Guns in school: Republican bill would allow teachers, staff to carry guns

• 1:30 p.m. Senate Regular Calendar – 3. Under SB 1325 by Sen. Paul Bailey any school teacher or staff who holds a gun permit could carry a concealed handgun on school grounds.
• More guns are not the answer. In fact, the increased presence of guns leads to more unintentional shootings.
• America leads all high-income nations in unintentional shootings, and, in 2023, Tennessee ranked 41st in the US – one of the worst firearm fatalities rates in the nation, according to America’s Health Rankings.

GOP would rewrite the Constitution to say legislature can’t regulate guns for crime prevention

• 1:30 p.m. Senate Regular Calendar – 30. SJR 0904 would rewrite Article 1, Section 26 of the Tennessee Constitution to eliminate the legislature’s power to regulate firearms for the purpose of crime prevention.
• This amendment deletes this provision, “the Legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime.”
• Tennessee has the seventh highest firearm homicide rate in the nation, according to the CDC Fatal Injury report.

Tennessee could require porn sites to verify every user’s age with a state ID

• 1:30 p.m. Senate Regular Calendar – 9. SB 1792, by Sen. Becky Massey, would require porn websites to review a state-issued ID to verify the age of users.
• This sweeping censorship bill creates a class C felony charge for website operators who do not comply with these age-verification rules when at least a third of the site’s content is “sexually explicit and harmful or inappropriate for minors.”
• In the age of data breaches, privacy experts worry about the amount of personal data this law may put at risk.

Death penalty for child rape? GOP bill may discourage families from reporting

• 1:30 p.m. Senate Regular Calendar – 31. SB 1834, by Sen. Jack Johnson, would authorize the death penalty as a punishment for child rape.
• As justified as the policy may sound, advocates say child sexual assault is already underreported and this bill could lead to more family coverups and fewer police reports.
• Experts say some parents will not report the attack if it means a death sentence for their sibling or one of their other children.

Sen. Taylor would bar felons from participating in voter registration drives

• 1:30 p.m. Senate Regular Calendar – 16. SB 2586, by Sen. Brent Taylor, would prohibit people who have served their time from participating in voter registration drives. The bill also creates a $5,000 civil fine for any violations of the law.
• This bill adds insult to injury for returning citizens and may violate their constitutional right to participate in First Amendment-protected voter registration. Federal courts have ruled previously that encouraging others to register to vote is “pure speech.”
• Context: Tennessee denies the right to vote to more than 470,000 citizens because of felony convictions and leads the nation in disenfranchisement of Black citizens at a “staggering rate of just over 21%,” according to The Sentencing Project.

Republicans undermine right to bail – without evidence that it works to reduce crime

• 8:30 a.m. Finance – Sen. Brent Taylor is sponsoring three bills targeting every Tennessean’s constitutional right to bail. The legislation would expand pretrial detention and increase incarceration costs on local taxpayers who fund jails.
• These policies may sound “tough,” but there is scant evidence that stricter bail laws reduce crime, according to a Governing Magazine report in February.
• SB 2565 *Taylor — Removes the defendant's financial condition as a consideration for bail
• SB 2563 *Taylor — Allows police to charge a defendant who is out on a bond to be charged with a class A misdemeanor for violating a bond order, even if the bond order is not a crime, i.e. curfew or missed appointment.
• SB 2564 *Taylor— creates a Class A misdemeanor offense of violation of a condition of release, even if the condition is not a crime.

Gov. Lee’s voucher scam is in committee, but no vote is expected

• 8:30 a.m. Finance — SB 0503 by Sen. Jack Johnson would create a new education voucher program that uses public dollars to subsidize tuition at private schools.
• No vote is expected today because House and Senate Republicans remain several hundred million dollars apart on funding. The Tennessean reports that House Republicans intend to pay for their voucher legislation by reassigning dollars earmarked for K-12 teacher raises and student support.

8:30 a.m. Finance

1. SB 2578 *Taylor (HB 2173 by *Alexander)

Professions and Occupations- As introduced, revises provisions related to the special account in the general fund known as the "pre-need funeral account"; deletes the indigent burial fund.

