Tennessee Bills

Business and Commerce - As introduced, creates the "Tennessee Data Center Impact Review Act." - Amends TCA Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 10; Title 62; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 69.

TennCare - As introduced, authorizes the comptroller of the treasury to submit the annual actuarial study of the TennCare program and participating managed care organizations, along with any related oral and written comments, to the designated legislative committees and offices in an electronic format. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 33; Title 56; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

Banks and Financial Institutions - As introduced, prohibits a bank from digitizing or otherwise converting money held by the bank on behalf of a consumer into a digital currency, digital medium of exchange, or digital monetary unit of account, including cryptocurrency, without express, written authorization from the consumer for whom the money is held. - Amends TCA Title 45.

Salaries and Benefits - As introduced, requires employers to pay employees an hourly wage of at least $20 beginning January 1, 2027, with annual adjustments by the commissioner of labor and workforce development based on increases in the consumer price index; establishes posting mandates, civil liability for violations, and a two-to-three-year statute of limitations for recovery actions. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 9; Title 13; Title 29; Title 47; Title 50; Title 57; Title 58; Title 65; Title 67 and Title 68.

Insurance, Health, Accident - As introduced, removes an obsolete reference to reimbursement requirements related to anatomic pathology services applying to anatomic pathology services billed by gastroenterologists only applying on and after July 1, 2014. - Amends TCA Title 8; Title 47; Title 56; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

Fire Prevention and Investigation - As introduced, requires the state fire marshal, in addition to the present law requirement of being available for the training of owners of educational and institutional occupancies, their tenants, or employees in methods of fire drills, to make available on the state fire marshal's website training materials to assist in such training. - Amends TCA Title 68.

Employees, Employers - As introduced, creates the "Anti-Retaliation for Reporting Unsafe Work Act." - Amends TCA Title 50.

Hospitals and Health Care Facilities - As introduced, increases from 15 to 30 days, the time before the originally scheduled health facilities commission meeting at which an applicant's certificate of need application is to be heard by the commission by which a healthcare institution wishing to oppose such application must file written notice with the commission, and about which the applicant's published letter of intent in a newspaper of general circulation in the proposed service area of the project must contain a statement of notice. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 33; Title 56; Title 63; Title 68, Title 71 and Chapter 985 of the Public Acts of 2024.

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.

Consumer Protection - As introduced, authorizes the attorney general to establish a do not call registry; places certain restrictions upon telephone solicitations and robocallers; authorizes the attorney general to enforce restrictions and sets monetary amounts for penalties imposed by a court that makes a finding of a violation. - Amends TCA Title 39; Title 47 and Title 65.

Health Care - As introduced, authorizes electronic filing of the annual report by a sponsoring not-for-profit corporation providing healthcare services to low income individuals pursuant to the Memphis Plan Act of 1991, with the commissioner of commerce and insurance. - Amends TCA Title 56, Chapter 7.

Insurance Companies, Agents, Brokers, Policies - As introduced, establishes the Tennessee commission of insurance review; prohibits a health insurance entity from offering or maintaining a health benefit plan that uses downcoding in a manner that prevents the provider from collecting the fee for actual services performed either from the health benefit plan or the patient; makes other changes related to health insurance and health insurers. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 56 and Title 71.

Business Organizations - As introduced, requires the comptroller of the treasury to submit a report, on or before December 31, 2026, to the governor, the speaker of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the chair of the state and local government committee of the senate, and the chair of the committee of the house of representatives having jurisdiction over housing containing a summary of certain de-identified information related to real estate investment trusts' purchases and sales of single-family homes in this state in 2025. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 13; Title 47; Title 48; Title 61; Title 66 and Title 67.

Consumer Protection - As introduced, prohibits a person from requiring another to use programmable money for a transaction; prohibits an issuer of programmable money from denying a transaction based upon certain factors; requires an issuer of programmable money that denies a transaction to provide reasons for the denial to the affected party upon request; designates violations to be violations of the Consumer Protection Act of 1977 and provides for other forms of relief and enforcement. - Amends TCA Title 47.

Public Utility Commission - As introduced, authorizes the commission to electronically provide to the general assembly its annual report of all matters relating to the commissioner's office for the preceding year, including practical workings of companies under its jurisdiction in this state and an abstract of the minutes of all of the commission's meetings. - 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.

