Tennessee Bills

SB 212 expands Tennessee's open meetings law to require certain nonprofit organizations to make meeting agendas publicly available before meetings. It applies to nonprofits receiving federal funding, state community grants, local government funds, or providing utility services to Nashville/Davidson County. The law changes the requirement from optional ("may") to mandatory ("shall") for these groups to post agendas on their websites if they maintain one. This amendment to Tennessee Code Annotated Section 8-44-110 became effective on May 5, 2025.

Tennessee's SB 263, now law, prohibits state and local governments from enforcing or recognizing requirements from the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations (UN), or World Economic Forum (WEF). The law specifically blocks these entities from mandating mask-wearing, vaccines, medical testing, or collecting personal data about residents through state or local actions. It declares such international mandates "have no force or effect" in Tennessee and requires state agencies to disregard them. The law takes effect July 1, 2025, and applies to all state departments, counties, cities, and other local government entities.

SB 365 updates Tennessee zoning appeal procedures to increase transparency and clarity. It requires local zoning boards to maintain public records of proceedings, provide written reasons for decisions (including findings of fact), and clearly inform property owners about their right to appeal permit denials and seek judicial review. The bill directly affects homeowners, developers, and local zoning boards by standardizing how appeals are processed and documented. Key changes include adding "property rights; constitutional rights" to hearing procedures and mandating written notices about appeal options, effective July 1, 2025.

SB 308 amends Tennessee law to allow premier tourist resorts, urban park centers, and museums to serve liquor by the drink, while clarifying rules for commercial airline travel clubs offering alcohol. It also requires the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission to file an annual report listing people convicted under this section with specific legislative committees, starting December 1, 2025. The first report must include all prior convictions, and subsequent reports are due yearly. The bill became effective immediately upon the governor's signature on May 5, 2025. This directly affects venues seeking alcohol service permits and the commission’s reporting obligations.

SB 26 amends Tennessee law to raise the minimum required capital cost for infrastructure development districts from $500,000 to $1,000,000. This change directly affects developers and local governments creating such districts by requiring larger initial investment commitments. The bill modifies Tennessee Code Annotated Section 7-84-711(a) to reflect this increased threshold. It became effective May 5, 2025, after being signed by the Governor.

SB 848 (enacted May 5, 2025) allows Tennessee counties that have adopted the County Purchasing Law of 1957 to require competitive bidding for insurance brokerage services. This applies specifically to counties using the 1957 purchasing framework, mandating they seek multiple bids instead of selecting brokers through non-competitive processes. The law amends Tennessee Code Sections 5-1-101 and 12-3-121 to implement this change. It directly affects county governments managing insurance procurement, ensuring greater transparency in selecting brokers for public insurance needs.

SB 678 changes Tennessee sentencing for aggravated sexual battery. It makes this crime a more serious Class A felony (instead of Class B) when the victim was under 18 or was mentally defective, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless. The bill requires defendants convicted in these cases to be sentenced as Range II offenders, meaning their minimum sentence cannot be lower than Range II even if Range III applies. This policy change directly affects defendants convicted of aggravated sexual battery where the victim meets one of the specified vulnerability conditions, effective July 1, 2025.

SB 1003 requires Tennessee public schools and charter schools offering pre-K programs to allow pre-K teachers to use results from approved universal reading screeners as an alternative method for generating their individual teacher evaluation scores. This applies specifically to pre-K teachers in schools that administer these screeners to students, replacing the need to use the pre-K/kindergarten portfolio growth model for evaluations. The bill amends education code to mandate that school districts permit this use of screener data, which must be approved by the state board. The policy change takes effect for the 2025-2026 school year.

This bill (SB 623) updates Tennessee law to require the Office of Open Records Counsel to help schedule the annual meeting of the advisory committee on open government. Specifically, it mandates that the Office select a meeting date if the co-chairs are unavailable. The bill directly affects the Office of Open Records Counsel and the advisory committee, ensuring regular committee meetings occur without delay. It is a procedural change focused on administrative logistics, not substantive policy.

SB 827 prevents Tennessee’s state board of education from requiring fully online, self-paced private schools (that are regionally accredited) to follow specific public school rules. It directly affects Category III nonpublic schools offering online programs by exempting them from requirements for class size, minimum instructional days/hours, student vaccination mandates, and annual standardized testing in math and English for grades 3-11. The bill’s key provision states the state board cannot enforce these four requirements when approving such online schools. This change allows these schools to operate under different standards than traditional public or private schools. The law took effect on May 5, 2025, for all purposes.

This bill prohibits tech companies (like email or social media platforms) from notifying users when law enforcement searches their data for child sexual exploitation cases. It specifically bans service providers from alerting account holders or unauthorized individuals about search warrants or subpoenas related to these investigations. The law aims to prevent suspects from destroying evidence by alerting them to ongoing police activity. It applies directly to electronic communications services covered under Tennessee law and took effect on May 5, 2025.

SB 747 extends the annual assessment deadline for ground ambulance service providers under Tennessee's TennCare program from June 30, 2025, to June 30, 2026. This change directly affects ambulance providers who must pay this annual fee to participate in TennCare. The bill also includes minor adjustments to the assessment process, such as extending the deadline for submitting provider documentation from 30 to 45 business days. These provisions aim to provide additional compliance time while maintaining the program's requirements.