Tennessee House Bills

Water - As enacted, authorizes municipal water and sewer systems to undertake certain projects on private property. - Amends TCA Title 7; Title 63; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 69.

Hamblen County - Subject to local approval, updates appointment provisions, qualifications, and compensation for the office of county attorney. - Amends Chapter 677 of the Private Acts of 1949; as amended.

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.

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.

Students - As introduced, creates a criminal offense for a school employee who intentionally engages in bullying or cyberbullying of a student; clarifies that a teacher or school employee of a local education agency who is found to have committed an act of harassment, intimidation, bullying, or cyberbullying is subject to dismissal or suspension. - Amends TCA Title 37; Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 3; Title 40; Title 49 and Title 55, Chapter 10, Part 7.

Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services, Dept. of - As introduced, enacts the "Helping Open Pathways to Effective (HOPE) Treatment Act." - Amends TCA Title 9; Title 33; Title 53; Title 63 and Title 68.

Lexington - Subject to local approval, clarifies the duties of the mayor as the chief executive officer of the city; authorizes the mayor to suspend an employee; clarifies that office of mayor is a full-time position. - Amends Chapter 402 of the Acts of 1901; as amended and rewritten.

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.

Firearms and Ammunition - As introduced, authorizes certain sitting or retired judges to carry weapons in any location that a law enforcement officer is authorized to carry a weapon if the judge could otherwise qualify for an enhanced handgun carry permit. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13.

Regional Authorities and Special Districts - As introduced, requires each convention center authority to send an annual audit of the books and records of its authority by January 1 to the governing body of the municipality granting permission to the authority to organize. - Amends TCA Title 7, Chapter 89.

Public Utility Commission - As introduced, authorizes the commission to electronically submit to the general assembly its annual report comparing telecommunications, electricity, natural gas, water, and wastewater utility rates between this state and the southeastern states. - 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.

Stanton - Subject to local approval, revises the general powers of the town; revises provisions related to the town judge. - Amends Chapter 142 of the Private Acts of 1990.

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.

Education, Dept. of - As introduced, changes from September 1 to December 1 the date by which the department must compile and publish to its website a directory of the name and contact information for the apprenticeship training program contact for each public high school. - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 49.

Jonesborough - Subject to local approval, authorizes the board of mayor and alderman for the Town of Jonesborough to elect a mayor from among the aldermen to fill a vacancy; authorizes the Town recorder to carry liability insurance rather than be bonded in an amount prescribed by Town ordinance; updates the election dates for the mayor and board of aldermen. - Amends Chapter 135 of the Acts of 1903; as amended.

Immigration - As introduced, adds local governments to the entities that must verify that each applicant for public benefits is a United States citizen or lawfully present in the United States; authorizes the attorney general and reporter to investigate violations of requirements for verification of citizenship or presence for public benefits; requires certain reporting related to such verification for benefits. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 1 and Title 4, Chapter 58.

Tourism - As introduced, changes, from 90 days after the end of a fiscal year to 60 days after the end of a fiscal year, the deadline for each city levying a tax upon the privilege of occupancy under general law to file a report with the department of tourist development detailing the amount spent by the municipality and how those expenditures have been designated and used for tourism and tourism development. - Amends TCA Title 5; Title 6; Title 7 and Title 67.

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, requires that if a vandalism offense occurred at a house of worship, the sentencing court to include as part of the sentence a fine of no less than two times the total amount of any property damage or loss or cleaning and restoration expenses incurred by the house of worship as a result of the offense. - Amends TCA Title 29 and Title 39.

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.

Utilities, Utility Districts - As enacted, establishes a process for a municipality that operates a sewerage system outside of its corporate boundaries and has imposed a moratorium on new sewer connections outside of its corporate boundaries for a period of five or more consecutive years to extend sanitary sewer service or allow sewer connection only to property located within an adjacency area if the property owner or developer agrees to pay, or the municipality assesses, a housing surcharge. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 12; Title 13; Title 29; Title 54; Title 64; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 69.

Children - As introduced, defines a child in need of heightened supervision; makes various other changes regarding the commitment, detention, and shelter care of children. - Amends TCA Title 37, Chapter 1, Part 1.

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.

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.

Regional Authorities and Special Districts - As enacted, enacts the "The Jeff Burkhart Act," which adds counties to the forms of local government that may establish a self-financing central business improvement district under the "Central Business Improvement District Act of 1990." - Amends TCA Title 5 and Title 7, Chapter 84, Part 5.

Business and Commerce - As introduced, increases, from 30 to 35 days, the time that a litigation financier has to amend its registration with the secretary of state whenever the information contained in the registration changes or becomes inaccurate or incomplete. - Amends TCA Title 47.

Immigration - As enacted, requires a memorandum of understanding entered between certain law enforcement agencies and federal officials concerning enforcement of federal immigration laws to include a requirement that the agency accept and honor any immigration detainer received from federal immigration authorities. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 7; Title 38 and Title 41.

Correctional Programs - As introduced, creates the family advisory board within the department of correction for the purposes of assisting the families of incarcerated individuals. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 41.

Traffic Safety - As enacted, allows a person who submits the fine and costs for a speeding ticket in lieu of appearing in court to also register for an approved driver education course online, of which successful completion can cause points for the speeding conviction to be removed from the person's record in accordance with current law. - Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 10; Title 55, Chapter 8 and Title 55, Chapter 9.

Taxes, Exemption and Credits - As introduced, requires the department of revenue to study the potential economic impact of making all excise tax credits transferable to any person or entity, other than the person or entity to whom or to which the credits are initially made; requires the department to report to the finance, ways and means committee of the senate and the committee in the house of representatives having jurisdiction over tax-related matters by December 15, 2026. - Amends TCA Title 67.

Education - As introduced, allows certain schools to be exempt from conducting separate audits of certain school funds; establishes that if a local education agency fails to submit a financial report before December 1 of the following fiscal year, then the per pupil funding allocated to the public charter school shall not decrease; changes the enrollment lottery process for public charter schools; changes the requirements for public charter school replication applications; makes various other changes. - Amends TCA Title 9; Title 49, Chapter 13; Title 49, Chapter 2; Title 49, Chapter 3 and Title 49, Chapter 1, Part 3.