Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Tennessee General Assembly, fetched 2026-09-25. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. This is the chaptered version. The official bill page.
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PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 980
SENATE BILL NO. 2509
By Oliver, Campbell, Akbari, Lamar, Yarbro
Substituted for: House Bill No. 2413
By Love, Camper, Clemmons, Harris
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 13, Chapter 7 and Title 71, Chapter 3, relative
to childcare agencies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "Tennessee Child Care Red Tape
Reduction Act."
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 71-3-501, is amended by adding the
following as a new, appropriately designated subdivision:
( ) "Fire safety inspection" means an inspection conducted to determine compliance
with fire prevention and life safety codes applicable to a child care agency;
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 71, Chapter 3, Part 5, is amended by adding
the following as a new section:
(a) Legislative findings. The general assembly finds and declares that:
(1) Access to quality, affordable child care is essential to this state's economic
competitiveness and workforce participation;
(2) Child care providers face significant regulatory barriers, including
duplicative inspections, inconsistent requirements, and lengthy approval processes
that discourage business development;
(3) Employers seeking to provide on-site child care for their employees
encounter unnecessary zoning obstacles despite the clear workforce benefits;
(4) Streamlining child care agency licensing will reduce costs for providers,
expedite the opening of new agencies, and better serve this state's families; and
(5) Eliminating duplicative state and local inspections while maintaining
appropriate safety standards serves the public interest.
(b) Priority processing of permit applications by local governments.
(1) Local governments shall establish and maintain an expedited review
process for all child care agency permit applications, including conditional use permit
applications submitted pursuant to subsection (d), that prioritizes the applications
above other non-emergency permitting activities.
(2) Child care agency permit applications must be processed with the same
priority level as affordable housing development applications and must be assigned
for review within five (5) business days of receipt of a complete application.
(3) A local government may:
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(A) Designate sufficient staff to ensure timely processing of permit
applications;
(B) Provide applicants with a single point of contact for all permitting
questions;
(C) Conduct an initial completeness review within ten (10) business
days of receipt and notify applicants of any deficiencies; and
(D) Except as provided in subdivision (d)(6), issue a final permitting
decision within ninety (90) calendar days of receipt of a complete permit
application, unless the applicant agrees in writing to an extension.
(4) If the local government fails to issue a final decision within the ninety-day
period and no extension has been granted, then the permit application is deemed
approved, subject to successful completion of a required fire safety inspection under
subsection (c).
(c) State fire safety inspection authority.
(1) Exclusive inspection authority. Notwithstanding another law to the
contrary, fire safety inspections for a child care agency seeking an initial license or
license renewal must be conducted exclusively by the state fire marshal or its
designated agents. A local fire marshal, fire department, or municipal code
enforcement office shall not conduct separate or additional fire safety inspections for
purposes of child care agency licensure.
(2) Coordination with local authorities. The state fire marshal may consult
with or delegate to local fire officials as needed, but shall issue a single, consolidated
fire safety inspection report for each child care agency. An initial or subsequent
inspection conducted by a local fire official must be coordinated with and conducted
at the same date and time as an inspection conducted by the state fire marshal or its
designated agent.
(3) Uniform standards.
(A) The state fire marshal, in consultation with the department, shall
promulgate rules in accordance with subsection (e) establishing uniform fire
safety standards applicable to all child care agencies statewide. Local
jurisdictions shall not impose additional fire safety requirements for child care
agency licensure that exceed or conflict with state standards unless:
(i) There is a documented, site-specific safety risk; and
(ii) The additional requirement is approved by the state fire
marshal.
(B) Local jurisdictions shall ensure that local building and fire safety
codes and standards are standardized with state standards and the pre-
licensing standards and rules of the department, in a manner that imposes the
least additional regulatory burdens practicable to child c~re agencies in the
. local jurisdiction.
(4) Inspection timing. Fire safety inspections required for licensure must be
scheduled and completed within thirty (30) calendar days of request by the
department or the applicant, whichever is earlier, and must be conducted with the
same priority level as fire safety inspections for affordable housing _developments.
(5). Fee limitation. The state fire marshal's office may charge a reasonable
fee_ for fire safety inspections not to exceed the actual cost of conducting the
inspect.ion. Any such fee must be set by rule and must be the ·only fire safety
inspection fee required for child care agency licensure purposes.
(6) Local building codes. This. subsection (c) does not prohibit a local
government from enforcing generally applicable building codes; provided, that:
{A) The enforcement. does not duplicate fire safety inspections
conducted under this subsection (c);
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(8) Requirements are applied uniformly to all similar commercial uses
and are not specifically targeted at child care agencies; and
(C) The enforcement is conducted with the same priority level as
similar enforcement for affordable housing developments.
(7) The state fire marshal shall publish on its webpage a binding, standardized
checklist for child care agencies.
(d) Child care agencies in commercial zones.
(1) Conditional use authorization. Notwithstanding another law or local
ordinance to the contrary, a child care agency is permitted:
(A) As a use by right, in any zone that permits:
(i) Office uses;
(ii) Commercial uses;
(iii) Industrial uses; or
(iv) Institutional uses; and
(B) In residential zoning districts for home-based child care.
(2) Reasonable conditions. A local government may impose reasonable
conditions on a child care agency to address:
(A) Traffic and parking impacts;
(B) Hours of operation;
(C) Outdoor play area safety and screening; and
(D) Building safety and fire protection measures not inconsistent with
state requirements.
(3) Prohibition on discriminatory requirements. A local government shall
not impose conditions on a child care agency that are more restrictive than those
imposed on other similar commercial or office uses in the same zone.
(4) A child care agency is not required to obtain a zoning variance if:
(A) The agency complies with the department's ticensing standards;
and
(B) The use does. not materially expand the building footprint.
(5) Employer-based child care. A child care agency operated by or for an
employer primarily for the children of its employees is permitted as an accessory use
to a lawful business use, subject to the same reasonable conditions as in subdivision
(d)(2).
(6) Application processing. Notwithstanding subdivision (b)(3)(D), an
application for a conditional use permit for a child care agency must be processed on
an expedited basis within sixty (60) days of receipt of a complete application and
processed with the same priority level as conditional use permit applications for
affordable housing developments.
(e) Rulemaking.
(1) The state fire marshal's office is authorized to promulgate· rules necessary
to implement this section in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures
Act, compiled in title 4, chap_ter 5.
(2) In promulgating rules, the state fire marshal shall:
(A) Minimize regulatory burden on an applicant;
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(B) Ensure consistency and predictability in application review; and
(C) Solicit input from child care agencies, local governments, and other
stakeholders. -
SECTION 4. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is
held invalid, then the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the act that can be
given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to that end, the provisions of this act are
severable.
SECTION 5. The headings in this act are for reference purposes only and do not constitute a
part of the law enacted by this act. However, the Tennessee Code Commission is requested to
include the headings in any compilation or publication containing this act.
SECTION 6. For the purpose of promulgating rules, this act takes effect upon becoming a
law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, this act takes effect July 1, 2026, the
public welfare requiring it, and applies to all applications submitted on or after that date.
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SENATE BILL NO. 2509
PASSED: April 21, 2026
RANDY McllALLY
SPEAKER OF THE Si!NATE
CAMERON SEXTON, SPEAKER
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APPROVED this f'.::'.J ti day of ( V " \ 6 2026
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\ BILL LEE, GOVERNOREvery fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.