(NASHVILLE) July 1, 2022 not only marks the beginning of a new fiscal year, but it is also the date that many new laws will go into effect in Tennessee.  From the state budget to public safety measures, the following is a list of key legislation passed by the General Assembly in 2022 that will become law July 1.

Budget and Tax Relief

Budget — This year’s no-debt budget highlights lawmakers’ continuous efforts to cut taxes for Tennesseans, maintain fiscal responsibility, ensure public safety and prioritize education. Going into effect on July 1, 2022, it invests $52.8 billion in the state of Tennessee for the 2022/2023 fiscal year, with total legislative initiatives making up $84.1 million recurring and $570.8 million in non-recurring expenditures.

Senate Bill 2897 sponsored by Johnson, Massey / Public Chapter 1130 / July 1, 2022

Removing license plate registration fee – From July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023 Tennesseans will not have to pay the state’s annual license plate registration fee of $23.75. This is a financial relief measure that will only benefit Tennesseans and not out-of-state residents who shop and do business in Tennessee.

Senate Bill 2491 sponsored by Watson, Bailey, Briggs, Crowe, Gardenhire, Haile, Hensley, Jackson, Massey, Roberts, Rose, Walley, White / Public Chapter 1143  / July 1, 2022

Compensating vendors for sales tax collections — Vendors in Tennessee are the state’s chief tax collectors, hiring the personnel, investing in the software and putting in the time to collect more than $11 billion every year for the state. Until 2000, vendors were compensated for their trouble, but not since that year due to financial challenges the state was experiencing at the time. A new measure restores compensation for vendors to collect tax to pre-2000 levels. Vendors receive 2% of the first $2,500 on each report, and $1.15% of amounts over $2,500 on each report.

Senate Bill 500 sponsored by Lundberg, Yager, Crowe, Stevens, Walley, Watson / Public Chapter 1082 / July 1, 2022

K-12 Education

Blocking obscene materials on school computers – A new law was passed to ensure vendors that contract with schools comply with state law to prohibit pornography and obscene materials from school computers. It requires vendors to take steps to block any inappropriate content on school computers. If a provider fails to comply with the new law, then a LEA may withhold further payments to the provider and ultimately consider non-compliance a breach of contract. The law also requires each local board of education to establish a mechanism for parents to report a failure of the technology selected by the LEA to prevent access to harmful materials, and submit an annual report to the State Board of Education on the successes or failures of the technology.

Senate Bill 2292 / sponsored by Bell, Bailey, Bowling, Rose / Public Chapter 1002 / Jul 1, 2022

Expanding human trafficking training in schools – A new law will require all school employees to be trained to detect and prevent human trafficking of children. Previously, only teachers were required to take the training. Under this new law, all personnel that aren’t contractors, including bus drivers, janitors or cafeteria workers, will be required to undergo the same human trafficking training as teachers every three years. Sometimes a bus driver or a janitor might be able to observe signs of abuse in students before a teacher. This new law ensures other staff will have the training to know how to identify abuse and report it. The training course would be online and last roughly 45 minutes to an hour.

Senate Bill 1670 / sponsored by Gardenhire, Crowe / Public Chapter 1021 / goes into effect July 1, 2022

Ensuring fairness in girls’ sports / K-12 – The General Assembly approved a new law to enforce legislation passed last year that prohibits biological males from participating in girls’ sports in public K-12 education institutions. The new law requires the Tennessee Department of Education to withhold a portion of state funds from public middle or high schools that fail or refuse to uphold state law and instead allow biological males to compete in girls’ sports at public K-12 schools.

Senate Bill 1861 / sponsored by Hensley, Stevens / Public Chapter 909 / July 1, 2022

Taking action against abortion advocacy in public schools — A new law prohibits an LEA or public charter school seeking assistance in teaching family life from knowingly entering into an agreement with a person or entity that performs abortions, induces abortions, provides abortion referrals, or provides funding, advocacy or other support for abortions.

Senate Bill 2158 / sponsored by Hensley, Bowling, Rose, Stevens, White / Public Chapter 950 / July 1, 2022

Revising teacher evaluation criteria — A new law requires greater consideration of student achievement in teacher evaluations. The measure lowers the teacher observation component of the evaluation from 50% to 40% and increases the student achievement component from 15% to 25% to more adequately measure the proficiency of students.

