This bill, known as the School Safety and Mental Health Act, requires every Tennessee local education agency and public charter school to hire at least one full-time licensed professional school counselor for each school. It also establishes a school safety infrastructure grant program administered by the Tennessee School Safety Center, which will provide funding to districts that meet specific eligibility requirements and demonstrate how their funds will improve safety infrastructure and align with security assessments. To qualify for grants, districts must comply with all state laws and regulations related to school safety, and any unspent grant funds must be carried forward to future fiscal years. The changes take effect on July 1, 2025.
SB 907 would exempt certain high-cost prescription drugs from Tennessee's business tax on sales receipts. The bill specifically targets prescription medicines where the 30-day supply cost exceeds the Medicare Part D specialty tier threshold for 2025, as determined by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It also extends the tax exemption to services related to preparing, storing, handling, administering, educating patients about, and monitoring these exempted drugs. This change would apply to pharmacies and other entities selling these medications starting July 1, 2025.
This bill requires Tennessee law enforcement agencies to create alternative crisis response units by January 1, 2026, where a qualified mental health professional accompanies police officers to mental health-related calls and leads the response. The legislation mandates that the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission establish uniform training standards for these units and provide annual training for officers on supporting mental health professionals during calls. The bill directly affects law enforcement agencies across the state and the training commission by creating new operational requirements and training obligations. It amends existing state statutes to formalize these alternative response protocols rather than creating entirely new laws from scratch.
SB 2239 requires Tennessee medical and osteopathic license holders to complete at least one hour of annual continuing education on nutrition topics. This applies specifically to the Board of Medical Examiners (under Title 63, Chapter 6) and the Board of Osteopathic Examination (under Title 63, Chapter 9). The bill amends existing law to mandate this nutrition education requirement as part of their standard continuing education hours. The policy change will affect all physicians and osteopathic physicians renewing their licenses in Tennessee, effective January 1, 2028.
HB 2523, the "Maternal Health Care Protection Act," would prevent healthcare providers, institutions, and payers in Tennessee from refusing pregnancy-related care based on conscience objections. It bars providers from declining to perform or pay for services within their professional scope - such as emergency care, prenatal treatment, or standard obstetric care - and stops institutions from creating policies that deny such care. The bill specifically targets exemptions under the Medical Ethics Defense Act, ensuring patients cannot be denied essential pregnancy-related services due to personal beliefs. The bill is currently pending before the Population Health Subcommittee.
HB 2570, the "Healthy Tennessee Grocery Tax Reform of 2026," changes Tennessee's sales tax rules for food by exempting specific healthy items from taxation. It directly affects grocery shoppers and retailers selling these exempt items, as it removes sales tax from fresh produce, raw meats, eggs, certain grains (like flour and beans), bread, unsweetened cereal, dairy, and 100% fruit/vegetable juice. The bill amends tax code to explicitly exclude these items from taxable "prepared food" (which now includes sugary snacks and sodas), while expanding tax exemptions to cover staples like beans, lentils, and unsweetened cereal. The changes take effect July 1, 2026, aiming to reduce tax burdens on basic, unprocessed food items.
HB 2585 would cap noneconomic damages at $1 million in medical malpractice lawsuits involving obstetric or maternity negligence that causes a pregnant or postpartum woman's death or permanent injury. It directly affects patients (or their families) who might file such lawsuits and healthcare providers facing these claims. The bill amends Tennessee law to limit compensation for pain, suffering, and emotional distress (noneconomic damages) to $1 million in these specific cases, while leaving economic damages (like medical bills) unaffected. This is a concrete policy change to restrict damage awards in a defined subset of medical liability cases.
SB 2660 amends Tennessee law to limit criminal liability for threatening mass violence on school property to only "valid and credible" threats, rather than any threat. It requires schools to include a written mental health assessment by a qualified provider (such as a psychologist or school counselor, potentially via telehealth) when evaluating students exhibiting threatening behavior. This assessment must evaluate the student's welfare and be provided to the school's threat assessment team before a threat can be deemed "valid and credible" for criminal or reporting purposes. School officials must then report only such verified threats to law enforcement. The bill takes effect July 1, 2026.
SB 2221 modifies TennCare ambulance assessment rules by extending the annual payment deadline for ground ambulance services from June 30, 2026, to June 30, 2027. It also changes the late payment penalty from $50 per calendar day to 5% of the unpaid balance per month. This directly affects ambulance providers enrolled in Tennessee's TennCare program who owe annual assessments. The bill replaces a fixed daily fee with a monthly interest-based penalty for overdue payments.
SB 2476 exempts registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nursing assistants who provide home health services to four or fewer patients from needing to hire staff or maintain an office to qualify for home care organization licensure. Instead, these nurses must request secure record storage space from the Tennessee Department of Health, which is required to provide it upon request. The bill directly affects small-scale home health care providers who serve limited patient volumes. It amends Tennessee Code Titles 63 and 68 to implement this licensing change, effective July 1, 2026.
