Tennessee 114th General Assembly Status: Enacted 59 R cosponsors

HB 1709 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 7; Title 20; Title 23; Title 33; Title 37; Title 39; Title 42; Title 43; Title 44; Title 45; Title 46; Title 47; Title 49; Title 52; Title 53; Title 55; Title 56; Title 57; Title 59; Title 60; Title 62; Title 63; Title 67; Title 68; Title 69; Title 70; Title 71 and Chapter 463 of the Public Acts of 2025, relative to the regulation of professions.

Last action — Effective date(s) 07/01/2026, 05/07/2026

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

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 15, 2026. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Bill Lee (Republican) on April 30, 2026.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high 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

Likely to advance 82% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 64 sponsors

    1 primary, 63 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (59 R).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 3 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.

In plain language

The bill requires certain licenses and permits to be issued only to U.S. citizens or qualified aliens.

This legislation states that to obtain specific licenses, certificates, permits, or authorizations, individuals must be U.S. citizens or qualified aliens. The bill amends multiple titles in the Tennessee Code Annotated.

Summary

Professions and Occupations - As enacted, specifies in various provisions that for a person to be eligible for a particular license, certificate, permit, or authorization, the person must be a citizen of the United States or a qualified alien. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 7; Title 20; Title 23; Title 33; Title 37; Title 39; Title 42; Title 43; Title 44; Title 45; Title 46; Title 47; Title 49; Title 52; Title 53; Title 55; Title 56; Title 57; Title 59; Title 60; Title 62; Title 63; Title 67; Title 68; Title 69; Title 70; Title 71 and Chapter 463 of the Public Acts of 2025.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Filed for introduction

  2. Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  3. Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Commerce and Labor Committee

  4. Placed on Senate Commerce and Labor Committee calendar for 2/24/2026

  5. Reset on Final calendar of Senate Commerce and Labor Committee

  6. Placed on Senate Commerce and Labor Committee calendar for 3/3/2026

  7. Action deferred in Senate Commerce and Labor Committee to 3/10/2026

  8. Placed on Senate Commerce and Labor Committee calendar for 3/10/2026

  9. Action deferred in Senate Commerce and Labor Committee to 3/17/2026

  10. Placed on Senate Commerce and Labor Committee calendar for 4/7/2026

  11. Sponsor(s) Added.

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

  13. Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/21/2026

  14. Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/21/2026

  15. Companion House Bill substituted

  16. Sponsor(s) Added.

  17. Comp. became Pub. Ch. 955

  18. Filed for introduction

  19. Intro., P1C.

  20. Sponsor(s) Added.

  21. P2C, ref. to Commerce Committee

  22. Assigned to s/c Business & Utilities Subcommittee

  23. Placed on s/c cal Business & Utilities Subcommittee for 2/18/2026

  24. Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Commerce Committee

  25. Placed on cal. Commerce Committee for 3/4/2026

  26. Action def. in Commerce Committee to 3/11/2026

  27. Placed on cal. Commerce Committee for 3/11/2026

  28. Action def. in Commerce Committee to 3/18/2026

  29. Placed on cal. Commerce Committee for 3/18/2026

  30. Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  31. Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/14/2026

  32. H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/16/2026

  33. H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0730)

  34. Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 2 - HA0844)

  35. Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 3 - HA1245)

  36. Sponsor(s) Added.

  37. Passed H., as am., Ayes 70, Nays 20, PNV 0

  38. Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  39. Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  40. Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  41. Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA1020)

  42. Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 2 - SA1033)

  43. Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 26, Nays 6

  44. H. concurred in S. am. no. 2 Ayes 70, Nays 21 PNV 0

  45. Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.

  46. Signed by H. Speaker

  47. Signed by Senate Speaker

  48. Transmitted to Governor for his action.

  49. Signed by Governor.

  50. Pub. Ch. 955

  51. Effective date(s) 07/01/2026, 05/07/2026

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 63 co-sponsors · 69 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (63)

Not signed on (69)

69 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 69 →

"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

immigration labor
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 1709 do?
Professions and Occupations - As enacted, specifies in various provisions that for a person to be eligible for a particular license, certificate, permit, or authorization, the person must be a citizen of the United States or a qualified alien. - Amends TCA Title 4; Title 7; Title 20; Title 23; Title 33; Title 37; Title 39; Title 42; Title 43; Title 44; Title 45; Title 46; Title 47; Title 49; Title 52; Title 53; Title 55; Title 56; Title 57; Title 59; Title 60; Title 62; Title 63; Title 67; Title 68; Title 69; Title 70; Title 71 and Chapter 463 of the Public Acts of 2025.
Who sponsors HB 1709?
HB 1709 is sponsored by Hicks G, Martin G, Jones R, Hicks T, Martin B, Cochran, Mark (Republican), Sexton, Cameron (Republican), Faison, Jeremy (Republican), Zachary, Jason (Republican), Lamberth, William (Republican), Marsh, Pat (Republican), Garrett, Johnny (Republican), Bulso, Gino (Republican), Lafferty, Justin (Republican), White, Mark (Republican), Howell, Dan (Republican), Todd, Chris (Republican), Vaughan, Kevin (Republican), Farmer, Andrew (Republican), Moody, Debra (Republican), Powers, Dennis (Republican), Kumar, Sabi 'Doc' (Republican), Grills, Rusty (Republican), Scarbrough, Rick (Republican), Capley, Kip (Republican), Rudd, Tim (Republican), Davis, Elaine (Republican), Russell, Lowell (Republican), Littleton, Mary (Republican), Hawk, David B. (Republican), Cepicky, Scott (Republican), Hale, Michael (Republican), Carringer, Michele (Republican), Doggett, Clay (Republican), Reeves, Lee (Republican), Leatherwood, Tom (Republican), Fritts, Monty (Republican), Darby, Tandy (Republican), McCalmon, Jake (Republican), Moon, Jerome (Republican), Alexander, Rebecca K. (Republican), Boyd, Clark (Republican), Maberry, Aron (Republican), Sherrell, Paul (Republican), Slater, William (Republican), Wright, Dave (Republican), Hill, Timothy (Republican), Lankford, Michael (Republican), Crawford, John (Republican), Eldridge, Rick (Republican), Gant, Ron M. (Republican), Bricken, Rush (Republican), Helton-Haynes, Esther (Republican), Rudder, Iris (Republican), Butler, Ed (Republican), Warner, Todd (Republican), Atchley, Fred (Republican), Stinnett, Tom (Republican), Keisling, Kelly (Republican), Raper, Kevin D. (Republican), Stevens, Robert (Republican), Terry, Bryan (Republican), Hurt, Chris (Republican), and Reedy, Jay D. (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 1709?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 15, 2026. Enacted.
Where can I track HB 1709?
Track HB 1709 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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