Amends TCA Section 4-1-406.

Taxes, Severance - As enacted, extends from 30 to 90 days, the time following the end of a county's fiscal year within which a county must submit an annual report to the commissioner of transportation and the chairs of the house and senate transportation committees regarding mineral severance tax revenue the county deposits into its county road fund; removes the comptroller of the treasury as a recipient of the report; subjects the report to audit by the comptroller. - Amends TCA Section 67-7-207.

Local Education Agencies - As enacted, requires that, in situations where an order of protection is issued to protect a student who is enrolled in a public school from another student in the same school, the school principal and, when reasonably practicable and appropriate, the building-level school safety team with input from the parent or legal guardian of the student who is named as the petitioner in the order of protection, to develop and implement a student safety plan that includes certain protocols; requires such parent or legal guardian to notify the school within 48 hours of any changes to the order of protection. - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 49.

Local Education Agencies - As enacted, requires the state board of education, in consultation with the department of education, to qualify an advanced degree in media and technology as an advanced degree that leads to a library information specialist endorsement; establishes certain staffing requirements for libraries in public schools that serve students in any combination of grades nine through 12 based on current student enrollment; requires a public school that serves any of the grades 9-12 to employ a full-time library information specialist with an endorsement as a library information specialist if certain criteria is met. - Amends TCA Title 10 and Title 49.

Nurses, Nursing - As enacted, requires the commissioner of health to use existing resources to conduct a study of neighboring states to examine the varying levels of practice independence that may or may not be granted to certified nurse midwives in such states; requires the commissioner to compile the findings of the study and any recommendations in a report and transmit the report to the general assembly no later than December 31, 2026. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 29; Title 56, Chapter 32, Part 1; Title 56, Chapter 7, Part 24; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71, Chapter 5.

Special License Plates - As enacted, makes various revisions to law relative to license plates, including, but not limited to, creating new specialty earmarked license plates and cultural license plates, granting extensions to certain license plates, and making other related changes. - Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 4.

Consumer Protection - As enacted, authorizes a small business that believes an online search engine has blacklisted the small business to contact the online search engine and request a response concerning the action; authorizes a small business affected by an online search engine's failure to comply with the response requirement to bring a civil action. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 29; Title 47 and Title 65.

Courts, Juvenile - As enacted, expands the disposition allowed when a person under 21 is found to have unlawfully purchased, possessed, accepted receipt of, or presented fraudulent proof of age to purchase tobacco, smoking hemp, a vapor product, or a smokeless nicotine product to include requiring community service work, the successful completion of a prescribed court program, or placing the person on an informal adjustment for a period of 90 days for a first violation, and, for a second or subsequent violation, placing the person on probation for up to six months in addition to requiring community service and the successful completion of a prescribed court program focusing on the dangers of tobacco and vapor products. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 15.

County Government - As enacted, prohibits the director of accounts and budgets for Overton County from being terminated or discharged without the approval of the county legislative body if such prohibition is approval by a 2/3 vote of the Overton County legislative body. - Amends TCA Title 5.

Tennessee Fish & Wildlife Commission - As enacted, authorizes the executive director of the wildlife resources agency to enter into agreements with local law enforcement agencies for the purpose of enforcing wildlife management laws and rules; creates a criminal offense for feeding black bears under certain circumstances. - Amends TCA Title 70.

Real Property - As enacted, provides that a provision of a document requiring a transferor or transferee to pay a fee, charge, assessment, dues, contribution, deposit, or other amount to purchase, issue, reissue, maintain, or transfer a club membership that is related to the real property or the community in which the property is sited is not a transfer fee covenant. - Amends TCA Title 66.

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, makes various changes to the law relative to fraudulent freight theft. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 16; Title 17; Title 18; Title 20; Title 22; Title 24; Title 25; Title 26; Title 27; Title 28; Title 37; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 43; Title 54 and Title 55.

Agriculture, Dept. of - As enacted, restricts the authority of the commissioner to order tests or vaccinations of animals within the state or that are imported into the state to those for purposes of detecting or treating a notifiable disease or monitored disease, rather than for purposes of protecting the health of animals in Tennessee generally; allows the commissioner to recommend tests or vaccinations of animals within the state or that are imported into the state for purposes of protecting the health of animals. - Amends TCA Title 44.

Local Government, General - As enacted, authorizes a local government to use any project delivery method that the local government determines most effectively meets the needs of the local government for the construction of qualified local projects, if the local government meets certain requirements. - Amends TCA Title 12, Chapter 3, Part 12.

Cheatham County - Subject to local approval, requires the existing impact fee of $7,500 in Cheatham County, known as the Cheatham County Development Tax, to be allocated as follows: $3,500 to the county Education Debt Service Fund; $3,500 to the county Education Debt Service Fund reserved for school building construction and renovation; and $500 to the Highway and Public Works Fund. - Amends Chapter 28 of the Private Acts of 1997.

Memorials, Interns - Andrea Medina -

Memorials, Academic Achievement - Kyle Zdancewicz, Salutatorian, DeKalb County High School -

Memorials, Recognition - Sarah Elizabeth Vincion Lewis, perfect attendance -

Memorials, Academic Achievement - Ethan Spears, Valedictorian, DeKalb County High School -

Ashland City - Subject to local approval, requires the position of mayor to be voted on by electors from the town at large; requires the position of councilman to be voted on by electors in their ward; requires elections to be nonpartisan; makes various other changes. - Amends Chapter 121 of the Private Acts of 2004; as amended.

Memorials, Academic Achievement - Aaron Yates, Top Ten Senior, Cannon County High School -

Memorials, Academic Achievement - Alex Whiteside, Top Ten Senior, Forrest School -

Memorials, Academic Achievement - Amelia Gay, Valedictorian, Cannon County High School -

Memorials, Academic Achievement - Isabelle Hendrixson, Top Ten Senior, DeKalb County High School -

Memorials, Professional Achievement - Anna Cat Shepard, Mountain Education Foundation High School Educator of the Year -

Memorials, Academic Achievement - Lilly Fox, Top Ten Senior, DeKalb County High School -

Memorials, Academic Achievement - Sierra Tatman, Top Ten Senior, Cannon County High School -

Memorials, Academic Achievement - Jaxon Kleparek, Top Ten Senior, DeKalb County High School -