Tennessee Senate Bill SB2239

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/2/26
• Engrossed: 2/23/26
• Enrolled: 4/15/26
• Passed: 4/27/26
• Chaptered: 5/5/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 63, Chapter 6 and Title 63, Chapter 9, relative to continuing education requirements.

Summary

SB2239 requires Tennessee’s medical licensing boards to include nutrition in continuing education for physicians and osteopathic physicians. Specifically, when setting continuing medical education and continuing osteopathic medical education requirements, the boards must require each licensee to complete at least one hour on a topic related to nutrition. The bill states that a licensee only has to satisfy this nutrition requirement once, rather than repeatedly in each renewal cycle. The bill also requires that any nutrition-related continuing education used to satisfy the requirement be available free of charge to physicians. It applies to both the Board of Medical Examiners and the Board of Osteopathic Examination, and it authorizes both boards to adopt rules, including emergency rules if needed, to implement the new requirement. The nutrition provisions are temporary and terminate on January 1, 2033. In terms of state law, the bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated Title 63, Chapter 6 and Chapter 9, which govern medical and osteopathic licensing and continuing education. It adds a new mandatory subject area to the boards’ rulemaking authority and effectively creates a one-time nutrition education mandate for licensed physicians and osteopathic physicians. The act takes effect immediately for rulemaking purposes, while the substantive requirements begin January 1, 2028. The bill appears to have been broadly supported throughout the legislative process. It passed the Senate Health and Welfare Committee unanimously, and later floor votes were overwhelmingly favorable, including final concurrence votes with only minimal opposition. The available record does not show significant committee debate or public controversy, suggesting the measure was viewed as a modest professional education requirement rather than a major policy dispute. The main point of potential contention is the mandate itself: some licensees or professional groups could object to adding a required topic to continuing education, even though the bill limits the burden by requiring only one hour, only once, and only in a free format. Another possible issue is implementation, since the boards must define and approve qualifying nutrition content through rulemaking.

Impact

SB2239 amends Tennessee’s physician and osteopathic physician continuing education statutes by requiring the relevant licensing boards to include a one-hour nutrition topic in continuing education requirements. It affects licensed physicians and osteopathic physicians, and it directs the Board of Medical Examiners and Board of Osteopathic Examination to promulgate rules to carry out the new mandate. The bill also creates a sunset date of January 1, 2033, and delays the substantive effective date until January 1, 2028, while allowing immediate rulemaking.

Sentiment

The bill’s legislative history shows strong support and little visible opposition. It passed committee unanimously and cleared floor votes by wide margins, indicating that lawmakers generally viewed it as a reasonable public-health-oriented addition to professional education requirements. The limited recorded opposition on later concurrence votes suggests only minor disagreement, not broad resistance.

Contention

The principal issue is whether the state should impose a new mandatory continuing education topic on medical professionals, even in a limited form. Supporters appear to favor nutrition education as a low-burden way to improve physician knowledge, while any critics would likely focus on added regulatory requirements, the need for free course availability, and how the boards will define acceptable nutrition content through rulemaking. The bill’s one-time requirement and free-of-charge condition appear designed to reduce those concerns.