Tennessee Bills

Campaigns and Campaign Finance - As enacted, clarifies that expenditures of campaign funds to enhance security for an officeholder's personal residence are not deemed for personal use and that such expenditures are limited to home security consultation, home security equipment, home security monitoring services, safe rooms, and the use of security guards at an officeholder's personal residence for non-campaign purposes; clarifies that such expenditures must not exceed $12,000 per calendar year and must be disclosed as "residential security." - Amends TCA Title 2, Chapter 10.

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, creates a Class A misdemeanor offense of intentionally moving, altering, destroying, or removing a monument the person knows, or reasonably should know, is a property corner monument, historic land surveying monument, or geodetic control monument. - Amends TCA Title 39; Title 62, Chapter 18 and Title 66.

Victims' Rights - As enacted, authorizes a court clerk to increase the victims assistance assessment from $45 to $125, with the first $15 of each assessment being paid to the court clerk for processing and handling and the remaining amount being transmitted to the county in which the offense occurred for the exclusive use of the victims assistance program previously designated by the county legislative body. - Amends TCA Section 40-24-109.

Schools, Charter - As enacted, allows private postsecondary institutions, including those that are religiously affiliated, to operate a public charter school; allows such institutions to apply to the local board of education or directly to the Tennessee public charter school commission to open a public charter school and to give an enrollment preference to children of the institution's employees or members of its governing body in the same manner afforded to public institutions of higher education. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Dentists and Dentistry - As enacted, requires a dental hygienist to be working under the direct supervision of a dentist seeing a new patient before completing diagnostic radiographs; assessing and recording existing hard and soft tissue data; performing prophylaxis; and applying fluoride agents. - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 63, Chapter 5.

Sentencing - As enacted, enacts the "James Bardsley, Jr. Life Protection Act." - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 13 and Title 55, Chapter 10.

Children's Services, Dept. of - As enacted, requires the commissioner of children's services to develop a statewide quality assurance program to ensure quality control through monitoring, evaluation, and feedback on the performance of the best practices in the service delivery system and utilizing both qualitative and quantitative data in outcomes-based approaches at the regional level. - Amends TCA Title 37, Chapter 5.

Pharmacy, Pharmacists - As enacted, enacts the "Freedom, Access, and Integrity in Registered Pharmacy (FAIR Rx) Act." - Amends TCA Title 63.

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, enacts the "Grace Anne Sparks Coercive Suicide Prevention Law of 2026." - Amends TCA Title 39.

Consumer Protection - As enacted, requires the Tennessee advisory commission on intergovernmental relations (TACIR) to conduct a study of the potential regulation of artificial intelligence systems and generative artificial intelligence chatbots in this state. - Amends TCA Title 29; Title 37 and Title 47.

Hospitals and Health Care Facilities - As enacted, prohibits a hospital emergency department, including a satellite emergency department, from denying to a woman who presents at such facility and purports or, if incapacitated, appears to be pregnant and experiencing active labor, other symptoms associated with active labor, or an emergency medical condition, an appropriate medical screening examination within the capability of the emergency department, including ancillary services routinely available to the emergency department, to determine whether or not an emergency medical condition or active labor exists; makes other related changes. - Amends TCA Title 63 and Title 68.

Fireworks - As enacted, expands the length of the existing Independence Day and New Year sales periods and adds new Memorial Day and Labor Day sales periods for seasonal retailers of fireworks for the 2026 retail period; increases the seasonal retailer permit fee from $100 to $150 for calendar year 2026; and authorizes the state fire marshal to promulgate rules to effectuate the act. - Amends TCA Title 68, Chapter 104.

Real Estate Agents and Brokers - As enacted, exempts an affiliate broker or broker licensed under the "Tennessee Real Estate Broker License Act" from the additional licensure and classroom hours in training programs requirements for a vacation lodging service firm's designated agent; requires that vacation lodging services be under the supervision of the principal broker of an affiliate broker, broker, or firm. - Amends TCA Title 62, Chapter 13.

Pensions and Retirement Benefits - As enacted, requires retirement credit established for a period of disability for a commissioned member of the department of safety or agent of the Tennessee bureau of investigation to be at no cost to that member; authorizes political subdivisions that pass a resolution to establish retirement credit for its employees to allow the credit for a period of disability for any member who is subject to mandatory retirements to be at no cost to such person. - Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 34, Part 6.

Orders of Protection - As enacted, 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.

Gambling - As enacted, clarifies that gambling, the operation or possession of gambling devices, and the operation, conducting, or commercial promoting of online sweepstakes games and other forms of online or app-based gambling are unlawful and a violation of the "Tennessee Consumer Protection Act"; expands the authority of the sports wagering council to investigate illegal gambling and gaming activity; expands the investigative authority of the attorney general to investigate unlawful activity within the purview of the attorney general. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 4, Chapter 49; Title 8, Chapter 6, Part 4; Title 40, Chapter 2 and Title 47.