2. SB 1416 by Rose

Deletes a requirement that a victim of a crime or a member of the victim’s family report the crime to the proper authorities within 48 hours of the crime’s occurrence in order for a claim for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund (fund) to be eligible for award.

3. SB 2968 *Campbell

Davidson County - Subject to local approval, creates the East Bank Development Authority for the metropolitan government of Nashville and Davidson County.

4. SB 1805 *Oliver (HB 1962 by *Powell)

Human Services, Dept. of- With amendment, requires the Department of Human Services (DHS) to perform an annual cost estimation model and market rate study of day care rates, beginning January 1, 2025, to determine an annual amount to be paid as reimbursement on behalf of low-income families for the provision of child care by a day care center, family day care home, or group day care home.

5. SB 2563 *Taylor, Rose (HB 1641 by *Lamberth, Hardaway, Russell, Davis, Howell)

Criminal Offenses- As introduced, creates a Class A misdemeanor of violating a condition of release on bail; authorizes a law enforcement officer to arrest a person without a warrant based on probable cause to believe that the person has violated a condition of release. - Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40.

6. SB 2564 *Taylor, Rose (HB 2696 by *Doggett)

Bail, Bail Bonds- As introduced, creates a Class A misdemeanor offense of violation of a condition of release; allows arrest without a warrant of a person committing the offense of violation of a condition of release; requires the violation of a condition of release to be punished as a misdemeanor criminal offense. - Amends TCA Title 40.

7. SB 2566 *Taylor, Rose, Johnson, Yager (HB 1718 by *Gillespie, Vaughan, White, Moody, Gant)

Bail, Bail Bonds- As introduced, requires any conditions of release imposed on a defendant to include a requirement that the defendant submit to pretrial monitoring to ensure compliance with the conditions; requires the court to order bail to be forfeited and an arrest warrant issued if the defendant does not comply with conditions of release; limits, to criminal or circuit court judges, those who may release a defendant who has been arrested for failure to comply with the conditions of release. - Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40.

8. SB 1762 *Briggs, Swann (HB 1826 by *Martin B, Kumar)

TennCare- As introduced, requires TennCare coverage of rapid whole genome sequencing when certain clinical criteria are met.

9. SB 2897 *Bailey (HB 2677 by *White)

County Officers- As introduced, increases the annual continuing education requirement for county commissioners from seven to eight hours; requires that the training be obtained by CTAS meetings; extends a $600 stipend to county commissioners for completion of annual training requirements.

10. SB 2901 *Bailey (HB 2682 by *Doggett, Eldridge)

Pensions and Retirement Benefits- It allows law enforcement retirees to return to work as an SRO. It allows the retiree to receive 100% of their salary and 100% of their retirement if reemployed as an SRO. It sunsets on June 30, 2026. This legislation received a positive recommendation from the Council on Pensions.

11. SB 2902 *Bailey (HB 2683 by *Doggett)

Pensions and Retirement Benefits- It creates a hazardous duty supplemental retirement benefit for local law enforcement, correctional officers, and firefighters. A political subdivision must pass a resolution authorizing an actuary study to determine the liability associated with providing the benefit. They must then pass a subsequent resolution authorizing the benefit and accepting the liability. The benefit applies to current and future retirees upon adoption.

12. SB 1773 *Lundberg (HB 1936 by *Haston)

Education- As introduced, requires, beyond the 2023-2024 school year, each LEA and public charter school to provide each high school senior the opportunity to take nationally recognized assessments if the assessments meet certain criteria. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 6 and Chapter 439 of the Public Acts of 2023.

13. SB 2044 *Lundberg (HB 2188 by *Lamberth)

Sentencing- As introduced, states that, for inmates serving a sentence of two years or more for an offense committed on or after July 1, 2024, sentence reduction credits shall not operate to alter the defendant's sentence expiration date, but may be used to reduce the percentage of the sentence imposed by the court that the person must serve before becoming eligible for release on parole; requires release eligibility for each defendant to occur when the defendant becomes eligible for parole or upon expiration of the entire sentence imposed on a defendant. - Amends TCA Title 39; Title 40 and Title 41.

