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$tate of utennessee
PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 994
HOUSE BILL NO. 1913
By Representatives Boyd, Mr. Speaker Sexton, Butler, Rudd, Reeves, Gant, Hill, Maberry,
Brock Martin, Capley, Davis, Leatherwood, Lynn, McCalmon, Garrett, Cochran, Gillespie,
Terry, Littleton, Lamberth, Hulsey, Vital, Sparks, Carringer, Cepicky, Hale, Moody, Helton-
Haynes, • Williams, Keisling, Vaughan, Howell, Renea Jones, Tim Hicks, Lankford,
Crawford, Moon, Russell, Todd, Doggett, Hawk, Baum, Scarbrough, Powers, Rudder,
Grills, Kumar, Faison, Marsh, Bricken, Sherrell, Barrett, Zachary, Reneau, Farmer, Reedy,
Eldridge, Slater, Greg Martin, Darby, Stevens, Lafferty, Haston, Wright
Substituted for: Senate Bill No. 2199
By Senators Johnson, Lowe, Roberts, Jackson, Yager, Hensley, Bailey, Seal, Crowe,
Hatcher, Southerland, Stevens, Reeves, Harshbarger, Taylor, Watson, Powers, White,
Massey, Rose, Pody, Walley
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated 1 Title 4, Chapter 5, relative to
administrative rules.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "Regulatory Freedom Act of
2026."
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-5-203(a)(2), is amended by deleting
the subdivision and substituting:
(A) For a rule that affects the regulated community:
(i) Prominently publish the new or amended rule on its home page during
the forty-five-day period prescribed in subsection (b); and
(ii) Make a good faith effort to notify each trade association or
organization known to the agency to be operating in this state that represents the
regulated community and that may be impacted by the new or amended rule at
least forty-five (45) days prior to the public hearing for which there is a period of
public comment regarding the new or amended rule. The notice must be sent by
electronic mail and must include a copy of the new or amended rule. The notice
must invite the association or organization to provide comments during any such
period of public comment, or provide such comments directly to the agency, for
the purpose of generating a fiscal impact statement, as defined in SECTION 3(a);
(B) This subdivision (a)(2):
(i) Applies to agencies whose rules must be approved by the general
assembly; and
(ii) Does not apply to rules that are:
(a) Adopted as required pursuant to a federal law or regulation,
including rules _necessary to maintain federal requirements or where
failure would risk federal financial participation; or
(b) Related to the increase or decrease of professional and
occupational licensure fees by a professional or occupational regulatory
body or boardJ to the increase or decrease of facility licensure fees, or
fees that are required by statute.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 41 Chapter 5, Part 2, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
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(a) As used in this section, "fiscal impact statement" means the estimate of the
actual cost of compliance of a new or amended rule based on its projected and collective
fiscal impact on the regulated community, excluding speculative, anticompetitive, or
hypothetical costs, and the assumptions and reasoning upon which the actual costs of
compliance are based.
(b) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, an agency, for a rule that affects
the regulated community:
(1) Shall generate a fiscal impact statement for a new or amended rule
that is anticipated to have a negative fiscal impact on the regulated community,
including affected industries, businesses, and trades; and
(2) Shall not generate or create a fiscal impact statement for a new or
amended rule until after the public hearing with a period for public comment on
such rule to provide the public and affected industries, businesses, and trades
the opportunity to provide input with respect to the fiscal impact of such rule.
(c) In addition to other requirements under law, an agency, for a rule that affects
the regulated community:
(1) Shall include with each fiscal impact statement proof satisfactory that
the agency sought feedback from representatives of industries, trades, and
businesses, including trade associations and organizations, or individual
businesses, from the regulated community, likely to experience a negative fiscal
impact by the new or amended rule. This subdivision (c)(1) does not prohibit an
individual or business from submitting feedback to the agency anonymously
regarding the fiscal impact of the rule. "Proof satisfactory" under this subdivision
(c)(1) includes the name of each individual, association, and organization that
was invited to provide feedback to the agency for incorporation into a fiscal
impact statement and the industry, trade, or business that such individual
represents unless feedback was submitted anonymously by an individual or
business, in which case the agency shall notate the anonymous submission;
(2) May include, with each fiscal impact statement, feedback from
affected regulatory boards;
(3) Shall include with each fiscal impact statement any information related
to the actual or potential negative fiscal impact of the new or amended rule to an
impacted industry, business, or trade shared during a period of public comment,
if such information was provided;
(4) Shall not separate one (1) or more proposed new or amended rules
for the purpose of segregating the fiscal impact statements with the intent to
bypass the monetary caps specified in§ 4-5-226(c)(2); and
(5) If a fiscal impact statement exceeds the monetary cap specified in§ 4-
5-226(c)(2), shall, as soon as practicable, provide written and electronic notice,
including the fiscal impact statement, to the governor, the speakers of the senate
and house of representatives, and the chairs of the joint government operations
committee that the monetary cap for a rule has been exceeded. If notice is
provided under this subdivision (c)(5) for an emergency rule, the notice must
state that the emergency rule will expire in accordance with the time frames
specified in § 4-5-208(f)(1 )(B).
