Though many voters are focused on the presidential election, other races on the ballot – including the state house race – will have a crucial impact on our day-to-day lives, from education to healthcare to public safety and much more.
Legislative advocacy is a critical part of ACLU-TN’s interdisciplinary approach to protecting and promoting civil liberties and civil rights. ACLU-TN lobbyists are at the Tennessee General Assembly and in Congress lobbying on a range of issues, pursuing initiatives to advance civil liberties and challenging attempts to erode our freedoms.
Each year, ACLU-TN lobbyists review over 2,000 bills introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly for civil liberties implications, identifying those bills that we are going to lobby and developing strategies accordingly.
We educate legislators about ACLU positions, draft legislation on priority issues, lobby on bills affecting civil liberties, testify or arrange for testimony on bills, and build coalitions to pursue pro-active legislative initiatives or battle anti-civil liberties legislation. In addition, Tennessee legislators and their staff often ask us for analysis on pending bills.
Filter Legislation
Jan 8, 2024
2024 Legislative Watchlist
The second year of the 113th Tennessee General Assembly began on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 and ended on Thursday, April 25, 2024.
Visit legislation page
Apr 15, 2024
SB 0503/HB 1183
Apr 15, 2024
SB 0503/HB 1183
STOP SCHOOL VOUCHERS IN TENNESSEE
Education Equity
Position: Oppose
SB 0503/HB 1183 would divert up to $141.5 million in taxpayer funds to implement an unfair and discriminatory statewide private school voucher program.
Visit legislation page
Mar 22, 2024
SB 2631/HB 0161
Mar 22, 2024
SB 2631/HB 0161
Partisan registration infringes upon Tennesseans’ freedom to vote.
Democracy & Voting
Position: Oppose
SB 2631/HB 0161 effectively restricts voter's freedom of choice, narrows candidate options, and further empowers the polarization of political parties at the expense of voter representation and influence...
Visit legislation page
Mar 11, 2024
SB 1858/HB 1632
Mar 11, 2024
SB 1858/HB 1632
Protect Tennessee schools from harmful censorship lawsuits.
Education Equity
Position: Oppose
Allows any parent with a child eligible to attend a school operated by a local LEA or public charter school to sue the LEA or charter school, if they believe they aren’t enforcing Public Chapter 744, a 2022...
Visit legislation page
Mar 4, 2024
HB 2227/SB 1918
Mar 4, 2024
HB 2227/SB 1918
Preserve Access to Birth Control & IVF
Reproductive Justice
Position: Support
Status: Failed
HB 2227/SB 1918 utilizes medically accurate language to clarify that the Tennessee abortion ban does not apply to birth control or fertility treatments, such as IVF, reaffirming the distinction between...
Visit legislation page
Feb 26, 2024
HB 1949/SB 2781
Feb 26, 2024
HB 1949/SB 2781
Protect trans people from discrimination in public spaces.
LGBTQ+ Equality
Position: Oppose
HB 1949/SB 278 criminalizes trans people and people whom another individual assumes is trans for entering restrooms consistent with their gender identity.
Visit legislation page
Feb 19, 2024
SB 1738/ HB 2169
Feb 19, 2024
SB 1738/ HB 2169
Protect LGBTQ+ Youth in Foster Care & Adoption.
LGBTQ+ Equality
Position: Oppose
Status: Active
SB 1738/ HB 2169, would allow prospective adoptive or foster parents to disregard any government policy that requires acceptance of the sexual orientation or gender identity of a child, denying children...