Subcommittee approves extensions for disability, aging, autism and a slate of professional boards

NASHVILLE — The Education, Health, and General Welfare Committee (joint subcommittee of Government Operations) met in June 2025 to consider sunset reviews and recommended extensions for state entities, advisory councils and professional licensure boards. The panel advanced numerous extensions, including shorter and longer continuations depending on the entity.

Top items

- Department of Disability and Aging: The committee recommended a two‑year extension (to 2028) after a presentation from Commissioner Brad Turner and department deputies. Representative Fritz questioned a resource map figure that listed 2,500,000 older adults; fiscal staff said the number comes from multiple reports and census estimates and offered to provide back‑end detail. Representative Crawford offered the motion for a two‑year extension; the committee recorded Senate roll call ayes and approved the extension by voice vote in the House.

- Commission on Aging: Committee members praised the Commission’s work and voted to recommend a four‑year extension (to 2031). Chairman Jackson made the motion and the Senate and House recorded approvals.

- Council on Autism Spectrum Disorder: Seth Wilson and Council staff summarized the council’s work, noting the council was created in statute in 2017 and that state data from the Tennessee Autism Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network found an autism diagnosis rate of 1 in 29 children born in Tennessee (2022 data). The committee voted to recommend a five‑year extension for the council.

- State Alzheimer’s and Related Dementia Advisory Council: The committee recommended a five‑year extension. Department representatives said administrative responsibilities moved to the Department of Health in 2024 under Public Chapter 688.

Votes at a glance

The committee advanced the following recommendations (motion mover listed when given; all measures were approved by Senate roll calls where recorded and by voice votes in the House unless noted):

- Department of Disability and Aging — motion by Representative Crawford — two‑year extension to 2028 — approved. - Commission on Aging — motion by Chairman Jackson — four‑year extension to 2031 — approved. - Council on Autism Spectrum Disorder — motion by Chairman Crawford — five‑year extension to 2031 — approved. - Board of Communication Disorders and Sciences — motion by Chairman Jackson — five‑year extension to 2031 — approved. - Audiology & Speech‑Language Pathology Compact — motion by Chairman Jackson — eight‑year extension to 2034 — approved. - Board of Chiropractic Examiners — five‑year extension to 2031 — approved. - Board of Dentistry — five‑year extension to 2031 — approved. - Board of Dispensing Opticians — five‑year extension to 2031 — approved. - Board of Examiners in Psychology — five‑year extension to 2031 — approved. - Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners — five‑year extension to 2031 — approved. - Board/Committee for Social Work licensure — five‑year extension to 2031 — approved. - Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners — five‑year extension to 2031 — approved. - Committee for Clinical Perfusionists — five‑year extension to 2031 — approved. - Professional Art Therapist Advisory Committee — five‑year extension to 2031 — approved. - State Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia Advisory Council — five‑year extension to 2031 — approved. - Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact — motion by Chairman Jackson — eight‑year extension to 2034 — approved.

Why it matters

Most agenda items were routine sunset reviews: the committee examines whether a board or council should continue, be restructured, put into a wind‑down period or terminated. By recommending extensions, the committee keeps agencies and licensing boards operating under current statutory authorities while allowing time for follow‑up, rulemaking or legislative revisions when needed.

Selected discussion highlights

Department of Disability and Aging: Commissioner Brad Turner summarized the recent merger that created the Department of Disability and Aging and said the agency’s aim is to help Tennesseans live independently and access services. Turner said the department is “giving them opportunities to pursue things that they’ve not been able to do,” and thanked members for budgetary support. Representative Fritz asked how the department derived a figure of 2,500,000 older adults listed on the department’s resource map; Deputy Commissioner Andy Kidd said the department uses surveys and census data and offered to provide the underlying methodology.

Council on Autism Spectrum Disorder: Seth Wilson, senior associate counselor for the Department of Disability and Aging, outlined the council’s membership and work with advocacy groups, survey development and training recommendations. He cited a 2022 Tennessee figure that 1 in 29 children born in Tennessee received an autism diagnosis per the state monitoring network. The council asked for a statutory extension to continue its work.

Social work staffing: Angela Deloach, a school social worker and board member, described staffing and funding pressures for school social work positions and said application processing has improved but that vacancies remain a challenge. She urged attention to recruitment and funding as barriers to filling positions.

Other boards: Presenters from the Department of Health’s licensure office provided basic statistics on each board (for example, numbers of licensees and meeting frequency) and noted vacancies that are in the governor’s appointment pipeline. Several lawmakers used their time to flag fee structures, interstate licensure compacts and workforce shortages for further committee review.

What the committee requested

Committee members asked departments and boards to provide follow‑up information when figures were unclear (for example, the Disability and Aging resource map numbers) and to answer specific policy questions in writing (notably, the Board of Communication Disorders and Sciences was asked to clarify whether ASHA’s CCC is required for compact membership or practice under new Medicare guidance).

Ending

All measures on the agenda moved forward to the Government Operations Committee for final deliberation and placement on a future legislative calendar. Committee leadership noted future meetings and a rule review session scheduled for the afternoon.