At the conclusion of the 114th General Assembly, Tennessee legislators passed SB1413/HB1376, a lengthy bill overhauling the regulation of Hemp-Derived Cannabinoid Products (HDCPs). The bill was controversial and while some...more
5/8/2025
/ Alcohol Beverage Control ,
Cannabis Products ,
Hemp ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Manufacturers ,
Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retailers ,
State and Local Government ,
Tennessee
The 114th Tennessee General Assembly concluded its first regular session on April 22, making it one of the most fast-paced sessions in recent years. Despite this compressed timeline, our government relations team successfully...more
4/25/2025
/ Cannabis Products ,
Environmental Policies ,
FCC ,
General Assembly ,
Hospitals ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Public Utility ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Solid Waste ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
State Legislatures ,
Tennessee ,
THC ,
Utilities Sector
On Tuesday, January 14, Tennessee’s 99 Representatives and 33 Senators gaveled into session for the first official day of business as the state’s 114th General Assembly. Among the first tasks were electing the top leadership...more
1/21/2025
/ Filing Deadlines ,
General Assembly ,
Governor Lee ,
Governors ,
Immigration ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Policy ,
Senate Committees ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Technology ,
Tennessee ,
U.S. House
The November 5, 2024, elections in Tennessee have concluded with significant outcomes that will shape the state’s political landscape for the coming years. This election cycle saw key races across various levels of...more
The Tennessee General Assembly convened for the second session of the 113th General Assembly on Tuesday, January 9, 2024.
Notably missing from the Senate was Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, who is recovering at home from a...more
On August 21, the 113th General Assembly convened for its first extraordinary or “special” session called by Governor Bill Lee to address public safety concerns. A host of security modifications had been made to the capitol...more
The 113th General Assembly adjourned its first of two annual regular sessions on April 21, 2023, approximately one month after the Covenant School shooting. Calls for school safety measures and gun control action in the...more
The Bass, Berry & Sims Government Advocacy & Public Policy team of Erica Vick Penley, Jacob Baggett, and Mallorie Kerby are pleased to announce the passage of SB378/HB403. With Governor Lee’s signature expected but pending,...more
The Tennessee General Assembly convened for the first organizational day of the 113th General Assembly on Tuesday, January 10, 2023. The initial days of a General Assembly that spans two years are filled with much ceremony as...more
On Tuesday, November 8, the state’s electorate weighed in on nine congressional House seats, the governorship, 17 of the 33 state Senate seats, the entire 99-member state House, and a slew of local elections. We wanted to...more
The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently released a published opinion that held that the Dormant Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution applies to cannabis laws and regulatory regimes. The cases are Northeast...more
The landscape of legislative races experienced significant change as a result of legally-contentious redistricting efforts that occurred earlier this year. We wanted to take a moment to highlight outcomes of some of the more...more
The 112th General Assembly adjourned sine die on April 28th, 2022, but many of the successful measures will become effective on July 1st. Public Chapter 1087 – one of the most weighty and intricate bills – made changes to...more
6/29/2022
/ Campaign Finance Reform ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Election Related Expenditures ,
General Assembly ,
IRS ,
Political Candidates ,
Political Committees ,
Political Contributions ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Transparency
Tennessee lawmakers reconvened on January 11 in Nashville for the second session of the 112th General Assembly. While the start of the 2021 session was notable due to COVID-19 mitigations that included limited access to...more
At 1:35 a.m. on October 30, the Tennessee General Assembly adjourned its COVID-19-focused extraordinary session. Out of over 80 bills filed, only a handful passed both chambers. Despite that low figure, the effects are...more
11/3/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Corrections ,
Health Care Providers ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Masks ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Special Sessions ,
Tennessee ,
Vaccinations
In a much anticipated joint statement, Lt. Governor Randy McNally and Speaker Cameron Sexton announced on Tuesday that they have obtained the signatures of two-thirds of the members of each of their respective chambers to...more
10/21/2021
/ Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
District Attorneys ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Orders ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Parental Consent ,
Parental Rights ,
Rules of Civil Procedure ,
School Boards ,
Special Sessions ,
State Legislatures ,
Vaccinations
The 112th General Assembly adjourned for the year, finishing the first year of the two-year session just after 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday night. Legislators worked to keep the General Assembly running as smoothly as possible as...more
5/7/2021
/ Certificate of Need ,
Criminal Justice Reform ,
General Assembly ,
Governor Lee ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
State Legislatures ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wine & Alcohol
The 112th General Assembly of the state of Tennessee convened on Tuesday, January 12, for an organizational session to begin the first year of the two-year session. During the organizational session, members were sworn in and...more
While the country awaits the results of the presidential race, Tennessee’s unofficial results are clear with Republicans winning the night. As expected, President Trump was the clear winner in Tennessee with unofficial...more
The second special session of the 111th General Assembly concluded around 7:00 pm Wednesday, having been called by Governor Bill Lee to reconsider civil liability protection from COVID-19 related actions, among other issues....more
The 111th Tennessee General Assembly completed its final order of business for the year in the early morning hours of June 19 following a marathon through-the-night session that began at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, June 18. The final...more
On June 2, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced the Tennessee Business Relief Program (Business Relief Program) aimed at helping small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Business Relief Program will be managed by...more
On Monday, March 30, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee issued Executive Order Nos. 21 (EO 21) and 22 (EO 22) (collectively, the Safer at Home Orders) urging Tennesseans to stay at home when possible and mandating the closure of...more
On Thursday, March 19, the Tennessee General Assembly recessed until June 1 amid the COVID-19 emergency. Since announcing on Friday, March 13, that only legislators, staff, and media would be allowed in the state’s...more
Tennessee lawmakers reconvened Tuesday in Nashville for the second session of the 111th General Assembly. While 2019 was notable for the number of new faces in the Capitol — a new governor in Bill Lee and over 30 legislators...more
1/15/2020
/ Certificate of Need ,
Criminal Justice Reform ,
Education Reform ,
General Assembly ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Paid Leave ,
Public Schools ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures