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Tennessee House passes consent calendar; lawmakers withdraw and introduce multiple bills ahead of Feb. 6 filing deadline
Summary
The Tennessee House of Representatives passed the consent calendar by voice vote and recorded motions to introduce and withdraw dozens of bills during a largely procedural session that also included an announcement of a Feb. 6 bill-filing deadline and filing of multiple departmental reports with the clerk.
The Tennessee House of Representatives passed the consent calendar and completed a series of procedural actions Monday, including the introduction of hundreds of bills on first consideration and the withdrawal of multiple bills from committee.
The action matter-of-factly set the chamber's legislative business going forward: the consent calendar passed by voice vote with the clerk announcing “Ayes, 92, no nays,” after an earlier roll call showed 93 members present. House leaders also announced that the bill-filing deadline is Thursday, Feb. 6, at the close of business and that a large set of departmental and statutory reports had been filed with the clerk.
The consent calendar motion was moved by Chair Lady Moody and carried despite a small number of objections noted on specific items. Separately, House members introduced a set of House bills (House bills 359 through 636) for first consideration on a single motion; the clerk announced the bills were introduced and “passed on first consideration.” Leader Lambert moved that House bills 186 through 358 be passed on second consideration and either held on the desk or referred to the permanent standing committee; that motion was announced as made and placed accordingly.
Several members asked to withdraw bills from committee or from the House during the session. Recorded withdrawal motions and outcomes included:
- Representative Zachary moved to withdraw House Bill 376 from committee in the House (motion ordered). - Representative Hulsey moved to withdraw House Bill 446 from committee in the House (motion ordered). - Representative Hart moved to withdraw House Bill 350 from committee in the House (motion ordered). - Representative Picky moved to withdraw House Bills 13 and 63 from committee and the House (motion ordered without objection). - Representative Jones of Unicoi moved to withdraw House Bill 429 from committee in the House (motion ordered). - Representative Gantt moved to withdraw House Bill 290 from committee in the House (motion ordered). - Chairman Clemons moved to withdraw House Bill 294 from committee in the House (motion ordered). - Representative Hardaway moved to withdraw HAR 76 from committee and the House (motion ordered without objection). - Representative Martin of Hamilton moved to withdraw House Bill 188 from committee and the House (motion ordered). - Representative Terry moved to withdraw House Bill 394 from committee and the House (motion ordered). - Speaker pro Tem Tim Marsh moved to withdraw House Bill 423 from committee and the House (motion ordered).
Most withdrawal motions were handled “without objection” or were ordered despite objection, as recorded on the floor. The transcript recorded the motions and the presiding officer’s recognition of each member when making the requests.
Clerks and staff also announced that a series of departmental reports and statutorily required documents have been filed with the clerk’s office and are available for members to review. The reports listed on the floor included, among others, the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services public chapter 192 report; the Department of Human Services public chapter 192 report for fiscal year 2025; the Tennessee State Fire Marshal's office report on fire standards compliance; the 2024 annual report on TDOT's progress on passenger and freight rail and public transportation efforts; the Medical Cannabis Commission 2025 report; and the Department of Revenue federal grants report for fiscal year 2024. The clerk stated these reports “have all been filed with the clerk's office.”
After completing the day's business, Representative Larry Cochran moved that the House stand in recess until 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025; the motion carried and the House recessed until that time.
This session was procedural in nature and did not include floor debate on the substantive merits of the bills introduced or withdrawn during the sitting. Formal committee referral, scheduling, or further floor action will determine each bill’s next steps.
