The Tennessee General Assembly adjourned its 2025 legislative session on April 22. In total, 2903 bills were introduced, over 300 of which have been signed as of April 30. Here is what you may have missed:
Organized Retail Theft
During the 2025 legislative session, Tennessee joined Arkansas, Colorado, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, Washington, and Utah in a national trend of passing legislation designed to curtail organized retail theft. HB 207, which was signed into law on March 28, expands the offense of organized retail crime to include knowingly using an online marketplace or social media platform to coordinate a meeting to sell or trade stolen items. It also provides for the possession of at least 10 gift cards with the intent to defraud as a form of organized retail theft. This measure takes effect July 1. According to the sponsor of this measure, Representative Jason Zachary (R), this measure was necessary to ensure state law captures “all the technology that’s being utilized now by criminals.” Organized retail theft bills continue legislative action in Illinois, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Wisconsin.
DEI in Education
Tennessee passed a pair of bills intended to target DEI in education. HB 622 (the Dismantle DEI Act) prohibits local governments and public institutions from considering an applicant’s protected characteristic when making hiring decisions, and bans hiring based on diversity, equity, or inclusion in the workplace. SB 1084 (Dismantling DEI Departments Act) prohibits public institutions of higher education from using “discriminatory preferences” designed to increase diversity, equity, or inclusion (DEI). It bars the establishment or maintenance of any DEI offices or programs. Both bills await the signature of Governor Bill Lee (R). According to Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, the purpose of this measure was to “make sure that we are not discriminating when it comes to delivering services to our constituents.” Governor Bill Lee (R) has signed legislation targeting DEI in the past, notably the 2022 Divisive Concepts Act, which prohibits institutions of higher education from using critical race theory training methods, and 2024’s HB 2100, which prohibits banks from considering whether a customer has participated in DEI training in making financial decisions.
Budget
The legislature passed the 2025 budget, which totaled $99.5 billion and includes several notable health care, social services, and energy provisions. These include $95.5 million for the Shared Savings program to provide long-term care for the elderly and $24 million for continuing a pilot program to address unmet dental service needs. Further, the budget appropriates $50 million to create a Small Modular Reactor Fund to support existing nuclear projects with the Tennessee Valley Authority, a $10 million investment in the Nuclear Energy Fund and an equivalent investment in nuclear workforce vocational education. In Tennessee, the Governor has the authority to use a line-item veto and to reduce certain appropriation levels.
Looking Ahead to 2026
The 2026 legislative session is scheduled to convene on January 14, 2026. All bills in Tennessee carry over from odd to even-year sessions