House Health Committee advances 16 bills; animal chiropractic, hospital staffing and abortion-related clarifications among measures moved forward

The Tennessee House Health Full Committee completed its calendar and advanced 16 agenda items to subsequent committees and rules calendars. Committee decisions included measures on animal chiropractic certification, hospital staffing and scope-of-practice adjustments, corrections-based buprenorphine prescribing, recovery residence certification, and clarifying language related to the state’s Human Life Protection Act.

Below are the bills the committee acted on, a one-line summary of the measure as explained to the committee, and the committee vote tally where recorded.

- House Bill 164 (Sponsor: Speaker Marsh): Establishes certification and training standards for chiropractic physicians and veterinarians who perform animal chiropractic care; advances to Government Operations. Vote: 15 ayes, 6 nays, 2 present not voting.

- House Bill 1141 (Chairman Boyd): Requires the Health Facilities Commission to limit recertification intervals to no more than 15 months and apply to CMS for a block-grant waiver; advances to Calendar & Rules. Vote: 21 ayes, 2 nays.

- House Bill 1349 (sponsored item): Requires county medical examiners to test and report psychotropic/drug presence in decedents from mass shootings and send data to University of…