Tennessee 114th General Assembly Status: Passed House 8 R cosponsors

HB 1491 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8; Title 16; Title 20 and Title 49, relative to the "Protecting Religious Liberty and Expression in Public Schools Act."

Last action — Def. to Summer Study in Education Committee

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has passed the House. Introduced January 08, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the Senate.

Odds of enactment

Moderate chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a moderate chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 58% · moderate confidence

  • Passed House

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 8 sponsors

    1 primary, 7 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (8 R).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Public Employees - As introduced, enacts the "Protecting Religious Liberty and Expression in Public Schools Act." - Amends TCA Title 8; Title 16; Title 20 and Title 49.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Filed for introduction

  2. Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  3. Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee

  4. Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/4/2026

  5. Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee Ayes 8, Nays 1 PNV 0

  6. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/16/2026

  7. Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/17/2026

  8. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/17/2026

  9. Reset on Final calendar of Senate Judiciary Committee

  10. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/23/2026

  11. Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/24/2026

  12. Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/24/2026

  13. Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 7, Nays 2 PNV 0

  14. Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/9/2026

  15. Re-refer to S. Cal Comm

  16. Filed for introduction

  17. Intro., P1C.

  18. P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee - Education Committee

  19. Assigned to s/c Civil Justice Subcommittee

  20. Placed on s/c cal Civil Justice Subcommittee for 2/4/2026

  21. Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee

  22. Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 2/11/2026

  23. Sponsor(s) Added.

  24. Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 2/18/2026

  25. Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 2/18/2026

  26. Action def. in Judiciary Committee to Next Available Calendar

  27. Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/4/2026

  28. Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/11/2026

  29. Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/11/2026

  30. Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/18/2026

  31. Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/18/2026

  32. Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/25/2026

  33. Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/23/2026

  34. Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 4/1/2026

  35. Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/1/2026

  36. Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Education Committee

  37. Placed on cal. Education Committee for 4/8/2026

  38. Def. to Summer Study in Education Committee

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 7 co-sponsors · 125 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (7)

Not signed on (125)

125 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 125 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Subjects

civil-rights education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 1491 do?
Public Employees - As introduced, enacts the "Protecting Religious Liberty and Expression in Public Schools Act." - Amends TCA Title 8; Title 16; Title 20 and Title 49.
Who sponsors HB 1491?
HB 1491 is sponsored by Bulso, Gino (Republican), Capley, Kip (Republican), Todd, Chris (Republican), Farmer, Andrew (Republican), Maberry, Aron (Republican), Fritts, Monty (Republican), Reedy, Jay D. (Republican), and Warner, Todd (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 1491?
This bill has passed the House. Introduced January 08, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track HB 1491?
Track HB 1491 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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