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Related votes on household costs, child care, workforce opportunities, housing, and healthcare expenses.
Related votes on property assessments, disaster relief, housing development, and rental housing.
Related votes on apprenticeships and recognition of occupational licenses for qualifying military families seeking work in Tennessee.
Related votes on immigration enforcement, bail, policing, and protection for children.
Related votes on pharmacies, healthcare professionals, insurance, caregiving, and pregnancy care.
Related votes on abortion law, pregnancy support, adoption, and care for children and families.
Related votes on regulatory limits, public spending, transparency, and checks on government authority.
Related votes on lawful firearm ownership, permits, privacy, hunting, and state firearm rules.
Related votes on male-and-female definitions, sex-based privacy, and parental rights. The measures shown address these related policies; see each bill for its specific scope.
Related votes on emergency road and bridge repairs, Helene recovery, long-term transportation funding, and public utility infrastructure. Each bill explains whether it changes repair rules, requires planning, or addresses local infrastructure.
Voted YESPrimary sponsor
SB0900 / HB0920 · Apr 22, 2026
Bail requirements for specified serious charges
Enacted · Public Chapter 933
Bars release on personal recognizance or an unsecured bond for specified charges, including Class A and B felonies, aggravated assault, and felony domestic assault.
Read moreShow less about SB0900
It establishes a presumption of bail of at least $10,000.
How this relates. Bail decisions are part of public safety and the handling of serious criminal charges. This vote addresses the conditions under which defendants may be released before trial.
Key provisions
Prohibits a defendant charged with certain offenses from being released on the defendant's personal recognizance or upon execution of an unsecured bond.
Details to know. A court may set a lower bail amount with specific written findings.
Immigration, crime & public safety
Third Consideration on HB0920 · Apr 22, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Creates separate dietitian and nutritionist licensing paths and sets qualifications for individualized medical nutrition therapy.
Read moreShow less about SB2579
It preserves general nutrition education, nonmedical wellness coaching, and other specified activities outside that therapy.
How this relates. The qualifications required to provide care and the services people may offer are part of healthcare access. This vote also defines the boundary between licensed treatment and general nutrition advice.
Key provisions
Reserves complex medical nutrition therapy and higher-acuity settings to the dietitian scope; the nutritionist scope covers qualifying noncomplex conditions in lower-acuity outpatient settings.
Sets education, supervised-practice, examination, board oversight, and disciplinary requirements, with transition rules for existing licensees.
Protects specified professional titles while exempting qualifying general nutrition information, nonmedical wellness services, supervised trainees, other authorized professionals, and defined telehealth relationships.
Takes effect for rulemaking upon enactment and for other purposes on January 1, 2028.
Details to know. Most provisions take effect January 1, 2028. The law includes transition protections for existing licensees and applicants.
Access to healthcareLimited government
Third Consideration on HB2029 · Apr 21, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Requires prosecutors who maintain a Brady list to establish criteria, give officers notice and a chance to respond, and provide a reconsideration process.
Read moreShow less about SB1210
These lists concern information about officer credibility that may need to be disclosed in criminal cases.
How this relates. Clear procedures for government decisions affect both officers and the justice system. This vote addresses notice and review while preserving prosecutors’ disclosure duties to defendants.
Key provisions
Requires a prosecuting agency that maintains a Brady list to adopt a policy that meets certain requirements.
Details to know. The law also makes the lists and supporting records confidential under public-records law, with specified exceptions.
Immigration, crime & public safetyLimited government
Third Consideration on HB1254 · Apr 6, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Generally prevents residential landlords from banning tenants’ lawful possession of firearms and ammunition in their homes, vehicles in provided parking, and necessary routes of access.
Read moreShow less about SB0350
Landlords may impose specified concealed, holstered, or container requirements in common areas.
How this relates. Renters’ ability to keep lawful firearms at home connects housing rules with firearm ownership and personal property rights.
Key provisions
Generally restricts a landlord from prohibiting a residential tenant from lawfully possessing, carrying, transporting, or storing a firearm, any part of a firearm, or firearm ammunition in the tenant's residential property; a vehicle located in a parking area provided for tenants or tenants' guests; or other locations controlled by the landlord necessary to enter or exit any such location in leases entered into, amended, extended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2027.
Details to know. Applies to covered agreements and rules entered into or changed from January 1, 2027. It covers tenants, not guests, and has exceptions for specified care facilities and entities.
Gun rightsProperty taxes & housing expenses
Motion to Concur House Amendment # 1 on SB0350 · Mar 12, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Requires the state Division of Property Assessments to supervise and direct all property reappraisal and revaluation programs, including programs whose costs receive no state contribution.
Read moreShow less about SB1680
How this relates. Property assessments are part of the calculation behind property-tax bills. This vote concerns oversight of the valuation process that homeowners and local governments rely on.
Key provisions
Expands the duties of the division of property assessments to supervise and direct all reappraisals and revaluation programs beyond the cost of which the state contributes.
Details to know. Local tax rates and individual assessments remain separate decisions.
Property taxes & housing expenses
Motion to Adopt on SB1680 · Feb 12, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Extends the assessor-determination deadline for qualifying disaster-damaged property from January 28 to April 15, 2025, for eligibility for a direct state payment.
Read moreShow less about SB0782
The enacted bill also changes provisions for property reappraisal plans and supervision.
How this relates. Disaster-related assessment deadlines affect access to property-tax relief. The bill also addresses the reappraisal process that helps determine taxable property values.