Senate Bill 2155 / sponsored by Hensley, Stevens / Public Chapter 991 / July 1, 2022

Alleviating school staffing challenges – To address ongoing staffing challenges in schools, a new law allows retired members of the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) to be reemployed as a K-12 teacher, K-12 substitute teacher, or as a K-12 bus driver without the loss or suspension of the retired member’s TCRS benefits. Currently, retired members of TCRS may return to work, but only for a maximum of 120 days. This bill removes that limit and extends service to one year renewable annually, provided there are no other qualified applicants. During the reemployment, retirement benefits would be reduced to 70 percent of the retirement allowance the member is otherwise entitled to receive, and the existing salary cap would be removed. The bill is effective from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025.

Senate Bill 2702 / sponsored by Yager, Crowe, Jackson, Powers, Walley / Public Chapter 821 / July 1, 2022

Establishing a 10-point grading scale for Tennessee schools — To align with neighboring states, the General Assembly approved legislation to establish a 10-point grading scale for grades nine through 12 in schools statewide. Tennessee is currently on a seven-point grading scale. Starting with the 2022-2023 school year and thereafter, the “A” letter grade corresponds to scoring a percentage between 90 and 100, the “B” grade is between 80 and 89, the “C” grade is between 70 and 79, the “D” grade is between 60 and 69, and the “F” grade is within the range of zero and 59. The move will also generate additional scholarship recipients by lowering the threshold for an “A” grade from 93 to 90.

Senate Bill 388 sponsored by Powers , Bowling, Massey / Public Chapter 1080 / July 1, 2022

Higher Education

Increasing access to Tennessee Promise Scholarship – Overachieving students who graduate from high school early will now be eligible to receive the Tennessee Promise scholarship upon their early graduation, under a new law. The Tennessee Promise Scholarship provides students a last-dollar scholarship, meaning the Tennessee Promise covers tuition and fees not covered by the Pell Grant, the HOPE scholarship, or TSAA funds.

Senate Bill 2631 / sponsored by Niceley / Public Chapter 1125 / July 1, 2022

Expanding financial assistance to disadvantaged students — A new law will expand the Ben Atchley Grant, which was established in the 1990s to provide financial assistance to disadvantaged students. The new measure allows for-profit, private postsecondary institutions that are accredited and domiciled in Tennessee to be able to provide the grant to its students. Just one college in the state, South College, which has locations in Knoxville and Nashville, meets these criteria. The grants will be funded by a transfer of $2 million from the Tennessee Students Assistance Award, which sees $113 million each year, of which $103 million is spent.

Senate Bill 1025 sponsored by Briggs / Public Chapter 1018 / July 1, 2022

Criminal Sentencing / Public Safety

Truth in Sentencing – To protect victims of crime and provide true accountability for those who commit crimes, a new law requires a person convicted of certain offenses to serve 100% of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release. It ensures criminals convicted of eight different offenses would have to serve 100% of their sentence undiminished by any sentence reduction credits for which the person is eligible or earns. These eight offenses include: attempted first degree murder, second degree murder, vehicular homicide, especially aggravated kidnapping, especially aggravated robbery, carjacking, and especially aggravated burglary. A person convicted of one of these eight offenses could still earn credits that can be used for increased privileges, reduced security classification, or for any purpose other than the reduction of the sentence imposed by the court. Under the legislation, another 16 offenses require 100% of the sentence to be served unless the inmate earns a satisfactory program performance. In these cases, a person can receive credits for a GED or job training. These credits could be used for parole eligibility once a person has served a minimum of 85% of their sentence.

Senate Bill 2248, sponsored by McNally, Lundberg, Kelsey/ Public Chapter 988 / July 1, 2022

Increasing transparency in sentencing — Under a new law victims and their families will be better informed about how much time an offender will serve at the time of sentencing. It requires all Tennessee courts to place on the record the estimated number of years and months to be served before a criminal is eligible for parole, as well as the reason for the sentence and enhancements. Currently, when a criminal defendant is being sentenced, it is unknown when that criminal defendant is going to be released unless they are required to serve a 100% sentence without credits.

Transparency in Sentencing is necessary to create true accountability for the criminal justice system. Victims and the general public need to have all information possible. This transparency will help mitigate any false sense of security victims might previously have felt after hearing a ‘full’ sentence imposed.

