Tennessee Bills

Driver Licenses - As enacted, requires driver license station staff to inquire of applicants whether the applicant would like a driver license that complies with the federal REAL ID Act of 2005 or does not comply with such act; makes other related revisions. - Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 50.

Public Utility Commission - As enacted, requires, for an electric utility providing services outside the corporate limits of the home municipality, expansion of the utility board to provide representation on the board for such outside locality. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 12; Title 13; Title 54; Title 64; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 69.

DUI Offenses - As enacted, clarifies present law regarding the revocation of a person's driver license for an implied consent violation. - Amends TCA Section 55-10-407.

Civil Emergencies - As enacted, creates the department of Tennessee emergency management assistance ("TEMA") to authorize the creation of local organizations for emergency management in the political subdivisions of the state, and to authorize cooperation with the federal government and the governments of other states. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 9; Title 13; Title 16; Title 39; Title 55; Title 58; Title 62; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 71.

Local Government, General - As enacted, requires a local government responsible for reviewing a development application, development plan, or a site inspection submitted by a developer for the purpose of developing real property in this state, within 60 business days of the submission, to approve the application, plan, or site inspection or add the submission to the next available agenda of either the planning commission or the governing body; makes other related changes. - Amends TCA Title 7.

Unemployment Compensation - As enacted, removes a requirement that work be deemed suitable for a claimant if certain criteria are met and a claimant's gross weekly wages equal or exceed certain threshold percentages of the claimant's weekly wage for insured work for the quarter of the base period when the claimant's wages were greatest. - Amends TCA Section 50-7-303.

Salaries and Benefits - As enacted, expresses the public policy that the prevailing wage rate be paid to workers on non-state contracts for construction projects on public highways; makes other revisions to the Prevailing Wage Act for State Highway Construction Projects. - Amends TCA Title 12, Chapter 4, Part 4.

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.

Education - As enacted, makes various revisions to education law, including, but not limited to, prohibiting parents from using funds deposited in a participating student's IEA to make contributions to an achieving a better life experience account for purposes of the "ABLE Act," and requiring the Title VI coordinator for a LEA or public charter school to investigate certain complaints of antisemitic discrimination and harassment reported to the LEA or public charter school before formally reporting the incidents and complaints to the Title VI coordinator designated by the department of education. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 29; Title 5, Chapter 21; Title 8, Chapter 50, Part 8; Title 49, Chapter 10, Part 1; Title 49, Chapter 10, Part 14; Title 49, Chapter 11, Part 1; Title 49, Chapter 11, Part 8; Title 49, Chapter 13; Title 49, Chapter 15, Part 1; Title 49, Chapter 16, Part 2; Title 49, Chapter 17; Section 49-2-203; Title 49, Chapter 3, Part 1; Title 49, Chapter 5, Part 4; Title 49, Chapter 50, Part 10; Title 49, Chapter 50, Part 16; Title 49, Chapter 50, Part 18; Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 10; Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 15; Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 22; Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 23; Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 30; Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 34; Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 42; Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 81; Title 49, Chapter 1, Part 2; Title 49, Chapter 1, Part 3 and Section 68-204-110.

Boards and Commissions - As enacted, revises law regulating professions under the department of commerce and insurance. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 29, Part 2; Title 20, Chapter 9, Part 6; Title 55, Chapter 17, Part 1; Title 62, Chapter 13; Title 62, Chapter 18; Title 62, Chapter 2; Title 62, Chapter 20; Title 62, Chapter 27; Title 62, Chapter 35; Title 62, Chapter 4; Title 62, Chapter 6; Title 62, Chapter 76; Title 68, Chapter 102 and Title 68, Chapter 105.

Children's Services, Dept. of - As enacted, requires a child placed in the custody of the department to remain in custody so long as necessary to complete treatment or services, which must be evidence-based and provided by a qualified provider; makes other changes to child custody law; creates a juvenile commitment review task force to examine system issues and service gaps for certain children committed to the custody of the department. - Amends TCA Title 37, Chapter 1, Part 1.

