Browse Legislation

Education, Dept. of - As enacted, prohibits an individual from serving as a teacher or assistant teacher in a child care program for children who are four or younger unless the individual is at least 18. - Amends TCA Title 49 and Title 71, Chapter 3, Part 5.

Adoption - As enacted, clarifies that a court may waive the requirement for a home study in an adoption when the prospective adoptive parent or parents are not related to the child if certain requirements are met. - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 37.

Employees, Employers - As enacted, generally requires, beginning July 1, 2026, all state and local governmental employers to verify the work authorization status of each prospective employee through the federal E-Verify program prior to employment; authorizes the attorney general to enforce compliance with the requirement against local governments and subjects a noncompliant local government to the withholding of all funds of this state allocated to the local government via grant, contract, or statute, including, but not limited to, state-shared taxes. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8; Title 12 and Title 50.

Kingsport - Subject to local approval, makes various changes to the charter, including when a vice-mayor is chosen by the board; when warrants to collect delinquent taxes may be issued; removes a requirement that a tentative appropriation ordinance must be published in a newspaper; changes from the 1st of July to the 1st of September when elected board of education members assume office and when such members must choose a president. - Amends Chapter 76 of the Private Acts of 1917; as amended.

Judges and Chancellors - As introduced, creates a pilot project to provide for criminal magistrates in the 10 counties in which the criminal courts experience the highest judicial caseload, if authorized by the legislative body of an eligible county; authorizes the judges of the county with criminal jurisdiction to appoint the criminal magistrate, who shall serve at the pleasure of the majority of the judges of the county with criminal jurisdiction. - Amends TCA Title 16; Title 17 and Title 40.

State Employees - As enacted, grants eligible state employees mandatory paid leave for fostering a minor child. - Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 50, Part 8.

Scholarships and Financial Aid - As introduced, adds Western Governors University as an educational institution at which an active member of a federally recognized unit of the Tennessee national guard may receive tuition reimbursement through the Tennessee Support, Training, and Renewing Opportunity for National Guardsmen (STRONG) Act of 2017. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 4.

Local Education Agencies - As enacted, revises law relative to LEAs providing enrollment and services to certain students who are the dependent children of service members. - Amends TCA Title 49.

Criminal Offenses - As introduced, creates a Class A misdemeanor for knowingly giving, selling, lending, delivering, or otherwise transferring a firearm to a person when the transferor knows or reasonably should know that the person receiving the firearm is prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm under state or federal law. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13.

Memorials, Sports - Darrell Collins, Clay County Sports Hall of Fame -

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.

Expunction - As introduced, allows a person to petition for expunction of an eligible criminal offense that occurred at least 10 years after a conviction for the offense of driving under the influence of an intoxicant. - Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 32, Part 1.

State Government - As introduced, requires departments, agencies, and other state governmental entities to make information and records available, including by means of direct electronic access, to the staff of the general assembly's fiscal review committee; requires the department of finance and administration to provide the office of legislative budget analysis with access to applicable state budget formulation and management systems. - Amends TCA Title 3, Chapter 13; Title 3, Chapter 14 and Title 3, Chapter 7.

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.

Game and Fish Laws - As enacted, enacts the "Hunting for Heroes Act"; creates the Tennessee national guard sportsman license. - Amends TCA Title 70, Chapter 2.

Naming and Designating - Designates June 2026 as "Nuclear Family Month." -

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.

Holidays and Days of Special Observance - As enacted, designates the month of April as "Tennessee Native Plant Month." - Amends TCA Title 15, Chapter 2.

Criminal Offenses - As enacted, makes various changes to the law relative to fraudulent freight theft. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 16; Title 17; Title 18; Title 20; Title 22; Title 24; Title 25; Title 26; Title 27; Title 28; Title 37; Title 38; Title 39; Title 40; Title 43; Title 54 and Title 55.

Education, Dept. of - As enacted, requires the department to collaborate with the department of safety to develop guidelines for LEAs and public charter schools providing a driver education and training course that include certain criteria. - Amends TCA Title 49 and Title 55.