Watch. Clarifies that TDOC cannot use sentence reduction credits to reduce sentences imposed by a judge. Under the bill, TDOC is only allowed to reduce the defendant’s time in prison.

14. SB 2054 *Jackson (HB 2205 by *Barrett, Towns, Hardaway, Garrett)

District Attorneys- As introduced, establishes that the district attorney general shall only prosecute cases in municipal court where the municipality provides sufficient additional prosecutorial personnel for the district attorney general; empowers the district attorney general with sole and exclusive discretion in determining the necessity and sufficiency of the additional prosecutorial personnel; specifies the particular resources the district attorney general has absolute discretion to use in the performance of their duties and responsibilities.

15. SB 2520 *Haile (HB 2641 by *Lamberth)

Taxes, Sales- As introduced, authorizes counties and municipalities, by resolution or ordinance of their governing bodies, to levy a tax on the retail sale of food and food ingredients for human consumption within the county or municipality at a rate less than the local option sales tax rate.

16. SB 0137 *Hensley (HB 0835 by *Richey, Doggett)

Election Laws- As introduced, requires the coordinator of elections to compare the statewide voter registration database with those of other relevant state agencies and county records when compiling information to distribute to the county elections commissions for purposes of purging voters who have moved; requires the coordinator of elections to compare the statewide voter registration database with the department of safety database to ensure non-United States citizens are not registered to vote in this state.

17. SB 1867 *Hensley (HB 1908 by *Bulso)

Education, Dept. of- As introduced, enacts the "Beyond Ordinary Learning Opportunities (BOLO) Act," which requires the department to establish a one-year pilot program to place a therapy dog in five public schools in the 2024-2025 school year. - Amends TCA Title 49.

18. SB 2508 *Johnson (HB 2712 by *Garrett)

Culture and Arts- Establishes the Live Music and Performance Venue Fund (Fund) composed of funds appropriated by the General Assembly, gifts, grants, and other donations received from nonstate sources. Requires the Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission to administer the Fund and the commission or a subcontracted nonprofit organization to provide grants from the Fund to eligible live music performance venues, performers, and promoters. Requires remaining moneys in the Fund at the end of each fiscal year to carry forward into the next fiscal year. Requires grants issued from the Fund be used to support live music performances, performers, promoters, and the operational, promotional, or capital expenditures of live music and performance venues.

$6 million annually

19. SB 1912 *Yarbro (HB 2030 by *Jones, Lamberth, Doggett, Hardaway, Towns, Johnson G)

Criminal Offenses- As introduced, expands the offense of unlawful exposure to include the distribution, with the intent to cause emotional distress, of an image of the intimate parts of another identifiable person or an image of an identifiable person engaged in sexually explicit conduct and the image was created or modified by means of a computer software program, artificial intelligence application, or other digital editing tools. - Amends TCA Title 39.

21. SB 1769 *Lundberg (HB 1640 by *Lamberth, Williams, Sherrell, Bricken, Russell, Gillespie, Howell, Hardaway, Hicks G, Hazlewood)

Mental Illness- As introduced, expands the definition of "adjudication as a mental defective" to include a person who has been found incompetent to stand trial in a criminal proceeding and requires the clerk of court in such a proceeding to collect and report any such finding to the federal bureau of investigation-NICS Index and the department of safety; establishes a rebuttable presumption that a person who has been charged with a criminal offense and found incompetent to stand trial poses a substantial likelihood of serious harm; prohibits the purchase or possession of a firearm by a person who has been adjudicated as a mental defective.

Belmont student bill

1:30 p.m. Senate Regular Calendar

1. SB 0877 *Akbari (HB 1520 by *Hardaway)

Juvenile Offenders- As introduced, establishes an extended juvenile court jurisdiction pilot project through which a juvenile court in Davidson County or Shelby County may choose to proceed with a case against a juvenile that could be transferred to criminal court as an extended juvenile court jurisdiction case and allow the youth to remain under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court until the age of 24. - Amends TCA Title 37, Chapter 1.