Health, Dept. of - As introduced, directs the department to conduct a study on health concerns of, and identifying obstacles for receiving better care for, persons whose biological sex is female; requires the department to submit a report to the members of the general assembly on the results of the study on or before January 1, 2027. - Amends TCA Title 28; Title 29; Title 49; Title 56; Title 63 and Title 68.

Insurance, Health, Accident - As introduced, creates the "Regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Health Care Act." - Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 27; Title 56 and Title 71.

Disability and Aging, Dept. Of - As introduced, creates a licensure process for prescribed pediatric extended care programs; requires TennCare to submit a waiver to the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services seeking approval to provide coverage and benefits for those who receive services from a prescribed pediatric extended care program. - Amends TCA Title 52; Title 56 and Title 71.

Consumer Protection - As introduced, prohibits an entity from setting the price of a specific good or service using personalized algorithmic pricing; designates a violation as an unfair or deceptive act or practice affecting trade or commerce in violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977. - Amends TCA Title 29; Title 45; Title 47 and Title 66.

Insurance, Health, Accident - As introduced, directs the commissioner of commerce and insurance to publish and submit to the general assembly on or before October 1, 2026, a report containing data on alleged statutory violations by pharmacy benefits managers during the previous fiscal year for failing to meet requirements for timely reimbursements to pharmacies; the report must include data on the number of alleged violations reported, the commissioner's findings from any ensuing investigations, and any penalties imposed for findings of violations. - Amends TCA Title 56, Chapter 7, Part 31 and Title 56, Chapter 7, Part 32.

Commerce and Insurance, Dept. of - As introduced, extends from 30 days to 30 business days the period of time within which an insurer must respond to the department's request for information in regard to a complaint filed against the insurer. - Amends TCA Title 33; Title 39; Title 52; Title 56; Title 58; Title 68 and Title 71.

Insurance, Health, Accident - As introduced, prohibits an out-of-network ambulance service provider from balance billing an enrollee in a health benefit plan for emergency ambulance services; establishes allowable billable costs for such services. - Amends TCA Title 56, Chapter 7 and Title 68, Chapter 140.

Economic and Community Development - As introduced, enacts the "Small Business Growth and Empowerment Act"; authorizes business tax credits for small businesses hiring locally or providing workforce training; creates grants for minority-owned and women-owned businesses in underserved areas. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 7 and Title 67, Chapter 4.

Memorials, Death - Alex Jeffrey Pretti -

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, specifies that a person using force intended or likely to cause death or serious bodily injury from within the person's residence or dwelling is presumed to have acted in self-defense when that force is used against an individual armed with a deadly weapon who is unlawfully present on the person's property and outside of the enclosed structure of the person's residence or dwelling. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 11 and Title 40.

Handgun Permits - As introduced, extends the time, from 30 days to 60 days, within which a person whose handgun carry permit has been suspended or revoked may petition the chancery court for judicial review of the department of safety's final determination. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 10; Title 29; Title 33; Title 36; Title 37; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 49; Title 50 and Title 70.

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, extends from January 15 to February 15, the date by which, every five years, the fiscal review committee must report to the chief clerks of the senate and the house of representatives of the general assembly the percentage of change in the average consumer price index (all items-city average) as published by the United States department of labor, bureau of labor statistics and must inform the general assembly what the statutory minimum and maximum authorized fine for each offense classification would be if adjusted to reflect the compounded cost-of-living increases during the five-year period. - Amends TCA Title 16; Title 36; Title 37; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 49; Title 55 and Title 65.

Mental Illness - As introduced, establishes a rebuttable presumption that a person poses an imminent substantial likelihood of serious harm and needs emergency detention and examination if the person was charged with one of certain criminal offenses and ordered by the criminal, circuit, or general sessions court to undergo an evaluation to determine whether the person is incompetent to stand trial or the person's mental capacity at the time of the commission of the crime; requires clear and convincing evidence to rebut the presumption. - Amends TCA Title 33; Title 40 and Title 52.

