Tennessee Senate clears wide range of bills in floor session; votes at a glance

The Senate convened for a floor session that advanced and passed a long list of bills on a range of policy areas, from corrections and education to public records and regulatory alignment with federal programs.

Most measures were adopted after committee amendments and floor votes. Several bills drew extended debate (see separate coverage for firearm-liability, education turnaround and bail-bonds measures). Other items on the calendar were adopted largely by voice or recorded roll call and are summarized below.

Votes at a glance

- Senate Joint Resolution 446 (honorific for University of Tennessee Chattanooga basketball team): Passed without objection (Ayes 32, No nays). Motion to suspend rules and adopt carried on the floor.

- House Bill 1073 (amendment to TCA 2-10-303 regarding candidate collaboration with organizations and disclosure): Passed on third consideration (Ayes 28, Nays 3). Sponsor: Senator Lowe (conforming/substitute). The bill adds subsection (g) to Tennessee Code Annotated 2-10-303 to allow collaboration between candidates and membership or grassroots groups while preserving organizational-level disclosure.

- House Bill 1256 (bench-warrant and judicial clerk timing clarifications): Passed on third consideration (Ayes 31, No nays). Sponsor: Senator Gardner (conform & substitute).

- Senate Bill 11-38 (sewer-service study requirement / landowner connection request): Passed as amended (Ayes 26, Nays 6). Amendment added study and connection-request provisions for municipalities operating sewer outside corporate limits longer than 25 years.

- Senate Bill 128 (standards for animal chiropractic, registration provisions): Passed on third consideration (Ayes 28, Nays 2). Sponsor: Senator Bailey. The bill creates training/certification and registration pathways for chiropractors and veterinarians providing animal chiropractic services.

- Senate Bill 298 / House Bill 2-98 (nonsectarian K‑12 course approval changes): Passed (Ayes 31, No nays). Sponsor: Senator Roberts; shifts some curriculum approval authority to local education agencies consistent with State Board of Education rules.

- House Bill 219 / Senate Bill 5-19 (reporting by foreign purchasers of agricultural land to Commissioner of Agriculture): Passed (Ayes 30, No nays). Sponsor: Senator Roberts; requires filings to state Commissioner in addition to federal AFIDA reporting.

- House Bill 4095 / Senate Bill 606 (cap on third‑party fees for hospital electronic medical records requests): Passed (Ayes 30, No nays). Sponsor: Senator Bailey; establishes a $90 flat fee for electronic medical records requests to hospitals by third parties.

- Senate Bill 11-66 (TBI reporting on DUI arrests with no alcohol detected; sunset added): Passed (Ayes 32, No nays). Sponsor: Senator Ackbery; amendment adds sunset date 07/01/2029 for the reporting requirement.

- Senate Bill 12-02 (bail-bonds procedural safeguards; surety release hearing and clerk initialing requirement): Passed (Ayes 32, No nays). Sponsor: Senator Jackson; amendment allows a surety to petition the court for release after showing good-faith efforts to locate a defendant and requires bondsmen to initial bond order pages.

- Senate Bill 12-39 (creation of Tennessee Task Force to End Childhood Hunger): Passed (Ayes 29, No nays). Sponsor: Senator Jackson; amendment creates 14-member task force and a July 2026 report requirement.

- Senate Bill 12-40 (certification standards for recovery residences / recovery-home requirements): Passed as amended (Ayes 26, No nays). Sponsor: Senator Gardner; amendment requires safety measures, testing, inspections and confidentiality for addresses of recovery residences.

- House Bill 8-63 (change of an earlier law's term from in perpetuity to 30 years): Passed (Ayes 32, No nays).

- House Bill 10-90 / Senate Bill 12-01 (DOC study on facility for incarcerated individuals working during day / reentry study): Passed (Ayes 32, No nays). Sponsor: Chairman Jackson; study due to speakers by Jan. 1, 2026.

- Senate Bill 12-65 (state takeover / alignment of meat inspection program with USDA standards): Passed (Ayes 31, No nays). Sponsor: Senator Lowe; amendment removed TBI criminal background check requirement; bill aligns Tennessee program with USDA primacy standards.

- House Bill 13-06 (local incentives for housing, TIF / PILOT eligibility expansion; permissive local authority): Passed (Ayes 28, Nays 19) per the rollcall reported on the floor.

- Senate Bill 12-73 (education / new tiered turnaround framework to replace some ASD functions): Passed (Ayes 32, No nays). Sponsor: Leader Johnson; amended to include transition timing and to maintain accountability while providing districts more authority over interventions.

- Additional bills on the calendar were considered and passed with recorded roll call tallies noted on the floor; the clerk's official journal contains the full roll-call record and statutory text.

Why it matters

The package advances changes touching local government authority over housing incentives, K‑12 turnaround policy, criminal-justice reporting and bail processes, state regulatory alignment with federal programs, and consumer-facing fees for medical records. Several measures include reporting or sunset dates aimed at periodic legislative review.

What comes next

Sponsors and affected agencies (Education, Department of Correction, TDEC, Agriculture) will implement reporting and rulemaking provisions; some measures require further regulatory action or rule development before operational changes take effect. The Senate calendar and committee reports indicated budget work will continue in Senate Finance and appropriation subcommittees ahead of the scheduled budget vote.