Education - As enacted, revises the assessment testing requirements for students who participate in the education savings account (ESA) program. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 9; Title 12; Title 48; Title 49 and Title 67.

Industrial Development - As enacted, revises law relative to industrial development corporations. - Amends TCA Title 7 and Title 48.

Children - As enacted, revises various provisions governing surrendering custody of unwanted infants. - Amends TCA Title 36, Chapter 1, Part 1 and Title 68, Chapter 11, Part 2.

Firearms and Ammunition - As enacted, lowers the standard for the use of deadly force to protect property. - Amends TCA Title 39.

Local Government, General - As enacted, enacts the "Essential Governmental Employee Housing Act of 2026"; makes related changes. - Amends TCA Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 9; Title 12 and Title 67.

Open Meetings - As enacted, authorizes emergency communications district boards of directors to participate in board meetings electronically under the open meetings law. - Amends TCA Title 7, Chapter 86, Part 3 and Title 8, Chapter 44, Part 1.

Military - As enacted, designates the national guard armory in McNairy County as the "Brigadier General Donald F. Hawkins Army National Guard Armory." - Amends TCA Title 58, Chapter 1.

Schools, Charter - As enacted, authorizes the establishment of adult public charter schools, which are defined as public charter schools that exclusively serve students who are 18 or older by providing instruction to such students in accordance with the rules for adult high schools promulgated by the state board of education to assist such students in obtaining course credit leading to the attainment of a high school diploma. - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 49.

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, 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.

Regional Authorities and Special Districts - As enacted, 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.

Students - As enacted, creates a criminal offense for certain school employees who intentionally engage 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.

Zoning - As enacted, 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.

Immigration - As enacted, 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 certain investigations of violations of requirements for verification of citizenship or presence for public benefits; requires certain reporting related to such verification for benefits; makes other related changes. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 1 and Title 4, Chapter 58.

Immigration - As enacted, creates certain offenses for a person who is unlawfully present in the United States to operate a commercial motor vehicle in this state and a direct employer of such person; requires the law enforcement agency of an officer who arrests a person who is unlawfully present in the United States to operate a commercial motor vehicle in this state to ensure that federal immigration authorities are notified; creates related civil actions for persons injured by an unlawfully present person's operation of a commercial motor vehicle. - Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 50.

General Assembly, Studies - As enacted, directs the Tennessee advisory commission on intergovernmental relations (TACIR) to perform a study of this state's emergency communications system. -

Motor Vehicles - As enacted, prohibits the initial issuance of registration of a motor vehicle if the vehicle has not met the requirements of the "Financial Responsibility Law of 1977," which provides insurance and financial responsibility requirements for motor vehicle operators; makes related changes. - Amends TCA Title 29; Title 55 and Title 56.

Regional Authorities and Special Districts - As enacted, 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.

Licenses - As enacted, enacts the "Military Families Licensing Recognition Act." - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 58; Title 62; Title 63 and Title 68.

Local Government, General - As enacted, authorizes municipalities and metropolitan governments to adopt a tiered system of monetary penalties for repeated violations of the same municipal ordinance by the same person or entity within a 12-month period. - Amends TCA Title 6 and Title 7.

Civil Procedure - As enacted, clarifies that the same immunities from civil liability, adverse action, and disciplinary action, and duties, that apply to this state, state employees, public schools, LEAs, public school students, public school teachers, public school employees, public school contractors, public institutions of higher education, public higher education students, public higher education faculty, public higher education employees, and public higher education contractors with regard to the use of a pronoun consistent with an individual's sex applies when using an honorific that is consistent with an individual's sex. - Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 50; Title 49, Chapter 7, Part 24 and Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 51.

State Government - As enacted, requires either the executive head or president of each public institution of higher education, or the chief executive head of any of its campuses to submit an annual attestation of compliance to the comptroller of the treasury no later than January 1, 2027, and each January 1 thereafter, that such entity has not implemented a discriminatory preference to increase diversity, equity, or inclusion; authorizes the attorney general to make certain related investigations. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7 and Title 49.

Alcoholic Beverages - As enacted, establishes new premier type tourist resorts, restaurants, community theaters, clubs, retirement centers, premises, and commercial passenger boat companies that can offer liquor by the drink; makes related changes. - Amends TCA Title 57.

Taxes, Real Property - As enacted, authorizes, until June 30, 2041, a county or municipality that levies a property tax to pay a property tax refund owed to a taxpayer through annual installments applied as credits against the taxpayer's future property taxes if certain criteria is met. - Amends TCA Title 67.

