Tennessee Senate passes measures on remote voting, abortion-drug liability, election rules and other bills

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Senate on Wednesday approved a string of bills on third and final consideration that will change rules for local government voting, civil liability tied to mailed abortion-inducing drugs, local pilot programs for guaranteed basic income, and several election, education and corrections procedures.

Senators fronted debate on several measures before voting. Sponsor remarks and floor debate show lawmakers sharply divided on several items, particularly a bill that creates a civil wrongful-death claim tied to abortion-inducing drugs sent by mail and a measure preempting local guaranteed-income pilot programs.

The most contested measures included Senate Bill 4 19, which sponsor Senator Hensley described as creating a wrongful-death remedy when mifepristone or misoprostol are sent directly to a pregnant patient and are later used to induce an abortion. “This bill makes the death of an unborn child a wrongful death if it's caused by abortion-inducing drugs,” Hensley said on the floor. Opponents, including Senator Campbell, argued the bill would chill provision of legally approved medications and could expose out-of-state providers to civil suits.

Senate Bill 3 51, introduced by Senator Taylor, bars local governments from implementing guaranteed-income programs. Taylor said the bill is intended to prevent localities from using public funds or public-administered cash transfers to individuals who can work, calling such programs an improper dependence on government. Supporters framed the bill as protecting taxpayers and preventing what they described as a form of “socialism.” Opponents said pilot programs funded by private philanthropy should be allowed and that local experiments can inform future policy.

On local-government operations, Senate Bill 136 (Briggs) lets municipal and county elected officials vote remotely in narrowly defined circumstances — medical illness, family emergency, military service or inclement weather — with limits on frequency, quorum requirements and a mandatory live feed and recording of the remote participation. “It allows the city councils and the county commissions to have … the option … of allowing their members to vote, electronically,” Senator Briggs said, adding the bill includes strict conditions and a sunset date.

Other bills approved Wednesday included measures to: clarify who pays for electronic monitoring when jailed people are released for work programs; update standards for when a teacher is accountable for a student’s test scores and allow local boards to compensate a deceased teacher’s estate for unused leave; strengthen rules around ballot handling and disallow Internet voting; treat certain corporate political communications as subject to PAC rules; centralize and require reporting from a state immigration-enforcement division; require schools to be permitted to keep rescue inhalers on campus under specified conditions; and require pension plans to divest holdings in majority-owned Chinese companies or develop plans to divest.

Discussion vs. decisions - Discussion: Floor debate included extended exchanges on the policy merits of preempting local guaranteed-income pilots and civil exposure for entities that supply abortion-related drugs by mail. Senators raised constitutional, practical and equity-focused concerns during debate on multiple bills. - Direction/assignment: Several bills include reporting or implementation timelines (for example, divestment plans and reports to the legislature) or require agencies to prepare guidelines (education accountability guidance in SB 6 02 as amended). - Formal action: The measures noted below were voted on and their outcomes are presented in “Votes at a glance.”

Votes at a glance - Senate Bill 136 (Briggs) — Permits limited remote voting by municipal and county elected members under narrow conditions; amendment corrected sunset date to July 1, 2028. Passed (Yes 28, No 2). - House Bill 10 25 (conforming action to Senate Bill 170, Lowe) — Adds potential driver's-license revocation for juveniles adjudicated under new bullying/cyberbullying statutes. Passed (Yes 27, No 0). - Senate Bill 351 (Taylor) — Preempts local guaranteed-basic-income pilots and similar programs. Passed (Yes 26, No 4). - Senate Bill 419 (Hensley) — Adds a wrongful-death civil remedy for an unborn child when abortion-inducing drugs (mifepristone and misoprostol) are mailed directly to a pregnant patient and used to induce an abortion; exempts physicians, pharmacists and certain carriers. Passed (Yes 25, No 5). - Senate Bill 5 33 (Stevens) — Clarifies who pays for electronic monitoring for inmates released for paid employment; amendment clarified deduction/ payment procedures. Passed (Yes 25, No 5). - House Bill 8 05 (conforming action to Senate Bill 5 42, Stevens) — Requires pension plans to divest majority-owned Chinese equities or submit a divestment plan/report; trustees have civil immunity for divestment actions. Vote tally not specified in transcript record. - Senate Bill 6 02 (Bailey, as amended) — Requires Education Department guidelines for when a teacher is responsible for a student's academic records and permits LEAs to compensate estates of deceased teachers for unused leave; includes compensation permissive provisions. Passed (Yes 27, No 0). - Senate Bill 6 21 (Briggs) — Requires corporations that fund campaign-style mailings to comply with PAC disclosure rules; would effectively require a corporate PAC for such activity. Passed (Yes 25, No 2). - Senate Bill 6 26 (Briggs, as amended) — Election-related changes: aligns deadlines for counting provisional ballots, prohibits Internet voting and internet-submitted ballots, strengthens voter-list maintenance and ID/address-document rules. Passed (Yes 22, No 4). - Senate Bill 6 55 (Stevens) — Expands which prosecutors or appointed attorneys may bring removal/ouster actions when local counsel have conflicts to insure proceedings can be filed. Passed (Yes 23, No 5). - Senate Bill 6 74 (Taylor) — Preempts local labor regulations (state-level control of labor/employment law); passed (vote tally not specified in transcript). - House Bill 6 76 (conforming to Senate Bill 705, Massey) — Provides parity steps so teachers at Tennessee state special schools move in salary schedule when LEA schedules are increased; passed (vote tally not specified in transcript). - Senate Bill 7 50 (Yeager, as amended) — Requires the centralized Immigration Enforcement Division to report illegal-alien criminal activity and threat assessments to the General Assembly and law enforcement; passed (Yes 26, No 5). - Senate Bill 7 64 (Bailey) — Returned to the calendar for further work; no final action. - Senate Bill 7 99 (Johnson, as amended) — Requires statewide political parties to nominate general-election candidates by primary, with a limited grandfather clause for counties that used caucuses in recent cycles; passed (Yes 26, No 3). - House Bill 7 60 (conforming to Senate Bill 8 17, Lowe, as amended) — Permits schools to maintain rescue inhalers to be administered by trained staff or nurses with liability protections for participating LEAs and staff; passed (Yes 28, No 0).

What to watch next Several bills require agency implementation or follow-up reporting (divestment plans reported to the legislature, Education Department guidance, and centralized immigration-division reports). Legal challenges are likely for measures that impose civil liability for out-of-state conduct or that affect federal commerce issues, as opponents warned on the floor.

Context and process notes The session proceeded under the Senate’s standing rules; Leader Johnson handled several calendar motions to introduce and hold bills. Many measures were amended in committee before final floor votes. Floor debate often included sponsor explanations, technical committee amendments and questions from colleagues. Where vote tallies were not clearly announced on the floor record, this article notes that the transcript did not specify the final numerical tally.

Ending The Senate adjourned to reconvene at 8:30 a.m. Thursday. Legislators highlighted that several bills will require agency rules, reporting and possible future legislative follow-up.