Key provisions
Extends from January 28, 2025, to April 15, 2025, the date by which an assessor must have determined that property was destroyed or damaged by a qualified disaster in order for the owner to be eligible for a direct payment from the comptroller of the treasury.
Details to know. The extended 2025 deadline has passed. Relief was subject to the law’s disaster-related eligibility requirements.
Property taxes & housing expensesAffordability
Third Consideration on HB0726 · Apr 22, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Places the Tennessee One Health Committee under the state’s open-meetings law, bringing its governing-body meetings within that public-access framework.
Read moreShow less about SB0908
How this relates. Public access to a state health council’s meetings and records gives residents a way to follow its work and decisions.
Key provisions
Specifies that the Tennessee One Health Committee is a governing body under the open meetings act.
Requires meetings of the committee to be open to the public.
Details to know. Applies to the One Health Committee’s meetings and records under the specified open-government laws.
Limited governmentAccess to healthcare
Third Consideration on HB0731 · Apr 10, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Limits on utility-board compensation in Sullivan County
Enacted · Public Chapter 316
Limits compensation for utility district commissioners in Sullivan County.
Read moreShow less about SB0357
A board resolution may authorize payments for no more than 12 meetings per year, at up to $500 per meeting.
How this relates. Utility governance and board compensation concern the stewardship of money collected for public services. This is a local accountability measure directly connected to Sullivan County.
Key provisions
Applies to utility district boards of commissioners in Sullivan County.
Commissioners serve without compensation unless the board adopts a resolution authorizing per-meeting payments.
Payments are limited to no more than 12 meetings in a calendar year and no more than $500 per meeting.
Details to know. The enacted compensation provision applies to Sullivan County utility district boards.
Limited governmentAffordability
as Amended Third Consideration on SB0357 · Apr 7, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
A review pathway for healthcare professionals after treatment
Enacted · Public Chapter 100
Allows a healthcare professional who completed a required substance-use treatment or peer-assistance program to petition to remove the related disciplinary information from the public licensure website after five years.
Read moreShow less about SB0619
Board approval is required.
How this relates. Licensing rules affect healthcare careers and the information available to patients. This vote creates a review process for professionals who have completed treatment.
Key provisions
Allows a healthcare provider to petition a relevant board after completing a peer assistance or treatment program contract to remove information from the public-facing licensure verification website regarding the adverse action and the order by the relevant board after five years from the completion date of that program or contract indicated in such order.
Authorizes the division of health related boards to promulgate rules to effectuate such petition process.
Details to know. The disciplinary order remains a public record even if the board approves removal from the licensure website.
Access to healthcareLimited government
Third Consideration on HB0657 · Mar 10, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Requires state and local public entities to report debt defaults, covenant violations, and credit-rating downgrades to the comptroller or designee within 10 business days under the applicable guidelines.
Read moreShow less about SB0114
How this relates. Public borrowing creates repayment obligations. Financial disclosures give residents and officials information to evaluate debt and its implications for public budgets.
Key provisions
Broadens certain disclosure obligations of state and local governmental entities by requiring their disclosure of covenant violations and credit rating downgrades to the comptroller of the treasury or the comptroller's designee.
Details to know. Applies to the public entities and financial-reporting requirements identified in the law.
Limited governmentAffordability
Third Consideration on SB0114 · Feb 24, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Creates a pilot offering qualifying family caregivers grants of up to $6,000 per fiscal year for costs such as accessibility changes, equipment, medical supplies, and respite care.
Read moreShow less about SB1777
It covers eligible relatives living at home who need help with at least two daily activities and have dementia or qualifying symptoms acknowledged by a physician.
How this relates. Family caregiving can carry substantial day-to-day costs. This pilot provides a funding pathway for eligible relatives caring for someone with dementia.
Key provisions
Creates a family-caregiver grant pilot from July 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027, subject to available funding.
Grants may cover up to $6,000 per caregiver per fiscal year for eligible costs such as accessibility changes, equipment, medical supplies, and respite care.
Applies to qualifying relatives living at home who need help with at least two daily activities and have dementia or qualifying symptoms acknowledged by a physician.
Includes income rules and priorities and requires a January 2028 program report. It expresses an intended $200,000 nonrecurring appropriation but does not itself appropriate that money.
Details to know. The pilot runs July 2026–December 2027. Grants depend on available funding and eligibility; the bill itself does not appropriate the money.
Access to healthcareAffordability
Third Consideration on HB1443 · Apr 22, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Adds notice, public-input, and compliance-cost requirements for covered agency rules.
Read moreShow less about SB2199
Rules estimated to impose more than $1 million in negative compliance costs over five years require separate legislative approval; emergency rules use a one-year cost period.
How this relates. Compliance requirements can affect businesses, workers, and consumers. The bill puts additional review around costly rules and gives elected lawmakers a role in approving them.
Key provisions
Requires added notice, public input, and estimates of actual negative compliance costs for covered agency rules affecting the regulated community.
Requires a separate legislative vote for covered rules estimated to cost the regulated community more than $1 million over five years. Emergency rules use a one-year cost period and face specified expiration deadlines unless approved.
Exempts specified federally required rules and licensing or statutory-fee rules. Temporary emergency rules implementing new state law are exempt from the added emergency-rule requirements.
Takes effect January 1, 2027, for rules whose notices were not filed before that date. The first annual report of rule-cost estimates is due January 31, 2028.
Details to know. Applies from January 1, 2027, subject to notice timing and statutory exemptions.
