The 114th Tennessee General Assembly wrapped the final session of its two-year term on Thursday. This marks the final session of Gov. Bill Lee’s tenure in office and the last for retiring Lt. Gov. Randy McNally.
Last week, lawmakers completed their constitutional duty of approving the state’s $58 billion budget. After several months embroiled in thorny debates over immigration, school vouchers, health care and culture-war-evoking legislation — including the “Charlie Kirk Act,” which is designed to limit protests on college campuses — the state’s Republican supermajority was still largely able to sail through with the passage of most of its top-priority legislation this year.
Verification, reporting requirements part of proposed bills filed
Undoubtedly this session’s most defining issue was immigration. In January, Republicans announced a massive legislative package — crafted with the help of the White House and top Trump adviser Stephen Miller — cracking down on immigration. Many of these bills passed along party lines, including legislation requiring local governments to work with ICE and criminalizing the act of simply existing in the state as an undocumented immigrant.
Legislation to expand the state’s school voucher program — the Education Freedom Scholarship program, which was created last year — narrowly passed, with several Republicans voting against the measure. Under the expansion, the program will provide a total of 35,000 vouchers for the 2026-27 school year, falling short of the governor’s initial proposal of 40,000. Republicans successfully tacked on an amendment that allows public schools to receive funding for students who disenroll because of EFS only if they provide Social Security numbers associated with said students — a retooled version of a previously proposed measure that would have required public school districts to provide proof of citizenship or legal immigration status of students who leave to attend private schools as a part of the voucher program. Attempts at increasing transparency and accountability for the program died in committee.
Senate narrowly votes to conform to House bill and expand Education Freedom Scholarship program to offer 35,000 vouchers
When it came to health care, Republicans moved forward with legislation targeting the LGBTQ community. The legislature passed a bill to require insurance companies and health care providers to submit data on transgender patients and their treatments to the state health department. TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program, does not cover gender-affirming care, but a bill that codified prohibition of such care passed and was signed by the governor.
Efforts from Democrats to offer medical debt forgiveness and universal pre-K programming failed. On the bipartisan front, a bill from Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) and Rep. Esther Helton-Hayes (R-East Brainerd) that would allow insured Tennesseans to purchase a 12-month supply of birth control has also been signed by the governor.
State Republicans also plowed forward with efforts to intervene in Tennessee’s Democratic-run city governments, including plans to further the state’s authority over the The Boring Company’s Music City Loop project and a takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
Keep an eye on the Scene in coming weeks, as we’ll have more in-depth coverage and analysis of 2026’s legislative session.
