2022 Legislative Priorities
Legislative Priorities - 2022
April 21, 2022
Proactive Legislation
1. SB1670(Gardenhire)/HB2341(Carringer) - Human Trafficking Education - This bill requires that all school personnel, instead of only teachers, be trained at least once every three years on the detection, intervention, prevention, and treatment of human trafficking in which the victim is a child.
Status: PASSED
2. SB1678(Gardenhire)/HB1736(Alexander) - Adding Economic Abuse to the Definition of Domestic Abuse - This bill adds economic abuse to the definition of domestic abuse.
Status: Off notice
Maintaining Past Gains
3. OPPOSE SB562(Bowling)/HB233(Leatherwood) - Ending Forced & Coerced Marriage in TN - This bill deletes statutes on marriage licensing and ceremonies; limits the jurisdiction of circuit courts and chancery courts in cases involving the definition of common law marriage to the principles of common law marriage.
Status: STOPPED! HB: Sent to Summer Study; SB: Final Bill on Final Floor Vote
4. SB2793(Massey)/HB2113(Eldridge) - Human Trafficking Education & Awareness - This bill requires the department of correction, the department of mental health and substance abuse services, and the department of human services to work with a nonprofit charitable organization to provide mandatory annual training to appropriate personnel in the identification, intervention, prevention, and treatment of human trafficking victims, and in the proper action that should be taken when dealing with a known or suspected victim of human trafficking.
Status: PASSED
5. SB2303(Massey)/HB2234(Littleton) - Expunction for Survivors of Trafficking - This bill removes a conviction for prostitution as a requirement for a person to be eligible for expunction of multiple, nonviolent convictions for offenses that resulted from the person's status as a victim of human trafficking.
Status: HB on Consent Calendar for Monday, April 25; SB Passed
6. FOLLOWING SB2001(Bell)/HB2102(Curcio) - Expunction for Survivors of Trafficking - CAPTION BILL filed as changes the number of days in which a district attorney general may submit recommendations to the court regarding a petition for expunction for offenses related to status as a victim of human trafficking from 60 days to 65 days.
Status: NOT RELEVANT AFTER CAPTION
Partner Priorities
7. (A Better Balance) SB1762(Campbell)/HB1929(Hodges) - Eliminating Local Paid Leave Preemption - This bill deletes prohibition on local governments mandating that employers who do business with the local government or within its jurisdictional boundaries maintain certain sick and family leave policies.
Status: FAILED in Senate Committee
8. OPPOSE (Children’s Advocacy Center) SB2476(Bowling)/HB2575(Doggett) - Protecting Anonymous Reporting of Abuse - This bill specifies that if an anonymous report of harm is made to the department, a juvenile court must not order the parents or person responsible for the care of the child, or the person in charge of any place where the child may be, to allow the department entrance for purposes of interview, examination, and investigation unless the department has presented evidence corroborating the anonymous report of harm.
Status: PASSED
9. (Women’s Funding Network) SB136(Akbari)/HB204(Camper) - CROWN Act - This bill, the "CROWN Act: Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair," defines race and protective hairstyle for purposes of the Tennessee Human Rights Act.
Status: PASSED
10. (AWAKE) SB624(Bell)/HB673(Freeman) - Advocate Confidentiality - This bill prohibits disclosure of certain information by an advocate in regard to a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking in a judicial, legislative, or administrative proceeding unless the victim gives express written consent.
Status: SB PASSED; HB FAILED in House Committee
11. (Healthy & Free Tennessee) SB2769(Akbari)/HB2875(Camper) - Anti-Shackling - This bill prohibits a corrections official from using restraints on a prisoner or detainee known to be pregnant, including during labor, transport to a medical facility, delivery, and postpartum, unless the corrections official makes an individualized determination that the prisoner or detainee presents an extraordinary circumstance; establishes other restrictions on the manner in which a pregnant prisoner or detainee may be restrained under certain circumstances.
Status: PASSED
12. (Healthy & Free Tennessee) SB2150(Massey)/HB2109(Love) - Doula Insurance Study - This bill requires that doula services be provided to recipients of TennCare; requires that the doula services be performed by a person who has received certification from the department of health.
Status: HB in Calendar on Final Calendar; SB Passed
13. (Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic & Sexual Violence) SB2032(Massey)/ HB2006(Gillespie) - Order of Protection Notification - This bill requires the law enforcement agency responsible for enforcing an order of protection to provide a person who has obtained an order of protection issued pursuant to title 36, chapter 3, part 6, with information and a request form to receive notification of any arrest for a violation of the order of protection and subsequent release from custody of the individual against whom the order was entered; requires a jailer or sheriff to maintain a record of the person's request for notification and give immediate and prompt notice of such an arrest or release.
Status: taken off notice; following SB2377/HB2367 instead: HB: in Finance on Tuesday, April 26; SB: in Finance on Tuesday April 26
49 to One Priorities
14. SB2771(Massey)/HB2544(Alexander) - Breast Cancer Preventative Care - This bill requires a health benefit plan that provides coverage to a patient who is 35 years of age or older to include coverage for an annual screening by all forms of low-dose mammography for the presence of breast cancer; requires a health benefit plan that provides coverage for a screening mammogram to provide coverage for diagnostic imaging and supplemental breast screening.
Status: HB: in Finance sub on Tuesday, April 26; SB in Finance on Tuesday, April 26
15. SB1816(Campbell)/HB1951(Freeman) - Firearms Surrender Process - This bill requires a domestic assault offender who transferred possession of a firearm to a third party in order to dispossess the firearm to submit to the court an affidavit of firearms receipt in which the third party attests that the third party may lawfully possess a firearm, has received the firearm from the defendant, and accepts responsibility for possession of the firearm.
Status: Introduced, but never ran
16. SB2519(Gilmore)/HB2280(Powell) - Political Participation of Parents - This bill authorizes the use of campaign funds for the child care expenditures of a candidate that are incurred by the candidate as a direct result of the candidate's participation in campaign-related events and activities.
Status: FAILED in House Subcommittee
Questions or comments can be directed to Jeannine Carpenter, Director of Research and Policy, jeannine@chattanoogawomensfund.org