Tennessee House Bill HB0288

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/21/25
• Refer: 3/18/25
• Refer: 3/24/25
• Chaptered: 5/13/25
• Passed: 5/13/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 8, Chapter 34, Part 2; Title 52; Title 58, Chapter 7; Title 63, Chapter 6, Part 4; Title 68, Chapter 142, Part 1; Title 68, Chapter 11, Part 2 and Title 69, Chapter 10, relative to governmental entities.

Summary

This bill makes a series of technical and structural changes to Tennessee law governing state boards, commissions, and related governmental entities. It removes several entities from the list of bodies subject to certain state administrative provisions, adds the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact and the Tennessee Child Fatality Prevention Team to that list, and deletes a provision requiring appointments to the veterans services structure to be reviewed by the General Assembly’s joint select committee on veterans services. The bill also repeals specific statutory sections in Title 8 and Title 68, which appears to eliminate outdated or duplicative reporting, review, or administrative requirements tied to certain governmental or health-related entities. In practical terms, the measure adjusts how some boards and programs are organized, overseen, or exempted under Tennessee’s code rather than creating a new program or benefit.

Impact

The bill amends multiple titles of the Tennessee Code, affecting the governance and oversight framework for state entities, including medical licensure, child fatality prevention, veterans services, and certain health-related administrative provisions. It removes some entities from statutory oversight lists, adds others to those lists, and repeals selected sections of law, thereby changing which boards and commissions are subject to particular state administrative rules and legislative review requirements.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests the bill was received favorably in committee, passing the House Government Operations Committee 12-0 with a recommendation for passage if amended and referral to Calendar & Rules. No committee transcript is available, but the unanimous vote indicates little visible opposition at that stage. Overall, the bill appears to have been treated as a routine governmental-operations measure rather than a controversial policy proposal.

Contention

The main points of potential contention are the removal of legislative review language for veterans services appointments and the repeal of statutory sections that may have previously imposed oversight or administrative requirements on certain entities. Those changes could matter to lawmakers concerned about preserving legislative supervision, especially in the veterans services area, while supporters likely viewed the bill as a cleanup or modernization measure. The addition of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact and the Tennessee Child Fatality Prevention Team to the statutory framework appears less contentious and more administrative in nature.