Finance Ways & Means subcommittee advances dozens of bills; many placed behind budget

The Tennessee House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee met April 2, 2025, and handled 60 calendar items in a roughly two-hour hearing that advanced a mix of administrative bills, grant programs, criminal-justice measures and funding proposals. The committee voted many bills out to the full Finance Committee, placed several measures “behind the budget” for later funding consideration and referred other items to specialized calendars including the constitutional, driver’s license and TASSAR/task-force calendars.

Why it matters: The subcommittee’s action determines which measures reach the full Finance Committee for budget consideration and which require additional funding decisions. Several bills advanced without recorded opposition; many that create or expand programs were set aside pending budget decisions.

Key actions and outcomes (front-loaded):

- Multiple bills were sent to full finance with recorded unanimous or near‑unanimous votes, including House Bill 759 (Speaker Pro Tem Marsh), House Bill 810 (Chairman Grills) and omnibus bills such as House Bill 212 (Chairman Howe) and House Bill 213 (Chairman Howe). Where recorded, vote tallies were provided on the record (examples below).

- Numerous bills with fiscal impact were explicitly placed “behind the budget,” meaning the committee approved moving the bills forward but deferred funding decisions; that status applied to a wide range of items from education and health to corrections and transportation.

- Several measures were rolled to a future meeting or sent to other calendars (for example, the constitutional calendar, the TASSAR/task-force calendar, driver’s license calendar and the TASSAR calendar for fast‑growing counties).

Votes at a glance (bill — sponsor — outcome — recorded tally if given):

1) House Bill 759 — Speaker Pro Tem Marsh — moved to full finance (recorded: 8 ayes, 0 no) 2) House Bill 69 — Leader Lambert — rolled 1 week 3) House Bill 1324 (13‑24) — Leader Lambert — placed behind the budget (fiscal note ~$12,000,000 noted) 4) House Bill 1134 — Chairman Boyd — rolled to HEAL (working on amendment) 5) House Bill 1144 — Chairman Boyd — amendment adopted; placed behind the budget (fiscal impact) 6) House Bill 52 — Chairman Boleso — placed behind the budget (increase in veteran homestead exemption) 7) House Joint Resolution 2 — Chairman Darby — sent to the constitutional calendar 8) House Bill 573 — Chairman Doggett — to the Hill/HEAL (no chair present) 9) House Bill 578 — Chairman Doggett — to the Hill/HEAL 10) House Bill 577 — Chairman Doggett — to the Hill/HEAL 11) House Bill 802 — Chairman Grylls — placed behind the budget (liability coverage for conservation district employees using surplus federal vehicles) 12) House Bill 810 — Chairman Grylls — moved to full finance (recorded: 8 ayes, 0 no) 13) House Bill 133 — Representative Raper — moved to full finance (recorded: 9 ayes, 0 no) 14) House Bill 7 — Chairman Hale — amendment adopted; placed behind the budget (creates THEC-managed grant program to address student food insecurity; amendment removed state appropriation) 15) House Bill 962 — Chairman Hawke — placed behind the budget (authorizes local hemp-derived cannabinoid product boards) 16) House Bill 212 — Chairman Howe (omnibus specialty plates) — moved to full finance (recorded: 10 ayes, 0 no) 17) House Bill 213 — Chairman Howe (highway/bridge naming omnibus) — moved to full finance (recorded: 10 ayes, 0 no) 18) House Bill 573/575/577 series and other judiciary referrals by Chairman Doggett — various (many placed behind the budget or to HEAL as noted above) 19) House Bill 335 — Chairman Halsey — moved to full finance (recorded: 9 ayes, 0 no) (authorizes Blountville Utility District to raise board member pay) 20) House Bill 440 — Chairman Hulsey docket item — rolled 1 week 21) House Bill 1199 — Chairman Kumar — amendment adopted; moved to full finance (recorded: 10 ayes, 0 no) 22) House Bill 1200 — Chairman Kumar — moved to full finance (recorded: 10 ayes, 0 no) (bill described as a response to a domestic‑violence tragedy; sponsor said funding was secured) 23) House Bill 1229 (12‑29) — Chairman Lafferty — reconsidered after funding was secured; moved to full finance (recorded: 9 ayes, 0 no) 24) House Bill 761 — Chairlady Littleton — rolled to the Hill 25) House Bill 195 — Chairman Martin — placed behind the budget (increases TennCare ground ambulance reimbursement in rural areas) 26) House Bill 148 — Chairman White — placed behind the budget (makes Tennessee Promise completion grant permanent) 27) House Bill 410 — Chairman White — placed behind the budget (working group on English‑language‑learner best practices) 28) House Bill 504 — Chairman White — placed behind the budget (expands Future Teachers Scholarship program) 29) House Bill 756 — taken off notice 30) House Bill 16 — Chairman Clemens — placed behind the budget (creates student pedestrian protection grant fund) 31) House Bill 21 — Representative Davis — rolled 1 week 32) House Bill 1218 — Representative Johnson — to the Hill (no show) 33) House Bill 717 — Representative Jones — amendment adopted; placed behind the budget (Alzheimer’s/dementia respite pilot extension) 34) House Bill 296 — Representative Love — moved to TASSAR/task‑force calendar (study of speech therapy recommendations in schools) 35) House Bill 1084 — Representative Martin — placed behind the budget (grant program for anti‑choking devices) 36) House Bill 1250 — Representative Mayberry — initially off; later moved to full finance (recorded: 11 ayes, 0 no) (authorizes local boards to accept volunteer or paid chaplains) 37) House Bill 45 — Representative McCallman — moved to full finance (recorded: 8 ayes, 0 no) (increases penalty for injurious child abuse ages 9–17) 38) House Bill 972 — Representative McCallum — placed behind the budget (towing/booting cleanup; local mandatory cost noted) 39) House Bill 171 — Representative Reed — moved to full finance (recorded: 11 ayes, 0 no) (extends ground ambulance assessment to June 30, 2026) 40) House Bill 496 — Representative Reedy — reconsidered after funding secured; moved to full finance (recorded: 11 ayes, 0 no) (ABLE age change to 46 effective 2026) 41) House Bill 67 — Representative Sparks — moved to TASSAR calendar (fast‑growing counties study; amendment set reporting date) 42) House Bill 1321 — administration/Leader Cochran — moved to full finance (recorded: 11 ayes, 0 no) (codifies tourism marketing division activity) 43) House Bill 816 (amended) — Representative Travis — referred to driver’s license calendar (reduces assessed points for driving on suspended/cancelled privilege) 44) House Bill 463 — Representative Travis — placed behind the budget (pension/hybrid to legacy plan option for legislators elected after 2014) 45) House Bill 462 — Representative Travis — placed behind the budget (similar pension change) 46) House Bill 397 — Representative Vidal — placed behind the budget (Findlay Stadium sales‑tax revenue diversion request) 47) House Bill 736 — Representative Vidal — moved to task/TASSAR calendar (comprehensive transportation revenue study) 48) House Bill 555 — Representative Capley — placed behind the budget (increase burglary of conveyance felony class) 49) House Bill 1314 — Leader Cochran — moved to full finance (recorded: 11 ayes, 0 no) (adds threat of mass violence offense) 50) House Bill 547 — Leader Cochran — moved to full finance (recorded: 11 ayes, 0 no) (public safety fund for district attorneys) 51) House Bill 545 — Leader Cochran — placed behind the budget (professional development on artificial intelligence for teachers) 52) House Bill 150 — Representative Gantt — placed behind the budget (air ambulance TennCare reimbursement minimum) 53) House Bill 201 — Chairman Hicks — placed behind the budget (increase non‑emergency ground ambulance rates to 100% of Medicare) 54) House Bill 35 — Chairman Hicks — funding secured and moved to full finance (recorded: 11 ayes, 0 no) (modernizes state allocations to regional development districts) 55) House Bill 479 — Chairman Hicks — placed behind the budget (Tennessee National Guard TRICARE premium reimbursement program) 56) House Bill 728 — Chairman Hicks — moved to full finance (recorded: 9 ayes, 0 no) (nursing home medical reimbursement assessment) 57) House Bill 829 — Chairman Hicks — moved to full finance (recorded: 8 ayes, 0 no) (annual hospital assessment) 58) House Bill 1323 (13‑23) — Representative Hicks/administration — moved to full finance (recorded: 11 ayes, 0 no) (education endorsement exemptions and limited occupational teaching license provisions) 59) House Bill 1177 — Chairman Williams — amendment adopted (untimely filed), bill placed behind the budget (Julian’s Law follow‑up clarifications) 60) House Bill 1306 — Chairman Williams — moved to full finance (recorded: 10 ayes, 0 no) (expands tax‑increment financing eligibility to include housing/low‑income housing)

