Tennessee Bills

SB 2165 requires Tennessee's Department of Children's Services to provide foster parents with a copy of any petition to end parental rights for a child they've cared for continuously for nine or more months. The department must deliver this copy within seven days of the petition being filed or served on them. This applies to foster parents who have served as the child's physical placement for the required period and aligns with existing requirements for sharing child-related information. The bill amends Tennessee law (Sections 36-1-113 and 37-2-415) to ensure foster parents receive timely notice of legal actions affecting their foster child.

SB 2205 requires Tennessee's Department of Transportation to include five specific details in its annual report to state legislators about transportation projects funded by the transportation modernization fund. These details are the project cost estimate, current development phase, how the project will be built, expected completion date, and a map showing the project's location. The bill directly affects the Department of Transportation (which must provide this information) and state legislators (who receive the updated report). This is a procedural change to reporting requirements, not a new policy or funding measure.

This bill updates Tennessee law to replace the term "marital and family therapists" with "marriage and family therapists" across multiple code sections (including Titles 4, 8, 33, 36, 52, 56, 63, and 68). It primarily corrects terminology in licensing, practice, and regulatory provisions affecting therapists and the Board of Examiners. Key additions include Section 16, which establishes reciprocal licensing agreements with other states and defines endorsement requirements, and Section 20, which clarifies exemptions for interns and certain professionals. The bill does not alter clinical practice standards but standardizes the profession’s official name in state law.

HB 2398 allows high school students aged 15 to 19 to work in childcare centers during school hours (via work-based learning programs) or outside school hours, provided they’ve completed at least two courses in an education/training career cluster. It does not permit work in childcare centers located in a primary caregiver’s home. The bill amends Tennessee Code sections related to education, childcare licensing, and health to implement this change, effective July 1, 2026. This directly affects eligible students seeking work experience in childcare and childcare centers that may hire them under these conditions.

HB 2450 requires the Tennessee Department of Transportation to include five specific details in its annual report to the General Assembly about projects funded by the transportation modernization fund. These details are the estimated total project cost, current development phase, how the project will be built or contracted, the expected completion date, and a location map or description showing where the project fits within transportation corridors. The bill directly affects the Department of Transportation (which must add this reporting) and lawmakers (who receive the updated reports). This change aims to provide clearer, more detailed information about transportation projects without altering funding or project execution.

HB 2452 allows courts to clear certain violent criminal records from public view after a person receives a pardon. It directly affects individuals who were pardoned for violent offenses that previously could not be expunged under Tennessee law. The bill requires courts to weigh public safety and consider whether the offense was violent (including murder, aggravated kidnapping, or sexual offenses involving minors), along with other factors from both the petitioner and prosecutors. This changes prior rules that blocked expungement of violent offenses even after a pardon. The bill modifies Tennessee Code Annotated Title 40 to enable this process while maintaining safeguards for public safety.

HB 2451 clarifies that Tennessee's Uniform Partition Heirs Property Act does not apply when land is sold from an estate to pay debts, affecting estate administrators and property sellers. It revises how courts calculate a decedent's gross estate for determining a surviving spouse's elective share (their legal right to claim a portion of the estate), requiring courts to use federal estate tax rules (26 U.S.C. § 2031(a)) but excluding assets that wouldn't count toward state inheritance tax under prior law. The bill also specifies that life estates or trusts benefiting a surviving spouse must be valued using actuarial methods. The changes take effect July 1, 2026.

HB 2477 extends the deadline for estates of emergency responders (including firefighters, volunteer rescue workers, and EMTs) to file death benefit claims from three years after death to three years after a court or official confirms the death occurred "in the line of duty." It also extends the appeal window for denied claims from 90 days to one year and establishes specific review processes for each responder type: the Peace Officer Standards Commission for law enforcement, the Firefighting Personnel Commission for firefighters, and the EMS Board for EMTs. These changes directly affect families seeking benefits for responders killed while performing official duties. The bill amends Tennessee Code Sections 7-51-210(c) and (e) to implement these procedural updates.

SB 2231 updates Tennessee's oil and gas drilling regulations by revising key definitions (replacing "crude petroleum" with "oil" and clarifying "well" to include production boreholes), reducing required buffer zones from streams from 0.5 miles to 0.25 miles, and mandating permits for surface disturbances and drilling operations. It requires operators to submit and comply with approved plans, with non-compliance risking suspension, permit revocation, or fines. These changes directly affect oil and gas operators, producers, and drilling companies conducting well operations across Tennessee. The bill modernizes procedural requirements while maintaining environmental and operational safeguards for drilling activities.

SB 2525 allows Tennessee high school students aged 15-19 to work in childcare centers outside school hours or through approved work-based learning programs, provided they've completed at least two courses in an education/training career cluster. The bill directly affects eligible students and childcare centers that can hire them under these conditions. It prohibits students from working in childcare centers located in a primary caregiver's home and requires the state department to create implementing rules. The law takes effect July 1, 2026.

SB 2239 requires Tennessee medical and osteopathic license holders to complete at least one hour of annual continuing education on nutrition topics. This applies specifically to the Board of Medical Examiners (under Title 63, Chapter 6) and the Board of Osteopathic Examination (under Title 63, Chapter 9). The bill amends existing law to mandate this nutrition education requirement as part of their standard continuing education hours. The policy change will affect all physicians and osteopathic physicians renewing their licenses in Tennessee, effective January 1, 2028.

SB 2535 requires Tennessee's Department of Education to work with the Department of Safety to create guidelines for public schools and charter schools offering driver education courses. These guidelines must include safety driving tips, use of the Department of Safety's driver license manual for instruction, and lessons on the dangers of driving under the influence and distracted driving. The bill directly affects all local education agencies (LEAs) and public charter schools providing driver education. It mandates these specific content requirements to standardize safety education, effective July 1, 2026. The bill does not provide funding or change existing course requirements but sets new instructional standards.