Tennessee House Bill HB0310

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/22/25
• Refer: 2/3/25
• Refer: 3/19/25
• Refer: 4/8/25
• Refer: 4/17/25
• Engrossed: 4/21/25
• Enrolled: 4/28/25
• Passed: 5/21/25
• Chaptered: 5/27/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 7, Chapter 51 and Title 50, Chapter 6, relative to post-traumatic stress disorder in first responders.

Summary

HB0310 expands Tennessee’s existing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) protections for first responders. The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated § 7-51-206 to add definitions for “emergency medical responder” and “law enforcement officer,” and it broadens the statute’s coverage so that the PTSD-related provisions that previously applied to firefighters also apply to law enforcement officers and emergency medical responders. It also updates the definition of “employer” to include municipalities, counties, metropolitan governments, and other political subdivisions that employ these workers, as well as the state or a state agency when employing law enforcement officers. The bill also makes conforming changes throughout the statute by replacing references to “firefighter” with “firefighter, law enforcement officer, or emergency medical responder,” and by adjusting related possessive and agency references. The act takes effect July 1, 2025, and is intended to align the law with the expanded categories of covered public safety personnel.

Impact

HB0310 changes Tennessee law by extending PTSD-related statutory protections and procedures in Title 7, Chapter 51 to additional first responder groups, specifically law enforcement officers and emergency medical responders, alongside firefighters. It affects public employers at the local and state level by expanding who may be subject to the statute’s requirements and claims framework, and it updates terminology to ensure the law applies consistently across the newly covered occupations.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It advanced unanimously or near-unanimously through committee and subcommittee review, and it passed the House floor overwhelmingly, with only one no vote on third consideration. The voting history suggests strong bipartisan agreement on extending PTSD-related protections to additional first responders.

Contention

There is little evidence of substantive opposition in the available record. The only notable point of contention is the scope of coverage: the bill expands an existing firefighter-focused PTSD statute to include law enforcement officers and emergency medical responders, which may raise administrative or fiscal implications for public employers and state agencies. However, the committee and floor votes indicate that any concerns did not generate significant resistance.