Limited governmentAffordability
Third Consideration on HB1913 · Apr 16, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Creates a Tennessee Housing Development Agency pilot for loans to build or rehabilitate workforce housing in all three grand divisions.
Read moreShow less about SB2410
The enacted definition covers households earning more than 80% and no more than 150% of area median income, adjusted for household size.
How this relates. Financing construction and rehabilitation is one part of the housing-supply picture. This pilot addresses housing for workers whose incomes fall within the program’s limits.
Key provisions
Establishes the community workforce housing innovation pilot program to be administered by the Tennessee housing development agency.
Authorizes the agency to provide loans to an applicant for construction or rehabilitation of workforce housing in each of the three grand divisions.
Requires the housing to be affordable to natural persons or families who meet certain criteria.
Details to know. Projects must meet the program’s eligibility, financing, and tax-payment requirements.
Property taxes & housing expensesAffordability
Third Consideration on HB2509 · Apr 23, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Property assessments for income-restricted rental housing
Enacted · Public Chapter 1053
Allows local governments to adopt a valuation process for qualifying rental housing with government-imposed income or rent restrictions.
Read moreShow less about SB0539
The process accounts for restricted rental income and excludes low-income housing tax credits from the property’s value.
How this relates. Property-tax treatment is part of the cost of operating rental housing. This vote connects assessment rules with the financial conditions for income-restricted housing.
Key provisions
Allows a local legislative body to adopt the specified property-valuation requirements by ordinance or resolution.
For qualifying rental housing with government restrictions on use, the valuation process accounts for restricted rental income, expenses, and prescribed capitalization-rate requirements.
Excludes low-income housing tax credits from the value attributable to the housing and requires owners to provide specified information to the assessor.
Details to know. The enacted requirements apply only where the local legislative body adopts them by ordinance or resolution.
Property taxes & housing expensesAffordability
as Amended Third Consideration on SB0539 · Apr 22, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Male and female definitions in government policies
Enacted · Public Chapter 938
Requires state and local government policies referring to sex or gender to use the enacted male-or-female definition based on reproductive anatomy and genetics at birth.
Read moreShow less about SB0936
Existing policies must be revised by January 1, 2027.
How this relates. The legal meaning of male and female is relevant to government policies organized by sex. This bill addresses those definitions and government compliance.
Key provisions
Requires revision of existing sex or gender references by January 1, 2027, and applies the prescribed definition to new covered rules and policies beginning July 1, 2026. The text says anatomy and genetics existing at birth; it does not require genetic testing.
Allows local residents to seek a chancery-court compliance order; continued noncompliance with that order can make the local entity ineligible for economic and community development grant contracts.
Provides state-entity review by the comptroller, with specified notice and correction periods and possible grant restrictions or escalating withholding of general-fund revenue in escrow, depending on the entity.
States that acceptance of a valid birth certificate or other lawfully issued identification alone is not noncompliance, and that state entities are not required to adopt rules or policies that violate federal law.
Details to know. Existing policies must be revised by January 1, 2027. The law includes complaint procedures and funding consequences; acceptance of valid identification alone does not establish a violation.
Biological sex & women’s privacy
Third Consideration on HB1271 · Apr 22, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Requires Tennessee licensing authorities to follow federal license-recognition requirements for active service members and spouses moving under military orders.
Read moreShow less about SB1692
It also covers qualifying families assigned to a neighboring state who seek work in Tennessee.
How this relates. Continuing to work after a military move matters to a family’s income. License recognition addresses a regulatory barrier for qualifying service members and spouses.
Key provisions
Requires state licensing authorities to follow federal license-recognition requirements for active service members and spouses moving under military orders to Tennessee, or to a neighboring state while seeking work in Tennessee.
Uses federal definitions of covered licenses and service members; the final amendment removes the separate state application-and-affidavit process originally proposed.
Preserves other licensing pathways and excludes professions regulated by the state Supreme Court and licenses governed by an interstate compact to which Tennessee belongs.
Requires prominent notices explaining potential recognition of out-of-state occupational licenses for active military members and spouses.
Details to know. Federal eligibility requirements still apply. Professions regulated by the Tennessee Supreme Court and licenses covered by applicable interstate compacts are excluded from this pathway.
AffordabilityLimited governmentJobs & opportunity
Motion to Concur House Amendment # 1 on SB1692 · Apr 22, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Creates child-care assistance pilots, including scholarships for qualifying child-care workers, an employer–employee–state cost-sharing program, and Smart Steps Plus assistance for eligible working families.
Read moreShow less about SB2062
Other eligible assistance is applied first under the program rules.
How this relates. Child-care expenses affect family budgets and parents’ ability to work. These programs connect assistance for working families with support for the child-care workforce.
Key provisions
Creates a dedicated fund and child-care workforce scholarship pilot for qualifying child-care workers averaging at least 30 hours per week, coordinated with existing assistance.
Creates a CareShare pilot combining employer, employee, and state contributions toward child care, with state matching that varies by household income and available funding.
Creates Smart Steps Plus scholarships for qualifying working families with income up to 150% of state median income, after other eligible assistance is applied.
Requires public reports and performance review. Fund spending depends on available money and legislative appropriations; up to 10% may support administration and program oversight.
Main program provisions take effect January 1, 2027. Rulemaking and procurement authority began upon enactment; benefits remain subject to funding and eligibility.
Details to know. Main program provisions begin January 1, 2027. Benefits depend on funding and eligibility.
