Tennessee Bills

Naming and Designating - Designates July 2026 as "Uterine Fibroid Awareness Month." -

Memorials, Recognition - Bring David Crockett Home Week, March 2-6, 2026 -

Local Education Agencies - As introduced, requires, with certain exceptions, each LEA and public charter school to implement a computer-based system that must be used by its teachers and school staff to collect data of early warning signs demonstrated by students enrolled in the LEA or public charter school. - Amends TCA Title 16; Title 37 and Title 49.

TennCare - As introduced, increases from 60 to 65 days the period after the close of each fiscal year within which the department of finance and administration must submit a report to the governor and members of the general assembly that includes an account of the operations and expenditures of all funds under the Medical Assistance Act of 1968, statistics by county about all medical assistance within the state, rules promulgated to carry out the act, and other information the department deems advisable. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 7; Title 8; Title 12; Title 14; Title 33; Title 47; Title 52; Title 53; Title 56; Title 62; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

Prisons and Reformatory Institutions - As introduced, authorizes the Tennessee rehabilitative initiative in correction (TRICOR) program to operate commissary programs within state prisons. - Amends TCA Title 41, Chapter 22.

Livestock - As introduced, broadens the definition of alternative livestock under the Tennessee Livestock Dealer Act to include non-traditional livestock without hooves. - Amends TCA Title 44, Chapter 10.

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, removes from the offense of violation of a protective order or restraining order the requirement that the person violating the order must have had an opportunity to appear and be heard in connection with the order of protection or restraining order and that the court must have made specific findings of fact in the order that the person committed a certain offense. - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 39.

Memorials, Recognition - Nuclear Energy in Tennessee -

Memorials, Recognition - Read Across America Week -

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.

Taxes, Sales - As introduced, allocates all revenue generated from the state sales tax on retail sales of new or used motor vehicles and new or used tires in excess of base tax revenues to the state highway fund. - Amends TCA Title 9; Title 54; Title 55 and Title 67.

Commerce and Insurance, Dept. of - As introduced, deletes an obsolete requirement that the commissioner conduct a study of this state's insurance laws to determine what impediments, if any, exist that may be acting as deterrents for insurance companies in this state to underwrite policies of insurance to insure a person who has used force that is justified, including deadly force, in protecting such person's self or property, and to submit a report of the study to the general assembly no later than March 1, 2012. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 56; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

Assessors - As introduced, creates the Tennessee assessor of property certification board to review qualifications for the county office of assessor of property; creates new qualifications for such office. - Amends TCA Title 2; Title 4; Title 8, Chapter 18 and Title 67, Chapter 1.

Comptroller, State - As introduced, increases from $50,000 to $100,000 the bond amount that every insurance company doing a workers' compensation business in this state must furnish with a surety company; increases from $100,000 to $200,000 the certificate amount that such a company may deposit with the commissioner of labor and workforce development in lieu of the bond. - Amends TCA Title 12; Title 29; Title 50 and Title 56.

Safety - As introduced, decreases from five to three the number of business days an ambulance service provider has to furnish to a patient or their authorized representative a copy of the patient's run record upon written request; decreases from five to three the number of business days an ambulance service provider has to furnish a copy of the patient's run record to a surveyor employed by the health facilities commission upon written request. - Amends TCA Title 56; Title 68 and Title 71.

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.

Local Education Agencies - As introduced, requires LEAs and public charter schools to adopt a policy to prohibit students from using wireless communication devices during instructional time except in certain circumstances. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Domestic Violence - As introduced, requires a person who is convicted of domestic assault or subject to an order of protection to dispossess any firearm in the person's possession by transferring the firearm to a law enforcement agency and to provide the court with an affidavit of dispossession of firearms and a receipt from the law enforcement agency. - Amends TCA Title 36; Title 39 and Title 40.

Education, Higher - As introduced, prohibits the board of regents, each state university board of trustees, and the board of trustees for the University of Tennessee from conferring any new tenure status on faculty members on or after July 1, 2026. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 7; Title 49, Chapter 8 and Title 49, Chapter 9.

Public Contracts - As introduced, enacts the "Tennessee Businesses First Act," which requires local governmental entities to provide a 30-day local bidding period for certain contracts, during which only local businesses may submit bids; creates a bidding preference for local businesses. - Amends TCA Title 9 and Title 12.

Food and Food Products - As introduced, prohibits the sale, delivery for sale, holding for sale, or offering for sale of food that contains forever chemicals, unless the food is labeled as containing forever chemicals and discloses the known or possible health effects of the chemical; defines forever chemicals as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). - Amends TCA Title 47, Chapter 18 and Title 53.