Blended sentencing

2. SB 0915 by Niceley. (*HB1015 by Faison.)

· Requires businesses engaged in the towing or storing of motor vehicles to remove and secure a firearm left in a stored motor vehicle if the firearm can be removed without causing damage to the motor vehicle. Requires a removed firearm to be tagged or logged in a manner to tie it to the vehicle from which it was removed. Requires the firearm to be stored at the business in a firearm safe or other type of secure storage. Further requires the business to notify the owner with information regarding how the firearm may be retrieved.

3. SB 1325 *Bailey (HB 1202 by *Williams)

Teachers, Principals and School Personnel- As introduced, authorizes a faculty or staff member of a school to carry a concealed handgun on school grounds subject to certain conditions, including obtaining an enhanced handgun carry permit and completing annual training. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13 and Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 8.

Allows school faculty or staff members to carry a concealed handgun on the school grounds

4. SB 1397 *Reeves (HB 0375 by *Marsh)

Regional Authorities and Special Districts- As introduced, requires the Tennessee Duck River development agency to set a per thousand-gallon fee to charge participating entities for water withdrawals; makes other changes to the operation of the agency.

5. SB 1480 *Kyle, Lamar (HB 0689 by *Hardaway, Lamberth, Faison, Vital, Gant, Doggett, Fritts, Harris, Whitson, Eldridge, Warner, Moon, Burkhart, Helton-Haynes, Wright, Alexander, Hakeem)

Bail, Bail Bonds- As introduced, requires an officer to provide an alleged victim of certain criminal offenses with a document notifying the victim of the global positioning monitoring system used as a condition of bail. - Amends TCA Title 39; Title 40 and Title 55, Chapter 10, Part 4.

6. SB 1501 *Stevens (HB 1016 by *Grills, Lamberth, Sherrell, Doggett, Howell, Zachary, Cochran, Ragan, Littleton, Terry, Slater, Moody, Whitson, Boyd, Hurt, Warner, Barrett, Helton-Haynes, Reedy, Powers, Cepicky)

Education, Dept. of- Creates a Class B misdemeanor offense for communicating a threat to a student on school property or at a school activity.

7. SB 1505 *Yarbro (HB 1339 by *Camper, Pearson)

Human Services, Dept. of- As introduced, requires the department to actively seek and apply for federal grants and other available federal funds, and utilize available federal funds, for the purpose of alleviating childhood hunger. - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 71.

8. SB 1593 *Massey (HB 1608 by *Howell)

Special License Plates- Creates 19 new specialty earmarked license plates. Creates three new military cultural license plates. Extends, by one year, the timeframe for 12 specialty license plates to meet the required threshold for production. Expands those authorized to apply for a Ducks Unlimited specialty license plate.

9. SB 1792 *Massey, Watson, Rose (HB 1614 by *Hazlewood, Farmer, Sexton, Lamberth, Faison, Sparks, McCalmon, Johnson C, Vaughan, Helton-Haynes, Leatherwood, Hicks G, Garrett, Whitson, Todd, Howell, Hawk, Keisling, Cochran, Crawford, Hulsey, Rudd, Marsh, Littleton, Alexander, Lynn, Vital)

Consumer Protection- As introduced, enacts the "Protect Tennessee Minors Act"; requires an individual or commercial entity that publishes or distributes in this state a website that contains a substantial portion of material harmful to minors perform reasonable age-verification methods to verify the age of individuals attempting to access the material; specifies that a violation of age-verification or data retention requirements is a Class C felony. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17 and Title 47.

10. SB 1844 *Briggs (HB 1937 by *Holsclaw)

Alcoholic Beverages- Omnibus liqueur by the drink bill

11. SB 1930 *Akbari (HB 2222 by *Love)

DNA and Genetic Testing- As introduced, adds testing for variants of the Apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) gene associated with increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease to the conditions for which the department of health must develop screening programs. - Amends TCA Title 68, Chapter 5.

12. SB 1936 *Massey, Yager (HB 2366 by *Carringer, Towns)

Health Care- As introduced, changes the application requirements for international medical school graduates applying for special licenses. - Amends TCA Title 63.

