Tennessee Bills

Municipal Government - As introduced, prohibits a municipality, or an instrumentality of a municipality, from taking an action that affects or has the potential to affect the tax obligations, fees, or other costs for real property owners whose property is located outside of a municipality's corporate boundary, unless the action is approved by the county legislative body in which such property is located; requires the membership of joint economic and community development boards to proportionately represent the citizenry over which the board exercises jurisdiction by July 1, 2029. - Amends TCA Title 5 and Title 6.

Pensions and Retirement Benefits - As introduced, allows a retirement allowance increase equal to the percentage increase in the consumer price index if there is an over-collection of state tax revenue; requires this allowance increase to be used instead of the allowance increase in present law, which cannot exceed 3 percent. - Amends TCA Section 8-36-701.

Economic and Community Development - As introduced, enacts the "Hollyssee Act." - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3 and Title 64.

Consumer Protection - As introduced, prohibits an online payment system from freezing the funds of a user without first providing the user with a written notice of the online payment system's intent to freeze the user's funds; designates a violation as an unfair or deceptive act or practice pursuant to the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977. - Amends TCA Title 45 and Title 47, Chapter 18.

Labor and Workforce Development, Dept. of - As introduced, requires the chief elevator inspector to perform a final acceptance inspection upon completion of the installation, modification, or alteration of a private residence elevator prior to such elevator entering service; requires a homeowner to register a private residence elevator with the department; directs the chief elevator inspector to develop and maintain a database of private residence elevators. - Amends TCA Title 68, Chapter 121.

Landlord and Tenant - As introduced, authorizes a landlord to submit a single registration form for a multi-dwelling property with the agency or department of local government that is responsible for enforcing building codes in the jurisdiction if the property contains five or more dwelling units; authorizes local governments to require residential landlords to register with the local government. - Amends TCA Section 66-28-107.

Consumer Protection - As introduced, requires a healthcare facility that accepts public funds as compensation for losses due to providing uncompensated care to ensure that an amount of outstanding patient debt equal to the amount of public funds accepted is designated as satisfied and that patient is notified of such satisfied debt; prohibits the healthcare facility from seeking a judgment or taking other legal action to collect from the debtor any portion of such debt that is so designated; requires the department of health and division of TennCare to submit an annual report on uncompensated care payments to hospitals. - Amends TCA Title 9, Chapter 8; Title 16; Title 18; Title 20; Title 21; Title 27; Title 28; Title 29; Title 33; Title 45; Title 47; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

Health, Dept. of - As introduced, requires the commissioner to report to the chairs of legislative committees having jurisdiction over health-related matters on the standards and policies for assisted reproductive technology in this state. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 29; Title 36; Title 63 and Title 68.

Driver Licenses - As introduced, requires all written driver license examinations to be administered in English only; prohibits the use of a translation dictionary, electronic device, or interpreter to assist a person taking the examination. - Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 50, Part 3.

Local Education Agencies - As introduced, requires school board members to be elected at the same election beginning in 2028. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Aircraft and Airports - As introduced, establishes a process for renaming an international airport governed by a metropolitan airport authority to Trump International Airport. - Amends TCA Title 42, Chapter 3; Title 42, Chapter 4 and Title 55.

Abortion - As introduced, clarifies that the term "abortion," as defined for the offense of criminal abortion, does not include the use of contraceptives, including any device, medication, biological product, or procedure that is generally intended for use in the prevention of pregnancy, whether specifically intended to prevent pregnancy or for other health needs, or the disposal of embryos resulting from fertility treatments, including healthcare services, procedures, testing, medications, treatments, or products. - Amends TCA Title 37; Title 39; Title 63 and Title 68.

Birth Control - As introduced, enacts the "Tennessee Contraceptive Freedom Act." - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 53; Title 56; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

Abortion - As introduced, deletes the offense of criminal abortion; allows for an abortion before viability of the fetus or when necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant woman. - Amends TCA Title 39; Title 63 and Title 68.

Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services, Dept. of - As introduced, creates the temporary youth mental health service program. - Amends TCA Title 33 and Title 49.

Immigration - As introduced, requires a law enforcement agency in custody of an individual unlawfully present in the United States to request an immigration detainer and detain such individual for the maximum period as specified in the detainer; requires such agency to transport such individuals not taken into federal custody to a sanctuary city; requires department of revenue to request reimbursement for costs of detention and transportation of illegal aliens and to withhold federal petroleum taxes collected in this state if such reimbursement is not received. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 7; Title 38; Title 39; Title 55 and Title 67.

Juvenile Offenders - As introduced, requires a juvenile court, upon finding a child has committed a third or subsequent delinquent act, to enter an order of restitution against the parent, legal custodian, or guardian who had custody of the child at the time of the act for the expenses incurred by any law enforcement agency in responding to and investigating the delinquent act. - Amends TCA Title 37.

Law Enforcement - As introduced, requires law enforcement agencies and officials to communicate with federal officials regarding the immigration status only for an individual who has been arrested for a criminal offense; sets a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a law enforcement agency that does not comply to be enforced by the attorney general and reporter. - Amends TCA Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 40 and Chapter 716 of the Public Acts of 2024.

Law Enforcement - As introduced, requires a law enforcement agency that uses body cameras to adopt a written policy for the use of the cameras by its law enforcement officers; establishes certain requirements for the policies. - Amends TCA Title 38, Chapter 1.

Municipal Government - As introduced, expands the criteria for real property that is eligible for the property owner to petition a municipality to deannex. - Amends TCA Section 6-51-201.