Election Laws - As introduced, restores a person's right of suffrage automatically upon the person's discharge from custody by reason of service or expiration of the maximum sentence imposed by the court for the infamous crime. - Amends TCA Title 2 and Title 40.

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.

Consumer Protection - As introduced, enacts the "Junk Fee Prevention Act." - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 19 and Title 47, Chapter 18.

Divorce, Annulment and Alimony - As introduced, states that a divorce proceeding shall not be stayed or delayed due to the pregnancy of one of the parties if the court can determine or both parties can agree to stipulate as to whether the other party is the parent of the unborn child and, if applicable, the court enters an agreed parenting plan and child support order. - Amends TCA Title 36.

Education, Higher - As introduced, waives, for the dependent child of a law enforcement officer or firefighter who was killed or who died as a direct result of injuries received while performing their official duties, the tuition and fees charged by the public institution of higher education at which the dependent child is enrolled as a student. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Local Education Agencies - As introduced, adds sixth grade to the grade levels for which a local board of education is required to establish an alternative school for students who have been suspended or expelled from the regular school program; requires a student in sixth grade who has been suspended for more than 10 days or expelled from the regular school program to attend an alternative school if there is space and staff available, with certain exceptions. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 6.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation - As introduced, requires the bureau to maintain with each investigative case file copies of all original investigative materials, including audio and video files, recordings, transcripts, documents, reports, paperwork, and other print or digital media generated by the bureau and germane to the investigation by the bureau. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 10, Chapter 7, Part 5 and Title 38, Chapter 6.

Local Education Agencies - As introduced, authorizes counties and cities to create by majority vote of the local legislative body the elected office of school superintendent. - Amends TCA Title 2 and Title 49.

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.

Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services, Dept. of - As introduced, directs the department to develop and implement a suicide prevention program; requires the department to submit a report to legislative committees with jurisdiction over health-related matters on this program and any suggestions from the department based upon the research conducted from the previous calendar year. - Amends TCA Title 33; Title 63 and Title 68.

TennCare - As introduced, removes the requirement that the governor receive authorization by the general assembly prior to making any decision or obligating the state with regard to the expansion of optional enrollment in the medical assistance program. - Amends TCA Title 71.

TennCare - As introduced, authorizes the governor to expand medicaid pursuant to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; authorizes the governor to negotiate with the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services to determine the terms of the expansion. - Amends TCA Title 71, Chapter 5.

General Assembly, Statement of Intent or Position - Urges TDOT to consider plight of monarch butterflies and provide habitat and no-mow areas on highway rights-of-ways. -

Water Pollution - As introduced, requires local approval of a tipping fee for application of sludge from water treatment plants onto agricultural lands, with proceeds earmarked for water treatment facilities, as a condition of such applications continuing in a locality; places a moratorium on certain permits in jurisdictions that do not provide such local approval. - Amends TCA Section 1-3-105; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 13, Chapter 7; Title 43; Title 68 and Title 69.

Motor Vehicles - As introduced, imposes a tax on electric power used in all-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles; requires electric vehicle power dealers to register for collection of the tax; establishes other regulations for electric vehicle charging stations. - Amends TCA Title 9; Title 54; Title 55 and Title 67.

Human Resources, Department of - As introduced, excludes a child care agency that provides child care services through a child development program and is accredited by the United States department of defense from being subject to licensure as long as such child care agency provides child care services only to an eligible patron. - Amends TCA Title 71, Chapter 3.

Salaries and Benefits - As introduced, increases, from $7.25 to $20, the minimum hourly wage for employees within this state. - Amends TCA Section 8-23-203; Title 12 and Title 50, Chapter 2.

State Employees - As introduced, increases, from three days to three months, the amount of paid leave provided to the officers and employees of the various agencies, boards, and departments of state government in the event of the death of such officers' or employees' children or stepchildren. - Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 50.

Anatomical Gifts - As introduced, creates a process by which an individual or terminal patient can refuse to make an anatomical gift that cannot be amended by another person; requires a procurement organization to follow certain procedures for contacting a decedent's family member or other authorized person. - Amends TCA Title 63 and Title 68.

Obscenity and Pornography - As introduced, expands the definition of "adult-oriented establishment", for purposes of imposing certain requirements, to include commercial establishments that offer sexually oriented material, devices, or paraphernalia, adult cabaret entertainment, or specified sexual activities, but for which such materials, devices, paraphernalia, entertainment, or activities are not the principal or predominant stock or trade. - Amends TCA Title 7, Chapter 51, Part 14.

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.

Motor Vehicles, Titling and Registration - As introduced, subjects plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, instead of all hybrid electric vehicles, to the $100 additional vehicle registration fee for electric vehicles. - Amends TCA Section 55-4-116.

