HB1156 • 2026

Children

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37, relative to immunizations.

Children Parental Rights

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: Lynn, Bowling
Last action: 2025-03-04
Official status: Def. to Summer Study in Population Health Subcommittee
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide information on the consequences of parents failing to vaccinate their children after this bill is enacted.

Removing Vaccine Responsibility for Parents

This bill removes the requirement that parents or legal guardians ensure their children receive vaccines recommended by health organizations like the CDC and AAP.

What This Bill Does

Removes the law stating that parents and guardians must make sure their kids get vaccines suggested by health groups such as the CDC and AAP.

Who It Names or Affects

Parents and legal guardians who are responsible for ensuring their children receive recommended vaccines.
Health organizations like the CDC and AAP whose guidelines are no longer required by Tennessee law.

Terms To Know

CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a federal health agency in the United States.
AAP: American Academy of Pediatrics, an organization that gives advice on children's health.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not address what will happen if parents do not get their kids vaccinated.
It is unclear how this change might affect public health or vaccination rates in Tennessee.

Bill History

2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate Judiciary Committee
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/9/2026
2025-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Def. to Summer Study in Population Health Subcommittee
2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Population Health Subcommittee for 3/4/2025
2025-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Action Def. in s/c Population Health Subcommittee to 3/4/2025
2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Population Health Subcommittee for 2/25/2025
2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Population Health Subcommittee
2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, ref. to Health Committee
2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee
2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Intro., P1C.
2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction
2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law provides that i
t is the responsibility of each parent or legal guardian to ensure that such person's child or children receive the vaccines as are recommended by guidelines of the Center for Disease Con
trol or the American Academy of Pediatrics to be administered to a child.

The parent or legal guardian is encouraged to obtain the recommended immunizations within the first two years of the child's life.

Such vaccines include, without limitation,
d
iphth
eria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP)
,
oral polio vaccine (OPV) or inactivated polio vaccine (IPV)
, m
easles-mumps-rubella (MMR)
, h
aemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccines (Hib)
, h
epatitis B vaccine (Hep B)
, p
neumoccocal vaccine when medically indicated
, i
nfl
uenza vaccine, when medically indicated
,
and
v
aricella, when available.
This bill removes all of these provisions.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SENATE BILL 1030
By Bowling

HOUSE BILL 1156
By Lynn

HB1156
002689
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37,
relative to immunizations.

WHEREAS, Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 37-10-401(a) declares that a parent or
legal guardian is responsible for ensuring that such person's child receives vaccinations as
recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP); and
WHEREAS, the CDC is a federal agency that operates under federal jurisdiction, not
subject to state government oversight or accountability, and the AAP is a private organization,
not subject to constitutional accountability or state government oversight and accountability; and
WHEREAS, under the nondelegation doctrine, the General Assembly cannot delegate
significant public policy decisions or police powers to entities that are not subject to state
oversight and accountability; and
WHEREAS, the landmark case Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 25 S.CT. 358 (1905)
affirmed that state vaccination laws are not subject to federal jurisdiction under the Fourteenth
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States but are instead an exercise of state police
power if and when authorized under a state's constitution; and
WHEREAS, legislative oversight and the rulemaking process are necessary when
changing vaccination law to ensure such changes serve a compelling governmental interest of
the highest order; and
WHEREAS, the Families' Rights and Responsibilities Act, compiled in Tennessee Code
Annotated, Title 36, Chapter 8, affirms that a government entity shall not substantially burden
the fundamental rights of a parent unless it demonstrates that such a burden is required by a

- 2 - 002689

compelling governmental interest of the highest order and is the least restrictive means of
furthering that interest; and
WHEREAS, deleting § 37-10-401(a) will not affect existing immunization laws, rules, or
requirements for schools, nurseries, kindergartens, preschools, or child care facilities; now,
therefore,
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 37-10-401(a), is amended by
deleting the subsection.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.