13. SB 2221 *Powers (HB 1658 by *Lamberth)

Criminal Offenses- As introduced, creates the Class E felony offense of assault against a participant in judicial proceedings, which occurs when a person, while on the premises of a building in which judicial proceedings occur, knowingly assaults a victim that the person knows or reasonably should know is present due to the victim's participation in judicial proceedings. - Amends TCA Title 39.

14. SB 2559 *Taylor (HB 2206 by *Gillespie, Martin G, Moon, Vaughan, White, Doggett, Davis, Carr, Raper, Hale, Moody)

Law Enforcement- As introduced, authorizes the import and export of human remains by state, local, and municipal law enforcement agencies for the purpose of human remains detection training; requires the Tennessee bureau of investigation, in consultation with the department of health, to promulgate rules regarding the secure storage of human remains, the use of human remains as a training aid for human remains detection training, and proper disposal methods for human remains, after such remains can no longer be used as a training aid. - Amends TCA Title 11; Title 38 and Title 68.

15. SB 2565 *Taylor, Rose, Johnson, Yager (HB 1719 by *Gillespie, Vaughan, White, Moody, Gant, Slater, Eldridge)

Bail, Bail Bonds- As introduced, removes the defendant's financial condition as a consideration for the magistrate in determining the amount of bail necessary to reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant at trial and protect the safety of the public. - Amends TCA Title 40.

16. SB 2586 *Taylor (HB 1955 by *Rudd, McCalmon)

Election Laws- It establishes that the date on which an applicant signs a voter registration application is presumed to be the date on which the person or organization received or collected the application. It prohibits a person or organization from providing a voter registration application with any information being pre-filled out. It prohibits a person convicted of certain felonies to collect or handle a voter registration application from another person. It prohibits a person collecting voter registrations from altering a voter registration form without the person’s knowledge. It authorizes the state election commission to impose up to a $5000 civil penalty for certain violations.

17. SB 2599 *Taylor (HB 2386 by *Gant, Grills, Lamberth)

Search & Seizure- As introduced, authorizes a law enforcement officer to execute a search warrant for medical records or a test to determine the alcohol or drug content, or both, of a person's blood anywhere in the state, rather than in the county in which the warrant was issued. - Amends TCA Title 40 and Title 55.

18. SB 2632 *Haile (HB 2645 by *Leatherwood)

Vital Records- As introduced, makes various changes to the present law relative to birth certificates. - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 68.

19. SB 2635 *Rose (HB 2787 by *Barrett, Hill, White)

Codes- As introduced, authorizes a local government to amend adopted building codes to include three-family dwellings and four-family dwellings within the scope of the residential code. - Amends TCA Title 68, Chapter 120.

20. SB 2662 *White (HB 1817 by *Littleton, Lamberth, Faison, Eldridge, Lafferty, Bricken, Russell, Grills, Todd, Vaughan)

Criminal Offenses- Enhances, from a Class D felony to a Class B felony, the penalty for a person who negligently, by act or omission, engages in conduct that places a child eight years of age or less in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment.

21. SB 2698 *Southerland (HB 2281 by *Hawk)

Insurance Companies, Agents, Brokers, Policies- As introduced, requires an applicant for an insurance producer license for title insurance to complete a pre-licensing course of study that consists of a minimum of 30 hours of course work. - Amends TCA Title 56.

22. SB 2724 *Jackson (HB 2873 by *Wright)

State Government- Authorizes the governor, the speaker of the senate, and the speaker of the house to remove a member of the inmate disciplinary oversight board, whom they appointed, for cause.

23. SB 2805 *Taylor (HB 2916 by *Sexton)

Children- Authorizes a court to use the disposition of a child and evidence adduced in a hearing in juvenile court in pretrial reports used to set bonds. Requires the magistrate to consider the defendant’s prior juvenile record and the likelihood that because of such record the defendant will pose a risk of danger to the community when determining the amount of bail necessary to reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant while protecting the safety of the public.

24. SB 2813 *Reeves (HB 2373 by *Terry)

Open Meetings- Specifies that a meeting between one or more members of a local legislative body and one or more members of the state legislative delegation is not a meeting for purposes of compliance with the Open Meetings Act unless certain conditions are met.

