Tennessee Bills

SB 1896 requires Tennessee school boards to provide school transportation for students living more than 1.5 miles from their assigned school by the nearest safe route, *only* when the board contracts with external transportation providers. This applies directly to students in districts using third-party bus services and mandates that school boards ensure these students have access to transportation facilities. The bill amends Tennessee education codes to clarify this requirement, specifically targeting scenarios where boards outsource transportation rather than operating their own fleets. It takes effect July 1, 2026.

SB 2094 changes tuition rules at Tennessee public colleges and universities to better support military-connected students. It requires schools to classify as "in-state" for tuition purposes the spouse of a service member who resides in Tennessee while enrolled, even if the service member hasn’t lived in Tennessee for a year. The bill also expands eligibility to include dependents of active-duty military personnel or veterans living outside Tennessee. Public institutions must now *provide* in-state tuition to these groups (replacing a previous "may" option), and the law defines "military-affiliated" to cover spouses, dependents, and active-duty personnel. The changes take effect for the 2026-2027 academic year.

SB 1967 requires all Tennessee high school students (grades 9-12), not just seniors, to have access to nationally recognized career readiness assessments. It also mandates the Board of Regents to create a framework allowing public colleges to grant college credit for these assessments, enabling students to apply high school career credentials toward postsecondary degrees. The bill affects every public high school and college in Tennessee, changing assessment access and credit transfer processes. It takes effect July 1, 2026.

SB 1798 increases property tax relief for disabled veteran homeowners in Tennessee by raising the reimbursement threshold from $175,000 to $200,000 of a home's full market value. This change directly affects eligible disabled veterans who qualify for property tax relief under Tennessee law. The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated § 67-5-704(a) to adjust the covered value amount for reimbursement calculations. The updated reimbursement rate takes effect for tax years beginning July 1, 2026. The change expands the property value covered for tax relief without altering eligibility requirements.

HB 1641 extends the deadline for Tennessee's Department of Transportation to submit its annual report on blocked highway-rail grade crossings. The bill amends Tennessee Code Sections 65-3-124 by changing the report's submission deadline from July 1, 2027, to July 1, 2028. This procedural change affects the Department of Transportation, which must continue collecting and reporting federal railroad administration data on blocked crossings. The bill does not alter the report's content or create new requirements - it only delays the submission timeline by one year.

SB 1736 (the "James Bardsley Life Protection Act") raises penalties for drivers who flee accident scenes. It upgrades the penalty for leaving an accident causing injury from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony. For accidents where death was known or should have been known, it increases the penalty from a Class E felony to a Class D felony. The bill directly affects drivers who fail to stop after collisions, amending Tennessee law in Titles 39 and 55, and takes effect July 1, 2026.

HB 1813 requires the State of Tennessee to cover the costs of autopsies ordered by district attorney generals, shifting the payment responsibility from local entities to the state. This affects county medical examiners who perform or authorize these autopsies and district attorney offices that request them. The bill amends Tennessee Code § 38-7-109(b) to specify that autopsy expenses must be paid by the state as other state costs are handled, effective July 1, 2026.

SB 1577 changes Tennessee's HOPE scholarship rules to help students who missed initial eligibility due to high school GPA or ACT scores. It allows these students to qualify as transfer students if they earn an associate degree or certificate at a Tennessee Promise-eligible institution, maintain Tennessee Promise eligibility throughout their first program, achieve a 3.0 GPA, and enroll in a four-year program within six months. The bill directly affects transfer students who previously lost HOPE eligibility as freshmen but meet these specific academic and enrollment requirements. It takes effect for the 2026-2027 academic year and applies to all subsequent years.

SB 1988 amends Tennessee law to reduce the distance limit for state legislators to qualify for certain travel benefits. It lowers the cap from 50 miles to 25 miles from the state capitol for receiving the hotel portion of per diem (daily lodging allowance). Legislators living more than 25 miles from the capitol will no longer be eligible for this lodging allowance and will also lose the daily mileage allowance. The changes apply to Tennessee Code Annotated Section 3-1-106 and take effect November 3, 2026.

SB 2042 amends Tennessee's sales tax law to allow the commissioner of revenue to issue tax exemption certificates for building materials in electronic form, in addition to paper. This directly affects businesses constructing, expanding, or renovating qualified new or expanded warehouse or distribution facilities in Tennessee. The key change updates existing procedures to permit electronic certificates, streamlining the process for obtaining sales tax exemptions on eligible materials. The bill does not alter the eligibility criteria for the exemption, only the medium through which certificates are issued.

SB 1938 increases the penalty for violating a lifetime order of protection from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony under specific circumstances. This applies when the violation occurs after a conviction for an offense involving force against a victim (such as assault) that led to the lifetime order. The bill also requires prison sentences for such violations to be served consecutively to other sentences for the same incident, though judges may allow concurrent sentences in some cases. The law would take effect on July 1, 2026, and affects individuals convicted of violent offenses who later violate lifetime protective orders.

SB 2135 urges the Tennessee Department of Revenue to study sales tax revenue from non-prepared food (like fresh produce) and prepared food over the previous five fiscal years. The department must submit a report with findings and recommendations to the Senate Finance Committee chair, the House tax committee chair, and the Office of Legislative Budget Analysis by December 31, 2026. This bill does not change current tax rates or collections but requests a study to inform potential future policy decisions. It directly affects the Department of Revenue (which must conduct the study) and legislative committees (which will receive the report).