Recycling - As enacted, establishes the office of cooperative marketing for recyclables and the recycling market development and diversion advisory council. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7 and Title 68, Chapter 211.

Taxes, Sales - As enacted, extends the deadline by which a county that borders at least three distressed rural counties must apply to be eligible to retain the sales and use tax generated from a commercial development district from December 31, 2026, to December 31, 2040; extends the deadline for the commissioner of finance and administration to approve a commercial development district from June 30, 2031, to June 30, 2041. - Amends TCA Title 67, Chapter 6.

Housing - As enacted, establishes the community workforce housing innovation pilot program to be administered by the Tennessee housing development agency; authorizes the agency to provide loans to an applicant for construction or rehabilitation of workforce housing in each of the three grand divisions; requires the housing to be affordable to natural persons or families who meet certain criteria. - Amends TCA Title 7, Chapter 53; Title 13; Title 48, Chapter 101, Part 3; Title 56 and Title 67.

Regional Authorities and Special Districts - As enacted, vacates the present board of commissioners of each existing authority for metropolitan and regional airports, and reconstitute a new governing body; makes related changes. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 7 and Title 42.

Insurance, Health, Accident - As enacted, authorizes a health insurance entity to offer a short-term limited-duration plan and hospital indemnity coverage on the marketplace. - Amends TCA Title 3; Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 10; Title 12; Title 29; Title 35; Title 36; Title 37; Title 39; Title 40; Title 41; Title 42; Title 45; Title 47; Title 49; Title 50; Title 52; Title 53; Title 56; Title 58; Title 63; Title 67; Title 68 and Title 71.

Banks and Financial Institutions - As enacted, clarifies that the service of transmitting money from a location originating in this state to a location outside of the United States or its territories is a taxable service and that such a tax is generally levied on the amount of money transmitted; requires revenues generated from such a tax to be allocated to certain funds and purposes. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 38; Title 39; Title 45; Title 47; Title 49 and Title 67.

Taxes - As enacted, adds to the definition of a "qualified public use facility" as used in the Local Tourism Development Zone Business Tax Act a mixed-use development containing a performance venue with a seating capacity of at least 2,500; authorizes a municipality or public authority that has financed a qualified public use facility within a tourism development zone and that qualifies for an allocation of sales tax revenue from within that zone under the Convention Center and Tourism Development Financing Act of 1998 and under other provisions of sales tax law to use the revenue for purposes authorized in the act or other law. - Amends TCA Title 7 and Title 67.

District Attorneys - As enacted, eliminates the fraud and economic crimes fees and assessments in criminal prosecutions for counties that have enacted a $12.50 court cost to be used for supplemental funding for the district attorney general's office; requires existing funds in fraud and economic crimes prosecution fund to be remitted back to the county government of original assessment and collection. - Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 3.

Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) - As enacted, requires the TISA review committee to study and include in its annual report recommendations for how this state may revise the ways in which it identifies economically disadvantaged students to ensure this state is accurately identifying the students in need of additional resources and recommendations for how this state may better support economically disadvantaged students through the TISA. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 1 and Title 49, Chapter 3.

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

Fire Prevention and Investigation - As enacted, requires the commissioner of commerce and insurance to fulfill certain duties for the volunteer firefighter vehicle grant program, which is established to annually provide grants to select volunteer fire departments to assist with local match requirements for federal grants to purchase vehicles. - Amends TCA Title 68.

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, increases the penalty for assaulting a first responder from a Class A misdemeanor with a mandatory fine of $5,000 and a mandatory minimum of 30 days incarceration to a Class E felony with a mandatory fine of $10,000 and a mandatory minimum of 60 days incarceration. - Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40.

Education - As enacted, creates an early educator workforce development resource task force. - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 49.

Recreational Areas - As enacted, expands the purposes for which monies from the Ocoee River recreation and economic development fund may be expended by the Ocoee River recreation and economic development fund board; replaces the park manager member of the board with the director of the division of state parks. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 10 and Title 11, Chapter 8.

