HFTN’s Proactive Bills:

SB 589 / HB 169: 12 Month Supply for All: Allows all Tennesseans to receive a 12 month supply of birth control at one time, building on the success of our previous win in 2024: extended supply for folks on TennCare.
Sponsors: Senator Raumesh Akbari and Representative Esther Helton-Haynes
Position: Support - Leading
Latest Action: PASSED!

SB 1039 / HB 1102: Requires healthcare facilities to get informed consent before screening or testing pregnant and postpartum patients and their newborns for drugs and alcohol
Sponsors: Senator Janice Bowling and Representative Chris Hurt
Position: Support - Leading
Latest Action: Paused for this year, but hopefully coming back next year!

SB 463 / HB 595: Freedom to Grow Our Tennessee Families Act: Requires both private and public health insurance plans to cover fertility care and preservation services, updates the definitions of fertility care and infertility patient, and adjusts the requirements to receive transitional childcare assistance when exiting public benefits programs.
Sponsors: Senator Richard Briggs and Representative Caleb Hemmer
Position:  Support - Leading
Latest Action: Paused for this year, but hopefully coming back next year!

Priority Defensive (Bad) Bills:

SB 1703 / HB 1699: Allows the state to treat poverty as neglect
Sponsors: Senator Adam Lowe; Representative Kevin Raper
Position: Oppose
Latest Action: WITHDRAWN (defeated for this year!)

SB 2324 / HB 2429: Among other things, allows courts to require parents to pay court costs and fees to the winning party (not DCS) if they lose in child visitation, custody, or dependency and neglect proceedings
Sponsors: Senator Ferrell Haile; Representative Andrew Farmer
Position: Oppose
Latest Action: Awaiting Senate Floor Calendar; Set for House Judiciary Committee on 3/23

SB 2538 / HB 2128: Among other things, requires even more hurdles to get custody of children if a parent has a record of prior CPS investigations or domestic violence. This type of bill is particularly concerning because of the well-documented experiences of survivors of domestic violence who are criminalized or charged with domestic violence for defending themselves or their children. Furthermore, now more than ever, TN laws support DCS and DAs in charging or alleging child abuse or domestic violence against a survivor-parent merely for being in an abusive relationship, even if the children are not harmed.
Similar bill: SB 2539 / HB 2127 (set for House [3/23] Judiciary Committee and passed Senate Judiciary Committee) - Amended to do very little
Sponsors: Senator Tom Hatcher; Representative Rebecca Alexander
Position: Oppose
Latest Action: Taken Off Notice (dead for the year!)

The Right to Have a Child

SB 485 / HB 1904: Creates the Tennessee Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), which incorporates the federal law into our state law and is a small step toward recognizing tribal sovereignty (that Native tribes are their own nations) especially in the child custody and welfare proceedings
Sponsors: Senator Janice Bowling; Representative Bryan Terry
Position: Support
Latest Action: Set for House Judiciary Committee on 3/23; Awaiting calendar in Senate

SB 1565 / HB 1534: Provides additional support for Tennesseans who have had a stillbirth
Sponsors: Senator London Lamar; Representative Johnny Shaw
Position: Support
Latest Action: Awaiting calendar in Senate; Set for House Health Committee on 3/24

SB 1681 / HB 1943: Requires hospitals to stabilize pregnant people before discharging them modeling federal legislation that has recently been undermined by the Trump Administration
Sponsors: Senator London Lamar; Representative Harold Love
Position: Support
Latest Action: Passed the Senate; Set for House Health Committee on 3/24

SB 1770 / HB 2584: Does not allow a divorce proceeding to stop just because one party is pregnant if some conditions are met
Sponsors: Senator London Lamar; Representative Jesse Chism
Position: Support - pregnancy should not be the sole reason to delay divorce proceedings, and we’re a little concerned that these conditions will be tough to resolve before the end of a pregnancy.
Latest Action: Failed in Senate Judiciary Committee

SB 1701 / HB 2053: Requires the Department of Health to gather and publish information on uterine fibroids
Sponsor: Senator Raumesh Akbari
Position: Support
Latest Action: Paused for this year

SB 1655 / HB 1647: Makes kratom an illegal substance and mandates specific testing for Kratom when physicians suspect substance exposure in newborns
Sponsors: Senator Todd Gardenhire; Representative Helton-Haynes
Position: Oppose
Latest Action: Introduced

SB 1755 / HB 1783: Allows Court Appointed Special Advocates to have access to any organizational records they deem important and relevant to adoption proceedings
Sponsors: Senator Ferrell Haile; Representative Ed Butler
Position: Oppose - Nonprofit volunteers should not have the power to subpoena confidential records from places like domestic violence shelters, syringe exchange programs, community defense organizations and more.
Latest Action: Introduced

SB 1605 / HB 2083: Expands zero to three courts, alternative courts for child welfare cases that can trap folks with legal consequences instead of just providing resources
Sponsors: Senator Ferrell Haile; Representative Mary Littleton
Position: Oppose 
Latest Action: Passed

SB 1470 / HB 1879: Limits liability of DCS contractors, closing some of the only avenues for accountability for children harmed by DCS contractors.
Sponsors: Senator Page Walley; Representative Clark Boyd
Position: Oppose
Latest Action: Withdrawn. That means this bill cannot move forward in this form this year!