Motor Vehicles - As introduced, imposes a tax on electric power used in all-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles; requires electric vehicle power dealers to register for collection of the tax; establishes other regulations for electric vehicle charging stations. - Amends TCA Title 9; Title 54; Title 55 and Title 67.

Education - As introduced, enacts the "Tennessee School Safety Act of 2026"; requires a student who has been expelled on two or more separate occasions for the zero tolerance offense of threatening mass violence on school property or at a school-related activity to submit to a psychiatric examination conducted by a medical professional; prohibits the student from returning to school or a school-related activity until the medical professional finds that the student is no longer a threat to the school and can safely return to school. - Amends TCA Section 39-13-813 and Title 49, Chapter 6.

Comptroller, State - As introduced, requires the office of research and education accountability in the office of the comptroller of the treasury to annually report information about the students participating in the education freedom scholarship program to the general assembly by October 30. - Amends Chapter __ of the Public Acts of 2025 (1st Ex. Sess. – SB 6001 / HB 6004); and TCA Title 49, Chapter 10, Part 14 and Title 49, Chapter 6.

Agriculture - As introduced, enacts the "Tennessee Agriculture Recovery and Investment in Family Farm (TARIFF) Relief Act," which creates a fund within the state treasury for the purpose of making grants to family farmers who have struggled with high input costs and market losses resulting from tariffs on agricultural goods, equipment, and machinery. - Amends TCA Title 9 and Title 43.

Environmental Preservation - As introduced, enacts the "Climate Resilient Tennessee Act." - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 68.

Agriculture, Dept. of - As introduced, requires the department to prohibit the sale of a food product that includes certain chemical ingredients, unless it has a warning label, if the FDA requires the ingredient to be disclosed and the food product is intended to be consumed by humans. - Amends TCA Title 47, Chapter 18 and Title 53.

Military - As introduced, enacts the "Bring Our National Guard Home Act," which requires, no later than five business days after the effective date of this bill, the governor to rescind each order of deployment of members of the Tennessee national guard outside of this state and recall all members of the Tennessee national guard who are deployed outside of this state. - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 58.

Education - As introduced, requires each elementary and secondary school to post the toll-free telephone number operated by the department of children's services to receive reports of child abuse or neglect in a conspicuous location on the school's website. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Economic and Community Development - As introduced, creates the "Automotive Supply Chain Resilience and Expansion Act." - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 7; Title 9; Title 12 and Title 67.

Public Contracts - As introduced, enacts the "Tennessee Businesses First Act," which requires local governmental entities to provide a 30-day local bidding period for certain contracts, during which only local businesses may submit bids; creates a bidding preference for local businesses. - Amends TCA Title 9 and Title 12.

Insurance, Motor Vehicles - As introduced, enacts the "Community Faith Transportation and Service Protection Act," which establishes secondary vehicle liability insurance provided by the state to a faith-based organization for vehicles used by the faith-based organization for community service use. - Amends TCA Title 9, Chapter 8; Title 55 and Title 56.

Education - As introduced, requires each elementary and secondary school to post two, rather than one, signs that contain the toll-free telephone number operated by the department of children's services to receive reports of child abuse or neglect. in clearly visible locations in public areas of the school that are readily accessible to students. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Elder Abuse - As introduced, requires the court to set a date for a deposition to preserve testimony in a case in which an alleged offense against an elderly or vulnerable adult has been committed within 45 days, rather than 60 days, of the filing of the original motion to preserve testimony. - Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 71.

Personal Property - As introduced, extends from 10 to 100 years the initial statutory period of the postmortem right to commercial exploitation of a deceased individual's property rights in such individual's name, photograph, voice, or likeness by an executor, assignee, heir, or devisee. - Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 3; Title 47, Chapter 25 and Title 47, Chapter 18.

Highways, Roads and Bridges - As introduced, designates East Robertson Road in Robertson County as a state route. - Amends TCA Title 54.

Cemeteries - As introduced, requires a cemetery company to include in its record of each burial in the cemetery the precise geographical location using latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates; requires the cemetery company to transmit a copy of the record to the funeral establishment responsible for the arrangements of the person buried at the interment site within 15 days after the date of burial. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 46 and Title 62, Chapter 5.

Education, Dept. of - As introduced, requires the department, by July 1 each year, to provide the chairs of the finance, ways, and means committees of the senate and house of representatives, the chairs of the education committees of the senate and house of representatives, and the directors of the office of legislative budget analysis a report to assist the general assembly in evaluating the availability of the individualized education account program. - Amends TCA Title 49.