Senate Bill 2183, sponsored by McNally, Stevens, Bailey, Rose/ Public Chapter 952 / July 1, 2022

Cracking down on child abusers – A new law strengthens penalties for emotional and mental abuse or neglect of children at an unlicensed child care facility. It addresses an incident in East Tennessee, when 23 children were found at an unlicensed child care facility, in a garage and restrained in car seats and high chairs for most of the day. Because no physical abuse had occurred, the punishment for those operating this facility was not as severe as it should have been. The new law enhances the penalty to a Class E felony for any person operating an unlicensed child care facility and found guilty of abuse, neglect or endangerment of a child.

Senate Bill 2748 / sponsored by White, Bailey, Bowling, Rose / Public Chapter 985 / July 1, 2022

Protecting victims of crime — A new measure allows a court to revoke probation or parole for an offender who committed a misdemeanor or a felony if the offender commits a technical violation. The legislation clarifies what constitutes a technical violation. Additionally, it clarifies that contacting a victim is not a technical violation.

Senate Bill 2288 sponsored by Bell / Public Chapter 1060 / July 1, 2022

Joe Clyde Daniels Act – Under a new law, convicted murderers will have a harder time being granted parole if they do not disclose the location of their victim’s remains. The Joe Clyde Daniels Act requires the board of parole to consider the extent to which the offender obstructed or continues to obstruct the ability of law enforcement to recover the remains of the victim when deciding cases involving an offender convicted of homicide.

The bill was prompted by the disappearance of 5-year-old Joe Clyde Daniels from his home in Dickson on April 4, 2018. His father, Joseph Daniels, was convicted of murder in June. However, the child’s remains have never been found. It helps ensure victims can receive a proper burial.

Senate Bill 2223 sponsored by Roberts / Public Chapter 2223 / July 1, 2022

Increasing penalties for boating under the influence — To help keep Tennessee waterways safe, a new law increases penalties for boating under the influence. Called “Nicholas’s Law,” it makes a boating under the influence conviction equal to that of driving under the influence for the purpose of determining whether the offender is a repeat offender. In other words, if someone is convicted of boating under the influence and is later convicted of driving under the influence, they could be punished the same as if they were guilty of two DUIs.

Senate Bill 2736, sponsored White, Rose / Public Chapter 910  / July 1, 2022

Human trafficking — To crack down on criminals who traffick children, a new law will expand the criteria for what qualifies as Class A felony offense of trafficking for a commercial sex act. Under the new law a trafficker will be charged with a Class A felony if the victim is under the age of 18. Under previous statute the victim had to be under 15 for the Class A felony charge to apply. It also creates a Class A felony offense of aggravated trafficking for a commercial sex act, and requires those convicted to serve 100% of any sentence imposed.

Senate Bill 1378, sponsored by Bell, Bailey, Bowling, Crowe, Jackson, Stevens, White / Public Chapter 1089 / July 1, 2022

Strengthening punishment for violent felony offenses — A new law requires individuals that have been convicted of first-degree murder, the perpetration or attempted perpetration of rape, rape of a child and aggravated rape of a child to be sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Senate Bill 2683, sponsored by Rose, Pody / Public Chapter 718 / July 1, 2022

Protecting against sex offenders — A new law prohibits a sexual offender, violent sexual offender, or a violent juvenile sexual offender from renting or offering to rent a swimming pool, hot tub or other body of water used for swimming. Violating this law would be a Class A misdemeanor.

Senate Bill 1786 / sponsored Lundberg, Crowe, Rose / Passed Senate and House / July 1, 2022

Cracking down on drive-by shootings — To impose stricter penalties on criminals who engage in drive-by shootings, a new law requires that a person convicted of aggravated assault that involved the use or display of a deadly weapon be punished one classification higher than otherwise provided by law if the violation was committed by discharging a firearm from within a motor vehicle.

Senate Bill 2087 / sponsored by Rose / Public Chapter 1136 / July 1. 2022

New offenses for heinous crimes — Criminals who commit particularly heinous, worst-of-the-worst crimes will now face new offenses with stronger penalties. A new law creates  offenses for especially aggravated rape, especially aggravated rape of a child, and grave torture. The crimes are punishable by the death penalty or imprisonment for life without the possibility for parole.

