Tennessee House Bill HB1663

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/14/26
• Refer: 1/21/26
• Refer: 2/11/26
• Refer: 2/17/26
• Engrossed: 3/3/26
• Enrolled: 3/24/26
• Passed: 4/16/26
• Chaptered: 4/24/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 71, Chapter 3, relative to child care agencies.

Summary

HB1663 amends Tennessee’s child care licensing law to create a narrow exemption for certain family child care homes that operate under a United States Department of Defense certificate issued under 32 CFR 79.6. Under the bill, a family child care home that obtains this DoD certificate is not subject to Tennessee licensure and does not need a separate licensing exemption in order to operate lawfully, so long as it provides child care services only to an “eligible patron” as defined in federal regulations. The bill is aimed at aligning state law with the federal military child care framework. It effectively recognizes that some home-based child care providers serving military families on or near installations may already be regulated through the Department of Defense, and it removes duplicative state licensing requirements for those providers. The act takes effect July 1, 2026.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 71, Chapter 3, Section 71-3-503 by adding a new subsection that exempts a specific category of family child care homes from state licensure. Its practical effect is to reduce regulatory burden for DoD-certified providers serving eligible patrons, while leaving the general child care licensing structure intact for other providers. The change affects child care agencies, military-affiliated family child care homes, and families who use those services.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the House Health Subcommittee, House Health Committee, and floor votes unanimously or by consent, with no recorded opposition in the available voting history. The lack of dissent suggests the measure was viewed as a technical or conforming change rather than a major policy shift.

Contention

No significant contention is reflected in the available record. The only substantive policy issue is the scope of the exemption: it applies only to family child care homes with a Department of Defense certificate and only when they serve eligible patrons under federal definitions. That narrow scope likely limited debate, since the bill does not alter licensing rules for the broader child care industry or for providers outside the military child care system.