Education - As enacted, requires the department of education to implement a pilot program to evaluate whether administering fewer district- and state-mandated assessments results in students achieving greater academic success; adds an additional method by which a student who is not proficient in ELA, as determined by the student's achieving a performance level rating of “approaching” on the ELA portion of the student's most recent TCAP test may be promoted. - Amends TCA Title 49.

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

Utilities, Utility Districts - As enacted, authorizes, during a state of emergency that is based on a natural emergency, an emergency utility worker to travel upon public roads and enter areas subject to curfew or restricted access orders when such access is necessary to perform emergency utilities restoration activities; provides that an emergency utility worker, and the emergency utility worker's employer, are immune from civil liability for injury, death, or property damage resulting from an act or omission of the emergency utility worker committed in good faith while engaged in emergency utilities restoration activities during a state of emergency declared that is based on a natural emergency. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 29; Title 39 and Title 58.

Sewage - As enacted, clarifies that a utility system providing waste water service must provide a connection if certain criteria is met. - Amends TCA Title 7, Chapter 35; Title 7, Chapter 82 and Title 68, Chapter 221.

Public Utilities - As enacted, requires a utility to provide material that is required for construction of utility infrastructure for the customer's or approved contractor's use at the same price as the utility paid for the material, if such material is available only from the utility; authorizes a customer or approved contractor installing utility infrastructure to install street lights; prohibits a utility from requiring a customer or approved contractor from installing street lights; prohibits certain fees for inspections and review of plans and designs from exceeding a combined total of 10% of the proposed cost of the project. - Amends TCA Title 7; Title 13, Chapter 7; Title 65 and Title 68.

Tobacco, Tobacco Products - As enacted, 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. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17; Title 43; Title 57 and Title 67, Chapter 4, Part 10.

Alcoholic Beverages - As enacted, authorizes the consumption of alcoholic beverages and beer on the premises of a temporary special event zone located in Davidson County, subject to certain requirements. - Amends TCA Title 7 and Title 57.

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

Local Education Agencies - As enacted, requires LEAs and public charter schools to allow a private pay provider who is under contract with a parent or legal guardian of a student with autism spectrum disorder or developmental delays who is enrolled in the LEA or public charter school, access to the student during the school day to provide the student with private pay services in educational settings as long as the educational settings in which private pay services are provided do not conflict with the student's educational placement; makes other related changes. - Amends TCA Title 49; Title 68 and Title 71.

Regional Authorities and Special Districts - As enacted, revises the "Convention Center Authorities Act of 2009" as the "Convention Center and Agricultural Exposition Authorities Act." - Amends TCA Title 7, Chapter 89.

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, makes revisions to law relative to offenses occurring at a house of worship. - Amends TCA Title 29 and Title 39.

Teachers, Principals and School Personnel - As enacted, clarifies that certain individuals who have not completed the amount of clinical practice required by the educator preparation provider in which the individual is enrolled may receive a temporary clinical permit if all other requirements for the permit are satisfied; allows such an individual who is issued a temporary clinical permit to meet the clinical practice requirements of the EPP in which the individual is enrolled by combining the amount of clinical practice the individual completed before being issued a temporary clinical permit with the amount of time the individual taught under the temporary clinical permit. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 5.

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, makes revisions to the offense of adulteration of food, liquids, or pharmaceuticals. - Amends TCA Title 39; Title 40 and Title 57.

Hospitals and Health Care Facilities - As enacted, requires each fertility clinic operating in this state to obtain a certificate from the department of health to perform assisted reproductive technology services. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 29; Title 36; Title 63 and Title 68.

Education - As enacted, makes various revisions to education law, including, but not limited to, requiring each public school to annually submit to the department of education a list of all local assessments administered to students, requiring the department to publish the percentage of students who attain proficiency for the English language arts portion of the TCAP, and establishing the assessment review board to annually review the TCAP tests administered to students in the most recent school year. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 49.

Children - As enacted, establishes the children's digital protection fund within the state treasury. - Amends TCA Title 9, Chapter 4, Part 2.

