Rep. Tim Hicks

Maddy summaryHB 865 changes Tennessee nursing education rules to make practical nursing programs more accessible. It requires the Board of Nursing to allow students who meet high school diploma or equivalent standards to enroll in public college practical nursing programs. The bill also mandates that students completing these programs can take the national NCLEX-PN licensing exam immediately after graduation, without additional requirements. Additionally, it sets a minimum of 1,296 clock hours for program completion and allows early high school access to nursing curricula. This law, effective July 1, 2025, directly affects students pursuing practical nursing licenses at Tennessee public institutions.

Maddy summaryHB 654 requires most Tennessee health insurance plans (including TennCare and CoverKids) to cover mental health and substance abuse services through a specific integrated care model called the Psychiatric Collaborative Care Model (PCCM), starting July 1, 2025. This model involves primary care providers, care managers, and psychiatric consultants working together to coordinate treatment using validated tools. Insurers may only deny coverage for these services based on medical necessity if they already comply with existing state and federal parity laws. The law directly affects insurers, healthcare providers, and patients seeking mental health/substance abuse treatment covered by these plans.

Maddy summaryHB 657 allows licensed healthcare providers in Tennessee who completed a peer assistance or treatment program after an adverse licensing action to petition their licensing board to remove public records of that action and the related consent order. After successfully finishing the required program, providers can request removal of this information from public licensing websites ten years from the start of their probation period. The licensing boards must review these petitions, and if approved, they remove the information from public view. The Division of Health Related Boards is authorized to create specific rules for this process, following standard administrative procedures. This change directly affects healthcare providers with past disciplinary actions who complete mandated treatment programs.

Maddy summaryHB 655 exempts new specialty license plates supporting Tennessee's state historic sites from minimum issuance requirements (1,000 initial plates and 800 renewal plates). The bill applies specifically to plates where sales funds are allocated to and used by nonprofit organizations managing sites designated as state historic sites by the Tennessee Historical Commission. This amendment to Tennessee Code Annotated § 55-4-202 streamlines the process for authorizing these plates under existing historic preservation laws (§ 55-4-311, -312, -314). The change directly benefits nonprofit organizations operating historic sites by reducing administrative barriers for specialty plate programs.

Maddy summaryHB 652 limits local governments' zoning authority for new residential subdivisions. It prohibits planning commissions, city councils, county legislatures, and municipal governing bodies from requiring more than one entrance or exit into a subdivision unless it contains at least 70 homes. This applies to all Tennessee subdivisions subject to local planning regulations and takes effect July 1, 2025. The bill directly affects developers and local governments by standardizing access requirements for smaller subdivisions.

Maddy summaryHB 866 amends Tennessee law to extend the deadline for healthcare providers to provide patients or their authorized representatives with medical records from 10 to 20 working days after receiving a written request. This change directly affects patients seeking their health records and healthcare providers subject to Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 63 (healing arts) and Title 68. The key provision modifies the existing requirement by increasing the processing timeframe without altering other record-access rules. The bill was introduced in the Tennessee House of Representatives on February 4, 2025, and is pending further legislative action.

Maddy summaryHB 1007 would have deleted an outdated requirement in Tennessee law that mandated the comptroller and TennCare drug review committees to study prescription drug use, costs, and quality of care in nursing homes, with a 2005 reporting deadline. The bill aimed to remove this obsolete provision from Tennessee Code (amending Titles 4, 33, and 71) since the study was no longer relevant. The bill was introduced in early 2025 but withdrawn the same month without becoming law. This was a procedural change, not a policy shift, as it only eliminated a defunct administrative task.

Maddy summaryThis bill modifies the County Powers Relief Act by changing the deadline for counties to respond to certain requests from thirty days to twenty-one days. The change directly affects county governments and the officials who manage their operations. By shortening this specific timeframe, the law requires counties to act more quickly on these particular matters. The amendment applies immediately upon the bill becoming law.

Maddy summaryThis enacted law creates a new Medicaid buy-in program designed to help working adults with disabilities maintain health insurance coverage while employed. To qualify, individuals must be at least 18 years old, live in Tennessee, meet federal disability standards, and work full-time or part-time, but they are exempt from asset or resource limits. The program requires participants to pay monthly premiums based on their income and includes features like a grace period for temporary job interruptions and the ability to keep coverage for six months after an involuntary job loss. Additionally, the law allows the state to use savings from federal block grants to fund the initiative and permits the exclusion of certain retirement accounts when determining eligibility for other medical assistance programs.