Firearms and Ammunition - As introduced, deletes the offense of carrying a firearm or a club with the intent to go armed, prohibits the carrying of a firearm or weapon inside of a K-12 public or private school and on a school bus if the person's intent is to go armed and the school and the bus are posted in a certain manner; deletes the offense of carrying a firearm on the property of a university, college campus, and other public or private non-K-12 educational institutions or property; rewrites the offense of possessing a handgun while under the influence of alcohol or any controlled substance or controlled substance analogue; rewrites the offense of carrying weapons during judicial proceedings; makes various other changes related to firearms. - Amends TCA Title 16; Title 36; Title 37; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 49; Title 55 and Title 65.

Firearms and Ammunition - As introduced, changes from February 1 to February 15, the date by which the Tennessee bureau of investigation must report to the judiciary committee of the senate and the criminal justice committee of the house of representatives the amount of any background check fees charged to gun dealers that exceeds the costs associated with conducting background checks. - Amends TCA Title 16; Title 33; Title 36; Title 37; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 49 and Title 65.

Taxes, Privilege - As introduced, authorizes municipalities to levy a tax on the privilege of engaging in the act of development within the boundaries of the municipality; requires such tax to be levied at the rate and under the terms, conditions, and limitations contained in present law that apply to counties. - Amends TCA Title 67, Chapter 4, Part 29.

Bail, Bail Bonds - As introduced, requires a court or magistrate to impose global positioning monitoring as a condition of release for a defendant accused of certain offenses, unless the court or magistrate enters written findings that the defendant does not pose a threat to the victim or public safety; requires the administrative office of the courts to compile an annual report of the number of defendants subject to such an order. - Amends TCA Title 39; Title 40 and Title 55.

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, increases the amount of marijuana that may be possessed, from one-half ounce to five ounces, for it to be considered a small amount of marijuana and punishable as a Class A misdemeanor; revises penalty to make it punishable by a $500 fine for a first offense and a $1,000 fine for a second or subsequent offense. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17.

Firearms and Ammunition - As introduced, removes certain criminal offenses relative to the possession and carrying of firearms, including the offense of carrying a firearm with the intent to go armed if the person has been convicted of stalking or DUI in certain circumstances and the offense of possession of a firearm by a person under 25 if the person was adjudicated delinquent for certain offenses as a juvenile; removes the offense of possessing or carrying a weapon in a public park, playground, civic center, or other public recreational area; makes various other changes relative to the possession and carrying of firearms. - Amends TCA Title 16; Title 36; Title 37; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 49 and Title 65.

Safety, Dept. of - As introduced, changes the timeframe within which a permit holder must notify the department in writing of the permit holder's new address from within 60 days of a change in the permit holder's principal place of residence to within 90 days of a change in the permit holder's principal place of residence. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 8; Title 10; Title 13; Title 16; Title 29; Title 33; Title 36; Title 37; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 47; Title 49; Title 50; Title 52; Title 55; Title 58; Title 62; Title 65; Title 68 and Title 70.

Bail, Bail Bonds - As introduced, makes various changes to criminal law, including requiring defendants accused of certain offenses to be subject to a global positioning monitoring system as condition of bail. - Amends TCA Title 10; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Chapter 969 of the Public Acts of 2024 and Chapter 1033 of the Public Acts of 2024.

Naming and Designating - Designates Miiss Tennessee as an official ambassador for the State of Tennessee. -

Taxes - As introduced, clarifies that the monthly list of taxpayers delinquent in paying professional privilege tax that the commissioner of revenue transmits to licensing boards and agencies is subject to such restrictions on use as determined by the commissioner. - Amends TCA Title 67.

Taxes - As introduced, requires every taxpayer eligible for an excise tax exemption under present law to file the application for, or renewal of, the exemption on or before the 20th day, instead of the 15th day, of the fourth month following the close of the first tax year for which the person claims the exemption. - Amends TCA Title 67.

Appropriations - As introduced, prohibits this state from obligating, appropriating, or otherwise expending state funds, personnel, or other state resources to support any United States immigration and customs enforcement activities in this state. - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 10; Title 4, Chapter 4; Title 8; Title 9; Title 38 and Title 39.

Revenue, Dept. of - As introduced, extends from 2030 to 2031, the time period in which the department is to submit annual reports to the general assembly regarding sales taxes the department collects on all electronic nicotine delivery devices. - Amends TCA Title 67.

Election Laws - As introduced, requires a municipality that adopts an ordinance requiring nonresident property owners to vote by absentee ballot to file such ordinance with the county election commission no later than 75 days, rather than 60 days, before the election. - Amends TCA Title 2 and Title 41.

