The Senate has its longest floor agenda of the year (so far). Let me know if you have any questions. For the Senate Dems, Brandon Puttbrese (615) 613-2598
Top Senate Stories
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Republicans roll back our right to bail; jail costs could soar
8:30 a.m. CT - Senate Floor Regular Calendar - Watch - SJR 0025 *Johnson
- The Senate will vote on a Republican-backed amendment to the state constitution that would eliminate every person’s right to bail for dozens of criminal charges.
- Their effort upends the presumption of innocence, a fundamental American principle underpinning every person’s right to a fair trial.
- Practically, the policy could cost local taxpayer’s millions more for incarceration as people who are denied bail are forced to await trial in understaffed county jails.
Authorities must clear homeless encampments within 30 days, under Taylor bill
8:30 a.m. CT - Senate Floor Regular Calendar - Watch - SB 0217 *Taylor
- Senate Bill 217 would force the state Department of Safety to clear homeless encampments near state roads “within 30 days” of receiving a citizen complaint.
- The aggressive timeline outlined in this bill will create challenges for the unhoused people being removed, the nonprofit organizations assisting this community and the local governments that the bill compels to assist in these operations.
- Clearing encampments will do nothing to address the root of the problem: Tennessee’s housing affordability crisis. Housing costs in Tennessee have hit a 10-year high and an estimated 44% of households in the state can’t afford the basics.
‘Clean slate’ bill shortens waiting period to erase some criminal charges
8:30 a.m. CT - Senate Floor Regular Calendar - Watch - SB0956 by Sen. London Lamar
- Senate Bill 956 would shorten the time a person must wait before they can file to have some charges removed from their criminal record.
- The bill revises the expunction waiting period from five years to three years for certain misdemeanors and Class E felonies, and from 10 years to six years for certain Class D felonies.
- Reducing Tennessee’s expungement waiting period would boost the economy by helping people secure jobs, start businesses, and fill workforce shortages. It would also enhance public safety by lowering recidivism rates by helping some people find stable employment and housing while easing court backlogs and saving taxpayer dollars.
Insulating power: GOP bill criminalizes citizens who get too close to ‘protected’ officials
8:30 a.m. CT - Senate Floor Regular Calendar - Watch - SB1303 by Johnson
- A Republican-backed bill would create a new criminal penalty when citizens impede or obstruct protective detail officers who guard some state officials, like the governor and speakers of the House and Senate.
- The legislation creates the offense of “intentionally refusing to vacate an area” when access has been restricted by the detail.
- Under the bill, the base charge would be a class A misdemeanor, but could rise to a class E felony under some circumstances.
8:30 a.m. Senate Floor
1. *SJR 0025 by Johnson.
· Constitutional Amendments- Proposes an amendment to Article I, Section 15 of the Constitution of Tennessee to remove the right to bail for the following offenses when the proof is evident or the presumption great: act of terrorism; second degree murder; aggravated rape of a child; aggravated rape; grave torture; and any other offense, as of November 3, 2026, for which a defendant, if convicted, could not be released prior to the expiration of at least 85 percent of the entire sentence imposed.
2. SB 0039 by Haile. (*HB 0056 by Lamberth.)
County Government - Amends TCA Title 5. As introduced, authorizes a county legislative body to recall a person appointed to a position by the county legislative body upon a two-thirds vote of the legislative body.
3. *SB 0207 by Johnson. (HB 1325 by Lamberth.)
Agriculture, Dept. of- As introduced, establishes a fund for the development and implementation of programs that benefit Tennesseans by preserving farmland and forestland, including a grant program for conservation easements.
Watch. Gov. Lee’s farmland bill
4. SB0217 by Taylor. (*HB0197 by Leatherwood.)
Highways, Roads and Bridges - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 13; Title 39; Title 54; Title 55 and Title 71. As introduced, requires the department of transportation to develop and implement a policy, through partnership with other state and local agencies and nonprofit entities, regarding the collection, storage, claiming, and disposal of personal property used for camping from the shoulder, berm, or right-of-way of a state or interstate highway, or under a bridge or overpass, or within an underpass, of a state or interstate highway.
Watch. Bill requires the removal of homeless encampments within 30 days of a complaint.