Senate Bill 2841 / Sponsored by Hensley, Bowling, Rose, Walley, White, Bailey / Public Chapter 1062 / Section 1, 2, 12 July 1, 2022  Section 4 through 11 thirteen days after either overturning in part or full of Kennedy v. Louisiana  554 U.S. 407 (2008) and/or a ratification to amend the Constitution of the United States to approve the death penalty as punishment for the conviction of the acts above

Expanding the definition of unlawful photography – To protect the privacy of individuals, a new law expands the definition of unlawful photography. The offense previously applied to situations in which a person knowingly photographs someone without consent and the photograph is used for the purposes of sexual arousal or gratification. The new law expands that definition to include photographs taken without consent that include the unclothed intimate area of an individual and that were taken for the purpose of embarrassing or harassing the victim, among other criteria.

Senate Bill 2362,  sponsored by Bowling, Campbell, White / Public Chapter 920 / July 1, 2022

Increasing penalties for litter — A new law increases penalties for illegal dumping of tires. It makes knowingly dumping two or more tires on public or private property without permission a Class A misdemeanor offense of aggravated littering, and also adds a Class E felony offense for a first-time conviction when dumping eight or more tires for commercial purposes.

Senate Bill 2012 /sponsored by Bell, Akbari, Gardenhire, Rose, Stevens/ Public Chapter 1105 / July 1, 2022

Judiciary / Courts

Divorce Court Proceeding — A new law authorizes a court to allow mediation between parties in a divorce proceeding to occur by video conference when appropriate.

Senate Bill 1661, sponsored by Gardenhire / Chapter 697 / July 1, 2022

Receiver of Estate – A new law authorizes the court to appoint a public receiver to make a recommendation on the need for a temporary or permanent receiver over an estate. A receiver is an appointed custodian of a person or entity’s assets. When a business owner passes away without a succession plan, a county legislative body has the power to appoint or elect a public administrator, a public guardian and a public trustee. But oftentimes that business falls apart and loses significant value by the time the estate reaches the courts. The law aims to preserve the value of the business by allowing a judge to appoint a receiver in the front-end of the process.

Senate Bill 1680, Gardenhire / Public Chapter 912  / July 1, 2022

✪ Opioids

Banning dangerous drug sales — A new law bans the sale of tianeptine, which is marketed as an antidepressant and attaches to the receptors in the brain similar to opioids. Also known by its street name ‘Zaza Red’, the drug creates withdrawal similar to heroin, and has not been approved by the Federal Drug Administration for use in any way. The new law applies to all possible substances meant to replicate tianeptine.

 Senate Bill 1997 Sponsored by Bell / Public Chapter 1135 / July 1, 2022

Another, new law enables a broader distribution of opioid antagonists such as naloxone. Roughly 40 states have passed similar bills.

Senate Bill 2572 / sponsored by Crowe, Yarbro, Walley / Public Chapter 749 / July 1, 2022

Health / Healthcare

COVID-19 visitation law – A new law ensures that those who live in nursing homes and assisted living facilities will be allowed to have visitors in end-of-life situations, even during a public health emergency for COVID-19.  It stipulates that visitors must agree to follow safety protocols and cannot exhibit symptoms of COVID-19 or other communicable diseases, and cannot violate federal or state law regulating each facility. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic too many Tennesseans were not able to be with their loved ones in their last days. This law ensures that won’t happen again.

Senate Bill 2574  / sponsored by Crowe, Niceley, Reeves, Walley, White / Public Chapter 1123 / July 1, 2022

New Tennessee Center for Nursing Advancement – A new law aims to address nursing workforce needs by creating the Tennessee Center for Nursing Advancement.  The center would be within East Tennessee State University in conjunction with Ballad Health. The new measure allows the center to collect and aggregate data on nursing turnover, reasons for nursing turnover and successful recruitment practices. The data would be published in reports while maintaining confidentiality and could lead to future policy considerations. There is currently no common database for nursing shortages. ETSU/Ballad have pledged $10 million for the startup of the center, and $1 million a year for management of the center is included in the 2022/2023 budget.

Senate Bill 2401 / sponsored by Johnson, Crowe, Lundberg, Campbell / Public Chapter 885  / July 1, 2022

Improving efficiency of the Certificate of Need process – This year the General Assembly approved a measure to provide funding to reform Tennessee’s Certificate of Need (CON) program and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of how Tennessee’s healthcare system is managed. CON is a legal document required for a hospital or health care facility to locate or expand its capacity. From increasing the number of hospital beds available or the types of imaging that can be conducted, under the CON process a healthcare facility has to apply to the state’s Health Services and Development Agency (HSDA) for permission.

