NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Months after Tennessee lawmakers wrapped up a chaotic legislative session, many of the most contested laws are set to take effect Saturday, including measures on health care for transgender children , police surveillance, school security and teacher compensation.
The new fiscal year begins July 1 in Tennessee, which means the state’s latest spending plan and a slew of new laws will be implemented.
This year, hundreds of laws have been passed by the state’s GOP-controlled General Assembly and signed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who has yet to veto a bill.
But the most eventful part of the month-long legislative session came in the spring, when two Democratic lawmakers were expelled — and another avoided expulsion by a single vote — for participating in a protest aimed at strengthen gun control laws on the floor of the State House. After a March shooting that killed six people at a Nashville school, protesters renewed their call for lawmakers to limit access to guns.
Eventually, Republican lawmakers refused. Instead, the debate will continue in a special session scheduled for later this summer.
In the meantime, here’s a look at some of the notable laws that will be implemented on July 1.
LGBTQ+ RIGHTS
Increasingly, the Republican-dominated legislature has enacted some of the most anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the nation. This year, the first proposal introduced by lawmakers was a ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
Yet a federal judge blocked part of the ban before it took effect. The decision in the lawsuit prevents the state from imposing a ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors. The judge, however, authorized the entry into force of the ban on gender affirmation surgeries for young people.
The law provides for a nine-month phase-out period for medical treatments that began before July 1, but no new treatments can begin. It requires existing treatment to end by March 31, 2024. Healthcare providers who violate the ban would be subject to regulatory discipline and could be prosecuted by the attorney general or private parties. Violations result in a penalty of $25,000.
Meanwhile, a separate law will define “male” and “female” so as to prevent transgender people from changing their driver’s license or birth certificate. The bill passed, despite warnings that Tennessee could risk losing hundreds of millions of federal dollars because it likely violates federal regulations on sexuality and gender identity, but Republican lawmakers have dismissed the concerns.
POLICE CONTROL
Tennessee’s handful of community oversight boards, including one in Nashville that was voted in by voters, will soon be replaced by review boards without the power to investigate allegations of police misconduct. Under the new law, committees can only refer complaints to law enforcement internal affairs units, rather than independently investigating complaints.
Proponents of the need for police accountability pointed to the murder of Tire Nichols, who died in April after being brutally beaten by five Memphis police officers.
FIREARMS LAWS
The Nashville Christian school shooting in March reignited a debate over Tennessee’s relaxed gun laws. Republican lawmakers have largely resisted calls to restrict access to guns. Starting July 1, they are rolling out $232 million to fund school resource officers and make safety improvements in public and private schools, as well as requiring every school to develop annual safety plans.
After the March shooting, lawmakers approved more protections for dealers, manufacturers and sellers of firearms and ammunition from potential lawsuits. The move has drawn outcry from Democrats and others who are calling for gun law reform. Republican supporters, however, said the bill was intended to help businesses in the state’s booming firearms industry.
TAX RELIEF AND INCENTIVES
Authorities approved a variety of tax breaks and incentives, including: $273 million for a three-month sales tax holiday on groceries; more than $150 million in annual tax relief aimed primarily at small businesses; and $350 million for improvements to Memphis sports venues.
SCHOOL CHANGES
Republicans passed a law prohibiting public schools and universities in Tennessee from requiring employees to learn about the biases implicit in trainings. In recent years, they have imposed restrictions on how teachers and professors can talk about race in K-12 classrooms and college campuses.
PAID FAMILY LEAVE
A new bill to fund six weeks of paid leave for teachers and most state employees following the birth or adoption of a child. The law does not include limitations regarding the sex of the parent.
TEACHERS’ UNIONS AND GROUPS
Two new laws target unions and a group of professional teachers.
A law blocks economic incentives for companies, when unions try to use the simpler “card check” method to organize. The legislation includes an exception for a major Ford project that will build electric pickup trucks and manufacture batteries with a South Korean partner company. Ford stopped offering explicit support for union membership at new plants. The company said it was up to the workers to decide.
Another law would ban deductions from educators’ paychecks by professional teachers’ organizations, which is the main method of collecting dues. The change was temporarily blocked in court. The governor-backed law targets the Tennessee Education Association, which has sued and clashed with Lee over past education initiatives, including its school voucher program.
The law also gradually increases the minimum salary for teachers for the 2026-2027 school year to $50,000, which has left some lawmakers conflicted in their support for higher salaries. The Tennessee Education Association asked the judge to uphold the salary increase and block the limitations on dues collection.
NASHVILLE AIRPORT
A new law backed by the Republican-led Legislature will allow state leaders to choose a majority of board members for Nashville International Airport, a move seen as one of many attacks by the state against the liberal-leaning city in recent years.
The board, named the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, previously included seven members chosen by the mayor. With the change, six combined appointments on an eight-member council will be made by the governor and the Speakers of the House and Senate. City officials pursued the change.
Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration told city officials that the agency would continue to recognize the mayor-appointed airport board until a chancery court judge rules on the matter. trial.
In response to the FAA, attorneys for the airport authority said it must abide by state law and, barring legal action, would sit on the reconstituted board on July 1.