Subcommittee moves three bills to full committee on tourism, licensing and work-release monitoring

The Departments & Agencies Subcommittee advanced three bills to the full committee Wednesday with no recorded opposition.

- House Bill 1321 (Representative Stinnett): Renames the Tourist Division as the Marketing Division and would transfer primary responsibility for the state's highway welcome centers to the renamed division. Representative Stinnett said the change is intended to clarify duties and put grounds, maintenance and visitor engagement under the new division so the Tennessee Department of Transportation can focus on pavement. The committee recorded eight affirmative votes to move the bill to full committee.

- House Bill 1330 (Chairman Lafferty): An administration bill intended to reduce regulatory barriers and modernize boards and licensing across state government. The measure would eliminate some licensing requirements, create new licensure pathways in a few professions, change board appointment rules and allow more flexibility for electronic meetings while requiring at least one annual in-person meeting. The subcommittee voted to advance the bill to full committee, recorded as eight affirmative votes.

- House Bill 351 (Representative Hurd): Clarifies administrative responsibility and cost allocation for electronic monitoring devices used in local work-release programs. Representative Hurd said the bill returns discretion to local sheriff's offices to set policy on who covers monitoring equipment and administrative costs; the amendments under consideration were adopted in subcommittee. The committee moved the bill to the full committee with eight affirmative votes.

All three bills were reported out on unanimous subcommittee consent and will face further consideration at the full committee level.