5. SB0218 by Taylor. (*HB0033 by Gillespie.)
Bail, Bail Bonds - Amends TCA Title 40. As introduced, establishes a presumption that a defendant should not be released on the defendant’s personal recognizance if the defendant is charged with an offense that involved the use or display of a firearm or resulted in the serious bodily injury or death of the victim; requires a magistrate who determines that the presumption has been rebutted to include in the bail order written findings for each factor considered in making such a determination.
6. *SB0344 by Akbari. (HB0506 by Hakeem.)
Local Education Agencies - Amends TCA Title 49; Title 50 and Title 71. As introduced, requires at least one full-time employee at each school under the jurisdiction of an LEA or public charter school to annually receive training in seizure safety and first aid.
7. *SB0577 by Haile. (HB1000 by Rudder.)
TennCare - Amends TCA Title 71, Chapter 5. Authorizes the coverage assessment on hospitals for FY24-25 to be implemented and imposed without the approval from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of an adjustment to the budget neutrality agreement with CMS, if the other required CMS determination, approvals, and confirmation have already been obtained. Establishes that, if the coverage assessment on hospitals is implemented under such conditions, the expenditures for directed payments to hospitals must be limited to either the same amount authorized for FY23-24, or a greater amount as determined by the Division of TennCare (Division) in consultation with the Tennessee Hospital Association, up to the amount approved by CMS, until such time as the CMS determination, approvals, and confirmation have been obtained and the Division provides written notice to the Tennessee Hospital Association.
8. SB0856 by Taylor. (*HB0854 by Lamberth.)
Bail, Bail Bonds - Amends TCA Title 24; Title 39 and Title 40. As introduced, allows a magistrate to consider reliable hearsay evidence, including, but not limited to, computer printouts of state and federal criminal records history information, when determining whether a defendant should be released pending trial, if the defendant is accorded a fair opportunity to rebut any reliable hearsay evidence considered by the magistrate.
9. *SB0870 by Hensley. (HB1193 by Cepicky.)
Education, Dept. of - Amends TCA Title 49. As introduced, requires the department to conduct a landscape analysis of teacher evaluation practices in this state and other states; requires the department to convene a teacher evaluation advisory committee to review and evaluate current teacher evaluation practices in this state; requires the department and the state board to provide the education committee of the senate and committee of the house of representatives having jurisdiction over teacher evaluations a final report on the landscape analysis, teacher evaluation advisory committee's recommendations, and any department or state board recommendations by January 31, 2026.
10. SB0886 by Reeves. (*HB0700 by Burkhart.)
Real Estate Agents and Brokers - Amends TCA Title 62, Chapter 13. As introduced, exempts a real estate broker licensee who was originally licensed prior to January 1, 2005, and does not supervise any affiliate brokers from the requirement to furnish certification of satisfactory completion of 16 classroom hours in real estate courses for reissuance of a license for a licensure period after the period in which the licensee completed the required 120 classroom hours in real estate.
11. SB0890 by Reeves. (*HB0869 by Rudder.)
Health Care – Requires health insurance entities to establish and maintain certain application programming interfaces (APIs) for the benefit of insureds and contracted providers that are mandated by rule for plans or product types regulated by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Removes the requirement that certain reports and test results must not be disclosed by a designated entity to a patient as part of the patient's electronic health record until 72 hours after the results are finalized, unless the healthcare provider directs the release of the records prior to the end of such period.
12. *SB0956 by Lamar. (HB1081 by Camper.)
Expunction - Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40. As introduced, lowers the period of time that must elapse after completion of the sentence imposed before a petitioner may have an eligible criminal offense expunged, for misdemeanors or Class E felonies, from five years to three years, and for Class D felonies, from 10 years to six years.
13. SB0916 by Haile. (*HB0540 by Crawford.)
Criminal Offenses- As introduced, expands the definition of "racketeering activity" to include committing, conspiring to commit, aiding, attempting to aid, soliciting, coercing, facilitating, or intimidating another person to commit the criminal offense of animal fighting. - Amends TCA Title 39.
14. SB0988 by Haile. (*HB0375 by Zachary.)
Local Government, General - Amends TCA Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 10 and Title 67, Chapter 4, Part 29. As introduced, requires each department, agency, or official of a local government who assesses and collects a fee of more than $500 to document the justification and cost basis of the fee; makes such documentation a public record; subjects such documentation to an annual audit by the comptroller of the treasury.
How long must they retain the documentation of the justification?