Landlord and Tenant - As introduced, reduces the time period, after which a landlord may terminate a rental agreement, from 14 days to seven days following notice to the tenant of a material breach of the rental agreement for the nonpayment of rent, the cost of repairs, damages, or another amount due the landlord under the rental agreement, or for an act of violence or other behavior that poses a real and present danger on the premises. - Amends TCA Title 66.

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.

Expunction - As introduced, permits the expunction of a Class E felony conviction for official misconduct. - Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40, Chapter 32.

Employees, Employers - As introduced, requires an employer that terminates the employment of an employee who the employer knows to be pregnant and who is covered under an employer-sponsored health benefit plan to continue to provide coverage under the plan until the employee’s pregnancy ends. - Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 27; Title 50; Title 56 and Title 71.

Real Property - As introduced, makes void and unenforceable a restriction in a homeowners’ association declaration that would prohibit the operation of a family child care home at a property that is the site of a proposed family child care home, if the operator of the proposed family child care home has obtained a license from the department of human services and any necessary permits or licenses from the applicable local government for the operation of the family child care home. - Amends TCA Title 13 and Title 66.

Birth Control - As introduced, enacts the "Tennessee Contraceptive Freedom Act." - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 53; Title 56; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

Election Laws - As introduced, requires a candidate's name on a nominating petition to match the candidate's name as it appears on the candidate's voter registration record; prohibits the use of nicknames, abbreviations, and variations in spelling of candidates' names on ballots. - Amends TCA Title 2.

Alcoholic Beverage Commission - As introduced, requires the commission to submit its biennial report on underage drinking, drunk driving, and other harmful uses of alcohol to the governor in addition to members of the general assembly. - Amends TCA Title 57.

Local Education Agencies - As introduced, requires each local school board to establish a school lunch program and a school breakfast program that provide a free breakfast and lunch to each student enrolled in a school under the board's jurisdiction; requires the state to reimburse each LEA for the cost of providing a free breakfast and lunch to each student enrolled in the LEA after all available federal funds have been applied. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Children - As introduced, specifies that "neglect" does not include permitting a child, whose basic needs are met and who is of sufficient age and maturity to avoid harm or unreasonable risk of harm, to engage in independent activities, including traveling to and from school by walking, running, or bicycling; traveling to and from commercial or recreational facilities; playing outdoors; remaining at home unattended for a reasonable period of time; and other similar independent activity. - Amends TCA Title 36; Title 37 and Title 39.

Health Care - As introduced, requires LEAs and public charter schools to provide free feminine hygiene products in all women's and girl's bathrooms and locker rooms used by students in grades four through 12 in certain schools; requires a public health campaign dedicated to encouraging individuals and nonprofit organizations to contribute or drop off feminine hygiene products to eligible schools. - Amends TCA Title 49; Title 63; Title 67 and Title 68.

Law Enforcement - As introduced, expands the notification and uniform requirements for peace officers who provide security or other duties outside of their primary jurisdiction to apply statewide rather than only in certain counties. - Amends TCA Title 62, Chapter 35.

Lobbying, Lobbyists - As introduced, requires each lobbyist to include and maintain in the lobbyist's registration statement filed with the Tennessee ethics commission the identification of each bill and legislative measure for which the lobbyist is receiving compensation to oppose or support. - Amends TCA Title 3, Chapter 6.

Ethics - As introduced, specifies that an impermissible indirect gift to candidates for public office and certain officials and their family members includes, but is not limited to, a gift provided by an entity that is related to, and its business or political activities are intertwined with, an employer of a lobbyist; requires the governor and officers of the governor's cabinet to disclose certain travel expenses. - Amends TCA Title 3, Chapter 6 and Title 8, Chapter 50, Part 5.

Uniform Commercial Code - As introduced, changes, from the local law of the securities intermediary's jurisdiction to the law of this state, the law governing certain aspects of an investment security transaction; makes other related changes. - Amends TCA Title 47.

TennCare - As introduced, directs the bureau to establish a temporary TennCare benefits program to provide medical assistance on a temporary basis to certain individuals who do not qualify for enrollment in TennCare, CoverKids, or a successor program; requires the bureau to submit a waiver to the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services by December 31, 2025. - Amends TCA Title 71, Chapter 5.

Motor Vehicles - As introduced, increases, to the extent permissible under federal law, the maximum gross vehicle weight of a vehicle with an axle group of three axles that can be operated on the public highways of this state to 85,000 pounds. - Amends TCA Title 55.

Right to Die - As introduced, creates a process whereby an adult suffering from a terminal disease may request medication for the purpose of ending the adult's life in a humane and dignified manner if certain requirements are met. - Amends TCA Title 32; Title 39; Title 56; Title 63 and Title 68.

Charitable Solicitations - As introduced, exempts a child care agency from the registration requirements for charitable organizations. - Amends TCA Title 48, Chapter 101.

Environmental Preservation - As introduced, enacts the "Climate Resiliency Fund Act." - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 5; Title 9; Title 60; Title 67 and Title 68.

Soil Conservation - As introduced, enacts the "Healthy Soil Act." - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 43, Chapter 14.

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.

Health Care - As introduced, enacts the "Tennessee Medical Cannabis Act," which establishes a medical cannabis program to be administered by the Tennessee medical cannabis program commission. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 38, Chapter 3; Title 39, Chapter 17; Title 43; Title 50; Title 53; Title 63; Title 67 and Title 68.

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.

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.

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.

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.