AffordabilityPro-life & family support
as Amended Third Consideration on HB1979 · Apr 22, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Sets sex-based rules for shared restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping arrangements in specified facilities, including public colleges, domestic-violence shelters, and correctional facilities.
Read moreShow less about SB0468
Public colleges must offer same-sex room assignments.
How this relates. Sex-based privacy in shared facilities is related to the broader debate about protections for women and girls. This vote addresses facilities and housing arrangements.
Key provisions
Sets sex-based rules for shared restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping arrangements in specified facilities, including public colleges, domestic violence shelters, and correctional facilities.
Requires public colleges to offer students same-sex room assignments; includes specified family, emergency, maintenance, disability-assistance, and athletic-service exceptions.
Allows lawsuits seeking court orders for specified violations, with a two-year filing period.
The enacted requirements take effect July 1, 2026. Hotels owned by or located on public-college property are excluded from the college-facility section.
Details to know. Effective July 1, 2026, with specified exceptions, including family, emergency, assistance, and athletic-service situations. The law provides court remedies for covered violations.
Biological sex & women’s privacy
Motion to Adopt Conference Committee Report on SB0468 · Apr 21, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Tax-payment agreements for qualifying housing projects
Enacted · Public Chapter 987
Allows industrial development corporations to negotiate certain payments in place of property taxes for tax-credit housing projects.
Read moreShow less about SB2646
Agreements below prior-year tax amounts require support from affected taxing jurisdictions’ chief executives and other statutory conditions.
How this relates. These agreements affect the financing of housing projects and the tax revenue local governments receive. The vote belongs with housing costs and local development policy.
Key provisions
Updates when industrial-development corporations may negotiate payments instead of property taxes for tax-credit housing projects, while allowing municipalities to require approval.
Allows qualifying tax-credit housing payments below the prior-year tax amount when each affected taxing jurisdiction’s chief executive submits the required support letter and other statutory criteria are met.
Requires written notice of agreements reducing a jurisdiction’s expected tax payments. The chief executive may require legislative-body approval or state no objection; the corporation may proceed after 10 days without a response.
Details to know. Municipalities may require approval. The law also adds notice and review procedures for agreements that reduce expected tax payments.
Property taxes & housing expensesAffordability
as Amended Third Consideration on SB2646 · Apr 21, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Requires sheriff’s departments operating under a federal 287(g) agreement to accept and honor federal immigration detainers.
Read moreShow less about SB1486
The requirements include specified continued custody and notification to federal authorities.
How this relates. Detainers are one way local custody connects with federal immigration enforcement. This vote addresses that cooperation for sheriff’s departments participating in the federal program.
Key provisions
Requires a memorandum of understanding entered between certain law enforcement agencies and federal officials concerning enforcement of federal immigration laws to include a requirement that the agency accept and honor any immigration detainer received from federal immigration authorities.
Details to know. The enacted amendment limits the requirement to sheriff’s departments operating under a qualifying agreement.
Immigration, crime & public safety
as Amended Third Consideration on HB2018 · Apr 14, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Allows county sheriffs to provide separate, secured lockers at or near a courthouse entrance for people lawfully carrying firearms when possession inside is restricted or prohibited.
Read moreShow less about SB2352
Storage is free to the individual.
How this relates. This vote connects courthouse security with the practical needs of lawful firearm owners visiting public buildings. It authorizes a storage option at participating courthouses.
Key provisions
States that if the possession of a handgun is restricted or prohibited at a county courthouse, then the sheriff of the county may provide secure storage lockers for those individuals who are lawfully carrying a firearm to store the firearm in separate secured, lockable storage units at or near a designated public entrance to the building or structure at no cost to the individual.
Details to know. Providing lockers is optional for the sheriff; courthouse possession restrictions still apply.
Gun rightsImmigration, crime & public safety
Third Consideration on HB2376 · Apr 13, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Civil enforcement of abortion-drug delivery restrictions
Enacted · Public Chapter 903
Authorizes the attorney general to bring civil actions enforcing Tennessee’s abortion-inducing-drug law, including penalties for knowingly providing abortion-inducing drugs through prohibited courier, delivery, or mail services.
Read moreShow less about SB2412
How this relates. This vote concerns enforcement of abortion-drug restrictions and the legal consequences for covered violations. It is directly related to abortion policy.
Key provisions
Revises present law that authorizes the attorney general to bring an action to enforce compliance with the Tennessee Abortion-Inducing Drug Risk Protocol Act or intervene as a matter of right in a case in which the constitutionality of such act is challenged.
Details to know. The law provides a $10,000 penalty per violation and a $1 million penalty where a court finds resulting serious bodily injury or death.
Pro-life & family support
as Amended Third Consideration on SB2412 · Apr 13, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Temporary parking placards for high-risk pregnancies
Enacted · Public Chapter 827
Allows temporary disabled-parking placards for women whose pregnancies are certified as high risk by a physician, beginning January 1, 2027.
Read moreShow less about SB1684
How this relates. Pregnancy support includes practical access to everyday destinations and appointments. This vote creates a parking-accommodation pathway for women with a certified high-risk pregnancy.
Key provisions
Authorizes, effective January 1, 2027, temporary placards to be issued to a female who has a pregnancy certified to be high risk by her physician.
Details to know. Eligibility requires a physician’s high-risk certification.
Pro-life & family supportAccess to healthcare
as Amended Third Consideration on SB1684 · Apr 9, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Specialized support in child-trafficking investigations
Enacted · Public Chapter 723
Requires child protective teams handling alleged child trafficking to include a specialist from a nongovernmental agency.