SB 1723 / HB 1528: Allows lawsuits for “wrongful death” of an embryo. As written, this bill would likely end IVF in Tennessee (similar to ruling in Alabama that forced clinics to close). As amended, this bill only makes a few changes to Tennessee’s wrongful death statute - the person = embryo language was removed.
Sponsors: Senator Janice Bowling; Representative Gino Bulso
Position: Oppose
Latest Action: Scheduled for the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on 3/23

SB 1893 / HB 1715: Allows breastfeeding parent to be excused from jury duty
Sponsors: Senator Janice Bowling; Representative Michael Hale
Position: Support
Latest Action: Passed

SB 1848 / HB 1984: Among other things, allows prescribers of medication used to treat opioid use who are not physicians to prescribe for breastfeeding people.
Sponsors: Senator Becky Massey; Representative Timothy Hill
Position: Support - we wish this type of care was accessible to more folks, but this is a step in the right direction
Latest Action: Awaiting calendar in the House and Senate

SB 1684 / HB 1457: Adds someone in the 2nd or 3rd trimester or has a high risk pregnancy to list of people eligible for a disabled driver sign (can park in accessible spots)
Sponsors: Senator Bill Powers; Representative Gino Bulso
Position: Neutral - There is nothing in current law that prohibits a pregnant person from getting an accessible parking placard if needed.
Latest Action: Amended and set for Senate Transportation Committee on 3/25 and House Transportation Committee on 3/24

SB 2014 / HB 1947: As introduced, this bill could require jails to pregnancy test people as they come into custody and limits the liability of the jails and prisons in the state relative to their care of pregnant people. 
Sponsors: Senator London Lamar; Representative Harold Love
Position: Update! The bill has been amended to remove the concerning provision.
Latest Action: Failed in Senate Health and Welfare Committee

The Right to Not Have a Child

SB 419 / HB 5: Some people who mail abortion pills into the state could be liable for $5 million lawsuit 
Sponsors: Senator Joey Hensley; Representative Gino Bulso
Position: Oppose
Latest Action: Passed the Senate; Scheduled for House Floor on 3/26

SB 837 / HB 849: Creates a definition of person that includes an embryo. While this bill specifically is focused on AI, the definitions section would have wide reaching implications on fertility care, pregnancy care, and how pregnancy losses are treated.
Sponsors: Senator Mark Pody; Representative Michele Reneau 
Position: Oppose - Update! This bill may be amended to exclude fetal personhood language!
Latest Action: Set for House and Senate Judiciary Committees on 3/23

SB 1745 / HB 1472: Prohibits making arguments in court that suggest that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on gender and sexual identity and expression as well as whether someone has had an abortion. While Tennessee law does not currently protect people based on these characteristics / decisions, it would be harmful to prevent advocates from making these arguments in court.
Sponsors: Senator Janice Bowling; Representative Gino Bulso
Position: Oppose
Latest Action: Set for House and Senate Judiciary Committees on 3/23

SB 2482 / HB 2321: Caption bill: We thought this bill would be something else, but the amendment filed would allow the death penalty for rape, commercial sexual exploitation, and human labor and sexual trafficking.
Sponsors: Senator Janice Bowling; Representative Monty Fritts
Position: Oppose
Latest Action: Set for the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee on 3/23

The Right to Raise Families in Safe and Healthy Communities

SB 1915 / HB 1710: Requires local governments and health departments verify citizenship status before providing any public benefits, even those administered by the locality
Sponsors: Senator Ed Jackson; Representative Dennis Powers
Position: Oppose
Latest Action: Awaiting calendar in the Senate; House State and Local Government Committee on 3/24
Related: SB 2108 / HB 1711: requires reporting of use of services by noncitizens [Set for Senate and House State and Local Government Committees on 3/24]

SB 1699 / HB 1482: Safe zones from immigration enforcement
Sponsors: Senator Raumesh Akbari; Representative Gabby Salinas
Position: Support
Latest Action: Failed

SB 1708 / HB 1450: Limits bail funds and others from posting bail or bond
Sponsors: Senator Brent Taylor; Representative Charlie Baum
Position: Oppose
Latest Action: Placed Behind the Budget in the House and re-referred in the Senate (slowed down significantly)

SB 1818 / HB 1746: Prohibits sale of products with PFAs (dangerous forever chemicals that harm repro and overall health) without labels
Sponsors: Senator Heidi Campbell; Representative Bob Freeman
Position: Support
Latest Action: Introduced

SB 1657 / HB 1724: Allow localities to impose fines and fees for dumping toxic sludge
Sponsors: Senator Todd Gardenhire; Representative Ron Travis
Position: Neutral - The legislators brought this bill to allow a city in their district to curb wastewater pollution - but it doesn’t go far enough to protect folks throughout the state
Latest Action:  Introduced

SB 1663 / HB 1446: Prohibits using the term “Palestine” to refer to Palestine
Sponsors: Senator Paul Rose; Representative Chris Todd
Position: Oppose
Latest Action: Passed the House; Set for Senate State and Local Government Committee on 3/24

The Right to Bodily Autonomy

SB 1664 / HB 1665: Prohibits healthcare providers from asking questions about gender to a child unless parents are present and sign informed consent and related directly to the diagnosis or treatment of a specific medical condition
Sponsors: Senator Paul Rose; Representative Aaron Maberry
Position: Oppose - Amended significantly but still not good
Latest Action: Passed

SB 1989 / HB 2082: Explicitly states that refusing to acknowledge your child’s gender/consenting to conversion therapy is not child abuse and cannot be weighed against a parent in “best interest of the child” determinations. 
Sponsors: Senator Paul Rose; Representative Mary Littleton
Position: Oppose - while we wholeheartedly support dismantling the so-called child welfare system, we have real concerns about the safety and wellbeing of queer and trans kids in our state. We see this bill as part of a larger strategy to attack the bodily autonomy of queer and trans folks. 
Latest Action: Passed the Senate; Set for House Judiciary Committee on 3/23