25. SB 2827 *Crowe (HB 2859 by *Ragan)

Parks, Natural Areas Preservation- Establishes that an owner of land who enters into a cooperative agreement with a public utility owned by the federal government for the use of the public utility’s land in conjunction with the owner’s land of at least 100 acres that is made available to the public as a park for outdoor recreational purposes, without charge, except for a nominal parking fee or special event fee, owes no duty of care to persons entering or going upon such land and is not liable for any loss damages, or injury to such persons.

26. SB 2834 *Stevens (HB 2925 by *Sexton)

Utilities, Utility Districts- Preemption of fire safety standards in residential apartment building codes. Requires utilities to pay developers for infrastructure development.

27. SB 2898 *Bailey (HB 2642 by *Lamberth)

State Government- Prohibits a governmental entity that regulates entertainment transportation from: (1) refusing to renew a permit to a business that provides entertainment transportation if the permit was issued prior to the effective date of the act, or (2) revoking a permit except for good cause shown in an administrative hearing.

State interference in regulating transportainment

28. SB 2913 *Bailey (HB 2380 by *Parkinson)

Criminal Procedure- As introduced, authorizes a court to waive the costs to a petitioner who files a petition for restoration of the full rights of citizenship. -

Bill reigns in the Coordinator of Elections who – without legal justification – began requiring felons to get their gun rights restored before they could get voting rights restored.

29. SB 2929 *Powers (HB 2704 by *Littleton, Rudder)

Child Abuse- Requires the Department of Children’s Services (DCS), county medical examiners, chief medical examiners, and facilities that perform autopsies, to establish policies and procedures to prioritize the completion of final autopsy reports for fatalities of children in DCS custody, children who were the subject of an ongoing investigation by child protective services within the 45 days preceding the fatality, and for children whose fatality resulted in an investigation of the safety and well-being of another child in the home.

Third Reading and a vote

30. SJR 0904 *Stevens, Bailey, Bowling, Hensley, Jackson, Pody, Haile, Yager

Constitutional Amendments- Proposes an amendment to Article I, Section 26 of the Constitution of Tennessee to remove the provision that authorizes the legislature to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime and to state that citizens have a right to keep, bear, and wear arms for their defense, and not just for common defense.

31. SB 1834 *Johnson, Yager, Haile (HB 1663 by *Lamberth, Littleton, Faison, Capley, Sexton, Garrett, Doggett, McCalmon, Zachary, Grills, Sherrell, Bricken, Wright, Davis, Russell, Martin G, Vital, Hawk, Moon, Hicks G)

Sentencing- As introduced, authorizes the death penalty as a punishment for rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, or especially aggravated rape of a child.

32. SB 1929 *Akbari (HB 2223 by *Love)

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation- As introduced, creates an Amber+ Alert system for the purpose of issuing alerts with respect to certain youth who are reported missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances, reported missing and at risk of harm, or reported missing and developmentally disabled or cognitively impaired. - Amends TCA Title 38, Chapter 6, Part 1.

33. SB 2448 *Akbari (HB 2215 by *Parkinson)

Real Property- As introduced, enacts the Real Estate Fraud Reduction Act, which requires county registers of deeds and notaries public to verify the identity of a person recording or notarizing a document relating to certain real estate transactions, as applicable, using a government-issued identification card; requires such registers and notaries to document and maintain as a permanent record certain personally identifying information of a person recording or notarizing such a document; specifies penalties for violations by a notary public.

34. SB 2556 *Taylor (HB 2753 by *Carr)

District Attorneys- As introduced, requires each district attorney general to provide an annual report by March 1 to the governor and attorney general and reporter containing aggregate, non-personally identifying information on arrests, indictments, transfers, and dispositions in the previous calendar year; requires the attorney general and reporter to compile a statewide report summarizing the information provided by each district attorney general and submit the report to the governor, speaker of the house of representatives, and speaker of the senate for distribution to appropriate standing committees of the general assembly. - Amends TCA Title 8.