Tennessee Senate Bill SB0054

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/9/25
• Chaptered: 3/24/25
• Passed: 3/24/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 63, Chapter 13, relative to the board of occupational therapy.

Summary

This bill makes a technical update to Tennessee’s laws governing state boards by revising the list of boards and commissions in Title 4, Chapter 29. Specifically, it removes the Board of Occupational Therapy from one section of the statute that lists certain entities subject to automatic repeal or periodic review, and adds the Board of Occupational Therapy to another section that identifies boards that are continued in law. The bill does not change the board’s licensing powers, duties, or regulatory authority under Title 63, Chapter 13. In practical terms, the measure preserves the Board of Occupational Therapy as an active state board and aligns the board’s status in the state’s board-continuation statutes. The bill takes effect immediately upon becoming law, reflecting the legislature’s intent to avoid any gap or uncertainty in the board’s legal existence.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 29, by deleting the Board of Occupational Therapy from the list in § 4-29-246(a) and adding it to the list in § 4-29-250(a). This has the effect of continuing the board’s existence under the state’s sunset/continuation framework. It does not alter the substantive occupational therapy licensing statutes in Title 63, Chapter 13, but it does affect the legal status of the board that administers those statutes and the regulated occupational therapy profession.

Sentiment

The available legislative history suggests broad, noncontroversial support for the bill. The Senate Government Operations Committee recommended passage unanimously, with 6 yeas and 0 nays, and there is no recorded committee transcript indicating opposition or debate. The bill appears to have been treated as a routine administrative or housekeeping measure to maintain the board’s continued operation.

Contention

No notable points of contention are reflected in the available materials. Because the bill is a technical continuation measure, any potential concern would likely have centered on whether the Board of Occupational Therapy should remain subject to continuation review, but no such objection appears in the vote record or other provided context. The absence of committee discussion suggests the measure was not controversial among legislators or stakeholders in the available record.