Tennessee Senate adopts conference reports on ethics, medical-practice and AG-enforcement bills; sets adjournment

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Senate on April 22 adopted conference committee reports on three substantive measures and approved a joint resolution to adjourn the current session and set the date for the next regular session.

The chamber approved a conference committee report on a bill sent by the House that the Senate described as substantially similar to an earlier Senate amendment but with added language creating a 60-day cure period and a three-judge panel review after an attorney general finding. "If the AG had a finding, he would administer that finding to the local government. They would then have 60 days to correct that finding," Senator Lowe said, summarizing the conference report. The Senate recorded the vote on that report as Aye 46, Nay 6, and declared the report passed.

The Senate also adopted a conference committee report that added "medical supervision" language affecting anesthesiology practice. Chairman Bailey said the change "encapsulates exactly what the Senate ... said" and that the intent is not to change CRNAs’ current practice autonomy in hospitals. The Senate recorded that vote as Ayes 31, No nays.

On campaign-finance and ethics changes, Senator Briggs described three edits the conference committee included: authorizing expenditure of campaign funds to defend civil litigation (inserting the word "civil"), excluding public-relations consulting and legal expenses for criminal matters (inserting the word "criminal"), and aligning reporting thresholds in the final 10 days of the House and Senate. "This is the bill that was brought to us by the Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance," Briggs said, listing the committee’s three changes. The conference report was approved by recorded vote Ayes 24, Nays 6.

The Senate also adopted House Joint Resolution 707 to adjourn the first regular session and to reconvene the second regular session on Jan. 13, 2026. Leader Johnson moved immediate consideration and adoption; the motion passed without objection. The resolution calls for adjournment on April 22, 2025.

Votes at a glance

- Conference committee report on House Bill 10 97: adopted; recorded vote Aye 46, Nay 6. Action declared the action of the Senate. - Conference committee report on House Bill 9 79: adopted; recorded voice vote with Ayes 31, No nays (declared passed). - Conference committee report on Senate Bill 229 (ethics and campaign finance changes): adopted; recorded vote Ayes 24, Nays 6. - House Joint Resolution 707 (adjournment and reconvene dates): adopted without objection.

What the bills say (as described on the floor)

- House Bill 10 97: Adds language to clarify a process when the attorney general finds that a local government has violated state law or the constitution. According to Senate remarks, the process gives the local government 60 days to cure an AG finding; if not cured, a three-judge panel may hear the dispute. The conference report was described on the floor as "substantially the same" as a prior Senate amendment plus the explicit language about the three-judge panel and the 60-day cure period.

- House Bill 9 79: Conference report preserved supervision language for anesthesiology assistants, including a 4-to-1 ratio tied to anesthesiologists, and added "medical supervision" language to the House text. Chairman Bailey said the intent is that the change "should not put the medical direction of the CRNAs under an anesthesiologist on the 1 to 4 model" if a hospital chooses to hire an anesthesiologist. Senators on the floor emphasized the intent that CRNAs continue to practice as they do under current law.

- Senate Bill 229: Brought to the Senate by the Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, the conference committee’s edits as described on the floor: (1) authorize use of campaign funds to defend civil litigation (word "civil" added); (2) prohibit use of campaign funds for public-relations consulting and legal expenses related to criminal matters (word "criminal" added); and (3) make reporting thresholds identical in the final 10 days for House and Senate reports.

What happened next and next steps

The Senate declared each adopted conference committee report to be the action of the Senate after recorded votes. The motion to adjourn under HJR 707 was adopted, and the Senate appointed committees to notify the governor and the House that the Senate had completed business. The Senate is scheduled to reconvene on Jan. 13, 2026.

Speakers on record for these items included: Senator Lowe, Senator Briggs, Chairman Bailey, Senator Hale, Senator Hensley, Leader (Senator) Johnson and others who participated in questions and statements on floor procedure and substance.

The measures will return to the House as required by conference committee procedure where applicable, and some items referenced further drafting or signature steps before final enrollment, as noted on the floor.