Read moreShow less about SB2225
It adds 15 hours of training and adjusts deadlines for determining whether reported abuse is substantiated.
How this relates. Protecting children connects criminal investigations with services for families and victims. This vote brings specialized experience into the team handling trafficking cases.
Key provisions
Requires, rather than permits, the child protective team for a case involving a human trafficking offense to include a representative from a non-governmental agency specialized in combatting the commercial sexual exploitation of minors.
Extends the time within which the department or child protective team must determine whether reported abuse was indicated or unfounded from 60 days to 90 days or, in cases involving a child fatality, 180 days.
Details to know. The law extends ordinary investigation deadlines to 90 days and child-fatality deadlines to 180 days, with a possible extension for good cause.
Immigration, crime & public safetyPro-life & family support
Motion to Concur House Amendment # 1 on SB2225 · Apr 2, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Temporary detention after a release-condition violation
Enacted · Public Chapter 896
Allows a court to temporarily revoke bond and hold a defendant for up to 10 days pending a revocation hearing after specified conduct, including violating release conditions or being charged with a new offense while released.
Read moreShow less about SB1945
How this relates. Enforcing release conditions is part of public safety and the court process. This vote provides a short detention period while the court considers whether to revoke bail.
Key provisions
Allows the court to temporarily revoke a defendant's bond and order the defendant held without bail for no more than 10 days pending a bail revocation hearing if the defendant violates a condition of release, is charged with an offense committed during the defendant's release, or engages in conduct that results in the obstruction of the orderly and expeditious progress of the trial.
Details to know. The temporary hold is limited to 10 days pending the bail-revocation hearing.
Immigration, crime & public safety
Third Consideration on SB1945 · Mar 30, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Places regulation of the manner and means of taking wildlife, including firearm use while lawfully hunting, under state fish and wildlife rules rather than general local regulation.
Read moreShow less about SB2028
How this relates. Hunting rules are part of how lawful firearm use is regulated. This vote addresses which level of government sets those rules.
Key provisions
Places regulation of the manner and means of taking wildlife, including the discharge of a firearm while lawfully hunting, under state fish and wildlife rules.
Preserves local authority to regulate firearm discharge by a person lawfully hunting within 500 feet of school property.
Details to know. Counties and municipalities may still regulate firearm discharge by lawful hunters within 500 feet of school property.
Gun rightsLimited government
Motion to Concur House Amendment # 3 on SB2028 · Mar 23, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Limits the firearm and ammunition information the Department of Children’s Services may request from current or prospective foster parents.
Read moreShow less about SB2459
It generally bars requests for details such as number, type, or identifying information.
How this relates. This vote connects lawful firearm ownership and privacy with the process of becoming or remaining a foster parent. It sets limits on routine government information requests.
Key provisions
Generally bars the Department of Children’s Services from requesting the number, type, or identifying information of firearms or ammunition owned by current or prospective foster parents, or requesting their display or access.
Allows the department to ask whether firearms and ammunition are present and securely stored, and to view the storage without requiring a secured compartment to be opened.
The restrictions do not apply to an investigation of alleged abuse or neglect in a foster home.
Details to know. The department may ask about firearms’ presence and secure storage. The limits do not apply to abuse or neglect investigations.
Gun rightsPro-life & family supportLimited government
as Amended Third Consideration on SB2459 · Mar 19, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Bail review for firearm and serious-injury charges
Enacted · Public Chapter 604
Creates a rebuttable presumption against release on personal recognizance or an unsecured bond for felony charges involving a firearm or serious bodily injury or death.
Read moreShow less about SB0218
A magistrate who finds the presumption rebutted must provide written findings.
How this relates. Pretrial release standards are part of how courts manage serious charges and community safety. This vote changes the starting standard while retaining a judicial review process.
Key provisions
Establishes a presumption that a defendant should not be released on the defendant’s personal recognizance if the defendant is charged with a felony offense that involved the use or display of a firearm or resulted in the serious bodily injury or death of the victim.
Requires a magistrate who determines that the presumption has been rebutted to include in the bail order written findings for each factor considered in making such a determination.
Details to know. Effective July 1, 2026. These are release conditions before trial.
Immigration, crime & public safety
Motion to Concur House Amendment # 3 on SB0218 · Mar 12, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Bars specified parental decisions consistent with a child’s biological sex from serving as the basis for listed abuse, neglect, custody, and related findings.
Read moreShow less about SB1989
The law covers specified pronoun use and lawful medical or mental-health decisions.
How this relates. The bill connects parental authority with decisions about a child’s biological sex. It limits how government and courts may use the specified parenting decisions in covered proceedings.
Key provisions
Specifies that a parent's or legal guardian's action of raising, guiding, or instructing the parent's or legal guardian's child in a manner consistent with the child's biological sex is not a basis for certain findings or actions by the court, does not constitute the criminal offense of child abuse, child neglect, or child endangerment, and must not be considered as a negative factor by a court in determining a custody arrangement in the best interest of the child.
Details to know. It also limits treating a child’s disagreement as unruly conduct, subject to the law’s parental-request provisions.
Biological sex & women’s privacyLimited government
Third Consideration on SB1989 · Mar 12, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Allows a family adopting more than one child at the same time to include the children in one adoption petition and pay one filing fee.
Read moreShow less about SB1005
A court may require separate petitions when it finds that doing so is in the children’s best interests.
How this relates. Adoption procedures and fees are part of the practical support available to growing families. This vote addresses one of the court costs associated with adopting multiple children.
