This week we’re watching several bills that target the LGBTQ+ community and reproductive health. We encourage you to use the email campaign set up by the Tennessee Equality Project to speak out against the bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community. And please use the email campaign set up by the TN Advocates for Planned Parenthood to speak out against the bills targeting reproductive health and a woman's bodily autonomy.
Some of the bills we were watching last week have been pushed to this week and there are also bills that will impact education funding, voting rights, decriminalizing marijuana, and paid family leave. Rep. Brandon Ogles (District 61) has filed several bills that would prohibit government response to pandemics and some of them will be voted on and heard in committees this week. This document compiled by Indivisible TN includes email addresses and sample scripts to help you contact legislators. Contacting legislators who sit on committees is sometimes the best way to stop bad bills while helping good bills move forward.
Monday Senate vote, 4/5 @ 4:00 PM
SB1229 – Requires public schools to notify parents/guardians before beginning sexual orientation or gender identity curriculum; prohibits schools from penalizing absent students. Allows parents to opt children out of curriculum.
SB1367 – Enacts the “Tennessee Accommodations for All Children Act” which requires schools to provide accommodations to students who do not want to use multi-person restroom or locker room. Stigmatizes transgender students by requiring separate & unequal facilities.
Monday House Floor vote, 4/5 @ 5:00 PM
Joint Resolutions to recognize conservative commentators Candace Owens & Tomi Lahren.
HB37 Filed by Williamson Co. Rep. Brandon Ogles; prevents state or local gov’t from classifying category of workers as essential or non-essential.
HB999 – Requires each state agency to submit report to Finance, Ways, and Means committee summarizing amounts of federal block grants and how they were used, including any unused or returned funds.
HB976 – Expands types of products that are excluded from definition of “marijuana” to include “all products approved as prescription medication”.
Tuesday House Hearings
HB35 – Filed by Williamson Co. Rep. Brandon Ogles; prohibits government entities and officials from mandating or limiting the number of people who can gather in a home or church. House Cities and Counties Subcommittee
HB204 - Enacts the "CROWN Act: Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair" to define race and protective hairstyle for purposes of the Tennessee Human Rights Act. House Commerce Committee
HB46 – Requires the TN Dept. of Education to develop water testing in public school systems to reduce the potential of lead contamination. House K-12 Subcommittee
HB1114 – Requires Dept. of Human Services to provide childcare services to state officers and employees. House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
HB1252 – Defines a fetus at any gestational age as a “person”. House Civil Justice Subcommittee
HB1288 - Enacts the “Keep Kids in School Act”, which requires schools districts to develop student discipline policies that align with the TN Dept. of Education guidance; the TN Dept. of Education should issue guidance and recommendations to school districts to foster supportive and safe school climates and promote evidence-based discipline practices to keep children in school and reduce criminal justice involvement. House K-12 Subcommittee
Tuesday Senate Hearings
SB136 - Enacts the "CROWN Act: Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair" to define race and protective hairstyle for purposes of the Tennessee Human Rights Act. Senate Commerce & Labor Committee
SB204 – Enacts the ‘Rule of Law Life Act” prohibiting a physician from performing an abortion if a fetal heartbeat or the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotropin is detected and the pregnancy is viable. Violations charged with a Class C felony. Senate Judiciary Committee
SB522 – Caps out-of-pocket insulin cost to $100 for a 30-day supply. Senate Commerce & Labor Committee
SB647 – Restores right of suffrage if a person pays the full amount of restitution owed to a victim. Senate Judiciary Committee
SB672 – Enacts "Tennessee Family Insurance Act" providing paid family & medical leave to all workers in the state. Senate Labor & Commerce Committee
SB697 – Enacts the “Tennessee Marijuana Regulation Act” which decriminalizes marijuana. Senate Judiciary Committee
SB828 – Requires abortion providers to dispose of fetal remains by cremation or burial. Senate Judiciary Committee
SB1224 – Requires businesses that provide unisex bathrooms to post signs at entrance to building. Senate Judiciary Committee
SB1370 - Defines a fetus at any gestational age as a “person”. Senate Judiciary Committee
SB1391 - Removes criminal offense that prohibits a person from carrying a firearm with the intent to go armed. Senate Judiciary Committee
SB1747 - Enacts the “Keep Kids in School Act”, which requires schools districts to develop student discipline policies that align with the TN Dept. of Education guidance; the TN Dept. of Education should issue guidance and recommendations to school districts to foster supportive and safe school climates and promote evidence-based discipline practices to keep children in school and reduce criminal justice involvement. Senate Education Committee
Wednesday House Hearings
HB413 – Decriminalizes possession and casual exchange of less than 1 ounce of marijuana. House Criminal Justice Subcommittee
HB561 – Makes loss of voting rights due to a certain felony convictions a temporary suspension; automatically restores voting rights once sentence is served or pardoned. House Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee.
HB578 – Prohibits gender affirming care to prepubescent minors; prohibits sexual identity change therapy to pubescent minors without recommendations from 3 physicians; punishes violations by parents/guardians as child abuse & by physicians as professional misconduct.
HB800 – Bans textbooks or materials that support & normalize LGBTQ lifestyles. House Education Instruction Committee
HB1001 – Requires BEP to fund full-time school counselors. House Education Administration Committee
HB1020 – Requires schools to provide voter registration info to students who are eligible to vote. House Education Administration Committee
HB1160 – Creates a Class A misdemeanor for knowingly transferring a firearm to someone who is prohibited from possessing a firearm by state or federal law. House Criminal Justice Subcommittee
HB1181 - Requires abortion providers to dispose of fetal remains by cremation or burial.
HB1233 - Enacts the “Tennessee Accommodations for All Children Act” which requires schools to provide accommodations to students who do not want to use multi-person restroom or locker room. Stigmatizes transgender students by requiring separate & unequal facilities. House Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee
HB1251 – Requires voters to request absentee ballots in writing. House Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee.
HB1295 - Enacts "Tennessee Family Insurance Act" providing paid family & medical leave to all workers in the state. House Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee
HB1324 – Allows use of college IDs as voter identification. House Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee.
HB1388 – Removes criminal offense that prohibits a person from carrying a firearm with the intent to go armed. House Criminal Justice Committee
HB1460 - Public schools should provide age-appropriate instruction on Black history to fifth & eighth grade students; directs the TN Dept of Education to provide resources & materials to schools. House Education Instruction Committee
HB1527 - Changes the nomination process for candidates for United States senator from a primary election to nomination by state legislature caucus. House Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee.
HB1574 – Allows restoration of voting rights for people convicted of Class E, D, or C felonies. House Criminal Justice Subcommittee
Wednesday Senate Hearings
SB914 - Requires schools to provide voter registration info to students who are eligible to vote. Senate Education Committee
SB808 – Enacts the “Adequate Funding Program for Education” to revise public school funding through the BEP. Senate Education Committee
SB1257 – Funds social worker positions in public schools. Senate Education Committee
SB1410 - Requires the TN Dept. of Education to develop water testing in public school systems to reduce the potential of lead contamination. Senate Education Committee