What the votes mean: “Moved to full finance” indicates the subcommittee approved sending the bill to the full Finance Committee for budget consideration or further action. “Placed behind the budget” indicates the committee advanced the measure but deferred decisions about funding until the budget process. “Rolled” indicates the item was postponed for a short time; referrals to other calendars (constitutional, driver’s license, TASSAR) indicate subject‑matter routing.

Speakers (selected, as identified in the hearing transcript): - Chair — Chair, Finance Ways & Means Subcommittee (unnamed on the record) - Speaker Pro Tem Marsh — Speaker Pro Tem (sponsor/descr.) - Leader Lambert — House Republican Leader - Chairman Grills/Grylls — Committee member/sponsor (transportation‑related items) - Chairman Boyd — Committee member/sponsor (corrections‑related items) - Chairman Howe — Committee member (omnibus plates and highway naming omnibus) - Chairman Hicks — Committee member (health and development district items) - Chairman Kumar — Representative Kumar (education, domestic‑violence registry bills) - Representative Raper — sponsor (Real Life Village/IDD housing) - Representative Love — sponsor (speech therapy study) - Representative Martin, White, Travis, Vidal, Capley, McCallman and others — sponsors or active discussants (see transcript for full list)

Clarifying details noted on the record (examples drawn directly from committee discussion): - House Bill 13‑24 carried a fiscal note of approximately $12,000,000 as discussed by a sponsor; committee placed it behind the budget. - House Bill 11‑44 (private prison deaths proposal): the amendment clarified that the comparison to the Department of Correction’s death rate is on a fiscal‑year basis using the annual statistical abstract; the department would have 90 days to act and population would be reduced by 10% if the enumerated threshold is met. - House Bill 7 (food insecurity grant): the chairman’s amendment removed a state appropriation and established a THEC‑administered fund with no immediate state appropriation, though the bill was still placed behind the budget for a fiscal determination. - Where vote tallies were recorded on the transcript, they are shown above; many votes were unanimous as recorded.

Context and next steps: Bills moved to full finance will be set for consideration by the full Finance Committee, which will determine whether to recommend funding in the governor’s budget or as part of budget negotiations. Bills placed behind the budget will require a specific funding decision before they take effect.

Sources: Committee transcript, April 2, 2025 Finance, Ways & Means Subcommittee hearing (on the record).