(d) Each agency shall compile an annual report aggregating the fiscal impact
statements generated for each new or amended rule that affected the regulated
community and that went into effect during the immediately preceding year to illustrate
the total and cumulative fiscal impact of rules promulgated by each such agency.
(e) Each annual report must be:
(1) Filed and published in accordance with this subsection (e) no later
than January 31, 2028, and each January 31 thereafter; and
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(2) Filed with:
(A) The speakers of the senate and house of representatives;
(8) The secretary of state; and
(C) The chairs of the joint government operations committee of the
house of representatives and the senate.
(f) The secretary of state shall prominently publish on its home page a link to
each annual report filed with the secretary of state under subsection (e).
(g) This section:
(1) Applies to agencies whose rules must be approved by the general
assembly; and
(2) Does not apply to rules that are:
(A) Adopted as required pursuant to a federal law or regulation,
including rules necessary to maintain federal requirements or where
failure would risk federal financial participation; or
(8) Related to the increase or decrease of professional and
occupational licensure fees by a professional or occupational regulatory
body or board, to the increase or decrease of facility licensure fees, or
fees that are required by statute.
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-5-226, is amended by designating
subsection (c) as subdivision (c)(1) and adding the following new subdivisions (c)(2)-(4):
(2) With respect to a rule that affects the regulated community, if the agency's
fiscal impact statement of a rule indicates that the negative fiscal impact of the rule is
estimated to exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000) over a five-year period, or over a
one-year period for an emergency rule, as applicable, and if the joint government
operations committee approves such rule, then the rule only becomes effective upon
approval by a majority vote of both the house of representatives and the senate voting
on the rule as a stand-alone legislative measure.
(3) Subdivision (c)(2):
(A) Applies to agencies whose rules must be approved by the general
assembly; and
(8) Does not apply to rules that are:
(i) Adopted as required pursuant to a federal law or regulation,
including rules necessary to maintain federal requirements or where
failure would risk federal financial participation; or
(ii) Related to the increase or decrease of professional and
occupational licensure fees by a professional or occupational regulatory
body or board, to the increase or decrease of facility licensure fees, or
fees that are required by statute.
(4) As used in this subsection (c), "fiscal impact statement" has the same
meaning as defined in Section 3(a).
SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-5-208, is amended by adding the
following new subsection (f):
(f) With respect to a rule that affects the regulated community:
(1)
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(A) An agency shall file a fiscal impact statement in accordance
with SECTION 3(a) and (b) with the secretary of state not later than forty-
five (45) days after an emergency rule goes into effect. The agency shall
comply with SECTION 3(c) for purposes of generating the fiscal impact
statement. If the agency fails to file the fiscal impact statement pursuant
to this subdivision (f)(1 ), the emergency rule cease.s to be effective the
day after such forty-five-day filing period expires; and
(8) Notwithstanding this section, if the fiscal impact statement of
an emergency rule has an anticipated negative fiscal impact in excess of
one million dollars ($1,000,000) over a one-year period, the emergency
rule expires upon the earlier of the following:
(i) One hundred eighty (180) days after becoming effective;
(ii) The adjournment of the next special session convened
by the general assembly for any reason; or
(iii) The fourteenth legislative day of the next regular
legislative session of the general assembly.
(2) If the general assembly is convened in a special or regular legislative
session, the general assembly may approve an emergency rule that would
otherwise expire under subdivision (f)(1)(8) by adopting the rule by a majority
vote of both the house of representatives and the senate.
(3) This subsection (f):
(A) Applies to agencies whose rules must be approved by the
general assembly;
(8) Does not apply to rules that are:
(i) Adopted as required pursuant to a federal law or
regulation, including rules necessary to maintain federal
requirements or where failure would risk federal financial
participation; or
(ii) Related to the increase or decrease of professional and
occupational licensure fees by a professional or occupational
regulatory body or board, to the increase or decrease of facility
licensure fees, or fees that are required by statute; and
(C) Does not apply to an emergency rule that is adopted by an
agency as a temporary rule in response to a new or amended state law
authorizing or requiring the promulgation of rules while the agency is
developing a permanent rule in response to such state law.
SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-5-102, is amended by adding the
following new subdivision:
( ) "Regulated community":
(A) Means the private industries, trades, organizations, businesses,
individuals engaged in commercial activity, or individuals subject to professional
or occupational licensure that are regulated by the agency rule; and
(8) Does not include individuals who are only indirectly impacted as
applicants or recipients of a government service.
SECTION 7. This act takes effect January 1, 2027, and applies to rules for which a
notice has not been filed with the secretary of state prior to January 1, 2027, the public welfare
requiring it.
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HOUSE BILL NO. 1913
PASSED: April 16, 2026
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CAMERON SEXTON, SPEAKER
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
.. RANDYMCNA
SPEAKER OF THE SEN
I APPROVED this °I t:t. day of ~ 2026
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BILL LEE, GOVERNOREvery fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.