Sunset Laws - As enacted, extends the Tennessee state veterans' homes board to June 30, 2028; requires the board to report back to the government operations committee by December 31, 2026, to update the committee on its progress in addressing the findings and observations set forth in the December 2025 performance audit report. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 58, Chapter 7.

Sunset Laws - As enacted, extends the department of children's services to June 30, 2028; requires the department to report back to the government operations committee by December 31, 2026, to update the committee on its progress in addressing the findings and observations set forth in the December 2025 performance audit report. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 37, Chapter 5.

Municipal Government - As enacted, creates a process for continuing funding for a municipal LEA when the municipal legislative body and the governing body for the LEA cannot agree on a budget; provides a process for continuing funding of municipal operations when a municipal legislative body has not adopted a budget by the first day of a fiscal year. - Amends TCA Title 6, Chapter 56, Part 1 and Title 6, Chapter 56, Part 2.

Local Government, General - As enacted, clarifies that the general assembly occupies the entire field of the regulation of shopping carts, including their purchase, use, taxation, manufacture, ownership, sale, storage, and transportation, to the exclusion of all county or metropolitan government laws, ordinances, resolutions, enactments, or regulations; prohibits a county or metropolitan government, or any agency, department, or official of a county or metropolitan government, from adopting an ordinance, resolution, or other regulation requiring a business to adopt a shopping cart policy of any nature or imposing a fee or fine on a business related to shopping carts. - Amends TCA Title 5, Chapter 1 and Title 6, Chapter 54.

Historical Sites and Preservation - As enacted, authorizes local historical boards to lease land owned or managed by such boards for agricultural purposes, with all proceeds received by the boards to be used for the preservation of historic sites and structures. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 11; Title 12; Title 29 and Title 43.

Courts - As enacted, 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.

Computers and Electronic Processing - As enacted, requires TACIR to study artificial intelligence and submit a report to the governor and both speakers by January 31, 2027. - Amends TCA Title 29; Title 33; Title 39 and Title 47.

Taxes, Real Property - As enacted, provides that a collecting official or the division of property assessments is not required to request documentation verifying the income of an elderly person seeking tax relief if the applicant is at least 80 years old and meets certain other requirements. - Amends TCA Title 67, Chapter 5, Part 7.

Health, Dept. of - As enacted, requires the department to make available and require educational materials on blood lead level testing for a pregnant woman who receives vouchers for the special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children. - Amends TCA Title 37; Title 49; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

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

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.

Teachers, Principals and School Personnel - As enacted, revises law relative to leave for teachers. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Telecommunications - As enacted, requires a person or entity that makes telephone solicitations using an automated telephone dialing system to delivery artificial or prerecorded voice messages to residential subscribers in this state to maintain a record of the number of such telephone solicitations made each month; makes other related changes. - Amends TCA Title 47, Chapter 18; Title 65 and Title 67.

Health Care - As enacted, authorizes a physician to perform stem cell therapy or regenerative medicine therapy that is not approved by the United States food and drug administration if such therapy is used for a treatment or procedure that is within the scope of practice of the physician; makes related changes. - Amends TCA Title 63 and Title 68.

Dieticians and Nutritionists - As enacted, enacts the "Dietetics and Nutrition Practice Act." - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 63.

Sexual Offenses - As enacted, provides that a person commits the offense of grooming of a minor when the person engages in a course of grooming conduct directed at a minor with the specific intent to commit, or facilitate the commission by another person of, a sexual offense or violent sexual offense against the minor; or to cause or induce the minor to engage in simulated sexual activity that is patently offensive or sexual activity; makes related changes. - Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40.

Controlled Substances - As enacted, clarifies that a substance that is approved by the U.S. food and drug administration and designated or scheduled under federal law by a final order published in the Federal Register, is generally considered to be in the same schedule as such substance is designated or scheduled under the federal schedule of controlled substances after the expiration of 30 days from the date of publication of the final order; authorizes a licensed healthcare prescriber who is authorized to prescribe controlled substances to prescribe a drug product that has been so scheduled if certain other criteria is met. - Amends TCA Title 39; Title 53; Title 63 and Title 68.

Correctional Programs - As enacted, creates the state families of incarcerated individuals 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.

Obscenity and Pornography - As enacted, prohibits the issuance of a license to operate certain adult-oriented establishments unless certain signage is posted. - Amends TCA Title 7, Chapter 51 and Title 39.

Motor Vehicles - As enacted, requires a delivery network company or delivery network company driver to comply with certain automobile liability insurance requirements. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 7; Title 55; Title 56 and Title 65.

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.