Based on recommendations from HSDA to improve the CON process, the Board for Licensing Healthcare Facilities will merge with HSDA to form the Health Facilities Commission. The funds allocated this year will complete the first phase of the process to create the new Health Facilities Commission and improve CON requirements.

Senate Bill 2466 sponsored by Reeves, Gardenhire, Walley, Watson / Public Chapter 1119 / July 1, 2022

Expanding access to wheelchairs – A new law will expand access to important medical equipment for Tennesseans who need assistance getting around outside their homes. It ensures that those who require Complex Rehabilitation Technology (CRT), defined as high-end, power and manual wheelchairs, are able to obtain them through their health insurance. These chairs are expensive and can range from $25,000 to $45,000, requiring many people to rely on insurance to afford them. However, previously there were policies that deny a wheelchair to someone in need because it is taken outside of their home to places such as church, the grocery store, or doctor’s appointments. This bill prohibits a health insurer from considering the location of where CRT can be used when making the medical necessity determination.

Senate Bill 2134, sponsored by Reeves, Haile, Pody / Public Chapter 973 / July 1, 2022

Ensuring safety in ear wax removal — A new law requires certain coursework in order to administer ear-wax removal services to ensure the process is done safely.

Senate Bill 665, sponsored by Gardenhire / Public Chapter 697 / July 1, 2022

Protecting the Unborn

Taking action against abortion advocacy in public schools (Repeat from Education) — A new law prohibits an LEA or public charter school seeking assistance in teaching family life from knowingly entering into an agreement with a person or entity that performs abortions, induces abortions, provides abortion referrals, or provides funding, advocacy or other support for abortions.

Senate Bill 2158 / sponsored by Hensley, Bowling, Rose, Stevens, White / Public Chapter 950 / July 1, 2022

Child Safety / Wellbeing / Human Trafficking

Increasing safeguards for residential child care agencies – As a result of the Joint Study Commission on Refugee Resettlement Issues, a new law puts into place additional safeguards of reporting requirements for residential child care agencies (RCCAs). Under the new law, RCCAs would be required to disclose all contracts in agreement with third parties to provide care, housing and placement for children in Tennessee in order to receive a new license or license renewal. Additionally, it requires the Department of Children’s Services to revoke the license of a facility that provides residential child care if more than two employees or three percent of employees have been charged with criminal offenses related to their job responsibilities and the children for which the agency cares. It also requires an annual report showing the reasons for transfers of children. Lastly, the law requires the child care facility to report the names of children who have escaped or disappeared from the RCCA.

Senate Bill 2730 / sponsored by White, Stevens / Public Chapter 906 / July 1, 2022

Expanding human trafficking training in schools (repeat from “K-12 Education”) – New laws will require all school employees to be trained to detect and prevent human trafficking of children. Previously, only teachers were required to be trained on the detection, intervention, prevention, and treatment of human trafficking. Under this new law, all personnel that aren’t contractors, including bus drivers, janitors or cafeteria workers, will be required to undergo the same human trafficking training as teachers every three years. Sometimes a bus driver or a janitor might be able to observe signs of abuse in students before a teacher. This new law ensures other staff will have the training to know how to identify abuse and report it. The training course would be online and last roughly 45 minutes to an hour.

Senate Bill 1670 / sponsored by Gardenhire, Crowe / Public Chapter 1021 / goes into effect July 1, 2022

Human trafficking (repeat from “Offenses”) — To crack down on criminals who traffick children, a new law will expand the criteria for what qualifies as Class A felony offense of trafficking for a commercial sex act. Under the new law, a trafficker will be charged with a Class A felony if the victim is under the age of 18. Under previous statute, the victim had to be under 15 for the Class A felony charge to apply. It also creates a Class A felony offense of aggravated trafficking for a commercial sex act, and requires those convicted to serve 100% of any sentence imposed.

Senate Bill 1378, sponsored by Bell, Bailey, Bowling, Crowe, Jackson, Stevens, White / Public Chapter 1089 / July 1, 2022

Elections / Campaign Ethics / Candidate Eligibility

Increasing transparency and accountability to campaign finance – To provide more sunshine to campaign operations, a new law will require state candidates to report all expenditures regardless of the amount and all contributions over $100. It allows for unitemized contributions up to $100; however, if unitemized contributions make up $2,000 or more per statement period, per candidate, then those contributions must be reported. Additionally, a PAC will be audited if unitemized contributions make up more than 30% of the candidates contributions.

