Tennessee House Bill HB0229

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/21/25
• Refer: 2/3/25
• Refer: 2/10/25
• Engrossed: 2/20/25
• Enrolled: 2/25/25
• Passed: 3/14/25
• Chaptered: 3/24/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 68, Chapter 24, relative to the board of alcohol and drug abuse counselors.

Summary

HB0229 makes a narrow administrative change to Tennessee law governing the Board of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors. The bill removes the board from one of the lists of state entities subject to the Tennessee Code Annotated provisions in Title 4, Chapter 29, and then adds the board to a different list in the same chapter. In practical terms, this is a housekeeping measure that updates how the board is referenced in the state’s statutory framework. The bill does not create a new licensing program, change professional standards, or alter the board’s core duties under Title 68, Chapter 24. Instead, it appears to align the board’s statutory status with the state’s general sunset/review or administrative-organization provisions for boards and commissions. The act took effect immediately upon becoming law.

Impact

HB0229 amends Tennessee Code Annotated Title 4, Chapter 29 by deleting the Board of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors from one subdivision and adding it to another, while leaving the board’s substantive governing statute in Title 68, Chapter 24 intact. The main legal effect is to update the board’s placement within the state’s list of boards subject to administrative oversight provisions, rather than changing licensure requirements or disciplinary authority for alcohol and drug abuse counselors.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been noncontroversial and broadly supported. It passed the House Government Operations Committee 10-0, then cleared the House on consent calendar passage 89-0, and later received a unanimous 33-0 motion to adopt. The voting record suggests consensus that the measure was a routine technical correction rather than a policy dispute.

Contention

There is little evidence of substantive contention around HB0229. No committee transcript is available, and the unanimous votes indicate no recorded opposition. Any discussion likely centered on technical statutory cleanup and ensuring the Board of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors is properly listed in the correct administrative provision, rather than on the regulation of counselors or substance use treatment policy.