Key provisions
Allows petitioners to include all children in one adoption petition if the petitioners are seeking to adopt more than one child at the same time, unless the court issues a written order finding that it is in the best interest of the children that separate petitions be filed.
Specifies that the clerk of court must charge only one filing fee for such a petition.
Details to know. The single-fee provision applies to the joint adoption petition.
Pro-life & family supportAffordability
Motion to Concur House Amendment # 1 on SB1005 · Apr 17, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
A 30-year minimum for attainable-housing restrictions
Enacted · Public Chapter 348
Changes the required deed restriction for multifamily housing built under a voluntary attainable-housing incentive program from permanent restrictions to a minimum of 30 years.
Read moreShow less about SB1193
How this relates. The duration of an affordability commitment is one factor in developing housing. This vote adjusts that commitment for participating projects while retaining a long-term restriction.
Key provisions
Revises the present law provision requiring all multi-family facilities, buildings, and structures constructed under a voluntary attainable housing incentive program to be deed-restricted to ensure that the attainable housing continues for at least 30 years, instead of in perpetuity.
Details to know. The restriction may expire after the required period, depending on the project’s terms.
Property taxes & housing expensesAffordability
Third Consideration on HB0863 · Apr 15, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Development tools for affordable and workforce housing
Enacted · Public Chapter 353
Expands and clarifies the housing projects industrial development corporations may support, including affordable and workforce housing.
Read moreShow less about SB1271
It also changes related economic-impact plans and tax-increment financing provisions.
How this relates. Housing availability is connected to the tools used to finance development and infrastructure. This vote addresses those tools for qualifying projects.
Key provisions
Clarifies that certain definitions concerning housing facilities and developments with regard to industrial development corporations include affordable and workforce housing.
Authorizes a municipality or county to approve amendments to an economic impact plan when approving the plan.
Details to know. Local decisions, project requirements, and the allocation of future tax revenue shape how these powers are used.
Property taxes & housing expensesAffordability
Third Consideration on HB1306 · Apr 15, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Lowers the minimum age for an enhanced handgun carry permit to 18 while preserving other eligibility requirements.
Read moreShow less about SB1318
It also clarifies that a DUI conviction within the preceding five years disqualifies an applicant or renewal applicant.
How this relates. The age requirement determines who may apply for an enhanced carry permit. This vote expands that application pathway while retaining the remaining eligibility standards.
Key provisions
Clarifies that an applicant who has a DUI conviction that occurred within five years from the date of application or renewal is not eligible for an enhanced handgun carry permit; lowers the age for an applicant for an enhanced handgun carry permit from 21 to 18 if other eligibility requirements for issuance of the permit are met.
Details to know. Other permit requirements still apply, including the restriction for a DUI conviction within the previous five years.
Gun rights
Third Consideration on HB1332 · Apr 15, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Changes civil-liability rules for firearm and other covered-product businesses, including removing certain negligence-per-se claims and expanding the products covered.
Read moreShow less about SB1360
It also revises state preemption of local weapons regulation.
How this relates. Civil liability and local regulation affect the legal framework for firearm ownership and commerce. This vote changes those rules and the way conflicting local restrictions may be challenged.
Key provisions
Removes the ability to bring a civil liability action for negligence per se against a seller of a qualified product.
Expands "qualified products" to include knives, body armor, pepper spray, silencers, and other certain products.
Requires physical injury for a negligent entrustment action rather than an unreasonable risk of physical injury.
Specifies that a person who will be subject to an ordinance in the future or reasonably intends to be physically present in the political subdivision is an adversely affected party for purposes of filing certain actions; makes various other changes regarding civil actions against arms dealers, manufacturers, and sellers and the preemption of local regulation of firearms.
Details to know. The law narrows specified lawsuit pathways and local regulatory powers; other statutory exceptions remain.
Gun rightsLimited government
as Amended Third Consideration on SB1360 · Apr 15, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Clarifies the physical-health exception in Tennessee’s criminal-abortion law, including examples of pregnancy complications that may fall within the standard for a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.
Read moreShow less about SB1004
How this relates. The physical-health exception is part of how abortion law applies when a pregnancy threatens a patient’s health. This vote addresses the legal standard physicians must use.
Key provisions
Clarifies the term "serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function" as used in present law provisions relative to criminal abortion.
Details to know. The underlying prohibition and physician-judgment requirements remain. The definition excludes conditions related to mental health.
Pro-life & family supportAccess to healthcare
as Amended Third Consideration on SB1004 · Apr 7, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Recognition of certain out-of-state driver licenses
Enacted · Public Chapter 288
Treats specified out-of-state license classes issued exclusively to people without lawful immigration status as invalid in Tennessee.
Read moreShow less about SB1086
Driving with one of those invalid licenses becomes a Class B misdemeanor.
How this relates. This vote connects immigration policy with the driver-license rules used on Tennessee roads. It addresses which out-of-state licenses Tennessee recognizes.
Key provisions
Creates the Class B misdemeanor offense of operating a motor vehicle in this state with an invalid driver license; designates out-of-state driver licenses issued exclusively to illegal aliens as invalid driver licenses in this state.
Details to know. Applies to the specific license classes identified by the statute; the Department of Safety maintains the list.
Immigration, crime & public safety
Third Consideration on HB0749 · Apr 7, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Removes aggregate penalty caps for violations of pharmacy-benefit-manager laws and applies prompt-payment requirements to payments to pharmacists.
