Committee advances multiple bills on appeals, tourism zones, consumer calls, and grants
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Summary
The House Government Operations Committee voted to advance a package of bills, including changes to administrative appeals (HB 2540 forwarded to finance with negative recommendation), tourism economic protection zones (HB 2366 passed 7–4), limits on solicitation calls (HB 2408 passed), grants for volunteer fire vehicles (HB 2446 passed), and several administrative and healthcare bills; most measures moved to calendar/rules or finance with recorded tallies in committee.
At its March 30, 2026 session, the House Government Operations Committee disposed of a series of bills — many by recorded voice vote — ranging from administrative cleanups to consumer‑protection measures.
Key committee actions included:
- HB 2540 (state employee appeals): Committee adopted an amendment but later recorded a vote (5 ayes, 6 nays, 1 present not voting) and moved the amended bill to the finance committee with a negative recommendation.
- HB 2340 (TDEC administrative appeals): Passed 9–1; aligns TDEC contested‑case timing with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act and adjusts certain review processes.
- HB 2533 (Department of Education cleanup): Passed 11–0; sponsor described the bill as 65 sections of cleanup to reduce duplication.
- HB 1618 (Tennessee State University board extension): Passed 11–0 to calendar and rules after board chair Takasha Winton described governance progress.
- HB 1898 (AI safety and transparency): Passed 11–0; requires large AI companies to publish safety plans and report incidents to the attorney general with tight timelines for imminent‑harm events.
- HB 2446 (volunteer firefighter vehicle grants): Passed 11–0 to finance/ways and means.
- HB 2366 (tourist development zones / economic protection zones): After amendment and debate about local authority and enforcement, passed 7–4 to calendar and rules.
- HB 2220 (Tennessee Arts Commission): Passed 8–3 to calendar and rules to reconstitute appointment processes.
- HB 1956 (step therapy for cancer): Passed 11–0 to calendar and rules, extending protections to all stages of cancer.
- HB 2408 (limits on solicitation calls): Passed 10–0; would cap calls at 10,000 per month per company and rely on AG enforcement under existing consumer‑protection law (penalties cited from that act).
- HB 1447 (treasurer as custodian for proposed federal child savings accounts): Passed 8–1–1 (1 present not voting) to calendar and rules after Q&A about program design.
- HB 1888 (educator licensing waiver): Passed 5–4 to finance/ways and means amid extended debate about standards and accreditation.
Several bills were rolled to the next calendar for lack of time. Where votes were recorded, tallies and recorded clerk statements were included in committee minutes.
