More than 200 new Tennessee laws took effect at the start of Tennessee’s fiscal year on July 1, 2024. Some of them took effect immediately after being signed by Governor Bill Lee. These laws have addressed issues ranging from gun access and criminal justice to protecting musicians with artificial intelligence. New Tennessee laws address AI regulation, Second Amendment rights, and victim protection (including child/children).

House Bill 878 was recently passed by the Tennessee House of Representatives and the Tennessee Senate. It was introduced by House sponsor Representative Monty Fritts and signed by Governor Bill Lee on February 21, 2024. This law allows wedding planners to legally discriminate against couples who enter into interracial and same-sex marriages on religious grounds. Monty Fritts said: “This bill was designed to protect the rights of wedding officiants or officiants.” This is from Senate Bill 596, Effective Date: February 21, 2024, Public Chapter 511. Tennessee became the first state in the nation to include voice protection in its name, image, and likeness (NIL) protection laws with the ELVIS Act – The for the house. 2091. The ELVIS (Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security) Act of 2024 ensures that singers retain property rights in their voices and voices against illegal infringement. The act prohibits the use of AI to clone an artist’s voice without consent and is punishable as a Class A felony. It was passed by the Tennessee House of Representatives on March 4, 2024, and passed by the Tennessee Senate on March 7, 2024. It was signed by Governor Bill Lee on March 21, 2024. This is from Senate Bill 2096, Effective Date: July 1 2024, public chapter 588.
Criminal offense for repeat offenders – Lawmakers passed legislation this year to continue to address the problem of persistent crime. A new law creates a Class E felony for being a three- to five-time repeat offender of 37 different crimes. After five or more felony convictions within the past 10 years, the offender would be subject to a Class E felony charge at a judge’s discretion. A Class E felony is punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $3,000. After three or more convictions for certain repeat violent offenses (domestic abuse and child neglect), the third or subsequent conviction could be raised from a Class D felony to a Class E felony. This is from Senate Bill 2155, Date entry into force: July 1, 2024, Public Chapter 987.
Dr. Benjamin Mauck Act – Lawmakers passed a law that increases the penalties for assault in a medical facility. On July 11, 2023, dr. Benjamin Mauck was shot three times at his Collierville medical center. A week before, his life had been threatened by the person who killed him. The law increases the penalty for assault in health care facilities to a Class A misdemeanor and aggravated assault in health care facilities to a Class C felony. From Senate Bill 1709, Effective Date: July 1, 2024, Public Chapter 928. Back the Blue Act – A new law increases the penalties for assaulting a police officer from a Class A felony to a class E felony. The law also increases the mandatory minimum sentence from 30 days to 60 days and the fine from $5,000 to $10,000. From Senate Bill 2062, Effective Date: July 1, 2024, Public Chapter 976 Penalizing false reports of active shooter – Lawmakers passed a law this year to increase protections against intentional false reporting of emergency situations in Tennessee , often referred to as “swatting”. ” The law makes it a Class C felony to knowingly make a false report of an active shooter and hostage situation in order to draw a large law enforcement response to a particular location. This legislation expands previous state law that made it a Class C felony to knowingly make a false report of a past, present, or future bombing or fire. From Senate Bill 2222, effective date: July 1, 2024, public chapter 794.
Threats of violence in schools – A new law strengthens the penalty for threatening mass violence on school property or at a school-related activity in Tennessee. The law increases the offense from a class A felony to a class E felony. This law does not apply to people with intellectual disabilities. From Senate Bill 2263, effective date: July 1, 2024, public chapter 887.
DUI Enhancements – Lawmakers passed legislation that increases penalties for drunk drivers. The law increases the jail requirements for drunk drivers from two days to seven days if their blood alcohol content (BAC) is equal to or greater than 0.15. From Senate Bill 1055, Effective Date: July 1, 2024, Public Chapter 1011. License Plate Flipper Ban – The General Assembly passed legislation criminalizing the sale, manufacture, purchase, and possession of license plate flippers. The new law makes it a Class B misdemeanor to purchase or possess license plate flippers and a Class A misdemeanor to manufacture, distribute and sell license plate flippers. License plate flaps allow drivers to switch between their legitimate plate and a blank or expired plate. They are sold in several physical and online retailers. Concealing a license plate remains a Class C misdemeanor in Tennessee. This new law will increase the penalty for concealing a license plate if a license plate flipper is involved. From Senate Bill 2585, effective date: July 1, 2024, public chapter 870.

***See upcoming issues for a continuing list of new laws in Tennessee