Read moreShow less about SB0881
Violations of those payment standards carry the penalties specified in insurance law.
How this relates. Payment practices affect the business side of keeping prescription services available. This vote connects pharmacy access with oversight of the companies that administer drug benefits.
Key provisions
Removes the aggregate penalty limits for violations of law concerning pharmacy benefits managers.
Provides that a pharmacy benefits manager regulated under law relative to pharmacy benefits managers is subject to the insurance laws relative to timely reimbursement of health insurance claims and its requirements for timing of payments to pharmacists.
Provides that a violation of the prompt pay standards is governed by the penalties set out in insurance laws relative to timely reimbursement of health insurance claims.
Details to know. The changes apply to covered conduct on or after the law’s effective date.
Access to healthcareAffordability
as Amended Third Consideration on SB0881 · Mar 31, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Makes specified adoption and related records available to the Department of Children’s Services when it searches for a kinship foster-care placement.
Read moreShow less about SB1116
How this relates. Finding a relative who can care for a child connects child protection with family support. This vote gives the department access to records for that specific search.
Key provisions
Requires certain records or papers for a person relating to the adoption or attempted adoption of a person in the possession of the office of the clerk of the adoption court; the offices of the department of health; the office of any child-placing agency, whether or not it is chartered or licensed; or any other information source, to be made available to the department of children's services for the purpose of searching for a kinship foster care placement.
Details to know. Access is for the department’s kinship-placement search, including records that are otherwise sealed.
Pro-life & family supportImmigration, crime & public safety
as Amended Third Consideration on SB1116 · Mar 27, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Requires covered multi-occupancy restrooms, changing areas, and showers to be separated by biological sex.
Read moreShow less about SB0472
Its scope includes specified school facilities and residential educational programs where elementary or secondary students stay overnight.
How this relates. Sex-separated changing and shower facilities relate to privacy in school and overnight educational settings. That makes this a related vote in the broader discussion of sex-based protections.
Key provisions
Requires all residential educational programs in this state that allow minors to participate or to access residential facilities, including staying overnight in such facilities, to segregate certain restrooms, changing areas, and showers by immutable biological sex.
Details to know. Applies to the educational facilities and residential programs identified in the law.
Biological sex & women’s privacy
Third Consideration on HB0064 · Mar 20, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Allows eligible public-school and public-charter-school employees to use existing paid adoption leave during the qualifying period between filing an adoption petition and finalization, when a child has been placed under the specified court arrangements.
Read moreShow less about SB0314
How this relates. Paid leave during an adoption placement connects family support with household income. This change lets eligible school employees use existing leave during an earlier part of the adoption process.
Key provisions
Authorizes an eligible education employee to qualify for paid leave during the legal process for adopting a newly placed minor child, specifically during that period of time beginning with the filing of a petition for adoption when a minor child is initially placed within the residence of a prospective adoptive parent pursuant to a court-ordered parental power of attorney or guardianship or custodial order until the issuance of a final order of adoption by the court.
Details to know. Existing employee eligibility rules and leave limits still apply.
Pro-life & family supportAffordability
Motion to Adopt on SB0314 · Mar 17, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Encourages contractors and subcontractors working on state construction contracts of at least $1 million to employ apprentices through certified or registered apprenticeship programs.
Read moreShow less about SB0776
It also encourages agencies to ask about apprenticeship participation in bid requests.
How this relates. Apprenticeships connect paid work with training. Encouraging their use on state construction projects relates to earning opportunities and the skilled workforce.
Key provisions
Encourages licensed contractors and subcontractors who enter into state construction contracts to employ apprentices from certified and registered apprenticeship programs.
Details to know. Effective November 1, 2026. Participation is encouraged rather than required.
AffordabilityJobs & opportunity
Motion to Adopt on SB0776 · Mar 17, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Requires health benefit plan issuers to provide requested claims-experience reports within 30 days to qualifying plans, sponsors, or administrators.
Read moreShow less about SB1270
The reports include specified claims, premium, and enrollment information; the bill also updates other insurance rules.
How this relates. Claims information helps plan sponsors understand spending and evaluate coverage arrangements. That connects this vote to the cost and administration of health benefits.
Key provisions
Requires a health benefit plan issuer to provide no later than 30 days after a health benefit plan issuer receives a written request for a claims experience report from a plan, plan sponsor, or plan administrator, the report to the requesting party.
Prohibits coverage by a commercial risk insurance policy of farm risks or real or personal property used in farming from being considered in determining whether property is classified as farm or agricultural property under another law or rule in this state.
Revises provisions relating to reinsurance and risk insurance.
Revises provisions relating to the readability, content, and style of life and health insurance policies.
Details to know. The report requirements are subject to HIPAA, federal preemption, and the law’s plan-eligibility rules.
Access to healthcareAffordability
as Amended Third Consideration on SB1270 · Mar 13, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Creates an immigration-enforcement division in the Department of Safety and a grant program for state and local participation in federal immigration enforcement.
Read moreShow less about SB6002
The law also addresses sanctuary policies, government records, and identification documents.
How this relates. State and local coordination with federal immigration authorities is part of immigration enforcement policy. This vote establishes the state division and a grant mechanism for that work.
Key provisions
Creates within the department of safety the centralized immigration enforcement division, to be administered by the chief immigration enforcement officer.
Establishes a grant program to promote the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
Creates criminal penalties for officials who adopt sanctuary policies and subsequently requires their removal from office upon conviction.
