Tennessee 114th General Assembly Status: Enacted 5 R cosponsors

SB 2079 — AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 14; Title 49, Chapter 7; Title 49, Chapter 8 and Title 49, Chapter 9, relative to higher education.

Last action — Effective date(s) 04/23/2026, 07/01/2026

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

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 21, 2026. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Bill Lee (Republican) on April 09, 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 80% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 5 sponsors

    1 primary, 4 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (5 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.

Summary

Education, Higher - As enacted, divides the appointing authority for the nine voting members of the Tennessee higher education commission among the governor, the speaker of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives equally; establishes various tuition and fee limitations and requirements for public institutions of higher education. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 14; Title 49, Chapter 7; Title 49, Chapter 8 and Title 49, Chapter 9.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Filed for introduction

  2. Intro., P1C.

  3. P2C, ref. to Education Committee

  4. Assigned to s/c Higher Education Subcommittee

  5. Placed on s/c cal Higher Education Subcommittee for 2/18/2026

  6. Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Education Committee

  7. Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/3/2026

  8. Action def. in Education Committee to 3/10/2026

  9. Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/10/2026

  10. Action def. in Education Committee to 3/17/2026

  11. Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/17/2026

  12. Action def. in Education Committee to 3/24/2026

  13. Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/24/2026

  14. Action def. in Education Committee to 4/1/2026

  15. Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/31/2026

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

  17. Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/2/2026

  18. H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/6/2026

  19. Comp. SB subst.

  20. Comp. became Pub. Ch. 799

  21. Filed for introduction

  22. Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  23. Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Government Operations Committee

  24. Placed on Senate Government Operations Committee calendar for 2/18/2026

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

  26. Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/18/2026

  27. Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  28. Sponsor(s) Added.

  29. Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/30/2026

  30. Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0490)

  31. Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 28, Nays 3

  32. Sponsor(s) Added.

  33. Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  34. Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  35. Subst. for comp. HB.

  36. Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0906)

  37. Passed H., Ayes 86, Nays 8, PNV 0

  38. Enrolled and ready for signatures

  39. Signed by Senate Speaker

  40. Signed by H. Speaker

  41. Transmitted to Governor for action.

  42. Signed by Governor.

  43. Pub. Ch. 799

  44. Effective date(s) 04/23/2026, 07/01/2026

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 4 co-sponsors · 128 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (4)

Not signed on (128)

128 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 128 →

"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

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 SB 2079 do?
Education, Higher - As enacted, divides the appointing authority for the nine voting members of the Tennessee higher education commission among the governor, the speaker of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives equally; establishes various tuition and fee limitations and requirements for public institutions of higher education. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 14; Title 49, Chapter 7; Title 49, Chapter 8 and Title 49, Chapter 9.
Who sponsors SB 2079?
SB 2079 is sponsored by Watson, Bo (Republican), Pody, Mark (Republican), Bailey, Paul (Republican), Bowling, Janice (Republican), and Seal, Jessie (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 2079?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 21, 2026. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 2079?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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