NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Legislature adjourned in April, bringing an end to a legislative session that included debates on topics like abortion care, gender-affirming care, guns, universal school vouchers and plenty more.
While some of the bills immediately went into effect after becoming law, others included a delay in when they would take effect. Usually, these kinds of delays are meant to give organizations and state departments time to adjust to the new law.
Around 200 new laws are set to take effect July 1 this year, covering a wide variety of topics. Some of the most significant laws taking effect across the state are listed below.
Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill designed to criminalize people who help minors get abortion care out-of-state without written and notarized consent from the minor's parents. Starting July 1, people who help minors find abortion care could face a Class A misdemeanor.
Adults could also face prosecution or civil lawsuits for helping minors get abortion care drugs, or hide abortion care from a child's parents or guardians. It also would not matter if minors want abortion care, and the bill would not apply to parents or legal guardians of unemancipated minors.
Once charged, adults who help minors find abortion care would face around a year in prison.
The Associated Press said Tennessee would become the second state in the U.S. to pass such a law.
Democratic lawmakers warned that the law could harm children from abusive families, deterring extended family members or other caretakers from taking action and discouraging children from reaching out for help if they have been sexually assaulted.
"I always speak up about this because that was the experience I had working with the kids that I worked with for those years. They were the kids that had been abused or had problems, and a lot of times it was within their families. But, what about the young girl who is pregnant with her father's baby, and her mother covers for it? Who is that child going to go to?" said Rep. Gloria Johnson (D - Knoxville). "We cannot always count on parents doing the right thing ... This is doing nothing to protect children. This is actually harming children."
The bill was introduced by Rep. Jason Zachary (R - Knoxville) and passed in a 74-24 vote. He previously said it was meant to be a parental rights bill, effectively guaranteeing parents have decisions about whether children have access to abortions. Zachary also said that while he had concerns for children who may be abused, he also had concerns "for the child that is in utero."
Tennessee will soon be the first in the nation to criminalize helping minors find gender-affirming care outside of the state without parental consent, according to the Associated Press.
The law effectively mirrors the law banning adults from helping pregnant children find abortion care out of state — opening adults up to civil liability for helping minors find gender-affirming care. It modifies the state's existing prohibition on many kinds of gender-affirming care for minors.
While the Republican supermajority touted the proposed statutes as necessary to protect parental rights, critics warned about the possible broad application, the AP said. Violations could range from talking to an adolescent about a website on where to find care to helping that young person travel to another state with looser restrictions on gender-affirming care services.
The Human Rights Campaign said Tennessee has enacted more anti-LGBTQ+ laws than any other state since 2015, identifying more than 20 bills that advanced out of the Legislature over the past few months.
Governor Bill Lee allowed a law to go into effect that enables prosecutors to pursue the death penalty when an adult is convicted of aggravated rape of a child. As the bill was discussed in the legislature, Democratic lawmakers and advocates said they were worried the law would instill more fear in child rape victims, discouraging them from speaking out in case the case ultimately results in an execution.
They said most child rape victims are abused by family members and close friends, and said the law could also incentivize perpetrators to kill their victims to avoid harsh punishment.
The Associated Press reported that Lee told reporters that he hoped the law would be tested in court, and allowed it to become law without his signature. The U.S. Supreme Court previously banned capital punishment in cases involving child sex crimes, but Republican lawmakers said they believed the court could reconsider its decision now.
Starting July 1, people with cars that have "Carolina Squat" modifications will not be able to legally drive on state roads.
The modifications are usually done on pickup trucks and large SUVs but can be done on almost any kind of car. The modification effectively lifts the front end of a car higher than the back end, causing it to drive at an angle that is not parallel to most roads.
It was banned in North Carolina and Virginia, according to NBC-affiliate stations in those states, after lawmakers in those states said the modifications make it too difficult to see over the truck's dashboard.
Tennessee's law makes it a Class-B misdemeanor to drive a car that has Carolina Squat modifications, punishable by a fine of $250 for the first offense. Punishments increase in severity for subsequent violations.
People specifically can not drive cars if their front fenders are at least 4 inches higher than their rear fenders, according to the new Tennessee law.
Lawmakers decided to make some changes to the state's restrictions on materials allowed in schools, passing a law that explicitly bars materials that contain nudity sexual excitement, sexual conduct or excess violence. It also said materials could not appeal to the "prurient interest," a term that faced intense debate in earlier legislative sessions.
In effect, the law could result in more books being banned from school libraries. The original law passed in 2022, did not include a definition of what is considered "suitable for the age and maturity levels" of students.
If educators determine books are not appropriate for students' ages and maturity levels from kindergarten through the 12th grade, then the materials must not be available on school library shelves.
The law follows outcries across the state, and including in Knox County, over LGBTQ+ books in schools. Those include books like Gender Queer and Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. Both are acclaimed books that discuss LGBTQ+ identities, including characters' experiences with sex.
A bill passed in the Tennessee Senate and House of Representatives would require some domestic violence offenders to wear GPS monitoring devices so survivors can tell if they are nearby.
SB 1972 specifies courts can require offenders to avoid contact with survivors and require them to wear GPS tracking devices before allowing their release on bond. It is otherwise named "The Debbie and Marie Domestic Violence Protection Act." Offenders would also be required to pay the costs for the system.
The bill would apply to people arrested for stalking, aggravated stalking or especially aggravated stalking, as well as any kind of offense specifically against another person such as assault, kidnapping or rape. Survivors would also have the chance to use an app that notifies them if offenders are near their location.
A law passed by the legislature that allows judges to order juveniles convicted of raping someone 4 years younger than them to register as a violent juvenile sexual offender. It also allows judges to consider more factors in a crime when deciding whether to require a juvenile to register as a sex offender.
Current law does not include the provision.
A new law passed by the legislature would make it a Class E felony to assault law enforcement officers. People convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers would be required to pay $10,000 and face a minimum sentence of 60 days in prison.
Assaulting other first responders, like nurses or firefighters, would carry a less severe penalty. It would be a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a $5,000 fine and at least 30 days in prison.
Governor Bill Lee signed a law that requires local law enforcement agencies to communicate with federal immigration authorities if they discover a person is in the country illegally, mandating cooperation in identifying, detaining and deporting them.
It effectively takes a program in Knox County that makes law enforcement work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and requires it to take effect statewide. The bill's sponsor said it is not meant to encourage officers to explicitly encourage officers to gather papers from people they suspect to be in the country illegally.
He said it is meant to apply when law enforcement officers learn a person's immigration status.
The Metro Nashville Police Department raised concerns about the bill. A Nashville police spokesperson has said the proposal could erode the trust its officers have built with immigrant communities and dissuade some victims or witnesses from cooperating in investigations, the Associated Press said.
Other laws to note:
Public Chapter 636: Replaces references to "poisonous snakes" with "venomous snakes" and provides a legal definition of "venomous."
Public Chapter 708: Makes it a Class C felony to acquire or control another person's bees, or a structure used to keep, handle, house, exhibit, breed or sell bees with their owner's permission.
Public Chapter 887: Increases the penalty for making a threat of mass violence on school property to a Class E felony, and excludes people with intellectual disabilities from the charge.
This story will be updated with more laws going into effect.