New laws to take effect in Tennessee on Thursday
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — There are over 200 new laws going into effect on July 1 in Tennessee.
The new laws include:
- Requiring business and government buildings to post signs if they allow transgender people to use multi-stall bathrooms of their choice.
- Allowing Tennesseans aged 21 and up or who are honorably discharged or active in the U.S. Armed Forces, National Guard or Reserves to carry a firearm without a permit in a place where they are lawfully present.
- Removing barriers to prosecute aggravated animal cruelty cases in Tennessee.
- Requiring cremation or burial of fetal remains following an abortion.
- Making it a Class A misdemeanor if parents do not report a missing child to law enforcement within the first 24 hours.
- Stiffer penalties for porch pirates.
According to a news release, new legislation regarding rape and domestic violence will:
- Add those convicted of one or more predatory sex trafficking offense to the category of sexual predators who are ineligible for early parole or release before the end the full sentence.
- Remove the statute of limitations for any commercial sex trafficking offense committed against a child, giving victims which more time to report.
- Require law enforcement to alert the Department of Children’s Services when they take a minor into custody on charges of prostitution.
- Establish certain considerations regarding the use of deadly force by victims of human trafficking, even if the victims are engaged in illegal activity or in a location they are not legally allowed to be, if they are forced into the situation as a result of their status as a human trafficking victim.
- Authorize law enforcement or the district attorney to require the disclosure of wire and electronic communications for evidentiary purposes to crack down on human trafficking offenses organized through social media platforms.
- Require those convicted of rape, sexual battery, and felony domestic assault to serve the full sentences imposed by a judge or jury.
- Provide more transparency regarding the rape kit backlog process, and ensures the handling procedure of rape kits is responsive, reliable and consistent.
- Allow a victim of a felony offense of assault, criminal homicide, attempted homicide, kidnapping, or sexual offenses to file a petition for a lifetime order of protection against their convicted offender.
New health laws also aim to:
- Strengthen the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
- Increase number of primary care physicians in rural communities by establishing residency opportunities.
- Reforming how Pharmacy Benefit Managers operate under the the Patient Access Choice and Transparency Act, which is meant to help preserves a patients’ choice of pharmacy.
