Votes at a glance: Finance, Ways and Means committee moves dozens of bills to calendar and rules

NASHVILLE — On April 17 the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee considered a long finance calendar and moved many bills to the next stage (calendar and rules). The committee disposition included a mix of amended measures, bills rolled to later calendars and a small number of items taken off notice.

Notable actions and outcomes - House Bill 576 (creates a bail bondsman professional board within the Department of Commerce and Insurance): amendment adopted; committee vote 26 ayes, 1 no; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 1278 (as amended, allows loan charges to be included in a $110 million fund for bond interest related to Hurricane Helene relief): amended; committee vote 28 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 1092: rolled to the next available calendar without objection.

- House Bill 1089 (mental‑health evaluations at sentencing): amended; committee vote 28 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules (also covered in separate article).

- House Bill 55 (referred to by sponsor as the “peace”/extremism provision): committee vote 23 ayes, 0 nos, 3 present not voting; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 691 (community investment tax credit measure, as amended to measure loans throughout the year): amended; committee vote 28 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 1144 (private prisons: drawdown requirement if death rate exceeds double comparable state facilities): amended; committee vote 26 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 641 (child advocacy centers funding increase; amendment adjusted base funding to 1% rather than 3%): amended; committee vote 27 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 577 (jail accreditation stipend increase): amended to raise payments for Tier 1 and Tier 2 accreditation ($6 and $12 per day, sponsor described intent); committee vote 28 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 969 (redirect sales tax on tires to transportation fund, as rewritten): amended; committee vote 26 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 761 (removes a definition from the “Content Harmful to Minors” Act): committee vote 27 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 541 (wetlands alteration regulations): committee vote 24 ayes, 1 no, 2 present not voting; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 1326 (three‑year vesting for land‑use projects and permissive administrative approval of conditional use permits): committee vote 25 ayes, 2 nos, 1 present not voting; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 930 (Home Buyers Revolving Loan Fund modernization): committee vote 27 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 24 (wildlife penalties modernization for TWRA fines): amended; committee vote 14 ayes, 9 nos, 4 present not voting; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 717 (Alzheimer’s/dementia respite pilot program extension from 2025 to 2026 via amendment): committee vote 27 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 333 (written findings required when judge releases on recognizance in violent firearm cases): committee vote 24 ayes, 0 nos, 1 present not voting; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 34 (juvenile records lookback for bail decisions in adult court for a five‑year period): committee vote 24 ayes, 3 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 1181 (extend sales‑tax exemption for broadband equipment for one year): amended; committee vote 28 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 653 (improve registry of election finance transparency; permit use of campaign funds for certain legal expenses under amendment): amended; committee vote 27 ayes, 0 nos, 1 present not voting; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 132 (allow legislature to terminate a state of emergency by joint resolution): committee vote 24 ayes, 3 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 479 (TRICARE premium reimbursement grants for Tennessee National Guard): amended; committee vote 26 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 1177 (Julian Ludwig follow‑up regarding competency/mental health before trial): amended; committee vote 28 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 1232 (fentanyl bill, sponsor called it the fentanyl bill): committee vote 28 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 322 (human smuggling): committee vote 18 ayes, 8 nos, 1 present not voting; moved to calendar and rules (covered in separate article).

- House Bill 894 (reconstitute board of groundwater management): committee vote 19 ayes, 8 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 370 (complete harassment statute to include in‑person conduct): committee vote 26 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 915 (six‑week paid leave expansion to add family caregiving for state employees): amended; committee vote 26 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 1163 (direct allocation of state portion of charter school funding under TISA): committee vote 26 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 675 (K‑12 study / policy review): amended; committee vote 25 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 1344 (TSU capital outlay flexibility): amended; committee vote 24 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 919 (add appointments to higher education system boards by speaker and lieutenant governor): committee vote 27 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 940 (personal watercraft age change to 14 on weekends and holidays, effective 1/1/2026): amended; committee vote 25 ayes, 0 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

- House Bill 662 (committee advanced an amended local K‑12 oversight bill for Shelby County — separate article covers extended debate): committee vote 16 ayes, 5 nos; moved to calendar and rules.

Taken off notice or rolled - House Bill 1092: rolled to next available calendar without objection. - House Bill 592 (at one point taken off notice by sponsor): taken off notice.

Notes on procedure - Many bills carried timely or untimely amendments; chair handled amendment placements when amendments rewrote bill language. Several bills were amended in committee before the final recorded votes.

Speakers and witnesses Committee proceedings included committee chairs and numerous representatives who described bills, offered amendments and asked procedural and policy questions. There were a small number of extended debates (notably House Bill 6 62 and House Bill 3 22).

What to watch next Bills advanced to calendar and rules will appear on the House floor calendar for further consideration. Several measures carry state‑level policy implications (education governance, corrections, criminal law, tax credits and transportation funding) and may be subjects of floor amendments or further negotiation in conference with the Senate.

Speakers