Sen. Paul Bailey

Maddy summarySB 1461 amends Crossville's city charter to set the mayor's salary at 15% of the Cumberland County Mayor's salary and council members' salaries at 5% of the mayor's salary, with changes taking effect after the next election. It establishes a fixed schedule for city council meetings (6:00 PM on the second Tuesday of each month) and updates voting rules to include property owners with taxable real estate. The bill also increases the city's maximum occupancy tax rate from 2% to 3% and creates a new process for administrative hearings. These changes directly affect Crossville's local government operations, finances, and meeting procedures under its charter.

Maddy summarySB 289 creates a legal presumption that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosed in law enforcement officers and emergency medical responders (EMTs) is work-related if it results from responding to specific incidents, making it automatically eligible for workers' compensation coverage. This directly affects those first responders by streamlining their claims process without requiring separate proof of work connection. The bill amends Tennessee Code Sections 7-51-206 and 50-6-101 to replace "firefighter" with "law enforcement officer or emergency medical responder" throughout the relevant workers' compensation provisions. The change takes effect July 1, 2025, applying to claims for PTSD incurred while performing official duties.

Maddy summarySB 409 amends Tennessee law to increase court clerks' fees for certain services from $100 to $125. The bill directly affects individuals and businesses that pay these fees when filing court documents or obtaining records. It revises specific sections of Tennessee Code (Titles 8, 18, 55, and 67) to implement this fee change. The adjustment takes effect on July 1, 2025.

Maddy summarySB 1135 shortens the notice period for nuisance-related legal actions in Tennessee from five to four days under specific sections of state law (TCA §29-3-106(a)(1) and (c)). This change directly affects property owners, local governments, and legal entities handling nuisance complaints, as it reduces the required time to notify parties before certain enforcement actions. The bill makes no substantive changes to nuisance definitions or penalties, only adjusting the procedural timeline. It takes effect July 1, 2025, and was enacted as Public Chapter 510.

Maddy summarySB 764 establishes a state licensing requirement for anesthesiologist assistants in Tennessee, requiring them to obtain an official license to practice. It also revises hospital employment rules, allowing hospitals to hire certain licensed physicians to provide specific medical services under updated guidelines. The bill amends Tennessee Code Titles 47, 63, and 68 related to health care licensing and hospital operations. This is a procedural bill focused on clarifying and updating existing health care provider regulations.

Maddy summaryThis bill expands Tennessee's legal definition of "state employee" to include soil and water conservation district board members, staff, and volunteers in district programs. It applies only to specific provisions in Chapters 8-42 and 9-8 of state code, covering defense-related matters and other limited legal contexts. The change clarifies who qualifies under these existing statutes but does not alter broader employment rights or benefits.

Maddy summarySB 288 adds prostate cancer, breast cancer, and pancreatic cancer to the list of conditions where Tennessee firefighters can claim work-related injury presumption under state law. This means full-time firefighters diagnosed with these cancers after July 1, 2025, can automatically qualify for compensation unless medical evidence proves the cancer was unrelated to their job. To qualify, firefighters must obtain a cancer screening exam after July 1, 2025, showing no prior evidence of these cancers. The law, effective July 1, 2025, amends Tennessee Code Annotated Section 7-51-201.

Maddy summarySB 602 modifies Tennessee's education law by extending the timeframe for attributing student records to teachers from five to ten business days when evaluating educators. It also allows school districts and public charter schools to pay a teacher's estate for unused vacation and sick leave upon death, following the same process used for deceased state employees. The bill directly affects teachers (through evaluation timelines) and their estates (through leave compensation). Key changes are limited to administrative procedures for teacher evaluations and death benefits, with no new funding or broad policy shifts. The law took effect May 9, 2025.

Maddy summarySB 769 changes Tennessee law to treat unauthorized possession of a used, detached catalytic converter as a felony instead of a minor misdemeanor. It makes this offense punishable by up to 11 months and 29 days in jail, a $2,500 fine, or both. The bill directly affects individuals or businesses that possess catalytic converters without authorization, such as scrap recyclers or those who may have stolen them. This policy update strengthens penalties to deter catalytic converter theft, which is a growing problem across the state.

Maddy summarySB 128 reduces the required education hours for chiropractors in Tennessee from 60 to 50 hours. It directly affects licensed chiropractors, including those practicing animal chiropractic, by modifying licensing requirements under Tennessee Code Annotated Title 63. The bill amends Section 63-12-112(a)(2)(A) to update the education standard, explicitly covering both human and animal chiropractic practice. The law took effect on May 2, 2025, with additional provisions effective January 1, 2026.