Requires the department of safety to issue lawful permanent residents a temporary driver license, instead of a standard license, to aid in determining voter eligibility.
Details to know. The division and grant provisions have a January 2029 sunset unless renewed. They create state responsibilities and funding mechanisms; enforcement still involves federal law and cooperation.
Immigration, crime & public safety
as Amended Third Consideration on SB6002 · Jan 29, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Removes certificate-of-need requirements for acute-care hospitals beginning July 1, 2030, and for satellite emergency departments and cardiac-catheterization services beginning July 1, 2028.
Read moreShow less about SB1369
Licensing requirements remain.
How this relates. The law changes the approval process for establishing hospitals and providing emergency and cardiac services. These requirements affect how healthcare facilities and services may enter a community, making the measure relevant to access to care.
Key provisions
Removes the certificate-of-need requirement for acute-care hospitals beginning July 1, 2030, while requiring a Health Facilities Commission license.
Removes certificate-of-need requirements for satellite emergency departments and cardiac-catheterization services beginning July 1, 2028, with replacement licensing requirements and specified existing-facility protection.
Authorizes additional licensing standards for acute-care hospitals licensed on or after July 1, 2030. Those standards must include TennCare participation and charity care comparable to similar hospitals.
Requires a payer-mix report by January 1, 2031, developed with stakeholder input to support the licensing standards.
Details to know. These changes have future effective dates. Additional hospital licensing standards must address TennCare participation and charity care comparable to similarly situated hospitals. The law does not guarantee new facilities, shorter waits, or lower prices.
Access to healthcare
Motion to Concur House Amendment # 8 on SB1369 · Apr 16, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Gives TDOT additional contracting options when a transportation-system failure or other emergency requires immediate attention.
Read moreShow less about SB1308
These include methods that combine design and construction or involve a contractor earlier in project planning.
How this relates. Repair contracts determine how the state can respond when damaged transportation links disrupt everyday travel. This measure changes the tools available for emergency transportation work.
Key provisions
Allows additional emergency contracting methods, including design-build and construction manager/general contractor agreements.
Requires immediate written notice to specified legislative committee chairs, the finance commissioner, and the comptroller when emergency contracting authority is used.
Exempts qualifying emergency contracts from certain advance project-listing requirements and annual alternative-delivery contract limits.
Details to know. This law changes contracting procedures. It does not establish that any particular road or bridge project has been funded or completed.
Roads & Infrastructure
Motion to Adopt on HB1320 · Mar 17, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Relaxes specified restrictions on temporary borrow pits—sites that supply earth and other material—for qualifying road construction tied to Hurricane Helene recovery.
Read moreShow less about SB0915
How this relates. Road rebuilding requires construction material. This measure addresses where material for qualifying Helene recovery work can be obtained.
Key provisions
Applies to temporary borrow pits used for qualifying state or local Hurricane Helene road recovery projects under a state construction contract.
Lifts specified borrow-pit restrictions while retaining stormwater runoff requirements.
Preserves requirements under the federal Clean Water Act and Water Pollution Control Act.
Details to know. The exception applies to state-contracted recovery work in FEMA-certified counties. The added provisions expire June 30, 2039.
Roads & Infrastructure
as Amended Third Consideration on SB0915 · Mar 27, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Requires the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) to study sustainable funding for the state’s long-term transportation needs.
Read moreShow less about SB0703
How this relates. Maintaining roads and bridges involves ongoing costs. This measure calls for information on those costs and possible revenue sources to inform future funding decisions.
Key provisions
Examines highway and bridge needs, maintenance and repair costs, and the annual funding gap.
Reviews recurring highway-fund expenses, potential revenue sources, affected stakeholders, and approaches used by at least three other states.
Sets September 30, 2026, as the deadline for submitting the report.
Details to know. This law requires a study and recommendations; it does not itself appropriate construction money or create a new tax or fee.
Roads & Infrastructure
as Amended Third Consideration on SB0703 · Mar 17, 2025. Harshbarger: Aye.
Authorizes local governments and developers to share the cost of certain offsite public infrastructure improvements needed as part of a development project.
Read moreShow less about SB2191
How this relates. New development can require infrastructure beyond the development site. This measure addresses how the developer and local government share those costs.
Key provisions
Allows a local government to require a developer to build or pay for qualifying offsite improvements through a cost-sharing arrangement.
Bases the arrangement on the development’s proportionate use of or impact on public infrastructure.
Allows the local share to come from specified sources, including impact fees from other developments, bond proceeds, or unencumbered tax revenues.
Details to know. The law creates a cost-sharing framework. It does not promise a particular project, state grant, or reduction in local taxes.
Roads & Infrastructure
Third Consideration on HB2386 · Apr 22, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
Authorizes emergency utility workers to use public roads and enter restricted areas when necessary to restore utility service during a declared natural emergency.
Read moreShow less about SB2658
How this relates. Restoring power, communications, and other utility systems requires crews to reach damaged equipment. This measure sets access rules for that emergency work.
Key provisions
Provides reasonable access for qualifying emergency utility workers who present employer or contractor credentials.
Adds emergency utility workers to specified protections against assault on first responders.
Provides limited civil immunity for qualifying good-faith restoration work, with statutory exclusions including willful misconduct and gross negligence.
Details to know. Law enforcement retains authority to prohibit access for a valid law-enforcement purpose. The law does not guarantee a restoration timeline.
Roads & Infrastructure
Motion to Concur House Amendment # 2 on SB2658 · Apr 22, 2026. Harshbarger: Aye.
