NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The 113th General Assembly is underway in Tennessee, and many bills have already been filed for lawmakers to consider. They span a wide range of topics including abortion treatments, adoption, alcoholic beverages, education and health.
Many also have a long way to go before they become law. Most have not yet been picked up by a committee, and none have been discussed on the House and Senate floors as of Monday.
Before they go before the Senate and House floors, they need to be discussed by at least one of several committees in the legislative system. These committees are staffed by lawmakers and consider the legal, financial, social and political implications of each bill filed in the legislature.
After the bills go through committees, they go to the floors of the Senate and House. There are separate versions for the House of Representatives and the Senate. Before lawmakers vote on a bill, they also have the chance to amend it.
Then, the speakers need to agree on a version to sign and send to the Governor. The Governor can then sign it into law, let it become law after ten days, or veto the bill. A veto can be overridden by a constitutional majority of both the House and the Senate.
Bills proposed so far in the Tennessee legislature
HB 0100 (Abortion): Says it is not a criminal act to provide abortion treatments due to a medical emergency affecting the physical or mental health of a pregnant person.
HB 0101 (Abortion): Says it is not a criminal act to provide abortion treatments if a pregnant woman would face serious bodily harm, or if a pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. The bill does not allow for abortion treatments to prevent mental harm and says law enforcement officers could confirm an incident of rape or incest by searching for a report.
HB 0163 (Adoption): Changes the definition of abandonment when it comes to terminating parental rights to include incidents when a parent or guardian does not visit or support a child less than 4 years old for three consecutive months. It also requires courts to waive the six-month waiting period after filing an adoption period if the child is under 4 years old.
HB 0044 (Alcoholic Beverages): Would allow cities in Henry, Benton, Lewis, Grainger and Hardeman counties to decide whether to allow the manufacture, receipt, sale, storage, transportation, distribution and possession of alcoholic beverages.
HB 0175 & SB 0153 (Alcoholic Beverages): Changes the description of Ober Gatlinburg to designate it as a "premier-type tourist resort."
HB 0178 & SB 0174 (Alcoholic Beverages): Allows Sevierville to obtain a license to sell alcohol and beer for consumption on premises designated by the city.
HB 0007 & SB 0024 (Education): Increases the amount that schools need to pay each teacher for the purchase of instructional supplies from $200 to $500.
HB 0041 (Education): Allows all boards of education to adopt a policy allowing their director of schools to authorize and choose employees who can carry a concealed gun on school grounds.
HB0127 & SB 0141 (Education): Would allow school resource officers or law enforcement officers who are certified from a behavioral intervention training program to use a "mechanical restrain" on students receiving special education services, in an emergency situation.
HB 0158 & SB0102 (Education): Would prevent schools and universities, as well as the state board of education, to require educators, employees or faculty members to complete in implicit bias training.
SB 0004 (Education): Establishes a deaf mentor and parent advisor program to help families with implementing bilingual and bicultural home-based programming for young children who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-bling at the Tennessee Schools for the Deaf and the West Tennessee School for the Deaf.
HB 0098 (Education): Requires K-12 schools to include curricula designed to educate students in conflict resolution.
HB 0001 & SB 0001 (Health): Would prohibit healthcare providers from giving gender-affirming to minors, and explicitly does not allow gender-affirming care for cases of gender dysphoria or any mental health issue. The bill would also require the Attorney General to establish a process to report violations of the law and fine providers $25,000.
HB 0075 (Health): Would extend criminal immunity to people experiencing a drug overdose and who are seeking medical assistance, regardless of whether it is their first overdose.
HB 0172 (Health): Would take steps towards decriminalizing marijuana in Tennessee by passing the "Tennessee Medical Cannabis Act."
SB 0005 (Health): Would effectively ban gender-affirming care for minors and allow parents to choose not to allow their children to get mental healthcare for issues related to gender. It would also prohibit gender-affirming physical healthcare for minors in the state.
SB 0010 & HB 0237 (Handgun Permits): Requires people to get an enhanced or concealed handgun permit to carry a gun in counties with metropolitan cities that have more than 500,000 people, or if they are in a county with more than 900,000 people.
HB 0027 & SB0074 (Scholarships and Financial Aid): Would allow a student who earns their first Bachelor's degree in less than the projected completed time to continue receiving the HOPE Scholarship if they pursue an advanced degree.