Finance, Ways and Means advances 16 bills — from constitutional amendments to vaping restrictions and NIL updates

The Tennessee House Finance, Ways and Means Committee advanced 16 bills to the calendar and rules on its April 2025 agenda, moving constitutional amendments, regulatory changes, and funding proposals closer to floor consideration. Notable items included HJR 48 (a proposed amendment on victims' rights known in the hearing as “Marshy's Law”), HJR 49 (a bail-bonding constitutional amendment), a comprehensive youth-vaping measure (House Bill 9 68 as amended), the creation of a Tennessee Persistent Domestic Violence Offender Registry (House Bill 1,200), and updated NIL (name, image, likeness) rules for college athletics (House Bill 194).

The committee, which opened with a roll call confirming a quorum, handled 16 calendar items. Several bills advanced with unanimous or near-unanimous votes after short sponsor descriptions; a subset prompted substantive questions from members and one bill was rolled to a later calendar.

Committee sponsors described the most prominent items in brief presentations. Chairman Doggett introduced HJR 48 as “a constitutional amendment that amends article 1, section 35 of our state's great constitution in regards to victims' rights. This is adding this is known as Marshy's law, and we are adding enforceable victims' rights into our state constitution with this,” and the committee voted 26-0 to advance the item to calendar and rules.

Chairman Howe described HJR 49 as a proposed ballot initiative to give judges discretion over bail for violent offenders, stating the measure…