KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The start of another year will bring a slew of new laws.
Every year, the Tennessee legislature discusses and votes on proposals that vastly range in scope, topic and aim. Sometimes, those bills are passed and immediately go into effect. Other times, lawmakers decide to pass bills and hold off on allowing them to immediately take effect.
By delaying the start of a law, organizations and people across the state have time to prepare for its impact and take steps to ensure they comply.
Laws usually take effect either on July 1, a few months after the end of a legislative session, or on Jan. 1, a few months before the start of a new session. This year, laws starting on Jan. 1 could affect people's access to websites with adult content and require restrictions on minors' access to social media.
A list of some of the laws going into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, is available below.
During the last legislative session, Tennessee lawmakers passed a law that could require websites with sexual content to take steps that make sure its users are over 18 years old. Senator Becky Duncan Massey, R-Knoxville, introduced the "Protect Tennessee Minors Act" and compared its intent to requiring age verification steps on sites that advertise alcohol.
However, the law requires websites that share erotic and sexual content to verify users' ages through a "reasonable age-verification method," which could require users to upload photos of themselves.
Alternatively, it could require websites to use a "commercially reasonable method relying on public or private transactional data to verify that the age of the person attempting to access the information is at least 18 or older," such as by uploading pay statements or bills. Websites would need to retain at least 7 years of anonymized age-verification data under the law, but not retain personally identifying information.
Free speech advocates and websites that could be affected by the law filed a lawsuit in late November meant to stop it from going into effect. In it, advocates argued that the law tailors the definition of content being "harmful to minors" to be more broadly applied than it has been in previous court cases — potentially violating the First Amendment.
The advocates also argued that because the law is vague, it violates the 14th Amendment by not clearly describing who it applies to.
If a judge does not intervene, the law could go into effect on Jan. 1. At least one "fan website" website said it plans to restrict Tennessee IP addresses from accessing its content if the law goes into effect.
A proposal that attracted some attention during the legislative session was the "Protecting Children from Social Media Act." It was touted by lawmakers as a measure requiring social media companies to make a "reasonable effort to ensure that parents have given" their consent for children to use the websites.
It passed with largely bipartisan support in Tennessee and requires social media companies to verify users' ages before they can make an account. If minors make an account, social media companies are required to verify that their parents have allowed them to make an account.
Lawmakers also said if an account was made before social media companies start verifying user ages, then companies would need to verify the user's age within 14 days after they try to access an account.
A law that passed unanimously in the Senate and found bipartisan support in the House of Representatives will require anyone who directly serves alcohol to complete alcohol awareness training.
That training must be at least three-and-a-half hours long and include training about the role of alcohol in sexual assault and harassment. They must also be trained in how to best ensure patrons are safe and learn about bystander intervention.
The training will also need to show bartenders and other people who serve alcohol how to recognize the role of drugs in assault and develop strategies to prevent patrons from being drugged. Additionally, they must be able to recognize and report signs of human trafficking.
A bill that found near-unanimous support in both the House of Representatives and the Senate makes law enforcement officers and firefighters eligible for hazard duty retirement benefits. Senator Paul Bailey, R-Sparta, said the benefits would be eligible either when employees retire, or when they reach 60 years old.
The hazardous duty benefit is added to workers' retirement allowance as long as they have at least 20 years of service and do not retire due to a disability.
Hazardous duty supplemental benefits will need to be equal to three-eighths of 1% of a worker's final compensation, multiplied by the person's years of service if they are retiring on a service retirement allowance.
Members will participate in legacy plans and retire on an early service retirement allowance, benefits will be calculated the same way but will be reduced by four-tenths of 1% for each month between the time the worker retires and when their regular retirement would be.
A proposal that found unanimous support in the Senate would allow "permissive virtual identity verification" when people buy alcohol. Representative Jake McCalmon, R-Franklin, said rules are already in place to let virtual ID information be used in places like airports for non-alcoholic purposes.
"This would just allow somebody to, on their own volition, upload their ID and be able to scan it similar to self-checkout in a grocery store for alcohol purchases," he said.
Senator Richard Briggs, R-Knoxville, said the law only allows alcohol purchases for off-premises consumption. So, virtual IDs would not be allowed in bars or restaurants.
Senator Adam Lowe, R-Calhoun, said some grocery stores verify people's ages through a combination of data, such as credit card information and biometric data. He said it would be up to stores to protect user data, instead of the state.
"It's voluntary by some vendors, like Whole Foods, to use biometric palm scans. So, those who are using those kinds of biometric abilities that they've signed up for, this would allow for age verification that's included with the credit card information on file," he said.
Additional Laws
HB 1814: This law will require landlords to tell potential tenants the name and address of property management agencies that operate homes. Tenants also must receive in writing the names and addresses of owners of premises, or people authorized to act on their behalf. Tenants must also get either an email or telephone number for maintenance services or an online portal system where they can communicate with landlords.
SB 2307: State lawmakers unanimously decided to pass a law that effectively makes sure hydrogen gas is taxed the same way as other kinds of fuel. A fiscal note said the law is expected to result in an increase in revenue for the state's Highway Fund and a decrease in revenue for the General Fund.
SB 1919: State lawmakers passed a law that requires health insurance companies that already offer coverage for prescription contraceptives to provide coverage for a year's worth of the medicine. Democratic Representative Karen D. Camper said the law is meant to "enable Tennesseans on TennCare to obtain a 12-month refill on birth control from a health benefit plan and provides for coverage for birth control." She said it also makes it easier for people in healthcare deserts to get access to birth control.