Fireworks - As enacted, requires a person who offers sparkling devices for sale and who does not hold a fireworks permit to register each location at which the person offers such devices for sale with the state fire marshal; makes other related changes. - Amends TCA Title 68.

Tennessee Arts Commission - As enacted, reconstitutes the commission. - Amends TCA Title 4.

Natural Disasters - As enacted, enacts the "Local Disaster Displacement Tax Relief Act." - Amends TCA Title 7, Chapter 4; Title 58 and Title 67, Chapter 4.

Taxes - As enacted, provides that an application for an exemption from property taxation for property owned by a religious, charitable, scientific, or nonprofit educational organization that is filed within 180 days after the exempt use of the property began will be effective as of the date the exempt use began, if the application is made after May 20th of the year for which the exemption is sought, but prior to the end of the year; makes other related changes. - Amends TCA Title 67.

Law Enforcement - As enacted, requires TACIR to conduct a study of the salaries and other benefits paid to state and local law enforcement officers in this state; authorizes the commissioner of safety to establish a hazardous duty designation for members of the highway patrol that may be used to authorize additional compensation for designated members. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 9 and Title 38.

Local Government, General - As enacted, authorizes Putnam County and incorporated cities within the county to regulate sober living homes for recovery from alcohol, drug, and substance abuse to the extent such regulation complies with the "Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act." - Amends TCA Title 7, Chapter 51, Part 26.

Firearms and Ammunition - As enacted, revises the exemption for judges to the offense of carrying weapons during judicial proceedings. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13.

Alcoholic Beverage Commission - As enacted, imposes an additional 10% tax on a hemp-derived cannabinoid product's wholesale cost if the product is inhalable in cartridge form. - Amends TCA Title 57 and Title 67.

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, makes various changes relative to the offense of organized retail crime. - Amends TCA Title 18; Title 38, Chapter 6, Part 1 and Title 39.

Tourism - As enacted, requires revenue that is received by a municipality and that is used to fund a destination marketing entity engaged in tourism promotion on behalf of the municipality be released to the destination marketing entity no later than 120 days after the municipality approves its final budget. - Amends TCA Title 5; Title 6; Title 7 and Title 67.

Newspapers and Publications - As enacted, requires the Tennessee advisory commission on intergovernmental relations (TACIR) to conduct a study to determine if newspapers of general circulation remain the most efficient and effective manner for governments to provide the public with transparent and accessible information. - Amends TCA Title 1, Chapter 3 and Title 8, Chapter 44.

Health Care - As enacted, makes various changes to health-related laws, including, but not limited to, requiring the commissioner of health to prescribe conditions under which processed and verified claims data found on the UB-92 form are made available to the public; revising law relative to critical access hospitals, and revising law relative to certificates of need. - Amends TCA Title 33; Title 63 and Title 68.

County Government - As enacted, authorizes a county legislative body operating under the County Purchasing Law of 1957 to set the compensation for the director of accounts and budgets. - Amends TCA Title 5 and Title 8.

TennCare - As enacted, 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.

Tennessee Fish & Wildlife Commission - As enacted, establishes a statutory schedule of permit fees for the operation of off highway vehicles at North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area. - Amends TCA Title 70, Chapter 9.

Public Funds and Financing - As enacted, creates the joint capital tourism board; makes other related changes. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 9 and Title 67.

Lottery, Corporation - As enacted, vacates and reconstitutes the board of directors of the Tennessee education lottery corporation; requires certain information maintained by the corporation to be subject to a public records request; terminates the lottery corporation on June 30, 2030. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 10 and Title 49.

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, creates a Class E felony offense when a person, for the purpose of deriving a pecuniary benefit, engages in conduct intended to influence the occurrence or nonoccurrence of an event while the person, or another acting in active concert with the person, is a party to a contract traded on a prediction-market by which the person will derive such pecuniary benefit directly from the settlement of that contract based on the occurrence or a nonoccurrence of the event. - Amends TCA Title 39.

Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services, Dept. of - As enacted, enacts the "HOPE Treatment Act." - Amends TCA Title 9; Title 33; Title 53; Title 63 and Title 68.