Tennessee General Assembly Recap: What bills passed and failed in the legislature?
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Now that lawmakers have officially concluded their business and the 113th General Assembly has adjourned sine die, here are some of the things lawmakers could and couldn’t get passed this term.
Education Freedom Scholarship Act
Months of lobbying and public support from Gov. Bill Lee wasn’t enough for lawmakers to pass the Education Freedom Scholarship Act, also known as school vouchers, through the general assembly this year.
After the governor announced the plan in November 2023, the measure saw immediate resistance from lawmakers across the aisle. Between allowing “government money” into private schools, testing requirements and the lack of accountability measures proposed in the bill, lawmakers in both chambers were unable to work out a compromise that everyone felt comfortable enough to pass, and the bill never made it out of committee, even after lawmakers postponed discussion on it for several weeks.
RELATED: School voucher bill dead for the year
The governor said he was “disappointed” the bill died in the legislature.
Franchise and Excise Tax Cut
In contrast to the school voucher bill, the governor logged a win when the general assembly passed a $1.57 billion tax cut and refund for businesses in the form of the state’s franchise and excise (F&E) tax.
Lawmakers had to go to a conference committee to hash out differences between the chambers’ respective versions of the bill, but they were able to give businesses in Tennessee their biggest tax cut in state history.
The proposal will cut an estimated $400 million in tax revenues from the state budget annually as well as allow businesses to claim a refund of three-and-a-half years’ worth of F&E taxes collected. In order to take the refund, businesses will have to sign a waiver forgoing their right to sue the state over the taxes. They will also have to have their business name listed if they claim the refund.
Read the latest from the TN State Capitol Newsroom
Democrats slammed the measure as a “corporate handout” that was done unnecessarily after some 80-odd businesses allegedly threatened to sue over the property component of the state’s F&E tax. No such lawsuit has been filed, however, and Republicans said the measure was simply “good policy” for Tennessee.
Abortion
Lawmakers took on abortion in a couple of different ways over the last two years, blocking one bill that would add more exceptions to the state’s abortion ban and passing another that would criminalize people who transport minors across state lines to get an abortion if they need one.
An effort to allow children 12 and under to receive an abortion failed to make it out of committee after Republicans accused the bill of allowing “late-term” abortions. The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) said the bill would align with statutes prohibiting rape of a child and the state should not further traumatize children who are raped and end up pregnant.
‘I’m tired of giving money to the ACLU’: TN Senate batting away bills expected to end in lawsuits
A bill that did pass was one that created the offense of “abortion trafficking,” brought by Rep. Jason Zachary (D-Knoxville). It creates both criminal and civil penalties if someone “intentionally recruits, harbors, or transports a pregnant unemancipated minor” anywhere within the state for the purpose of obtaining a “criminal abortion” or for obtaining an abortion-inducing drug for that minor.
LGBTQ
The 113th General Assembly passed a number of bills deemed anti-LGBTQ by advocacy groups like the Tennessee Equality Project. They published a list in January of 2024 dubbed the “slate of hate” that enumerated bills they said attacked LGBTQ individuals. Many of them failed, but some were able to make it through the chambers on Capitol Hill.
The drag ban bill was passed by the legislature and signed by the governor in 2023, but a federal judge struck it down last year as unconstitutional. The legislature also banned doctors from giving minors gender-affirming care through surgery or puberty blockers last year, which has also been challenged in court.
TN lawmakers OK bill criminalizing adults who help minors receive gender-affirming care
Relatedly, the general assembly passed a measure allowing for civil penalties against people who transport minors across state lines to receive gender-affirming care.
This year lawmakers also attempted a prohibition on any flags other than the U.S. and state flag being displayed in all Tennessee public schools. It passed in the House, but the Senate was where it died, failing to receive the constitutionally-required number of votes to become law in Tennessee.
Firearms
Even after the Covenant School shooting in 2023, Tennessee lawmakers showed they had no interest in enacting more restrictions on firearms in the state.
Lawmakers tanked efforts to pass “red flag laws” during a public safety special session in August, opting instead to preempt any legislation on the subject and prohibiting local governments from enacting their own versions of extreme risk protection orders.
Additionally, one of the more controversial bills taken up in 2024 is a measure that passed at nearly the last minute: allowing teachers to conceal carry on school grounds under specific conditions. The bill states a school principal, district director of schools and local law enforcement agency can enter into a memorandum of understanding that would allow the school’s teachers to carry.
Gov. Bill Lee signs bill allowing armed teachers in schools
If the MOU is signed by all three entities, teachers who wish to carry would be required to pass a background check and psychological evaluation, submit to fingerprinting, and take 40 hours of school safety-specific firearms training. Multiple Middle Tennessee school districts have already said they will not opt for that MOU and instead rely on SROs already employed.
Gov. Bill Lee signed the measure Friday.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
