Tennessee Senate Bills

Education - As introduced, deletes an obsolete pilot program that awarded grant funds to five local education agencies to implement innovative and high-quality preschool programs in the 2023-2024 school year; deletes a Tennessee preschool task force that was created to develop a strategic plan for preschool education by June 1, 2024. - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 49.

Public Funds and Financing - As introduced, extends from 30 to 45 days, the period within which the commissioner of economic and community development and the comptroller must make a written determination approving or declining an allocation of tax increment revenues for a period longer than 20 years in the case of an economic impact plan, or 30 years in the case of a redevelopment plan or community redevelopment plan. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 9 and Title 67.

Fireworks - As introduced, increases from 10 calendar days to 10 business days, the deadline by which applications for permits for public fireworks displays must be made in writing in advance of the proposed display. - Amends TCA Title 68.

Education - As introduced, deletes antiquated language regarding the format for the Tennessee comprehensive assessment program tests that were administered in the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Tipton County - As introduced, applies the Neighborhood Preservation Act to Tipton County; authorizes Tipton County to participate in the Tennessee Local Land Bank Program. - Amends TCA Title 5 and Title 13.

Health Care - As enacted, makes revisions to health law, including, but not limited to, revising certain reporting requirements, requiring a person licensed by the board of examiners in psychology to complete certain suicide prevention training, defining palliative care, and clarifying certain rulemaking authority of health boards and the commissioner of health. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 33; Title 36; Title 37; Title 48; Title 49; Title 52; Title 53; Title 55; Title 56; Title 62; Title 63 and Title 68.

Local Government, General - As introduced, requires the chief executive officer of a local government to order all flags at public buildings to be flown at half-mast for at least one day if a first responder from the local emergency management agency is killed in the line of duty. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 29; Title 39 and Title 58.

Courts - As enacted, enacts the "Recovery Court Renewal Act." - Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 32, Part 1.

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, creates the Class E felony offense of engaging in conduct intended to influence the outcome of an event while the person or another is a party to a contract with a prediction-market by which the person will benefit, directly or indirectly, from the occurrence of the outcome; defines "prediction-market" as a platform on which individuals trade contracts based on the outcome of unknown future events. - Amends TCA Title 39.

TennCare - As introduced, extends the ground ambulance service annual assessment to June 30, 2027; changes the penalty imposed by the bureau on an ambulance provider for each day an assessment remains unpaid from $50 per calendar day to 5 percent of the principal amount owed per month for each month. - Amends TCA Title 71, Chapter 5, Part 15.

Sewage - As introduced, clarifies that a utility system providing waste water service must provide a connection to the owner of real property for waste water service when the utility system has an existing gravity sewer line located adjacent to the owner's property, not just where the utility system has an existing gravity sewer line on such property. - Amends TCA Title 7, Chapter 35; Title 7, Chapter 82 and Title 68, Chapter 221.

State Government - As introduced, requires the executive head of each state department or agency, local government, and public institution of higher education to submit an annual attestation to the comptroller of the treasury that such entity has not implemented a discriminatory preference to increase diversity, equity, or inclusion. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7 and Title 49.

Public Funds and Financing - As enacted, revises law relative to pension plans and proxy advisors. - Amends TCA Title 9, Chapter 4.

Local Government, General - As introduced, prohibits the assessment of a fee, fine, or cost against the owner of a shopping cart found on public property unless the shopping cart was removed from the premises or parking area of a retail establishment by the owner of the shopping cart or by an employee acting on the owner's behalf. - Amends TCA Title 5, Chapter 1 and Title 6, Chapter 54.

Hospitals and Health Care Facilities - As introduced, designates as not requiring a license from the health facilities commission as a regulated healthcare facility or service any magnetic resonance imaging or positron emission tomography that is not used for diagnostic purposes. - Amends TCA Title 33; Title 63 and Title 68.

Children - As enacted, enacts the "Tennessee Child Care Red Tape Reduction Act." - Amends TCA Title 13, Chapter 7 and Title 71, Chapter 3.

Consumer Protection - As introduced, enacts the "Curbing Harmful AI Technology (CHAT) Act." - Amends TCA Title 29; Title 37 and Title 47.

Orders of Protection - As introduced, allows a person to file a petition for a lifetime order of protection against a person who was convicted of certain offenses in another jurisdiction; provides that venue for such a petition is in the county where the respondent resides or, if the respondent is not a resident of this state, the county where the petitioner resides. - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 39.

Tobacco, Tobacco Products - As introduced, expands the definition of "consumable material" to include natural and synthetic liquid nicotine solutions and liquid nicotine analogues for purposes of the taxation of vapor products containing such material; requires the alcoholic beverage commission to issue the fines for the offense of selling or offering for sale a vapor product for retail sale in this state to anyone under 21 years of age. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17; Title 43; Title 57 and Title 67, Chapter 4, Part 10.

Banks and Financial Institutions - As introduced, classifies a money transmission originating in this state to a location outside of the United States or its territories as a service transaction subject to the sales and use tax; requires revenues from such tax to be allocated to certain purposes. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 38; Title 39; Title 45; Title 47; Title 49 and Title 67.

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, creates an offense of recklessly discharging a firearm into the air, ground, a body of water, or an object in close proximity to the person if the firearm is discharged at a place of public gathering or at a public event where there are at least 25 people in attendance at the time of the discharge; punishes the offense as a Class A misdemeanor; specifies certain exceptions to the offense. - Amends TCA Title 39.

County Government - As introduced, reduces the time period a county has to post revisions to its charter of incorporation on the website from three months to two months. - Amends TCA Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 9; Title 12 and Title 67.

Regional Authorities and Special Districts - As introduced, authorizes the Megasite Authority of West Tennessee and certain law enforcement agencies to enter into a written agreement authorizing sworn peace officers of the law enforcement agency to enforce certain traffic laws on one or more designated private megasite roadways identified in the agreement. - Amends TCA Title 54 and Title 64, Chapter 9.

Regional Authorities and Special Districts - As introduced, revises various provisions of the Real Estate Infrastructure Development Act of 2025. - Amends TCA Title 7; Title 9; Title 12; Title 13; Title 66; Title 67 and Title 68.

Zoning - As introduced, authorizes certain counties to adopt a resolution prohibiting a municipality or regional zoning commission from exercising zoning authority outside of the boundaries of the municipality. - Amends TCA Title 5; Title 6; Title 7 and Title 13.

Local Education Agencies - As introduced, requires an LEA or public charter school to allow a private pay provider for a student with autism spectrum disorder or developmental delays access to the student during the school day to provide the student with private pay services in educational settings, including classroom settings, as determined by the student's IEP or service agreement. - Amends TCA Title 49; Title 68 and Title 71.

Recycling - As introduced, requires certain state departments to file annual reports on recycling to the general assembly no later than December 31 of each year. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7 and Title 68, Chapter 211.

Courts - As introduced, removes a conviction for domestic assault from the definition of a violent offender for purposes of drug treatment courts; changes the definition of a violent offender for purposes of drug treatment courts from an offender with a conviction for an offense involving certain acts to an offender with a conviction for a felony offense involving certain acts within the previous 10 years. - Amends TCA Title 16, Chapter 22.

Victims' Rights - As introduced, increases the victims assistance assessment from $45 to $125, with the first $15 allocated to the court clerk and the remainder directed to county-designated victim assistance programs. - Amends TCA Section 40-24-109.

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, creates a new offense of coercive suicide; specifies that a person or entity commits the offense of coercive suicide if such person or entity owns an artificial intelligence system and the artificial intelligence system advises or encourages a person to commit or attempt to commit suicide. - Amends TCA Title 39.