Starting July 1, 2022, any PAC that registers must submit a valid government photo ID to the Registry for each officer, treasurer of the committee, and at least one person who directly controls expenditures.

It also requires reporting of expenditures if a 501 (c)(4)(5) or (6) organization spends at least $5,000 for communications naming or showing the likeness of a candidate within 60 days of an election. Expenditures made within ten days of an election must also be reported if the expenditure is over $5,000 for a statewide candidate; $3,000 for a Senate candidate; $1,000 for a House candidate.

The law is a common sense measure that will increase transparency and accountability in the political process. It will ensure that PACs can no longer exploit loopholes and meager disclosure requirements to cloak their activities.

Senate Bill 1005, sponsored by McNally, Haile / Public Chapter 1087  / Section 1-6 and 26 upon becoming law, section 7 and 8 July 16, 2023, all other sections July 1, 2022

Local Government

Protecting public safety and property – To encourage homeless individuals to relocate to safer areas and receive needed assistance, including mental and physical health care, a new law gives local governments a legal mechanism to prevent homeless populations from camping on public property. Similar to the Equal Access to Public Property Act of 2012, which prohibited camping on state public property, this new law prohibits camping on local public property. It provides local governments with the authority to remove homeless camps from local public land. Each local governing body could decide how or if they want to enforce the legislation.

Under the law, the penalty for camping on public property after an initial warning is a Class C misdemeanor offense punishable by either 20 to 40 hours of community service or a $50 fine. The bill lists camping on the shoulder, berm, or right-of-way of a state or interstate highway or under a bridge or overpass, or within an underpass of a state interstate or highway as punishable offenses.

The law aims to ensure public safety for communities and protect homeless individuals from unsafe sleeping situations such as under bridges and near roadways.

Senate Bill 1610 sponsored by Bailey / Public Chapter 986 / July 1, 2022

Commerce / Labor / Consumer Protection

Residential blasting — To address neighborhood concerns about residential blasting, a new law updates blasting requirements, including adding safety processes and protocols. The new law will lower vibrations, increase communications with the public, clean up and remove standards that have been on the books since 1975.

Senate Bill 2055 sponsored by Haile, Yager, Pody / Public Chapter 871 / July 1, 2022

Travel Insurance – A new law clarifies existing regulation for travel insurance. It includes provisions offering savings to the consumer, and prohibits the automatic addition of travel insurance to a booking.

Senate Bill 1868, sponsored by  Yager  / Public Chapter 703 / July 1, 2022

Transportation and Safety

Hannah Eimers Roadside Safety Act – A new law requires robust safety testing of crash cushions and guardrail end terminals located on public highways and roads to ensure safety on Tennessee’s roadways. The law is named after 17-year-old Hannah Eimers, who was tragically killed in 2016 in a car crash involving a guardrail on Interstate 75 in McMinn County. That particular guardrail design saw insufficient safety testing and has since been removed in the state.

 Senate Bill 1671 / sponsored by Massey, Briggs, McNally / Public Chapter 754 / July 1,    2022

Traffic safety — A new law allows a person convicted of speeding to take a defensive driving course within 90 days of their conviction in order to have up to 5 points removed from their driving record. This may be applied to only one speeding offense for each driving course completed and only once in a four-year period.

Senate Bill 2367 / sponsored by Briggs, Stevens / Public Chapter 710 / July 1, 2022

Increasing penalties for boating under the influence (Repeat from “Offenses”) — To help keep Tennessee waterways safe, a new law increases penalties for boating under the influence. Called “Nicholas’s Law,” it makes a boating under the influence conviction equal to that of driving under the influence for the purpose of determining whether the offender is a repeat offender. In other words, if someone is convicted of boating under the influence and is later convicted of driving under the influence, they could be punished the same as if they were guilty of two DUIs.

Senate Bill 2736, sponsored White, Rose  / Public Chapter 910 / July 1, 2022

Environment

Ensuring safety of wake surfing — To ensure safety on Tennessee waterways, a new law prohibits wake surfing between sunset and sunrise on a body of water that is less than 50 acres in size and within 200 feet of any shoreline, among other new rules.

Large wakes can at times be very dangerous. They can contribute to substantial soil erosion along riverbanks and shorelines of lakes. In addition, they can damage docks along the rivers and lakes of Tennessee.

