The Tennessee Senate passed two measures on Monday that are part of the majority’s “Immigration 2026” package. SB1915 would require local governments to verify a person is lawfully present in the country before receiving government benefits. The bill also would give the state attorney general the authority to investigate complaints and withhold state funds from local governments that do not comply. The House version of the bill passed the State & Local Government Committee on March 31 and is set to go before the Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee on April 8. Also Monday, the Senate passed SB1922, which would require state and local governments to verify immigration status before hiring workers. The House previously adopted its version of that bill, HB1705, on March 16. Other immigration related bills making their way through the legislative process include those directing courts (HB1707/SB1952) and local governments (HB2219/SB2223) to cooperate with federal immigration authorities; requiring tracking of undocumented patients and students (HB1711/SB2108); and creating criminal penalties for undocumented drivers of commercial vehicles (HB1706/SB1587) and anyone living in Tennessee after a final deportation order has been issued (HB1704/SB1779). WPLN has a round up of these measures.

Legislation to limit lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of new state laws has passed both the House and Senate and is now on its way to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk. HB1971 passed the House on March 31. The Senate passed the House bill yesterday. The bill repeals a provision the legislature passed eight years ago that allowed Tennesseans to challenge the constitutionality of new state laws before they suffer any harm. The Tennessean reports that Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti — whose office defends new laws in court — requested lawmakers repeal the measure and reinstate barriers removed in 2018. If signed into law, the measure would require challengers to prove actual damage had been done to have standing to sue. The Tennessean has more on the legislation.

The Tennessee state House Judiciary Committee has passed legislation — HB2079/SB1992 — that would make it a felony for a person to engage in “conduct intended to influence the outcome of an event” which that person has also bet on through a contract on a prediction market like Kalshi or Polymarket. The bill, which was amended by the committee, now goes to the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee. The Nashville Banner reports that prediction markets, which have exploded in popularity, have been under increased legal and media scrutiny after traders have made enormous profits off of bets made on national and world events. Both Kalshi and Polymarket currently offer users the opportunity to place wagers on the outcomes of upcoming Tennessee elections. 

The Tennessee House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee voted to advanced voucher legislation with a wide-ranging amendment from the chair that reduced the expansion by 5,000 (authorizing 35,000 students rather than the 40,000 requested by Gov. Bill Lee) and added language that public school districts would benefit from a hold harmless clause of the program to the extent they verify the immigration status of students. According to the Nashville Banner, the subcommittee spent less than three minutes on the bill before voting 9-3 to recommend the amended bill for passage. Two Republicans — Rep. Gary Hicks, R-Rogersville, and Rep. Mark Cochran, R-Englewood, voted no.

Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Sumner, confirmed he will run to become Tennessee’s next speaker of the Senate and lieutenant governor, Gallatin News reports. Haile, a Gallatin native who has represented District 18 — which includes Sumner and Trousdale counties — since 2013, will seek the Republican nomination for speaker. Under the Tennessee Constitution, the Senate speaker also serves as lieutenant governor and is next in line should the governor’s office become vacant. Haile currently serves as Senate speaker pro tempore, a position he has held since 2018. Meanwhile, three candidates have entered the race to succeed Lt. Gov. Randy McNally in Senate District 5. McNally announced in February he would not run again.

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed SB846/HB1268 with an amendment on March 24. The legislation — introduced by Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Eads, and Rep. Rick Scarbrough, R-Oak Ridge — now goes to the Senate Finance Committee. The bill as amended creates two additional criminal courts in the 30th Judicial District and requires the governor to appoint judges to serve through Sept. 1, 2028. An election for the posts would be held in August 2028, and the winners of that election would serve until Sept. 1, 20230. At the August 2030 general election, voters would elect judges for a full eight-year term. The bill as approved also would create four assistant district attorney general positions and two criminal investigator positions for the judicial district. The House Criminal Justice Subcommittee is set to consider the bill on April 1. The Commercial Appeal has background on the issue.

The Tennessee Senate Finance Ways and Means Committee passed the FAIR Rx Act (SB2040/HB1959) with bipartisan support on March 24. The bill would bar pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from owning the pharmacies they manage, targeting vertically integrated companies like CVS, which has threatened to close all 134 stores in the state if the bill becomes law. Relatedly, the Tennessee Journal reports that Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti is threatening to sue CVS for using customers' pharmacy data to run a political text campaign against the bill. Cost estimates are disputed, with state officials suggesting the bill could cost taxpayers up to $53 million annually, though legislative analysts argue pharmacies could restructure rather than close. The controversy is fueled by audits showing CVS's PBM arm, Caremark, routinely underpaid independent pharmacies and overcharged a federal employee health benefits program by more than $615 million. The Tennessean has more on the developments.

Gov. Bill Lee’s administration has unveiled his annual budget amendment, which is usually a sign that the legislature is within less than month of wrapping up its business for the year. According to the Tennessee Journal, the proposal details $40 million in recurring funding and $190 million in one-time expenditures. Finance Commissioner Jim Bryson noted that the totals were less that officials have become accustomed to because of flat revenues. Funding in the amendment includes money for health programs, including TennCare, Rural Health Clinics and Strong Families Pregnancy Center Grants; housing programs; safety and security programs such as the K-12 School Safety Grants and House of Worship Safety Grants; and a number of tourism projects, including design of an expansion of the National Civil Right Museum. See the full list of proposed spending.

Due to TBA’s Day on the Hill and Big Shrimp Reception this week, our legislative team is taking a break from the Legislative Updates Podcast. Watch for a new episode to release next Friday on Facebook and on the TBA website. As always, you also can follow TBA’s coverage of legislative news in the General Assembly section of the Law Blog or sort all news by category by using the filter tool at the top of the Law Blog page.

Immigration-related proposals continue to advance in both the state House and Senate according to multiple news sources. On Monday, the House passed three bills. The first would require school districts to track and report students by documentation status. That was a change from the original legislation, which would have allowed school districts to deny education to undocumented children. Now the bill must be reconciled with the Senate version, which allows districts to require tuition of undocumented children. The Nashville Banner and WPLN report on HB793/SB836.

The House also passed HB1704 making it a criminal offense to stay in Tennessee for more than 90 days after a final deportation order, and HB1705 giving attorneys general the power to investigate and withhold funding from state and local governments that fail to verify the citizenship of employees. In the Senate this week, members heard a second reading of SJR624 on Monday and then passed the resolution yesterday. It would amend Tennessee’s Constitution to codify that only U.S. citizens may vote in state elections. The Daily Memphian reports on these three measures.

Finally, the House passed HB2185 yesterday. It would authorize the state coordinator of elections to create an electronic portal to access U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data to verify immigration or citizenship status. This bill is scheduled to be considered by the Senate State and Local Government Committee on March 24.