A new year means new laws for Tennesseans. Every year as the calendar turns and to a new fresh start, laws that were previously passed by the state house and legislature go into effect. 

THC and hemp in Tennessee: 

TN hemp program to remain unchanged, for now, as new federal rule changes are anticipated to come later. 

Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill that would further regulate the hemp industry and ban certain THCA products from being sold in the Volunteer State. 

  • The Alcoholic Beverage Commission will take over as the regulator for hemp sales. 
  • THCA clarified as hemp-derived cannabinoid. 
  • THCP has been deemed not a hemp-derived cannabinoid. 
  • Anything with a concentration of more than .3% on a dry weight basis of THCA will not be able to be sold. 
  • Clarifies that the 0.3% is the limit for delta-9 THC content for hemp-derived cannabinoids. 

Implied Consent/Driving the Influence in Tennessee: 

Gov. Lee signed a bill to change the state’s implied consent law. 

  • Refusing a requested blood test will now trigger an implied consent charge 
  • The term for a suspended driver’s license for someone who refused to take a requested blood test increases to 1.5 years (for a misdemeanor DUI suspect with no related conviction in the last 10 years). 
  • Saliva tests are now authorized, and results are admissible in a court of law. 

Buying junk food with SNAP benefits: 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved waivers for 18 states, including Tennessee, to ban the use of SNAP benefits to buy certain foods and drinks with high sugar content. The new law prohibits the purchase of items like soda, energy drinks, candy, and prepared desserts with SNAP benefits. Shoppers will have to use cash for those snacks now.  

Savanna’s Law creating a registry of persistent domestic violence offenders: 

The governor signed the bill to create a public registry for people convicted of domestic violence in Tennessee. 

  • The law requires a person convicted of, or who pleads guilty to, domestic assault to register, but only if the victim agrees to the defendant being required to register. 
  • If the victim does not give consent or is not available, the court will not require a person convicted of domestic assault to register under the law. 
  • If a court orders a defendant to register, the clerk must give the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation a copy of the qualifying conviction. This must be done within 60 days of the date of the conviction.  

Resentencing available for victims of domestic abuse: 

Someone who has served at least eight years for a crime may request a resentencing hearing if they were the victim of domestic abuse. 

  • The requestor must complete their eight years of sentencing before January 1.  
  • The person must inclued proof of incarceration and the eligible offences they are requesting resentencing for. 
  • There must be a minimum of two pieces of evidence supporting the claim that the requestor is a victim of domestic abuse. 

Changes to TennCare covered services: 

TennCare health benefit plans will now cover biomarker testing and an expanded list of contraceptives. 

  • Biomarking testing is a test done on blood, tissue, or other body fluids that check for markers for serious illnesses such as cancer and other hereditary diseases.  
  • TennCare will now cover a wider variety of contraceptives, including removing the stipulation that the contraceptive must be marketed under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.  

Tax deductions: 

Taxpayers will now be allowed to elect to take a bonus deprecation deduction equal to 40 percent of the cost of any assets purchased after January 1. Deductions will have to be taken in the tax year in which the assets were purchased and cannot be used for depreciation. 

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