15. SB1012 by Oliver. (*HB0936 by Glynn.)
Day Care- As introduced, treats nieces and nephews of the whole or half-blood of a primary caregiver as being related to the caregiver for purposes of present laws governing child care agencies. - Amends TCA Title 71, Chapter 3, Part 5.
Cleans up existing law to function in the real world.
16. *SB1031 by Bowling. (HB1157 by Lynn.)
Drugs, Prescription - Amends TCA Title 53 and Title 68. As introduced, enacts the "Restore Trust in Public Health Messaging Act."
Watch. Bipartisan opposition at the committee level. Creates a state government prohibition on promoting some FDA-regulated vaccines, masks or emergency use authorizations products.
17. *SB1063 by Reeves. (HB1074 by Garrett.)
Insurance Companies, Agents, Brokers, Policies - As amended, deletes legislation that was passed a few years ago regarding prior authorization. This bill would remove the requirement that a provider notify a patient of communication between the provider and health insurance company or healthcare facility concerning the patient’s medical claim within five business days of the communication occurring. It further removes the requirement that a utilization review agent notify the enrollee and provider or healthcare facility within five business days of a request for additional information needed to make a determination on a request for prior authorization.
18. *SB1270 by Johnson. (HB1304 by Lamberth.)
Insurance Companies, Agents, Brokers, Policies - Amends TCA Title 56 and Section 68-1-115. As introduced, requires an insurance company and health maintenance organization, upon request, to provide a claims experience report to a plan sponsor or administrator of an ERISA (Employee Retirement Income and Security Act of 1974) group health plan; specifies contents of such a report; revises provisions relating to reinsurance and risk insurance; revises provisions relating to the readability, content, and style of life and health insurance policies.
19. *SB1299 by Johnson. (HB1315 by Lamberth.)
DUI Offenses - Amends TCA Section 55-10-417 and Section 55-10-425. As introduced, requires an ignition interlock provider to permit a person to appear for calibration, monitoring, or inspection of the device at any time within a two-week period; authorizes a court to order reinstatement of a person’s driver license if the person has no other revocations or suspensions on the person’s driving record and the person’s only noncompliance with ignition interlock requirements has been with regard to the required calibration, monitoring, or inspection of the ignition interlock device; makes various other changes in regard to ignition interlock devices and the ignition interlock usage period.
20. SB1303 by Johnson. (*HB0120 by Lamberth.)
Criminal Offenses - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 39. As introduced, creates the offense of intentionally impeding or obstructing a member of the division of protective services from ingress to, egress from, or movement about a location where the member is responsible for a person protected by the division of protective services; creates the offense of intentionally refusing to vacate an area where access has been restricted by a member of the division of protective services for the purpose of maintaining the safety or security of the person being protected.
Watch. Criminal offense specific to people getting too close to the speakers…
21. SB1309 by Johnson. (*HB0128 by Lamberth.)
Workers Compensation - Amends TCA Title 50, Chapter 6, Part 2. As introduced, increases, from 30 to 35, the minimum age for an individual to serve as a judge on the workers' compensation appeals board; increases, from two to three, the number of additional terms to which a judge of the workers' compensation appeals board may be reappointed; makes other changes related to workers' compensation.
22. SB1342 by Campbell. (*HB1169 by Hemmer.)
Children - Amends TCA Title 37, Chapter 3. As introduced, requires on or before June 30, 2026, and each June 30 thereafter, the council on children's mental health care to submit a report to certain officials regarding the status of the statewide system of care for children's mental health and the service delivery system and the status of children's mental health in this state.
23. SB0561 by Hatcher. (*HB0530 by Eldridge.)
Boats, Boating - Amends TCA Title 69, Chapter 9. As introduced, removes the monitoring requirement for boating safety examinations; replaces statutory fees for boating safety certificates and replacement cards with authorization for TWRA to set such fees.
24. SB0247 by Haile. (*HB0297 by Lamberth.)
Real Property - Amends TCA Title 11, Chapter 14, Part 2; Title 11, Chapter 15 and Title 67, Chapter 5. As introduced, clarifies that property that is qualified as greenbelt property, owned by two individuals, and held under the title, tenancy by the entireties, or the title, joint tenancy, is deemed to have unchanged ownership upon the death or divorce of an owner if the property is retained by the other owner through a right of survivorship so that the property continues to be qualified as greenbelt property without requiring reapplication.