Finance, Ways and Means advances 16 bills, including vaping restrictions, a domestic-violence registry and NIL update

The Finance, Ways and Means Committee advanced 16 bills to the calendar and rules committee during its April 2025 meeting, voting to move measures ranging from a package of youth vaping restrictions to a domestic-violence offender registry and updates to college athlete compensation rules.

The committee approved House Bill 9 68, a broad vaping and flavored product measure that includes manufacturing and import restrictions, FDA-processing requirements for consumable materials, a 1,000-foot limit near K–12 facilities in some provisions and a two-year implementation window. The amended bill drew extended debate, several withdrawn amendments and a final committee vote of 25 ayes, 1 no and 1 present not voting.

The panel also advanced House Bill 1 200, creating a Persistent Domestic Violence Offender Registry described by the sponsor as a five‑year registry for persons with qualifying domestic-violence convictions; the sponsor said funding for operation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is in the budget and estimated ongoing staffing and operating costs “about a half a million dollars a year.” The committee moved that bill without recorded objection.

Committee members approved House Bill 194, an annual update to the state’s approach to name-image-likeness (NIL) rules for student-athletes. The sponsor said the bill is intended to provide guardrails that protect athletes and institutions and to keep Tennessee law consistent with recent changes in other states; the measure moved 27–0.

Other measures advanced included: a constitutional amendment on victims’ rights (HJR 48, moved 26–0); a proposed constitutional amendment on bail discretion for violent offenders (HJR 49, 26–0); a constitutional amendment to prohibit a statewide property tax (HJR 2, 26–0); pharmacy/340B and related savings provisions (House Bill 1242, 27–0); an environmental health code modernization and deregulation package (House Bill 13 10, 27–0); a student advisory nonvoting member policy for local school boards (House Bill 11 99, 23 ayes, 2 noes, 1 present not voting); property-tax relief for nonprofits providing veteran housing (House Bill 11 34, 27–0); and numerous other items that the committee moved to calendar and rules.

Votes at a glance

- HJR 48 (Chairman Doggett) — constitutional amendment to add enforceable victims’ rights ("Marshy's law"): moved to calendar and rules; vote recorded 26 ayes, 0 noes. - HJR 49 (Chairman Howe) — proposed constitutional amendment on bail/bond discretion for violent offenders: moved; 26 ayes, 0 noes. - HJR 2 (Chairman Darby) — proposed constitutional amendment stating the state should not collect a statewide property tax: moved; 26 ayes, 0 noes. - HB 1242 (Chair Liddy Hilton Haynes) — pharmacy/340B-related bill; as amended it vests enforcement with the Attorney General’s office, contains a grandfather clause for existing contract pharmacy restrictions and directs 340B savings to safety-net providers; moved; 27 ayes, 0 noes. - HB 13 10 (Chair Liddy Hilton Haynes) — environmental health modernization (rulemaking for food safety code, campground definition update, reduced pool inspection frequency, fee‑increase limits): moved; 27 ayes, 0 noes. - HB 11 99 (Chairman Kumar) — encourages LEAs to appoint a nonvoting high‑school student member to school boards (exempts LEAs with advisory groups): moved; vote 23 ayes, 2 noes, 1 present not voting. - HB 12 42 (Chair Liddy Hilton Haynes — listed earlier as HB 1242) — see above. - HB 1 200 (Chairman Kumar) — Persistent Domestic Violence Offender Registry ("Savannah" bill): moved; committee reported the ayes have it (sponsor said funding included in the budget; ongoing cost estimated ~ $500,000/year to operate through TBI). - HB 1 34 (Chairman Boyd) — permissive property-tax relief for nonprofit properties that provide permanent affordable housing with at least 30% of units for veterans experiencing homelessness: moved; 27 ayes, 0 noes. - HB 5 47 (Assistant Leader) — permissive $12.50 local fee option to replace revenue historically attached to bad-check cases; moved; 28 ayes, 0 noes. - HB 12 70 (Leader Cochran) — protection against coerced speech for students and state employees: moved; vote recorded 20 ayes, 6 noes. - HB 133 (Representative Raper) — expands a pilot program to allow a church campus to build supervised residential living for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (Real Life Village): moved; 25 ayes, 0 noes. - HB 9 10 (Representative Garrett) — transfers certain powers from the Human Rights Commission to an Attorney General division; moved; 21 ayes, 6 noes. - HB 9 68 (Chairman Hawk) — vaping restrictions with technical and enforcement amendments (amendment 7,573 adopted); moved; 25 ayes, 1 no, 1 present not voting. - HB 194 (Chairman Vaughn) — NIL updates for student-athletes and collectives: moved; 27 ayes, 0 noes. - Several additional drafting amendments and withdrawn amendments accompanied multiple bills; the committee removed or withdrew several proposed amendments on House Bill 9 68 before adopting a consolidated amendment.

What the committee said about next steps and budget implications

Sponsors and committee leaders repeatedly noted that several measures will require implementation funding or agency staffing. The sponsor of the domestic-violence registry said the registry will be operated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and estimated ongoing costs of “about a half a million dollars a year,” and said funding is included in the budget. The vaping bill’s sponsor and supporters said the measure includes revenue and specified funding for enforcement; the committee adopted a two-year implementation window to give businesses time to adjust.

Committee process and context

Members spent considerable time on a handful of bills (notably the vaping bill, the domestic-violence registry and the NIL update). Several amendments were filed and withdrawn in committee; the sponsors described collaboration across legislative leaders, agencies and stakeholder groups for the larger bills. No item was reported as having been defeated in committee; all items listed above were advanced to the next legislative stage.

Speakers who appeared on the record during the meeting (selection)

Chairman Doggett; Chairman Howe; Chairman Darby; Chair Liddy Hilton Haynes; Chairman Kumar (Jeremy Kumar); Chairman Todd; Representative Raper; Chairman Boyd; Representative Garrett; Chairman Hawk; Deputy Speaker Zachary; Chairman Vaughn; Leader Cochran; Leader Lambert; Representative Freeman; Representative Shaw; Representative Gantt; Representative Parkinson; Representative Love; others.

Ending

Committee members recessed at the end of the session. Several measures that the committee advanced will next appear on the House calendar for further action and potential floor votes. The committee record shows roll-call votes for the bills listed above and sponsors indicated which measures will require or already have budgeted funding for implementation.