Memorials, Interns - Joel Cline -

Memorials, Congress - Urges Congress to enact legislation reaffirming and preserving the equal opportunities in athletics guaranteed to women and girls by Title IX and recognizing that allowing males to compete in women's athletics violates the purpose and meaning of Title IX. -

TennCare - As introduced, authorizes the comptroller of the treasury to submit the annual actuarial study of the TennCare program and participating managed care organizations, along with any related oral and written comments, to the designated legislative committees and offices in an electronic format. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 33; Title 56; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

General Assembly, Directed Studies - Directs feasibility study of implementing medical benefits overlay program to supplement State's current benefit plan offerings. -

Food and Food Products - As introduced, prohibits the importation, sale, and distribution of cell-cultured food products in this state. - Amends TCA Title 39; Title 40; Title 44; Title 47 and Title 53.

Children - As introduced, increases from 14 to 21 days, the maximum amount of time per year that an entity or organization may provide child care on an occasional or infrequent basis through a "Parents' Night Out" or similar "Special Event" program while remaining exempt from the department of human service's licensing requirements. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 9; Title 49; Title 50; Title 67 and Title 71.

Psychologists - As introduced, creates prescribing authority for certain psychologists if certain conditions and prerequisites are met. - Amends TCA Title 39; Title 53; Title 63 and Title 68.

Governor - As introduced, prohibits the governor from making a decision regarding the option to not enroll or to disenroll this state in the summer electronic transfer benefits program, unless authorized by the general assembly. - Amends TCA Title 71.

Human Services, Dept. of - As introduced, requires the department to apply, no later than January 1, 2027, for federal grants and other federal funds available to the state through the federal summer electronic benefits transfer (EBT) for children program for the purpose of providing nutrition assistance through EBT during the summer months for each eligible child. - Amends TCA Title 49 and Title 71.

Death - As introduced, requires, if the person or government agency assuming custody of a body for the purposes of burial does not request an autopsy, or that the body be embalmed, the person or agency to ensure that the body is buried within 48 hours from the time when the person or agency waives the ability to request an autopsy or embalming of the body. - Amends TCA Title 34, Chapter 6, Part 37; Title 38; Title 50; Title 56; Title 62, Chapter 5; Title 62, Chapter 6 and Title 68.

Health, Dept. of - As introduced, directs the department on or before January 1, 2026, to submit a report with a list of each drug that is psychotropic medication pursuant to current law and the side effects of each medication to the chair of the health and welfare committee of the senate and the chair of the committee of the house of representatives having jurisdiction over health-related matters. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 33; Title 41; Title 49; Title 53; Title 63; Title 68 and Title 71.

Memorials, Death - Dr. Ashleigh Elain McKinzie -

Firearms and Ammunition - As introduced, enacts "Akilah's Law," which creates the offense of selling, offering to sell, delivering, or transferring a firearm to a person knowing the person has been a patient in a mental institution at any time within the previous five years. - Amends TCA Title 33 and Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13.

Taxes - As introduced, adds to the process for requesting an extension of time to file a business tax return that the request may be signed by the person's authorized representative. - Amends TCA Title 67.

Architects, Engineers and Designers - As introduced, requires the state board of examiners for architects and engineers to publish the time and place at which examinations to receive an engineer intern certificate or to register as a professional engineer are held and the acceptable grade necessary for passage of the examinations on the board's website. - Amends TCA Title 49; Title 62 and Title 63.

Marriage - As introduced, enacts the "Tennessee Covenant Marriage Act" to create covenant marriage, which is entered into by one male and one female, who understand and agree that marriage is a lifelong relationship; permits a spouse in a covenant marriage to obtain a judgment of divorce under certain circumstances. - Amends TCA Title 8; Title 10; Title 16; Title 36; Title 39; Title 67 and Title 68.

Public Defenders - As introduced, changes from 10 days to 10 business days the number of days' written notice the president of the district public defenders conference must give before calling an at-will meeting of the conference. - Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 14 and Title 9, Chapter 4.

Judicial Districts - As introduced, requires the advisory task force to review composition of judicial districts to submit its findings and recommendations by January 15, 2027, rather than January 1, 2027. - Amends TCA Title 16.