Tennessee Bills

HB 2155 allows licensed nurse practitioners and physician assistants to testify as expert witnesses about medical findings - including diagnosis, treatment costs, and injury causes - in most civil lawsuits. It directly affects these healthcare providers and civil court cases where their expertise is relevant, such as personal injury claims. However, the bill explicitly excludes healthcare malpractice cases (under Title 29) and workers' compensation claims (under Title 50), including testimony about medical ratings or work-related injury determinations. The law amends Tennessee evidence rules to clarify these qualifications and limitations without changing existing case types.

HB 2623 extends the time businesses must provide written responses to consumer appeals under Tennessee's Information Protection Act, increasing the deadline from 60 to 65 days. It directly affects consumers who appeal denied requests for their personal data and the businesses (referred to as "controllers") handling those requests. The bill amends Tennessee Code § 47-18-3304(c) to require businesses to explain their decisions in writing within the new 65-day window after receiving an appeal. This is a procedural change to the state's consumer privacy law, with no broader policy shifts.

SB 2632 requires the Tennessee Department of Agriculture commissioner to annually report fees, fines, and proceeds from the sale of seized property collected under the Tennessee Apiary Act of 1995 to the chairs of the agriculture committees in both the Senate and House of Representatives. This report must detail all such funds collected during the previous calendar year. The bill amends multiple sections of Tennessee law (Titles 1, 4, 8, 11, 12, 35-71) to establish this reporting requirement. It is a procedural change with no impact on existing beekeeping regulations or the Apiary Act itself.

HB 2400 extends the time a local agency must hold property seized during a camping violation on public property from 90 to 120 days before it can be claimed or disposed of. This directly affects individuals whose belongings are confiscated after being cited for camping on public land. The bill requires agencies to keep seized items in a secure location during this extended period, unless the property is needed as evidence in a criminal case. The change amends Tennessee law across multiple code sections related to property handling procedures.

HB 2254 allows Tennessee's Attorney General to submit the annual consumer affairs report electronically instead of in paper form. The bill amends Tennessee Code Sections 47-18-5002(3) and related titles to permit electronic submission of this report. It directly affects the Attorney General's office (which prepares the report) and the General Assembly (which receives it). This is a procedural change with no impact on consumer protection laws or regulations.

SB 2572 creates the "Tennessee Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund" to provide grants and loans for conservation projects. The fund will support counties, municipalities, state agencies, and nonprofit conservation groups for projects like improving parks/trails, restoring wetlands, protecting wildlife habitat, and enhancing public access to outdoor recreation areas. Monies in the fund can be carried forward annually (not lapsing) with strict limits: the board can spend no more than 1% of the fund on its operations, and the finance department no more than 3%. Projects must align with defined conservation values, such as water quality protection, habitat preservation, or military installation buffering. This bill directly affects local governments and conservation organizations seeking funding for outdoor resource management.

HB 2307 allows crematory facilities in Tennessee to provide electronic receipts instead of paper receipts to individuals delivering human remains for cremation. This change directly affects crematory operators (who issue receipts) and the people delivering bodies or body parts to these facilities. The bill amends multiple Tennessee Code sections to update the requirement from "written" receipts to "written or electronic" receipts. It is a procedural change with no new policy requirements or cost implications.

HB 2622 amends Tennessee law to extend the deadline for courts ordering criminal record expungements from 30 to 45 days. This change requires courts to send expunction orders to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) within 45 days instead of 30 days after issuing the order. The bill directly affects individuals seeking to clear criminal records, as it provides courts with additional time to process and notify the TBI. This is a procedural adjustment to existing expungement rules under TCA Section 8-21-401 and Title 40, with no new eligibility criteria or substantive changes to the expungement process.

SB 2534 would allow Tellico Village Property Owners Association to have its water and wastewater services regulated by the Tennessee Board of Utility Regulation, rather than local oversight. It creates a new eligibility category for nonprofit associations meeting specific criteria: those formed in 1985, serving at least 5,000 community lots, providing some emergency services funding, exclusively providing water/wastewater for members, and requesting state regulation. The bill amends Tennessee state code to add this exception, directly affecting Tellico Village's utility operations. This change would shift regulatory authority from local bodies to the state board for this specific association's services.

HB 2164 would allow the Tellico Village Property Owners Association (a nonprofit community association created in 1985) to place its water and wastewater services under the Tennessee Board of Utility Regulation. The bill amends state law to create a new category for qualifying associations that serve at least 5,000 residential lots, provide emergency services, and exclusively serve their members with utility services. It requires the association's governing board to formally request regulation by the board. This bill specifically affects Tellico Village's utilities and establishes a procedural pathway for similar associations meeting the defined criteria. The change would shift regulatory oversight from local governance to the state board for these services.

HB 2347 requires Tennessee's health commissioner to study how neighboring states use designated caregivers (such as family, partners, or friends designated by patients) for hospitalized patients. Using existing resources, the commissioner must identify current practices and best approaches, then compile findings and recommendations into a report for lawmakers by December 31, 2026. This non-binding study aims to inform future healthcare policy without creating new laws or affecting specific groups directly.

HB 2316 requires all Tennessee electric utilities and project developers (both public and private) to assess large transformers for vulnerability to geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) by January 2027. Covered entities must report detailed findings - including transformer specifications, risk analysis, protection costs, and recommended solutions - to state officials by July 2027, while redacting sensitive security data under Critical Energy Infrastructure Information (CEII) protocols. The bill mandates specific technical standards for assessments, including modeling peak magnetic fields and accounting for transformer age, and explicitly prohibits relying solely on operational fixes like load shedding for GIC protection. This directly affects grid operators managing high-voltage infrastructure (100kV+ transformers) to enhance grid resilience against space weather events.