Tennessee Senate roundup: votes on multiple bills including parole language, law-enforcement immunity and licensing changes

The Tennessee Senate considered and voted on a large number of bills during the floor session. Below are the bills acted on on third or final consideration, with the sponsor, brief description and the outcome recorded on the floor.

Votes at a glance

- Senate Bills 1460 and 1461 — second consideration moved and bills referred/held on clerk’s desk. (Leader Johnson; passed second consideration and held on clerk’s desk.)

- House Bill 23 (Senate Bill 179 conform/substitute) — clarifies definitions in election-related language; passed final consideration and held on the clerk’s desk. (Sponsor: Senator Lowe; outcome: passed.)

- Senate Bill 274 — prevents charter counties from reducing certain county office duties inconsistent with state law (as amended); passed (Ayes 27, Nays 0). (Sponsor: Senator Taylor.)

- Senate Bill 455 — parole denial language change; passed (Ayes 23, Nays 4). (Sponsor: Senator Rose.)

- Senate Bill 468 — “Woman’s Safety and Protection Act” clarifying sex-based protections in certain facilities; passed (Ayes 24, Nays 4). (Sponsor: Senator Bolling.)

- Senate Bill 471 — family-life curriculum language (see separate article on success-sequence debate); passed (Ayes 25, Nays 5). (Sponsor: Senator Bolling.)

- Senate Bill 504 — commemorative plaque designation; passed (outcome declared; roll-call recorded). (Sponsor: Senator Rose.)

- Senate Bill 245 — operational changes for district attorneys conference and related privilege/meeting closures; passed (Ayes 26, Nays 4). (Sponsor: Senator Hale.)

- Senate Bill 755 (substituted to House bill) — establishes Forestry Hall of Fame successor to Agriculture Hall of Fame; passed (Ayes 31, Nays 0). (Sponsor: Senator Yeager.)

- Senate Bill 789 (conformed to House Bill 959) — licensing changes for marriage and family therapists (compact-related adjustments); passed (Ayes 42, Nays 0). (Sponsor: Senator Wally.)

- Senate Bill 871 — directs a state study of continuum of care for homelessness and report due (amended report date); passed (Ayes 32, Nays 0). (Sponsor: Senator Hensley.)

- Senate Bill 915 — exempts borrow pits in FEMA-certified counties for specified hurricane recovery work; passed (Ayes 32, Nays 0). (Sponsor: Senator Bailey.)

- Senate Bill 931 — food-labeling and permitting for cell-cultured food products (as amended); passed (Ayes 32, Nays 0). (Sponsor: Senator Rose.)

- Senate Bill 940 — limited immunity Good Samaritan expansion to alcohol-related emergencies (as amended); passed (Ayes 30, Nays 0). (Sponsor: Chairman Gardner/Briggs as amendment sponsor.)

- Senate Bill 950 — federal education deregulation task force creation (as amended); passed (outcome declared). (Sponsor: Senator Powers.)

- Senate Bill 1005 — allows one adoption petition and fee for multiple children unless court orders separate filings; passed (outcome declared). (Sponsor: Senator Hale.)

- Senate Bill 1116 — allows Department of Children’s Services to use adoption records for kinship foster placement searches (as amended); passed (Ayes 31, Nays 0). (Sponsor: Senator Hale.)

- Senate Bill 1127 — removes $10,000 automatic payout limit for unpaid wages to surviving spouse/children; passed (Ayes 31, Nays 0). (Sponsor: Senator Rose.)

- Senate Bill 1142 — certificate-of-analysis requirement for fluoride batch reporting to water systems (see separate article); passed (outcome declared). (Sponsor: Senator Crow.)

- Senate Bill 1148 (House Bill 859) — rules for certain three-wheeled autocycles and helmet requirements (amendments/withdrawals noted); passed (Ayes 27, Nays 1). (Sponsor: Senator Crow.)

- Senate Bill 1149 (House Bill 860) — funeral director licensure pathway flexibility (conforming to House bill); passed (Ayes 30, Nays 0). (Sponsor: Senator Crow.)

- Senate Bill 1155 — Johnson City authorization to set downtown beverage-sale hours (as amended); passed (Ayes 31, Nays 1). (Sponsor: Senator Crow.)

- Senate Joint Resolution 3 — memorial/definition resolution (sponsor from Memphis); passed (Ayes 27, Nays 1). (Sponsor: Senator Pote.)

- Senate Bill 280 — law-enforcement civil-immunity reinforcement for certain litigations (sponsor: Senator Jackson); passed (outcome declared). (Sponsor: Senator Jackson.)

Notes on procedure and outcomes

- Where the transcript recorded a roll call tally, that tally is reported above. For measures where the transcript declared a constitutional majority without printing a final roll-call number, the item is listed as “outcome declared” rather than assigning a specific numeric tally.

- Several bills were conformed or substituted to matching House bills; the floor action recorded substitution or referral to the clerk’s desk as noted.

- A number of bills carried committee amendments that were adopted on the floor; the summaries above note amendments when prominent in discussion.

This list covers the formal floor actions recorded during the session and the outcomes as declared on the Senate floor.