Tennessee Bills

SB 1068, now the "Modernization of Towing, Immobilization, and Oversight Normalization (MOTION) Act of 2025," revises Tennessee's vehicle towing and abandonment laws. It clarifies definitions for terms like "abandoned motor vehicle" (e.g., unattended on public property >10 days, in disrepair >3 days, or parked illegally on private property without consent) and "curbstoning" (unlicensed sales of used vehicles, defined as selling >5 vehicles yearly without a dealer license). The bill also establishes a "motor vehicle portal" for electronic tracking and updates rules for towing companies, commercial parking lots, and garagekeepers. This law directly affects towing services, vehicle owners, unlicensed used car sellers, and property managers handling abandoned vehicles.

SB 1399 creates a new Class E felony offense in Tennessee for anyone who harms or threatens to harm a person involved in the judicial process (such as witnesses, judges, jurors, prosecutors, law enforcement, or court staff) or their family members. It specifically targets actions taken to impede, intimidate, interfere with, or retaliate against someone for participating in court proceedings. The bill defines "family member" broadly (including spouses, parents, children, and siblings) and lists all covered judicial participants. This law, effective July 1, 2025, aims to protect individuals who engage with the justice system from targeted threats or violence.

SB 1233 modifies Tennessee's criminal justice reporting requirements by changing Section 39-16-202(a)(1) to require written reports of certain offenses instead of oral reports. This directly affects law enforcement and court personnel who handle these reports, mandating written documentation for specific criminal offenses. The bill makes no substantive changes to criminal penalties or procedures, only altering the format for submitting initial offense reports. It became effective July 1, 2025.

SB 933 revises Tennessee law governing employee representation on boards of public higher education institutions. It changes the requirement so that the employee representative appointed by the governor must come from an entity representing organized labor (like a union), rather than being an individual employee from organized labor. This clarifies that the representative must be affiliated with a labor organization, not just any employee who is part of a union. The bill became law on May 9, 2025, and applies to appointments made after that date.

SB 1115 (Tennessee) requires the Department of Correction to reduce inmate populations by 10% at privately operated correctional facilities if their death rate exceeds twice that of a comparable state-run facility. This applies to facilities under contract with the state or county for holding state inmates. The bill also mandates that required facility reports be posted on the Department of Correction website. It amends Tennessee Code sections related to correctional services (Titles 8, 12, 40, 41) and took effect May 9, 2025.

SB 392 creates a new Class E felony offense for "human smuggling" in Tennessee, defined as knowingly transporting 10+ adults or 5+ minors across state lines while concealing them from immigration authorities, with knowledge they entered the U.S. illegally. It also establishes a Class A misdemeanor for harboring undocumented immigrants (a $1,000 fine per person). The law amends Tennessee Code to include human smuggling under "human trafficking offenses" and grants the Attorney General authority to seek court orders dissolving organizations involved in these crimes. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025.

SB 937 prohibits Tennessee public schools, school districts (LEAs), and their staff from requiring students, teachers, employees, or contractors to provide or use preferred pronouns. It allows schools to use a person’s legal name or pronouns consistent with their sex, and requires parental consent before using a non-sex-consistent name/pronoun for minor students. The law creates a private right to sue schools for violations, such as forcing pronoun use or disciplining someone for refusing, with claims needing to be filed within two years. This law directly affects all public school students and staff in Tennessee and takes effect May 9, 2025.

SB 773 prevents development permits from expiring when lawsuits challenge them. It pauses the "vesting period" (the timeframe protecting approved projects) during ongoing court cases, ensuring developers retain their project rights. This directly affects property developers and construction companies with permits facing legal disputes. The law creates certainty for development timelines by halting the expiration clock while litigation proceeds.

SB 644 modifies Tennessee's nursing regulations to expand access to practical nursing programs at public colleges. It requires the Board of Nursing to allow students meeting high school diploma or equivalent qualifications to enroll in these programs and permits them to take the NCLEX-PN exam upon completion. The bill also mandates a minimum of 1,296 clock hours for practical nursing programs and requires public colleges to offer pre-nursing courses starting in high school. These changes directly affect prospective practical nurses and public institutions of higher education governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents.

SB 1019 changes how Tennessee allocates state education funds generated by students attending public charter schools. It requires the state education department to send the state share of these funds directly to the public charter school instead of the local school district (LEA) where the charter is located. Key provisions include amending funding formulas to ensure charter schools receive these funds directly and adding financial reporting requirements for charter schools to track state and federal funds. This policy affects all Tennessee public charter schools by altering their funding stream from local districts to direct state allocation. The bill became effective May 9, 2025, with full implementation for budget purposes starting July 1, 2025.

SB 890 requires Tennessee health insurance companies to create two digital systems: one allowing healthcare providers to access patient electronic health records and another for processing prior authorization requests (like insurance approvals for treatments). It also shortens the timeline for certain health insurance actions by changing the requirement from 10 working days to 10 calendar days. This law directly affects health insurance entities, healthcare providers, and patients by improving access to medical records and streamlining authorization processes. The bill takes effect on July 1, 2025.

SB 30 creates new misdemeanor offenses in Tennessee, primarily targeting individuals who intentionally provide false names to law enforcement during lawful detention or arrest (Section 4). It also prohibits transporting people in the enclosed cargo area of box trucks (defined as vehicles without passenger seats/safety belts) and restricts approaching within 25 feet of officers performing duties after being ordered to stop (Sections 5-6). Additionally, the bill bans unauthorized signage on bridges/highways without maintenance entity permission (Section 7) and amends procedures for police citations (Sections 8-9). These changes directly affect people detained by police, drivers using box trucks for passengers, and individuals placing signage on public infrastructure. The law takes effect July 1, 2025.