2025 Tennessee Legislative Session Wrap-Up

LOSS (Bill Passed) | SB 861/HB 910 dissolves the Tennessee Human Rights Commission and moves the responsibility to ensure that state law, rules, programs and services do not conflict with federal Title VI anti-discrimination requirements to the state attorney general’s office.

LOSS (Bill Passed) | SB 1083/HB 622 prohibits local governments and public institutions of higher education from basing hiring decisions on any metrics that consider an applicant's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability, or hiring a particular candidate in order to achieve any goals to increase diversity, equity or inclusion in the workplace.

LOSS (Bill Passed) | SB 1084/HB 923 prevents any unit of the state government from maintaining an office that “promotes or requires discriminatory preferences in an effort to increase diversity, equity, or inclusion.”

LOSS (Bill Did Not Advance) | SB 589/HB 169 would have expanded existing state law requiring TennCare to provide coverage for prescription contraception distributed as a single 12-month supply to all private insurance plans that cover prescription contraceptives. 

WIN (Resolution Did Not Advance) | HJR 7 would have amended the Tennessee Constitution to state that human life begins at fertilization. This fetal personhood provision could have seriously threatened Tennesseans’ access to contraceptive and fertility treatments.  

WIN (Bill Did Not Advance) | SB 194/HB 26 would have allowed for lawsuits against manufacturers and distributors of abortion medication such as mifepristone and misoprostol. In cases where these drugs are used for medical abortions, manufacturers and distributors could have been held strictly liable for $5 million in damages.  

LOSS (Bill Did Not Advance) | SB 463/HB 595 would have ensured that health insurance plans available to Tennesseans cover fertility treatment, diagnostic care and preservation services.

LOSS (Bill Passed) | SB 955/HB 1044 allows healthcare providers to refuse to provide non-emergency care in cases where their sincerely held ethical, moral or religious beliefs would be violated. This bill will likely create vulnerabilities for LGBTQ+ patients or patients seeking certain forms of reproductive healthcare.

LOSS (Resolution Did Not Advance) | HJR 94 would have amended the Tennessee Constitution to establish independent redistricting commissions for the state Senate, state House of Representatives, and federal congressional districts.  

WIN (Resolutions Did Not Advance) | SJR 26 / HJR 176 would have facilitated the appointment of a committee from the General Assembly to consider the removal of District Attorney Steven Mulroy of Shelby County. These resolutions reflect an antidemocratic effort to remove an elected district attorney over policy disagreements rather than unsuitability for office.  

LOSS (Bill Did Not Advance) | SB 336/HB 687 would have clarified that an individual may petition for the restoration of their voting rights if they have been compliant with all child support orders over the past 12 months, even if they have not paid all outstanding court costs. 

WIN (Bill Did Not Advance) | SB 367/HB 458 would have allowed for voters to challenge the eligibility of other voters without limit. This bill could have created significant burdens for local election administrators and unnecessary barriers for rightfully registered voters.  

WIN (Bill Passed) | SB 407/HB 445 amends the voter restoration process by bringing it closer in line with the expungement process and clarifies that individuals may petition to restore their voting rights even when they no longer have the right to possess a firearm.  

WIN (Bill Failed) | SB 777/HB 886 would have forced Tennessee voters to register with a political party or as “unaffiliated,” and further restricted them to voting only in the primary elections of the party they registered with.  

LOSS (Bill Passed) | SB 845/HB 1097 creates a mechanism for the state attorney general to order the withholding of state funds from local governments based on the attorney general’s belief that a local government action violates the Tennessee Constitution or state law. This bill presents serious separation of powers concerns because it allows the executive branch to encroach upon the responsibilities of the judicial branch to determine the legality of government actions.  

WIN (Resolution Did Not Advance) | HJR 49 would have amended the Tennessee Constitution to remove the right to bail for various crimes, giving state lawmakers the unfettered ability to vastly expand instances when bail can be denied to a person, without consideration of the public safety risk or an individual’s ability to pay. 

LOSS (Bill Passed) | SB 30/HB 55 creates a new misdemeanor offense for approaching within 25 feet of a law enforcement officer without permission while they are performing their official duties. This law presents a serious threat to the public’s First Amendment right to observe and record police encounters. 

WIN (Bill Failed) | SB 219/HB 38 would have allowed courts to impose an order of restitution on parents or guardians whose children have committed a third or subsequent delinquent act.  

LOSS (Bill Did Not Advance) | SB 581/HB 1367 would have required law enforcement officers performing traffic or pedestrian stops to first inform the individual of the reason for the stop. 

LOSS (Bill Failed) | SB 1174/HB 741 would have required law enforcement agencies that have body cameras to adopt a written policy concerning their use by law enforcement officers.