Senate Bill 2107 sponsored by Yager, Bowling / Public Chapter 872 / July 1, 2022

Cracking down on littering — To provide a new tool to neighborhood associations to prevent littering, a new law adds criminal littering and aggravated criminal littering to the list of offenses for which a neighborhood association may seek an injunction or restraining order prohibiting a repeat offender from entering the neighborhood. It only applies to repeat offenders dumping 100 hundred pounds or more and targeting specific residential areas.

Senate Bill 2376, sponsored by Rose / signed by Gov. / July 1, 2022

Increasing penalties for littering (Repeat from criminal offenses) — A new law increases penalties for illegal dumping of tires. It makes knowingly dumping two or more tires on public or private property without permission a Class A misdemeanor offense of aggravated littering, and also adds a Class E felony offense for a first-time conviction when dumping eight or more tires for commercial purposes.

Senate Bill 2012 /sponsored by Bell, Akbari, Gardenhire, Rose, Stevens / Public Chapter 941 / July 1, 2022

Energy / Energy Infrastructure

Protecting critical energy infrastructure – To ensure Tennessee’s energy infrastructure can support the state’s economic demands for reliable and affordable fuel, a new law prevents local governments from blocking the development of such infrastructure while preserving local zoning authority. The law applies to storage tanks, pipelines, gas transmission lines and other infrastructure critical to fuel the economy and meet transportation and manufacturing needs.

Energy infrastructure often crosses multiple county lines, so one locality should not have the authority to outright ban energy infrastructure, especially when that infrastructure serves the vital needs of the people of an entire state. Industries involved in energy and energy infrastructure are some of the most highly regulated in the state. Many federal laws already regulate safety aspects of pipeline construction and maintenance.

Senate Bill 2077 sponsored by Yager, Stevens / Public Chapter 1100 / July 1, 2022

Emergency Personnel / Law Enforcement / Correctional Officers

Expanding benefits for firefighters injured in the line of duty — Under previous law, the Barry Brady Act allowed firefighters to be eligible for workers compensation benefits for certain cancers. The act established a presumption that any conditions or impairments of full-time firefighters were caused by certain occupational cancers which occurred while on the job.  Cancers covered are non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, colon cancer, skin cancer, and multiple myeloma. A new law passed by the General Assembly this year expands the list of cancers to which the presumption applies to include leukemia and testicular cancer.

Senate Bill 1569 sponsored by Bailey , Akbari, Gardenhire, Swann, Reeves, Bowling, Gilmore, Kyle, Lamar, Massey, Rose, Stevens, White / Public Chapter 1091 / July 1, 2022

Strengthening protections for police and service animals — Legislation known as Joker’s Law passed this year to strengthen the penalty for anyone who harms a law enforcement or service animal in Tennessee. The new law increases the penalty for anyone who knowingly and unlawfully kills a police dog, fire dog, search and rescue dog, service animal or police horse. Offenders would now be charged with a Class B felony. Anyone between the ages of 14 and 17 who kills or causes serious injury to one of those animals could also be tried as an adult. Previously, killing a law enforcement service animal was a minimum Class E felony. The law is named in honor of Joker, a K-9 with the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office who was seriously injured after being shot during a pursuit last year.

Senate Bill 2013 sponsored by Bell, Pody, Crowe, Johnson, Niceley, Reeves / Public Chapter 1106 / July 1, 2022

Funding for ambulance services — Legislation passed this year extends the ground ambulance assessment for another year through June 30, 2023. The bill could generate over $20 million for local ground-based ambulance services throughout the state.

Senate Bill 1872 by Yager, Bowling / Public Chapter 1052 / Section 2, 4, 6 July 1, 2022

Other

Standing up for Israel – A new law prohibits a public entity from entering into a contract with a company unless the contract includes a written certification that the company is not currently and will not for the duration of the contract be engaged in a boycott of Israel. It includes an exemption for contracts with a total value less than $250,000 and contractors with fewer than 10 employees.

The law is the strongest anti-BDS legislation in the country. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement promotes boycotts, divestments and economic sanctions against Israel.

Senate Bill 1993, sponsored by Watson, Kelsey, Bailey, Bell, Crowe, Gardenhire, Haile, Hensley, Jackson, Massey, Pody, Powers, Reeves, Roberts, Rose, Southerland, Stevens, Walley, White, McNally, Bowling, Yager, Johnson / Public Chapter 775 / July 1, 2022